The Big Move

Moving day was a pretty crazy day for us. Luckily we had the help of our home teacher, Brandon Huebbe, who came over and helped us pack up the truck, although I think his real motivation for coming over was Brent's neice Mckyla. It was pretty cute to watch. We also had the help of two great friends (Julie and Mindy) to watch Kennedy for the whole day. We couldn't have done it without them. HUGE APPRECIATION FOR THESE THREE AWESOME PEOPLE!!! Thanks guys! We got everything packed up, cleaned, and had the landlord come over around 6. We picked up the kid and did a few errands and then headed off for the west around 7:30. We drove through the night, the rest of the next day, and arrived in Salt Lake around 6:00 p.m. It was a crazy 48 hours, but luckily for Sharon, Ky, and my best friend, Dr. Pepper, WE MADE IT!!!! Thanks SO SO much Sharon and Ky!

It was hard to leave our home. It was the only home Kennedy has known and it was really what I consider "our first place" (our real first place was a dive). Kennedy had a little hard time leaving too. She realized what was going on about 5 minutes down the road and kept saying over and over, "grandma pat's house...no". Poor thing. She is doing fine now, but still misses her buddies she made in Iowa. Having dad drive the big truck made up for it though. The girl LOVES trucks and points them out constantly.

Brent's Family Visits the Midwest

About a week before we moved, Brent's family decided to come and visit the Midwest to see their two sons/brothers/uncles. We hung out for a few crazy days in downtown Chicago and had fun visiting Scott & Amy. Everyone then headed to Iowa to see the corn fields and we of course had to take them to see Nauvoo. We spent a couple of days there and then we came home and packed up the place. It was really nice of Brent's sister (Sharon) and neice (Ky) to help us haul all ourselves and our stuff back to Utah. I don't know if they fully realized what they were getting into when we told them we were driving straight through the night. It went by pretty fast (except Wyoming of course) and Kennedy did really well considering sleeping the night in the car. We couldn't have made it without them and are still indebted to them. Thanks guys!

My favorite part of downtown Chicago....the beach. It is crazy cool. They import palm trees and it is just awesome to have the skyscrapers right next to the beach. Loved it!!!

Kennedy had A BLAST hanging out with her cousins :)

Brents killer bike race tan line. His legs were the best though. When he wore flip flops in downtown people actually were laughing at his distinct tan line. Too funny!

Crazy cousin Brin!!!

At the Lincoln Park Zoo

Nauvoo Trip - Carthage Jail

This was the last day of the trip before we headed back home to start packing up. This was a temper tantrum at its best and right in one of the most spiritual places. Hopefully the walls to the jail were thick enough to drown out the screams. Needless to say Kennedy was all "vacationed out" so we headed home before everyone else to give this girl a nap. Funny thing is, if I remember right, she never did fall asleep in the car.

Going West!

Well, its been about a month since the big move, but we are now out west in Utah living with my parents for a few months while Brent finishes up his last hurdle in school. We miss everyone in Iowa and Kennedy keeps talking about her few buddies she often played with. We are excited to be in Utah, but miss the friends we made out there a lot :(

Cute, Jessica Peterson, threw this SURPRISE going away party for myself, Michelle Sheldon, and Rebecca Browne. I miss these girls so much already!!!

The last few weeks it was a little hard for me to watch Kennedy play with her little friends. I knew that it was the last time that she would see some of them. She still talks about them and how they "live in Iowa".