Movin' and Groovin'

I can't believe it has been so long since the last time I blogged. I know, I know Melissa, for YOU it seems forever, but to me the time is flying by so quickly. Ian's mom, Paula, came to Utah to help us with the last minute packing, cleaning and watching Niev. We rented a 17-foot truck and filled it to the brim (literally, when you opened the back door a mattress would fall on top of you!). I don't know how we ever managed to live in such a tiny apartment. Paula rode with me in the car and help tend to Niev's every desire. Niev actually was a great travel buddy and she was very happy for the majority of the way. We stopped in at my mom and dad's house in Parma, Idaho (YEA!). We were graced with great beds and fabulous meals. Did I really expect anything different? It is always great to see Mom and Dad; they are the best! We were pleasantly surprised to also find my grandmother at the house. If you haven't met my grandmother Thora yet you are missing one of the sassiest, hilarious people this world has ever laid eyes upon. We played games and had a gay ol' time. The next morning, we went to Craig and Maria's to drop off a painting that they had commissioned Ian to paint. Ian had worked tirelessly and was very stressed as he had NEVER done Christ before and felt that He needed to be perfect. I was very impressed with his skill and dedication. He can't really include it on his website so here it is (please excuse the horrible picture) :

To zoom in on the picture, just click on it.

Finally, we were off to Washington! We made it here just in time to meet our 15-20 "moving crew" from our church's elder's quorum. It was great to get such a warm welcome of happy helping hands! Ian was very cute and carried me over the threshold. We quickly got the truck unpacked and Ian's sister, Kelley, shows up from Portland to help us out.

That night, Paula and Kelley gave Niev her first bath in her new bathtub. Reader, please note that she had been taking a bath in a TINY tub in the middle of the kitchen floor at our old apartment. Niev went WILD in the bath! She flailed around until all of us were worried that she would hurt herself. I was too busy unpacking/cleaning to grab the camcorder, but let it be known: She loves her new house! Here is a pic a few days later of her in the bath:
For the first week or so, she just wandered around the house excitedly yelling and rolling around on our carpet. She loves exploring all the new cupboards and drawers. It is so fun to watch her.

We love our new house and are so grateful for this time in our lives. It has been an adventure and I'm so glad that I did this with Ian. He is a very calm and collected guy most the time. We were very patient with each other and talked through any stresses or tenseness between us. I truly love my husband. What a good father and buddy he is to Niev.

Construction Zone

Ian worked endlessly on his garage. When I say endlessly, I mean endlessly. He worked non-stop starting Monday at 7:30 a.m. and didn't rest until the garage was done the following Monday at about 6:00 at night. Each day he would work from 7:30/8:00 until almost midnight, only taking a short lunch and dinner break. What is he doing to a GARAGE, you may ask? Ian's new art studio is the garage. In order for him to work in the garage, come wind, snow or rain, he had to insulate and board up the garage. With the help of his dad (directing by phone) he decided to not drywall, but to put up particle board so that he will be able to hang anything anywhere. This was a very exhausting project, but the garage looks amazing now that it is finished!These are different sides of the garage, but oh well!

Before:

After:

After the garage was all done and beautified, I was a bit bugged because the inside of the house, the place where I go to work every day, was exactly the same. (I can be such a selfish brat sometimes.) I was complaining to Ian and so I told him the list of small changes that I would like done. He helped me with these and one of the items on the list was the knobs on our cupboards.

They remind me of Arizona for some reason. Ian let me replace them with this knob. Much better!


As you can tell, our cupboards are old, but they look much better with the knobs on them.

Niev is still very happy in her home and loves being outside. Her face is changing so much because her teeth are rapidly coming in.

We have moved!

Finally, we have moved in to our new home in Kennewick, WA. Ian's mom was kind enough to fly in to Salt Lake and drive with us all the way to Washington. As we crossed the Washington border, I couldn't help but get a little choked up thinking that this will be the first home that Niev remembers. We are excited about our new house and it is just as good as we remembered it being. More will be written later, but I must go clean, unpack, feed Niev and Ian, run errands.....

Niev with Melissa at our "going away" party. I will miss my best friend!