OKC Temple and Easter

We haven't been up to much here in OK. We did venture out this Easter weekend to OKC and went to the Temple. We figured we probably wouldn't be able to go in together for a while until we get to know people here to watch Kort, so we took turns going in and watching Kort. 

It's a beautiful Temple, but one of the "mini temples" built during President Hinckley's time.

It was nice to be there. We headed to lunch and the mall afterwards. Can I just say how much I miss having a mall nearby. Like down the road nearby. Or the Mall of America just down the interstate? There's basically just Old Navy in town, which luckily I love, but I think I'm going to have most of my wardrobe consist of ON by the end of the summer. 

I had google mapped how long it would take to get to the temple, which was 1 hour 20 minutes. I didn't realize the route it was taking us on that, and so when we put the address in the GPS, we took the main interstate and had to go through the turnpike toll roads. Exact change required. We had ZERO change. So, we stopped at the coin drop, trying to figure out what to do. Well, we drove through, buzzer sounded, and we just kept going. Same thing with the other toll to get off the turnpike. LAME. Especially considering the total was like $1.60 or something. We'll see if we get a ticket. My neighbor said they rarely do that, and if so, it's not much. Guess we'll see. 

Easter Sunday . . . once again, we were bums when it came to celebrating a holiday. I think I was more disappointed in myself for not really taking the time before Easter, to prepare myself for the true meaning. I am so thankful for the Atonement in my life. I know Jesus Christ died for all of us, for all our sins. He suffered in Gethsemane and on the cross. But I know that he rose from the tomb. He LIVES! And because of that, I know that I can live again, and with Him! It's the most amazing miracle!

We got Kort a little easter basket, with bubbles, coloring book, bath toys, toothbrush and toothpaste, and some sweets. A few of Clay's coworkers got together and we all had easter dinner together. It was nice to have dinner with others, and get to know them. So all in all, it was a great Sunday. 

And now to update with the previous Chocolate post . . . I failed. HA. Well, not too bad. I pretty much caved during my birthday weekend. Go figure. But I think sweets, in general, are my weakness.

And about Kort's napping . . . yeah, that didn't last long. 2 weeks. Maybe a growth spurt. Although he's never slept like that during any other growth spurt. I still loved every minute of it. He is jabbering non stop, learning more signing like "more" and "all done". We love that little guy to pieces!

1 . 25 years old

This little guy is a whoppin' 15 months old today! I can't believe how much he's grown up since he turned one. Actually, I swear he's grown and changed so much just since we moved. I was accepting the fact that he took 30 minute naps. Last weekend, our full weekend moved in, his naps were just horrible, if he even got some, too. We thought it was just because Clay was home and he wanted to play with him.

Monday comes, and that morning nap turned into a hour nap. Afternoon nap stayed 30 minutes. Tuesday, hour morning nap, hour afternoon nap. Say What?!! Where did this come from? Wednesday, hour each nap. Thursday, the same. Friday, hour morning, hour and a half afternoon. Saturday (today), hour+ morning, 1.5+ afternoon. Where is this coming from?! Even during his other growth spurts, he never slept like this. Can someone please explain this to me? I know the doc said he would eventually get longer afternoon naps, but not this quick or this easy, of what I thought. But hey, I am NOT complaining. A lot of these naps, he's taking almost 30 minutes just to go to sleep, on top of his hour nap, so I get LOTS of extra self time. He talks to himself before falling asleep, and wakes up jibber jabbering. Oh, and his nighttime sleep? He's probably falling asleep around 7:30 and waking up right before 8:00 a.m. This is a huge change as well. I am loving every minute of it. I'm not used to this. I've heard of other babies doing so well and sleeping till 8 or 9 in the mornings, which is normal for them, etc., but this hasn't been normal for Kort.

One thing Clay and I have thought might be the cause for this, is having him sleep back on his crib mattress, and not that lame, thin, pack and play "mattress" that he has for the last 4 months. He has room to sleep and not be in weird positions. We made our own "crib" with a security gate. It's pretty awesome.

Anyway, I'm loving spending time with the babes. Granted, there's not much to do around here when Clay's got the car, but we do get outside and walk around
the parking lot or pool.

On a side note, we just sold our baby today :( Clay's Nissan Maxima, that we have had since getting married (he had it before), but it's been our first car together. Kind of a bitter sweet moment. Nice to get some money to build our emergency fund back up, but sad for the memories it's got with it, now given to a 16 year old girl who Clay's bummed that she's going to put zebra seat covers on. It already has Oklahoma license plates. Weird.

On another note, General Conference (of what we were awake for) was so fulfilling today! Can't wait for Sunday's session.

our new place to call home

After researching forever to find a decent place in Enid, we decided to go with Tuscana Apartments. They were the only place to have washer and dryer in the units, and after doing coin operated for 4 months, I HAD to have them in our own apartment.

This is our building. It feels so weird to be in an apartment complex. It's been 4 years since we've lived in one, our very first place together being married, and we only lived there for 3 months. I don't have any complaints, yet. Kort and I have already met a lady and her 2 1/2 year old son. He let Kort drive his power wheels truck which Kort loved! We have the golf course behind our building, which we've walked a couple times. Hopefully I'll get outside early enough soon to take a jog on it.

This is our "resort style pool", which is really kind of lame. It's great for Kort though, as its deepest is 4 feet I think. We'll probably spend lots of time here in the summer, if the water ever warms up.

Overall, we're adapting to Enid. I was afraid of tornadoes, but the owner said in all the 40 years he's been here, he's seen 1 and been in 1. Guess we'll see how that goes this year. Walmart is right down the road and everything is pretty close. I love that we're on the outskirts of town so we don't have to worry about noise and all that. It's pretty nice. Well, I'm sure you'll be hearing more from me soon :)

Oooooklahoma where the wind blows . . .

Move # 23499238 to the windy state of OK! We're headed off to another wind project that Clay will work on - with 140 turbines (it will produce up to 235 mw). We'll actually live in a place for more than 4 months! Woo hoo! I don't know if I'm more excited to get out of this hotel or to move to a new place. I'm pretty excited though. 

The city we'll live in is Enid, about 90 miles north of Oklahoma City. I've done a lot of research as to what there is in the city and I think it will be good enough for me :) Sadly though, there is no Target :( It has about 50,000 people. Lots of splash parks for the summer time. A Ross Store. Hobby Lobby (that could get me in trouble). I think the main grocery store people go to is the Walmart Supercenter, which is fine by me. Overall, there will be enough resources for what I need.

I think the biggest concern for me is that we'll be in tornado alley. Especially with what's been happening just east of the state with all the F4 tornadoes, it kind of makes me nervous as to what might happen while we're there. I think that will be one of the first questions I have when we move there and talk to our landlord - safety drills, etc. Ha ha

So, if any of you have ever had the desire to visit OK . . . here's your chance at it to come visit me :)

Jason's wedding

Back during the weekend of Valentine's day, my oldest brother got married in Boise. I flew out early Friday with Kort while Clay stayed in MN for his work annual meeting. He flew in late that night.
It was so nice to finally see my family again! It had been almost a year since I had seen any of them. Janelle's boy, Wade, is almost a year and last we saw him he was 2 weeks old! It had been too long.
Janelle picked me up from the airport and we headed to the mall.

We met up with Daisy and her family to catch up. Then mom, dad, jake and jordan showed up. Later that night, we went to the rehearsal dinner at Barbacoa. YUMMY! This is one of the coolest places I've eaten. It's on the pricey side though, but it was spanish like, with like white antler chandeliers, paintings on the ceiling, etc. They had these super yummy mini bite tacos that were to die for! It was a fun night. Too bad Clay wasn't there for that.

Saturday Clay and us just went shopping and ate at Red Robin - we've missed that place :) Then we headed off for the wedding. You'd have to know my brother to understand the decorations of his wedding, etc. Him and Violet are perfect for each other. It was a fun night. So nice to be able to joke and laugh with my brothers and all my family. Everyone was there except Jared. The last time we were all together was when Janelle just barely got home from her mission. And even then, a ton has changed in our family with subtractions and additions. We're hoping we can all celebrate Christmas together!

We stayed at Janelle and Tom's house in Parma that weekend. Sunday, the two of them got to speak in Stake Conference and they did awesome! Tom is the only Seminary teacher in the area and teaches in Parma, ID and then across the border in Nyssa, OR. They're the bomb {dot} com family.

We did a late celebration of Kort's birthday and a month early one for Wade. They were so cute playing with each other over the weekend. I already miss them :(

chocolate

I am going at least until the end of March with NO.CHOCOLATE. If any of you know me, I love, love, love me some chocolate and any type of sweets. This is going to be hard for me. Family is doing a weight loss challenge. Don't think I'll win, but I could lose some ell-bees (lbs). Nursing definitely kept my weight down and now it's been creeping back up. Ahhh! I'm going to try and do a couple of 5ks here within the next few months so I better kick my butt into gear. I'll let you know how I deal with this terrible loss.

Caught in the moment

This week, I found myself living a little more "in the moment". Most days I just try and get through it, hoping Kort will be happy, take good naps, that I can get dinner cooked, and Clay will get home early enough for us to have time together before going to sleep. I'll admit, I probably waste too much time on the computer throughout the day. Really, that's about all there is to do in this hotel room, other than the tv and maybe, just maybe, a small craft project that can easily be packed when we move next. With that being said, I don't give Kort enough one on one time. He really is growing up too fast. He jabbers constantly, especially when we go places. I don't care if people give weird looks or if they're annoyed. I love hearing him "talk" to me. I love this little guy. These past couple of days, I've dedicated myself to him and just sat on the ground playing with him. We've gone shopping, swimming with a new friend, and played in the hallways where he has forever to walk! 

Clay and I had the opportunity of speaking in church last week. I haven't given a talk for at least three years. I wasn't nervous or anything. I was happy that I got to dive in and really study to prepare. That really got me thinking what I've been neglecting in my life. I've just been going through the motions. With moving so often, this is my time in life that I have the chance to be a better person, to be a good example, and to really find out who I am. I am beginning to really understand how the "newbie" feels, the girl sitting by herself, no friends, yet faithfully still attends church because she knows it's true. I couldn't do this all without the knowledge that I have, the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life. It makes me want to try harder. To do better. So this is me, challenging myself, to do just that. I need to get out of my bubble. I have become much more of a reserved person than I was in High School. Maybe reserved is an understatement. I think Clay and I have switched personalities. He was the quiet guy vs. me the outgoing girl in high school. Now it's just the opposite. I don't know if being a mom will do that to you, but regardless, I guess it's something I need to accept, yet work on to continue staying active and somewhat social. 

This is just me rambling on, once again. I'm hoping to print my blog out sometime this year, so I guess I'm glad that I write all my feelings since I haven't kept up on my journal since I got married. I'm just so grateful for the men in my life. I couldn't do { life } without them.