505 Honeysuckle Drive!

Doesn't that address have a nice ring to it?! It's nice because it was so easy for the kids to learn.

Well we made it here, to Harrisburg (Souix Falls), South Dakota!

Events:
Phil's mom and dad came to Mesa to help us pack the truck, clean the house, and make the move.
Saturday, 5-30-09:
We had 14 guys from our ward come help pack the moving truck. We are so thankful to all of them! All the guys couldn't get over how organized Phil was. Phil and I had everything packed in boxes and then Phil moved all the boxes to the garage and organized them from heaviest to lightest in the order which they'd be placed in the truck. They were all done packing a 26 foot truck in 50 minutes. (The best part is nothing was even broke when we arrived to SD!) Several guys came up to me the next day at church and said that was the easiest move they've ever done. Way to go Phil for being so organized...THANK YOU!
The rest of the day we cleaned the house. We could not have gotten it done without Phil's mom and dad. They did soooo much to help us. I'm ashamed to say they even scrubbed our tile floor on their hands and knees. Thank you Mom and Dad!
Phil and his dad took off the next morning for the 3 day long journey. Phil's mom and the kids and I stayed at Dennis and John's house until Tuesday when the kids and I flew into Sioux Falls and Phil's mom drove back to St. George. We had so much fun with Grandma Stephenson for those 3 days!
Phil drove the 26 foot truck pulling the civic behind and Phil's dad drove the van with the joy of chauffeuring Oscar. Thank goodness that the vehicles ran good for them and the only problem they had was Oscar getting sick and throwing up in the van on Phil's suit and in the hotel room several times.
Phil and Grandpa Stephenson picked the kids and I up at the airport and drove us to our new home.
The kids LOVED it! The house is literally double the size of our home in Mesa, so needless to say we are loving the space!
Phil's dad stuck around until Thursday and helped Phil put all the furniture together and do a ton of the big stuff that needed to get done. He nearly worked himself to death! Thank you Dad, we couldn't have done it without you!
2 days later my parents drove out to see the new place and help us put everything together. Phil and my dad worked their guts out putting up a fence in our yard while my mom and I worked our guts out shopping for decorations! :) I know, doesn't hardly seem fair! In all honesty though, I think we were nearly just as tired as they were! You ladies that read this can understand the exhaustion that comes with shopping! :) My parents worked so hard around here helping us build things, hook things up, unpack, decorate, play with kids...you name it! Thank you so much Mom and Dad! We would have spent months doing what you helped us to do in days.
We have pretty much gotten the house all together, making it feel like home. We have also gotten to know the Sioux Falls area, made some neighbor friends, and are adjusting to a new ward and making new friends there.
The day after we got here Gracie and Parker saw some kids outside playing and immediately ran out there to make some friends. There are so many kids in this neighborhood so needless to say Gracie and Parker are in Heaven! They have made some great friends their age and are constantly begging to play with them. Gracie has already staked out a little boyfriend named Will, across the street. She loves getting all dazzled up before going out to play with him. Phil and I just roll our eyes and take deep breaths. This girl is boy crazy! 3 words...IT KILLS ME!
The neighborhood feels so safe. We can let the kids go out front and play in our yard or the neighbors' yards and feel safe just randomly checking on them every little bit.
Oh, how could I forget to mention the weather! For the first 2 weeks we were here the temperature was around 55 - 65 degrees during the day. That is a 50 degree drop from where we just were! We were seriously freezing. Out of those 2 weeks I bet we saw the sun 2 days. Even 3 weeks into being here it has rained for 3/4 of the time. The weather did finally warm up, but we are back to some serious humidity! Lot's of adjusting to do! :)
Here are just a few pictures...
(I regret not getting any pictures of Phil's mom and dad...in my defense, the cameras were packed. But still, it makes me sad we didn't get any.)


Some beautiful flowers in our yard.


Phil and my dad putting up the fence. The ground was made of hard-as-a-rock clay. The job ended up being much harder than planned. They did such a great job!


Gracie, hard at work! The final product!


Poor little Oscar...totally exhausted from all that digging! Haha! Grandma Holgate and Gracie working hard to get the decorations put up.


We love grandparents!

WE NEED BABY BOY NAME IDEAS!

We beg of you please give us some ideas for boy names!

If this baby happened to come early, he seriously would not have a name! We are throwing around a few ideas, but honestly nothing really seems to fit or feel like "Yes, that's it!"

We are looking for a name that is solid, unique but not far out there, that he will be the only one with that name in his classes and not have every 5th boy with the same name...so not way common, but not completely made up. (I know some of our choices on the poll are common, but that's because we can't come up with anything else!)

I put a poll on the sidebar of our blog that we'd love for you to respond to. Just pick your favorite name. If you don't like any or you have suggestions then please comment and let us know! :)

For kicks, I'll add a 2nd poll with the names that either Phil or I came up with, but the other can't stand!

Signed,
Desperate

Parker's Preschool Graduation

Parker graduated from preschool today....well at least for this year. He still has one more year of preschool, but this is his last year with Miss Alisha. :( We love Miss Alisha and are so grateful for all that she has taught Parker. Graduation was so fun! They said the Pledge of Allegiance, sang Macarana Months and Days of the week, signed the alphabet, recited some nursery rhymes, and received an amazing book of accomplishments they've made throughout the year. Miss Alisha said something positive about each kid in her classes. She said that Parker is loyal because he will stick up for his friends no matter what and he always makes sure his friends are okay and taken care of. I think on the flip side of that, it could mean if you aren't his friend, then watch out! :) We are proud of you Parker! You have grown so much this year!

Last Day of Kindergarten

Gracie has had one awesome year in kindergarten! We are blown away at how much she has learned! Gracie was doing so well in school early in the year that she was chosen to be one of a few kids in the early readers program. She reads books to us every day! She is also learning math already! Gracie's teacher, Mrs. Weinerth is the most amazing teacher ever! We love her so much! She has really set the bar high for all the teachers that will follow her. Gracie has been crying for days because she doesn't want to leave Mrs. Weinerth. When I picked Gracie up on the last day she was sobbing! Of course I joined her!
Way to go Gracie!

Tornado Alley!

Phil went back to Kirksville, Missouri for graduation this week. I was to come on Friday for graduation on Saturday, but Phil had to go on Wednesday for meetings, interviews and tests before graduation.

He hadn't been there an hour... He was at our friends house when the National Weather Service issued a tornado warning. They all headed down into Bobby and Katherine's basement until they heard the wind pass. When they went outside, they saw the damage from the tornado that hit their neighborhood! We lived there 2 years and no tornado. He goes back for 5 days and a tornado hits! The damage was unreal! He and some of his medical school buddies helped neighbors move what was left of their possessions from the top floor of the roofless house down to the basement. They picked up broken tree branches all over the neighborhood and cleaned up as much as they could with the few hours left of light they had.

When I got to Kirksville we drove around the neighborhoods that were hit by the tornado and took pictures. It was so surreal! My heart just breaks for these poor families.

Gracie is 6!

We can't believe that our baby girl is 6 years old! We tried to stop her, but she wouldn't let us! Gracie is the most amazing little girl I've ever known! We couldn't be more proud of her and who she is becoming.

Unfortunately Phil and I were in Kirksville for graduation on Gracie's birthday, so we celebrated earlier in the week. Before Gracie left for school she opened up her presents. Then Phil, Parker, and I surprised her and took her a happy meal and ate lunch with her at school. We brought her balloons when we picked her up from school. Then she had her dance recital. After that we went to Peter Piper Pizza and ate and played. Then we went home and had birthday cake and ice cream. We had so much fun celebrating with you Gracie!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRACIE!

Dr. Phil Stephenson

HE DID IT! After 4 insane years of grueling medical school, Phil graduated! I can't believe it is finally over! To say that I am so proud of him would be an understatement. Phil has worked so hard studying and doing fantastic in his classes and rotations as well as making time for his family. Even in the most stressful times when we didn't see much of him, he did his best to spend time with us and make us feel loved. He is an amazing husband, father, AND doctor!!! Thank you for working so hard for our family, Phil! We are proud of you! We love you! Congratulations!

School, School, and MORE School!

First of all, let me say that I have loved going back to school! Now, let me complain! :) The teacher of this fitness class I am taking thinks that we don't have a life outside her class. Even my medical student husband thinks this teacher is out of control with how much we have to do in this class. The bad thing is that this is only 1 of my 4 classes this semester. This semester I have had morning sickness, stress about finding a home, trip to find a home, trip to California, packing for the move, trip to Kirksville for Phil's graduation, Gracie's dance, Parker's T-ball, scouts, and regular every day stuff. Don't I sound pathetic?! :) Anyway, my point...I finally reached a point that I didn't know how I was going to be able to keep up with this class among everything else going on in my life. If you know me, then you know that I am obssessive about getting all A's in school. Well by the point of this breakdown I was having, I came to the realization that I might just have to get a 'C' and be okay with it. Once again I prayed for strength and for the ability to manage my load. I am just amazed at how all of the sudden after that I was able to get done what I needed to and keep up with my classes, all the while NOT stressing out. Another blessing of an answer to a prayer!

Almost 2 months later...
I'M DONE WITH SCHOOL!!! I MADE IT!!! I even pulled all 'A's! This semester was so rewarding for me because it was such a challenge. I am so glad I decided to go back to school! But the break now is definitely welcomed! :)

We closed!

We closed on our home today! We love our new home and we are so excited to get there! We will post pictures and details about the home later once we are moved.

Silly Kids!

The other night I told Gracie and Parker to go get their pajamas on and this is what they came out like...

California Adventures!

We finally took our first family trip that wasn't to Utah to go see family! Dennis and John joined us for all the fun! We drove to Anaheim and went to Disneyland for 2 days and then we drove to San Diego and went to Sea World for 2 days and to the beach. We had a blast!

The second we got to Disneyland, Dennis and John went and bought the kids signature books and pens for all the characters to sign. I had no idea that was the "thing" to do! So for two days we were on a hunt for the characters. The biggest mission was to get the princesses signatures. So we found the line and asked the worker how long the wait was from where we were in line and she said 2 hours! I about died! So John and I tagged teamed in line giving each other a break every 15 minutes while Phil, Gracie, Parker, and Dennis went on some rides. Hmmmm.....does that sound fair to anyone?! :) So once you finally get to where the princesses are, which is behind a wall and you can't see them until you are allowed to go back, you have no clue which princesses you get to see. They have 3 princesses at a time, but the Heavens shined down on us and we got there just as the princesses were switching, so we were able to get signatures and pictures of the ones that were already there and the ones that just came to switch. So we ended up getting to see 4 princesses and 1 prince! It blows me away that we pay hundreds of dollars to go to Disneyland then spend hours in lines to get a stinkin' signature from a person in a costume! :) The things we do for our kids! But honestly, after seeing how much Gracie loved seeing those princesses and how much it meant to her, it made the wait all worth it!

One of the biggest highlights of the trip was when Parker got to participate in the Star Wars Jedi training. Parker is obsessed with Star Wars! There were probably a hundred kids watching the show and jumping up and down with their hands in the air to get picked to come up on stage, train with a light saber and Jedi Master, and then fight Darth Vader. As the Jedi trainers came past us picking the kids out of the audience, they just kept on walking by and skipped past Parker. So Phil, Dennis and I started screaming like crazy parents, shouting, "Over here! Over here! Pick him! Pick him!" At the same time, we were shouting at Parker making him jump up and down, wave his hands and yell pick me, pick me! To our disbelief, the "Jedi" came back our way and said the most magical words we've ever heard, "You in the blue, come on up!" Now this might sound corny, but who cares, I'm a mom! As we gave Parker an encouraging shove up to the stage, chills came over my body and tears filled the corners of my eyes. Our little boy was just about to have his dream come true! Parker isn't always the bravest kid on the block, but I'm telling you when this kid gets a light saber, gun, or sword in his hand, it's as if all fear is gone and he is the most courageous super hero! Parker got to stand right next to the Jedi Master on the stage and learn some pretty fancy moves with his light saber. He then fought and defeated Darth Vader!

Some other highlights of Disneyland were the rides Buzz Lightyear, Teacups, Peter Pan, Small World, Star Wars, and the river rafting rides. I loved going on the race car track with the kids. Parker drove Phil and Gracie drove me. Gracie and I were laughing so hard on that ride because her driving was jerking us back and forth that tears were streaming down my face! I think it's best if she waits at least 10 more years to start driving! Gracie, Phil and Dennis went on Splash Mountain, but just as they got to the climb of the last big drop, the ride broke! So they had to get off and climb down stairs inside the mountain to the exit. My personal highlights were the cotton candy and churro, and the relaxing ride in the wheel chair! Haha! :)

Sea World is my favorite place and I was so excited for the kids to experience it! They fell in love with the dolphins and whales! They loved watching the animal show where the dogs, cats, and pig do some fantastic tricks. I think the thing they loved most though was the kids playground. That has to be the biggest playground I've ever seen in my life. They had a blast playing on it! There is a part where water spouts out of the ground and I'm sure Gracie had her eye on it the whole time because as we were getting ready to leave the playground (which was at the beginning of our day), Phil told Gracie to follow him because we were going. Seconds later we realized Gracie didn't follow him, so we went back to find her and she was standing in the water spouts, drenched! There was not one dry spot on her body, from her shoes and socks all the way up to her eyelashes that were dripping with water! I look back now and think it wasn't really a big deal and I probably should have just laughed. But, darn it, I was angry with her! :) I just kept saying, "Well, I guess you'll have to deal with the consequences and stay freezing cold and uncomfortable all day!" It seems though that when one parent stays strong and stubborn, the other one compensates by being patient, protective, and level headed. (At least this is the case for Phil and I.) So it wasn't long before Phil removed her sopping shirt and put her dry jacket on her to get her shivering body warm again.

A couple highlights from Sea World were the shark tunnel, Phil and Parker touching the sting rays and feeding them fish, me touching a dolphin, Gracie touching the starfish, the Shamu Show, the Dolphin Show, and the Sea Lion and Otter Show.

Last but not least, the beach. I think if we would have just stayed at the beach for 6 days, the kids would have been content. They were in heaven! Let me just say that it was freezing cold there! The wind was blowing so hard and it was just plain cold and miserable....for me at least. :) This did not stop the kids, and Phil, from making sand castles, finding sea shells, and running through the waves in the ocean. I finally had to make the kids leave when their lips turned blue and their bodies were shivering in convulsions! After we dried off and changed clothes, we went and played giant frisby on the grass by the beach.

Time spent with family and making memories is hands down the most rewarding blessing in life!