WE HavE BeeN FounD

We finally arrived in Idaho after driving 18 hours straight. We decided it would be easier on us and on the kids if we drove while they were sleeping. We left Iowa around 4pm and made it to Idaho around 8:30 am. NOT BAD HUH? We were exhausted, but it was worth it.

Our first weekend home we had a Adams family reunion and we went boating at our favorite place. Steve was so excited to finally get out on the water. He could hardly stand himself. We had a great time at the lake will all of the cousins and brother's.

Last Entry in Iowa

I am really sad today. This will be my last full day in Iowa. I will miss all of my wonderful friends. I can't believe this chapter in my life is ending and another one, even farther from my roots is beginning. We have come to love Iowa and even the humidity is not that bad. I'm not going to have time to call all of my friends and tell them good bye but I just wanted them to all know how much I love and appreciate them and everything that they have done for specifically me, my husband and my family. We could not have moved to a place and felt more welcome and comfortable then we have here.

Thank you Shauni (ahh, where do I start?) for all of the early mornings of running and pushing ourselves to fulfill one of my goals of a marathon. I couldn't of done it without you. Watching my kids while I work and teaching me to can and sew. The crazy times at the Mac Shack and our trips to the park, mall, YMCA, you name it. I will never forget the many wonderful memories of us and our kids together.

Thank you Kristine for teaching me how to make bows and all of the long talks we had. All of the times I needed to vent and whine. I will miss just hanging out and squeezing your girls. Thanks to John for taking it easy on Steve and not making him cry too much.

I also want to tell Skye how excited I am that she is moving to Michigan with us. I'm so happy our memories won't stop in Iowa. You'll hear more on my entries to come. Your such a great friend and I can't wait to learn so much more from you.

Thank you Stephanie for bailing me out and watching my kids at the last moment. You have been so fun to talk too and you are such a sweet person. I will miss our Sundays in the foyer.

Thanks Lisa for organizing so many get-togethers and having the opportunity to hang out with your family. Your girls are so cute and you are such a good mom. You have been such a good friend. I still am amazed at all of the activities you have for your kids. Supermom!

Megan you are such a sweet person. You are so kind and you know how to do so many creative things. I will never forget the Halloween party you had with all of the "spooky food". Cannon will truely miss playing with Kaden. They had so much fun together.

I can't forget Jennifer Janke! Thank you for putting up with my husband for the long transport to Idaho and for feeding him before I was even in Iowa. Your family has always looked out for him and I really appreciate it. Cannon and I will miss our get-togethers. I know it was hard trying to get our schedules together but I will miss the times we did. You are such a sweet person and I love your fun personality.

Thank you Jennie Heileson for all of our fun times. We loved hanging out with you guys. You and your husband have such a fun personality and we always left your home laughing (not in a bad way). I wish we would have been able to run together but I did enjoy working out and having lunch at your home. You better call. Keep up on the guitar lessons. ROCK STAR!

There is many people that have touched our lives here in Iowa and I do really appreciate and love everyone out here. I hope everyone keeps in touch and I will try to also. I really can't believe this is coming to an end. Good luck in the future and if anyone want to visit Michigan, give us a call, we would love to have guests!

I LOVE YOU GUYS!

SuPerHeRoS DaiLY WorKOuT

Yesterday while trying to pack the kitchen stuff I looked over to see some very handsome boys working out so they could be tough superheros. It was so cute. They would stop for a little while and talk about how strong they felt and then they would jump back down on the floor and continue the push-ups. I had to grab my camera. It is hilarious! Excuse the mess!

(Mute the music so you can hear what the "SuperHeros" are talking about!

(Ammon, Carter & Cannon)

{CaRniVaL TiMe}

In the month of June, Johnston has a carnival call the the "Johnston Green Days". They set it up right across the street from out home, next to the library. Everytime we drove by Cannon would beg and beg to go ride on the rides. So Saturday was the day. Steve came home around 7:30pm and we walked to the carnival. Cannon has such a blast. I can't believe how brave he was. Cannon is usually very timid and not big on doing things all by himself. He ran from ride to ride wanting to go on everything. He begged us to let him go on the zipper, but neither Steve or I wanted to so we just told Cannon he wasn't tall enough. This is one of the drawbacks of having tall children. He ended up riding every other ride and kept saying "this is the best day ever."

WhiLe DaDDy's AwAy......

SUMMER TIME! SUMMER TIME!

Cannon is out of preschool for the summer and we have been so busy packing, working and getting ready to move that yesterday evening I decided to spend time playing outside with the kids. It was a really nice evening, Not to Hot, Not to Cold! Cannon kept telling me to take pictures of him and Karlee. He was being really funny and every time I told him to smile, he would, until right before I snapped the picture and he would make a grumpy face and laugh hysterically. He thought he was hilarious! He was laughing so hard we all started laughing at him. Karlee was even trying to pull funny faces.

This is what happens when we try entertaining ourselves while Daddy is studying.
Cannon almost lost it. He started cracking a smile before I took the picture.
I hope everyone enjoys looking at these pictures as much as we enjoyed taking them!

The Best MoVinG TeAM

Last weekend my sister Lynette and her kids stayed at our home. They were in the process of driving a U-Haul from Virgina to Montana. Her husband just finished dental school and moved out there early to start working. So it was up to the Lynette, her kids and my parents to get her all packed up and drive across the United States. They decided to spend a couple of days here in Des Moines and we enjoyed every minute of it. Cannon loved having cousins to play with and Karlee loved having there kitty to chase around. While they were here they decided to help me pack boxes and disassemble some of our furniture. The packing was fresh on their minds so they were lots of help. I was so happy they got to spend time here and I appreciate all of there help. Who needs to pay for professional movers when you have family?

(Lynette, Mom & Dad, Scott, Sarah and Elise)

Too Cute to Not Post

This picture was taken at one of the last picnic's with a group of our friends.(Cannon, Karlee, Cohen & Nixon)

This last week my parent came to visit. They watched our kids while we went to Michigan to find a place to live. When we got back, we decided to do some fun things. We took my parents to Camp Dodge and Blank Park Zoo. My parents were so much help while they were here. They helped pack boxes and clean my house. My dad even ran errands for me. They will be missed. Here are a few pictures I took.

{HaNdSoMe BoY}

I love playing around with my camera and the other day I was able to catch this awesome picture of my handsome boy. He looks so innocent and sweet. I think black and white pictures can say so much.

Life's been CRaZy

This last week and a half have been really crazy around here. Steve is finally done with his school as far as lectures and going to campus. He now is focusing on taking boards and the day after boards we plan on moving out of our apartment and heading for Idaho. We will be staying in Idaho for a month and then we are moving to Michigan. YEAH!

Monday was Memorial day I was able to just hang out with the kids. Cannon and I got to spend some time together. He rode his bike to the ice cream store and I jogged along beside him. It's about 4 miles round trip so I was really proud of him. Along the way he talked NON-STOP. He talked about how I was Carnage Mom (spiderman character) and Karlee was Carnage Baby. He told me how millipedes jump and how King Cobra's can climb up trees. He told me to keep calling him Travis Pastrana because he was riding his bike in the dirt like motorbikes without training wheels. It was so fun to get some one on one time with him.

Tuesday was Cannon's last day of school and they had a little program for the parents. They did the chicken dance and sang another little song for us. It was really cute to see him with all of his school friends and teachers. We also got to have one last dinner with our good friends, Fenstermakers before they left.

Wednesday we drove to Omaha to pick up my parents from the airport. They flew in that afternoon to come stay with our kids while we went to Michigan. It was so nice for our kids to spend sometime with grandma and grandpa.

Thursday, Steve and I got up really early in the morning and headed for Michigan. It was about a 9 hour drive to get there. Once we got there we met with a realtor to show us some rental homes. WOW, that was interesting. Some people's style and taste are so different and you just walk away from the home thinking "REALLY?" "They want how much for that?" At the end of the day we were really worried if we would ever find something. We stayed the night at my cousin Chelsea's home and it was a blast. We stayed up really late just catching up. I forgot how good of friends we were growing up. It was like we just picked up from where we left off. I am really grateful to have her in Michigan, even if it will only be for a short time.

Friday, we met with this guy who had responded to my ad I put on Craig's list. He had two homes that he was willing to rent. Matt and Skye met with us Friday morning and we checked them out. They were really nice homes and are only 3 doors down from each other, so we all decided to take them. I am so excited that we get to be neighbors. It was such a blessing to eventually find a home in a good neighborhood, next to Olson's, in a good school district and not very far from Steve and Matt's hospital.

Saturday we met back at the homes to do the walk-thru and we took pictures. Matt and Skye headed to the temple and we met up with Bridget and Mario LaGiglia. We had breakfast together. It was so good to see such good friends and to catch up from the last year apart. There kids are getting so big and are such cuties. You should see Rigley's dimples! They are adorable.

We headed home right after and were able to get home before it got dark. I think our kids missed us, but not very much. They had lots of fun with Grandma and Grandpa. They were excited to tell us about all of the treats they got to eat. Its nice to be back home and tons of stress has been lifted knowing we have a nice place to live in Michigan by some great friends!