We Have Landed!

We are officially in Boise, ID and it is feeling more like home everyday. A huge thank you goes out to Grandma and Grandpa Jastifer for driving the 2000 miles out here with all of our stuff and two of our kids! It was 2.5 days of non-stop driving and we could not have gotten here without you! Another huge thank you goes out to Grandma Sowerwine for letting our family invade your home for 2 months for the in-between time of selling our house and waiting to move to Boise. We had a wonderful time staying with you! Blake did great on the way out here on the plane and I could not have asked for a better boy. So all in all, we made it to Boise with no hiccups, which is a huge blessing!

We had a wonderful time with Jim's parents for the first few days we were here. After taking them to the airport yesterday, it sure seems weird to have no family around. I am so glad that we were able to soak up so much time with our friends and family before we left, not that it made it any easier to say good-bye when the time came. I know it is only for a year, but when you are used to seeing them on a weekly basis, it is a big transition for us and the kids. We are making our place here in Boise a "home" and are going to have a wonderful time here this year.

Jim has started his fellowship and is really liking it and the boys and I have been exploring the city. We have already hit three parks! Caleb is already signed up for preschool and Ethan is going to be signing up for 1st grade (can that really be?!?!) next week. We have been to both schools to check them out. The boys are enjoying riding their bikes and playing with all the toys that I hid from them from Christmas and their birthday! 

We just got internet today and hope to post weekly if not more! 

Jastifer Pig Roast

We had fun at another Jastifer Family pig roast! The boys were able to connect with almost all of their 2nd cousins, some for the first time ever. Good food, good people, good times.

Fishing, exams, and berry picking

 Jim officially finished his orthopaedic surgery residency at the end of June. Since then, we have been living with Grandma Sowerwine (Laurie's mom) and Jim studied for and took his orthopaedic surgery board exam last week. Since then we have been doing lots of activities around here, trying to catch up with friends and family and getting outside before the big move next week.

Ethan loves driving the pontoon boat to the bluegill honey hole

Blake literally runs to the berry patches at Grandma and Grandpa Jastifer's house.

The hot weather couldn't keep Ethan, Caleb and Jim from fishing and then picking blueberries

Ethan lost his first tooth! He did not want us touching it, so he pulled it out himself in a very unconventional way of biting down on his seat-belt and pulling it away from him. But hey, it worked! Our little guy is growing up and there was definitely some inflation from the tooth fairy since I was a kid! Congratulations Ethan!

Our Time in Grand Rapids

Our time in Grand Rapids has been great! We have been able to spend a lot of time with friends and family and we are really getting our fill before heading out to Boise, ID in a little over a week. Jim, Ethan and Caleb, along with his parents are taking off on a 30+ hour car ride to Boise next Tuesday the 23rd. Myself and Blake, who does not do well in cars, will be flying out five days later and meeting everyone in Boise. I can only hope that Blake likes planes more than cars!

The other night we were able to hang out with our good friends from high school, where we always begin right where we left off! Between the three of us, there are 8 kids, so it gets really busy, but really fun all the same. Thanks for hosting Annie and Tom, we had a great time!

 What a fun night!

Sparklers

This 4th of July was very laid back. We just grilled out and the kids got to do sparklers for the first time. They were a little nervous at first but soon got the hang of it. :)

 Happy 4th of July!!

Fishing

The boys have had fun fishing on Great Grandpa and Grandma's lake!

LOVE these boys!

 

 

Someone likes raspeberries...

 Picking berries at Grandma and Grandpa Jastifer's!

2013 Family Vacation

The five of us, my mom, brother, sister and brother-in-law all headed down to South Carolina to Hilton Head Island last week and we had a great time! The 16 hour drive went better than expected with just a few hours of screaming from Blake (yes, that is better than expected). We were able to catch up, relax, hang out by the pool and beach, go on walks, bike rides, kayaking, miniature golfing, and we even went to a children's museum one day. Being that Kelly and CJ live in California, it was really nice to spend some time with them and of course, the boys loved it too! Here are a few highlights from our trip:

 Great Vacation!

Blake's 18 Month Check - Up

(Yes, that is ALL the goldfish on his tray. Guess the box was left too close to him and that is what I get for leaving for a moment.) Gotta love toddlers!

Blake is nice and healthy and here are his stats:

Length: 35.5 inches (98-100 percentile)
Weight: 28 pounds 7 ounces (90 percentile)
Head Circumference: 49 cm (90-95 percentile)

Who's kid is this?!?! He is going to be taller than me by the 5th grade!!