This was a LONG time ago. All these pics are from MAY. Scarlet was dipping her strawberries in her bean soup, so you know. . . it deserved a picture.

I think this was when B was having the WORST time sleeping and I started putting him in the swing, months after I had stopped. I leave my babies in their swings for SO LONG.

This was the first time we made bread since Scarlet got sick. It was a pretty exciting day.

Scarlet throwing away her antibiotics because she had taken her last dose. Pretty exciting day!!!

Oh man, this was in APRIL!!!! Lizzie and her daughter Kate came to visit us! It was so awesome. The girls had a great time. Kate was so sweet to Scarlet and Scarlet couldn't get enough of her.

Poor Kate got sick just a day or two after they arrived and didn't have as much fun after that. And Scarlet kept trying to play with her anyway, and overwhelmed poor Kate.

Liz and I had the best time talking food and of course eating it too. It is always fun getting ideas from each other. I can't remember any specifics, but we were talking nonstop and a lot of it was about food and I remember just having the best time. It seems after she left my voice was exhausted because I just wasn't used to talking that much.

Brighton finally got past his "choking on a grain of rice" syndrome. Lizzie couldn't believe how often he would gag on something and throw up. It was everyday! It made me so afraid to feed him ANYTHING and I finally realized he eats and is fine and eats and pukes. It's not that he does great with one thing and not another, it's good and bad for every item. So once I realized that, I just started giving him everything, and soon enough, he could eat everything and was just fine.

I think I took this because he just looked so big. 2 months later and now he looks small. Since all of this he's been crawling the last 2 months and took his first steps a few days ago!

Oh man, I had short hairs growing in like CRAZY. It made for some nasty hair styling. I cut all my hair off, so now it's not a problem.

This is Ethan, one of Scarlet's best buds.

Scarlet got in her closet and Ethan piled her toys in. When they get together they LITERALLY SQUEAL. They love each other. I've become one of those parents, you know the ones that say their 2 year old is going to marry another 2 year old. I never thought I'd be that way, but I hope they meet up at BYU in 20 years. That would be cool.

This is our friend, Mike. He helped us get our consumable shipment. Basically all the goods we're going to CONSUME abroad. Peanut butter, rootbeer, toilet paper. All the goods that are only in the USA. There is TP outside the US, but TRUST ME . . . it is not the same.

Then it all went into our bathroom and hallway.

It seemed the more anxiety I got during the middle of the move, the more I kept injuring myself. On my right foot- the left toe, you can see it's bruised. It was really swollen and I worried I broke it the first day. The big toe obviously ran into some blood and if you look close, you can see a really large bruise on top of my left foot, above my middle to pinky toes. And this is just my feet!

The closer the move got, the more disastrous our apartment got.

Trying to figure out how to pack everything was more stressful than I ever thought it would be. What to go in our luggage? What in our air freight? What on the sea? It all arrives at different times, they all allow different weight limits and it's hard to decide and estimate what will fit and what you can live without!

Our last night, before pack out, our friends Zac and Heidi dropped by to say goodbye.

I LOVE HEIDI!!!! She is a great friend! We didn't get to see TOO MUCH of each other while we were here, but we had a great friendship.

They brought Scarlet the perfect gift. A play cookie sheet with cookies!

I hate my hair in this picture. This was like the day after I got it cut and was still figuring out how to style it. This is Heidi too. She is Ethan's mother. We got together for play dates almost every week. I love Heidi.

Saying goodbye to Ethan.

Mike (who helped us get our food) was a great help at church and always held Brighton. Brighton just loved him! He's quite a Mamma's boy, but was always fine with Mike. It was great, because I always had to be on the stand, leading the music.

Adolina. Scarlet's other great love. They lived in our complex (and were in our ward).

Adolina's Mom, Cori Ann. Oh man, I love Cori Ann too. These are all my girlfriends! I'm so sad to leave them! I connected with them all in different ways. This was the day before our flight. I was disgusting, unshowered and very sweaty. I was pretty ticked at Greg for not letting me take a shower before our goodbye, because I knew pictures would be taken. He said there wasn't time. And there probably wasn't. I just didn't want to face it. We saw the Adam's girls all the time. It was very handy that they lived around the corner.

 Adolina and Scarlet are besties, that's for sure. She drew a picture for Adolina just the other day.

Then it was on to Oregon! We were SOOOOOOOO excited to go to Oregon. We missed it greatly. Sometimes I would tear up, looking at pictures of Oregon on blogs. First stop was Portland to see all of Greg's family. Everyone was there!

Scarlet and Ari.

All the babies!!! Ari, Olivia, Brighton and Otsy. They all came, around 6 weeks apart, one after the other. Brighton's the oldest, Ari's the youngest.

This was at a Greek restaurant. Let me think, it was so long ago now! We all stayed in the same hotel, so there was some breakfast eating together. The girls went for a walk in the rain, the first morning. I remember feeling funny, because everyone had their walking gear on and I was in flip flops? I don't remember. And it rained. It was really strange because so many people were there, suddenly this person would take this kid and another person would take my other kid and suddenly I was alone and had NO IDEA where my kids were. I figured they were safe, but it was a strange feeling to have no idea where they were and to have it happen so often.

Then we went to a park and ate. There was a lot of fruit and sandwich stuff, along with lara bar type treats. They were YUMMY. I miss those things. I think about them almost everyday. I need my CUISINART to arrive! Everyone just mingled and it rained a little bit. There was a great play structure and Ethan was awesome and ran off to play with Scarlet. Brighton slept the whole time in the Moby.

We also went to the Japanese Gardens, which was WAY COOLER than I thought it would be. I thought it was just gonna be some cool Asian plants and be pretty, but it was AWESOME. I absolutely loved it. I thought it was so calming. 

The last night, Greg and I were gonna go to bed and try to catch up on sleep, but we decided last minute to stay up with everyone at Jeff and Hillary's. I'm glad we did. I felt like Scarlet and Brighton showed their true selves and everyone there got to see. It was great hanging out and just talking. Thought I think I remember falling asleep on Jeff and Hillary's bed before the night was over. The last day we all took pictures right behind Jeff and Hilary's apartment and everyone went their separate ways.

We spent a couple nights in Eugene. The babies went with Chris and Greg and all the girls drove down in another. It was NICE to be baby free!!! The first time in a month, I am sure! We chatted the whole way down and it was really nice! I bought some cheap glasses online and they all needed to be adjusted so Greg, Chris and I were racing thru town trying to find a place that would help me. I ALSO needed shoes, I can't remember why. Did something happen to a pair and I was left shoe less? I can't remember. But that was also a concern. We went to SPLASH and swam around and that was pretty cool. Scarlet LOVED it and Brighton and I hung in the kiddie pool, most of the time. We ran into some old friends from the Institute, Kim and Mike, and that was a lot of fun catching up.

Dad picked us up in Eugene and drove us to the beach! Mom and Dad were in their old house again, and it was so nice! I haven't visited Mom and Dad with toddlers before and it was a whole new experience. It was fun to see them play and I never realized what a kid friendly place it is! Toys for all ages, the whole house was baby proofed, so that was great too. Mom had all kinds of fun things to bake with Scarlet.

Scarlet dressed up a lot.

Brighton, oh man. Brighton LOVED my Mom. I mean LOVED. Like I was number 1 and she was number two. If I ever couldn't hold Brighton, as soon as I set him down he would crawl the house over to find my Mom. It was crazy. It was really sweet. I have never seen him like that with ANYONE, but me.

We went to the Aquarium and it was so much fun! They had a GREAT kids exhibit. Scarlet had a blast. 

Brighton just hung out.

It was pretty cool, the octopus was actually out where we could see! It was really cool.

I know it's a bad picture, but we had a really great time so I wanted to take a picture.

Out on the beach. I'm pretty sure this was the first time Scarlet's been on the beach. The last time she was 2 months and asleep in the Moby Wrap.

My brother Jacob came to visit, with his kids. This is Miles.

A visit to Grandma's isn't complete without a tea party. I came, but had to be excused pretty early to nurse Brighton. When I came back, it was pretty much over. The kids made and decorated cupcakes with Grandma, then we all dressed up, had pretend names and backgrounds and chit chatted around hot chocolate filled tea cups. It was Scarlet's first tea party. It won't be her last.

Jake and I went on a walk with his kids.

Grandma and Grandpa visited too. They got to meet Brighton!

I was really glad they came. It had been over a year and it will be at least another before we see them again.

Goin' out to see Grandpa's boat.

Pretty exciting stuff!

This is Ruby, my brother's oldest daughter. Both Miles and Ruby had grown so much.

Then it was on to California! The first few days we spent the night at Amy's. It was so nice to see their house! I loved it! And to see Maddie. I hadn't seen her in over a year so it was great getting to know her. She was, as expected, sweet as can be- just like everyone says. It was fun and Scarlet and her had a good time. I think Scarlet kept taking her toys away and I was too busy socializing to monitor it. I remember when Scarlet was that age and kids always took her toys away before she even knew what happened. Now Scarlet's the bully. 

We went to the beach and had a BLAST. It was the second time in my life that I've been to a warm beach. It wasn't THAT warm though. But we went swimming in the waves, which I've never done in my life, and I felt like a little kid. It was so much fun.

Me, Amy and Danielle

You can kinda see a bunch of irritation on my legs. I was having MAJOR skin issues before we moved. Oh man. It was HORRIBLE. My skin started freaking out in blotchy rashes all over my bod. Even on my neck. It finally went away in California. It was clearly stress related.

The next day we went to Sea World, and to be honest it sucked. SEA WORLD didn't suck. I LOVE Sea World. We were SO EXCITED to go!!!! But Scarlet was BEYOND a pill and Greg and I were so sleep deprived and the three of us had just hit our limit. It was sad. At the end of the day we rushed to the roller coaster and my sisters and I got to go. It was too late for the boys, by the time we got back. They had to watch the kids. It was so much fun. I realized that the sister's get away we've been talking about should be at a theme park. I think that would be so much fun!!!

Then it was on to Lizzie's house! Lizzie was great and hosted EVERYONE. It was a lot of people and I'm really grateful she let everyone stay. It was HOT. The first night she made FOUR different pizzas! And a salad! She went all out and they were delish! They were very gourmet. I think one had pear and goat cheese on it. It was goooood.

We swam.

This is Elle, Lizzie's youngest. She's just a bit older than Scarlet. They were two peas in a pod. Scarlet was so busy and happy the whole time we were there. She just played and played and ran all around with Elle. We hardly saw her!

The adults went to dinner one night and the girls went out to breakfast the next morning. Brighton was kinda hard to handle during breakfast 'till I got him a cinnamon roll. Then he kept still and gnawed on that while I finished my breakfast. We all got these really good mexican hot chocolates. They were so different and good. We also all got eggs benedict. It was way good. I'd never had it before.

Traveling with kids pretty much SUCKS. From the first night in the hotel, to the last. Oh man, I never slept more than 3 hours at a time, for a month. I'm not even sure I ever got a 3 hours stretch. It seemed I was averaging 5 nurses a night. It was horrible. That's all I'll say about that.

Brighton also popped out 2 teeth during all the travels. That probably had something to do with all the sleeplessness. It also was hard to listen to him cry it out when you're two feet from his face, just lying in bed, pretending it's not happening. It's too tempting to just pop him on the boob and listen return to silence.

At the airport, read to go. We checked 8 BAGS and 2 carseats. It was a LOT to lug around. Oh yeah, and 2 kids. It only flew to Turkey and then we had to get it ALL at customs and RECHECK all of it. It was the WORST.

The kids did AMAZING on the flight. Really, it could NOT have gone better. I don't remember Scarlet crying at all. I'm sure she did, but it must not have been worth remembering, because I don't. Every time Brighton made a peep I just nursed him, so he was pretty easy too. It was way harder on Greg and I because we couldn't really sleep. Greg got SOME in, but Brighton needed to be held and wanted ME to hold him, so I didn't sleep at all. Not even 2 minutes. 

Oh man, there were these horrible baby/kid seat belts that I had to have on Brighton the whole time. It was AWFUL!!!!! It was a little seat belt that hooked onto mine and it was hard to keep him positioned right when it was on.

The flight went really smooth to London, then in London we had to BOOK IT FAST to our next flight and we got held up at security because this guy had to search Greg's bag. There was A LOT shoved in there and he was slow slow slooooooooooow. Everything he pulled out he had to swipe with this wand and he went item by item as our plane was BOARDING. We literally ran to our gate and were the last ones to board.

Then in Turkey. Oh man, it was a ZOO. Literally HERDS of people, total chaos. It was CRAZY. Nobody spoke english. Nobody knew where we were supposed to go. Nothing was clear. Do we get our luggage first? Do we go through customs first? Do we get our visa first? Everyone had a different answer and pointed us in a different direction and again, our flight was boarding as we were still waiting in lines. At one point we were in this line that wasn't even moving and our flight was boarding so I stepped out and yelled, "Our flight it boarding right now! Can we move to the front, please?" Or something and everyone just stared at me 'cause they didn't even know what I was saying. A few minutes later someone did motion to us to cut to the front. I got pretty emotional at that point. We were so tired. We couldn't pee. We couldn't eat. There was only time to go from one plane to the next. We hadn't changed our kid's diapers in FOREVER because there was no time! It was horrible! We were such a sweaty mess. It was really stressful.

But we made it. But then NONE OF OUR SEATS WERE TOGETHER. Like Scarlet's seat was alone, mine, Brighton's, Greg's- all separate. So that was a WHOLE other mess that was NOT fun. But when all was said and done, by a miracle from above Brighton and I got bumped to business class. I felt HORRIBLE leaving Greg behind, but I took it and I don't think I would have survived without it. It was sooooo good. That is a way to fly. I wish I was rich and could always travel that way. The food was amazing! It was all Turkish and it was SO GOOD. There was this salmon cake thing and a different kind of minced salad and it was all just so different but so good! I felt so bad and just wanted to share it all with Greg. Scarlet came running back and forth the whole flight and started playing with this other girl at the front of the plane. They got a little loud sometimes.

It was nice on the flight, knowing that it was the last one. Knowing once we land, we're there. We made it. As we landed in Kyrgyzstan there was a lightening storm. It was crazy. I kept seeing light flash in the distance and wondered if it was BOMBS and something crazy was going on. Nope. Just lightening.

Scarlet was awake for HOURS before we arrived so I thought, "Perfect! Scarlet will sleep!" Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. WRONG. So we didn't sleep either. It was the worst. Brighton got right on schedule within a day. Scarlet would sleep during the day and wake at midnight and stay up ALL NIGHT LONG, 4 days in a row. This is while Greg was working during the day and Brighton was awake during the day. So to put it pretty mildly- IT WAS ONE OF THE WORST THINGS I'VE EVER BEEN THROUGH. It was horrible. By day 5 the kids were on the right schedule again and we have all been sleeping since! Yea!

The next day Greg's work was having a little ice cream social, so we went to that and met some people. Then we went to the CLO's house for dinner and she had a few families there, as well. That was great for the kids (there were toys and other kids there) and I just about fell asleep on the couch. The day after THAT was a brunch at Greg's boss's house. It was a welcome/goodbye party for us and the person Greg is replacing. That was fun too. A lot of people have been looking out for us taking care of us.

This was our first sunday. It was really nice. Scarlet fell asleep and Brighton played. But it was nice for Greg and I. The last sunday was a lot more difficult because the kids were AWAKE and bustling around, not wanting to be still.

This is Brighton getting his diaper changed. It's always pretty dramatic. Even with my leg over him, it is still SO HARD to change is dang diaper! He moves so much!

So the house is pretty great except for the stairs.

Not so safe. It's be a big TO DO, but they're going to get fixed. Meanwhile I've barricaded it all with our coffee table and such, but he still manages to get through. He is pretty determined. 

We hit the town last saturday and it was tiring but fun! Check it out- wolf fur. Crazy!

All over town there are these little cars that you drive with a remote control. Genius! They're always run by these youth or even KIDS. You give them a buck and Scarlet gets a ride.

This town is great for kids. It's crazy. There is this HUGE BOUNCY HOUSE and it's less than a buck for 30 minutes! Lots of nice restaurants have nice playgrounds, so that's cool too.

Well, this was a long post so I'll write more later. Bye!