Back to Utah for a few days

Cuddling with Bam Bam




Kyla likes to point at the fan, spin her finger in circles and say "round, round"



Talking on Daddys Iphone


Kyla and I flew back to Utah for a few days this week to finish packing things up, clean and get the cat to take to Alaska. It was so hot on the days that we were there which made me appreciate are move to Alaska even more. Jon will be doing the drive next week and then starting his new job on the 14th. Moving to a new state is a lot of work. We have spent so many hours packing and repacking, shipping boxes, flying back and fourth and everything else that goes along with it. We will be happy once we have found a house and can get all settled. Luckily we are able to stay at my parents house while we are limbo with the move. While we were in Utah we were hoping to see some friends before the final move, but ended up being to busy with all that needed to be done. My mom decided to go out to California to visit my sister and her kids so I will go with her for a week and then head back to Utah for a day to get the cat. I am looking forward to seeing my sister and her kids, I have not seen them since April.

State Fair

Kyla checking out the baby cows in the petting zoo



Petting a cow



Checking out the pink tractor!



Dancing to an irish band



Having a good time at the Alaska State Fair


My mom, Kyla and I went to the Alaska State Fair. I took Kyla last year when she was just one month old and she slept the entire time. At the Alaska State Fair there is a lot to do and look at. There are a ton of booths to look at, huge vegetable and fruit contests (the largest cabbage there this year beat the world record for weight), concerts all over the fair grounds, rides, food and animals. Kyla got to go into the petting zoo for her first time. She enjoyed petting the animals and got head butted by a goat and almost ran over by a baby donkey. She really wanted to pet the chickens and pigs, but they wanted nothing to do with her. Kyla had her picture drawn by my cousins boyfriend who was working at the fair and it turned out really cute. Kylas favorite part of the fair was the music. We watched an irish singing and dancing group and Kyla was up in front dancing to the music. The only bad part of the trip to the fair was that I got Kyla some milk at a coffee shop and it must have been bad because she got sick and threw up EVERYWHERE and I had no extra clothes for her, so she had to be washed up with wipes and then we got her a shirt at my cousins t-shirt booth and headed out soon after. I was glad that Kyla enjoyed the fair and look forward to taking her each summer now that we will be living in Alaska. My family went each year and it was a fun family tradition.

1st Week in Alaska!

At Grandmas house


Playing in Grandma's Garden


Picking Yummy Vegetables


Playing in her old bouncer


Kyla has enjoyed taking her toys out of their baskets and climbing in


Stacking Blocks and knocking them down


Having a bottle by Grandpa's wolf


Sitting with the bear and wolf at Grandma and Grandpa's house



Kyla loved when these three moose came to hang out in the front yard


Playing with the rabbits


Kyla loves the rabbits


Bunnies Everywhere


Doing her best to become friends with the bunnies


We have now been in Alaska for one week. The weather has been cool (in the 50's) and rainy on and off, which is a great relief after how hot it has been in Park City. Kyla is still making the adjustment to the two hour difference in time so are sleep schedules have been all over the place. This week we have spent most of the time just hanging out with my mom and getting comfortable in my parents home where we will be staying until Jon gets up here mid September and we find a place to live. Kyla has enjoyed playing in my moms garden, picking peas and raspberries, chasing three bunnies around my moms yard and watching moose and wishing she could get closer to them. She also has loved listening to the radio in my moms living room and dancing a lot, she is staring to learn some pretty good moves!!! Tommorow we will go the Alaska State Fair which is always a lot of fun. I am looking forward to taking her to the petting zoo since she loves animals so much. I think that Kyla is starting to miss being around kids so I need to start looking into finding a moms group in the area or activities for toddlers.

The big move!!!

Arriving at the Anchorage Airport


Welcome to Alaska!


We finally did it!!! We made the move to Alaska that we have talked and dreamed about for so many years. We came up initially on August 23, 2009 and Jon had two interviews and was offered both jobs in addition to a second interview on a job he intereviewed for a couple weeks ago. He ended up accepting his first choice position and is really looking forward to starting his new job. However, in the past he has always worked a part time job at Delta along with a few jobs by contract that were sporadic hours. So, as a result of having a real "9-5" job he is going to have to give up Delta :( It is too bad, but I would like to be able to see Jon rather than have him work everyday. So, I think are days of taking monthly vacations are coming to an end. I might still sneak in a few more trips real quick before he has his last day.

I will be going back down to Utah to help Jon with a few final things around the condo and bring up a few more bags before he leaves for the drive up to Alaska on September 7. Now we just need to find a place to live in Alaska and get all settled.

Our last day at Deer Valley

Claire & Kyla Playing




Kyla and Teagan having fun!




Kyla with Moe (the best baby teacher ever!)




Kyla, Gretchen & Teagan enjoying a snack



We had our last day at Deer Valley Resort on Friday, August 21. It is hard to believe I am finally done working there after 7 years. I enjoyed working there and it was so nice having Kyla at work with me everyday, even though that also made me get way less work done. It was sad to go after having such great teachers care for Kyla and having so many close friends of mine and Kyla's, but I am also very happy to be done. About a third of my monthly income went right back to Deer Valley for Kyla's child care expenses and I was growing very tired of my manager.

It was great having Kyla be around a nice group of babies and toddlers and she is so social as a result of it. I hope that when we put Kyla in day care again that she has as great of a group of teachers and kids as she did at Deer Valley. We will miss everybody and promise to visit and send pictures frequently!

13 months

Kyla working on feeding herself



Messy Face (and floor)!



Playing with her blocks











Big blue eyes!



Kyla is 13 months old today. At 13 months Kyla's favorite things to do are look at touch and feel books, play with the dishes and tuperware, play in the bathtub, climbing on things, listening to music & dancing and play peek-a-boo. Lately she is working on talking and can get very frustrated when she is not getting what she wants. Kyla is a very funny girl and has a great laugh! We enjoy everyday with her so much and are always excited about all her new skills.

Little Monkey

Climbing on the kitchen!


Playing in the kitchen drawers


She use to just play with the dishes, now she climbs in and throws out all the dishes!


Playing Peek-A-Boo, her favorite game!


Brushing all four teeth that she has



Kyla has been a very curious little girl lately. She is in a stage where she is exploring everything. She is doing her best to talk, she is great at starting the words, but usually leaves out the ending. She has also mastered climbing up the stairs, onto the couch and onto the bed. Now Kyla is also climbing onto all of her toys. She climbs and stands on top of her kitchen set, musical table, into drawers and everything else. Jon is happy about how brave she is because to him it is another sign that she will be a great skier. I however get more nervous about the possibility of her falling.

It is so amazing to watch how fast she is learning new things. She likes for you to ask her questions like "Where is my nose", "Where are my eyes"... and she will point them out to you. It is a fun way to see how much she really does know despite barely being able to talk. When you ask her to do something she usually listens and does what you ask of her. Lately with how hot it has been in Utah we have had our ceiling fans on a lot, I will ask her "what does the fan do? Does it go round and round?" and she will put her finger up, point to the fan and spin it around in circles. It is so fun watching her demonstate all of the new things that she is learning everyday. Kyla also really enjoys dancing lately, no matter where we are if she hears music she starts dancing. We get so much joy and so many laughs just watching Kyla.

This upcoming week I will be working training the new director for the preschool who is taking my spot when we leave. It will also be Kyla's final week in the Deer Valley Child Care Center. Kyla has had wonderful teachers while being there and has enjoyed being around Gretchen, Teagan, Claire, Bailey, William and Jace. It will be sad leaving such a great environment, but I know that she will make a lot of new friends in Anchorage. We also have six friends that are expecting babies in Utah between October and March and are sad that we will not be here to raise Kyla with their babies, but will definitly come to visit them. We can't wait to meet your babies Ashley, Melissa, Bree, Natalie, Jenny and Emily!!!

I am almost finished packing all of mine and Kyla's things. I can not believe how much stuff that you buy or recieve as gifts when you have a baby, and especially how many things they outgrow so fast. I had all of Kylas clothes ranging from newborn- 18months all piled up and had a mountain of clothes. We ended up giving about half of them away and still have enough to keep a little girl well dressed if we have another girl. We also have boxes and boxes of baby toys and many large items like a swing, bouncer, saucer, bathtub, pony, doll stroller... It is a lot of stuff to move and we were tempted to give away more, but don't want to have to buy everything new again when we have another baby. Moving will not be as easy as we had imagined, but we look forward to getting settled up in Alaska. It is hard to believe that a week from today I will be starting the move.

Birthday Party #3

Kyla and Taylor playing with all of Taylors fun toys!!!


Learning how to blow bubbles


Blowing bubbles with Rory, Griffin and Graham at Whidbey Island.


Enjoying her new car from Grandma and Grandad


Swimming with Rory


Picking all the pretty flowers with Rory, and trying to put the petals back on.


Hanging out at the pool


Having a blast swimming with Rory


This is better than swim lessons


Having a great time at the pool party!


Kyla had her 3rd First Birthday Party last week in Washington. We went up to visit Jon's Family and celebrate a late birthday with them. We went up to his parents cabin on Whidbey Island and had a pool party with Shannon and her family and Jon's Parents. Kyla had a great time playing in the pool and seeing her cousins. Rory really enjoyed playing with Kyla and wanted to help out with feeding her and taking care of her too. Kyla got some great presents from her grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. Her third attempt at having cake still did not have her excited. On our last afternoon there we were able to visit with David and Lisa and their kids. Kyla and Taylor had a great time playing with all of Taylors toys and books. We really enjoyed seeing everybody even though it was such a short trip.

This weekend Kyla and I went to my friend Nicole and Rob's Wedding. It was a great outdoor ceremony at eco reserve in Park City. Nicole was Kylas first and only babysitter she has had. Nicole looked very beautiful in her wedding dress and it was great to see so many of my friends that I had not seen for awhile.

Now that we are back home we are preparing are move to Alaska. We have the majority of our stuff packed and Jon has already had a few job interviews. I will be heading up their in a week and a half and might do a couple of trips back and fourth. Jon will be driving up their the second week of September. We are looking forward to the move and starting new jobs, meeting new people and being near my family and old friends. I will start looking for jobs as soon as I get up there and am hoping to find a child care in a 1 year old class room where I can be with Kyla. I have been so lucky with how much time I have beeen able to spend with Kyla at my current job and hope that will continue with a new job.