A list....

I can't find the chord to hook up to the camera. .. so no pictures yet, but I wanted to make a list of things to remember about this move/summer before I can only vaguely recall  the things I never imagined I could forget.

1. For a brief two to three week period of time this spring, Paige called me mother almost exclusively.  She said it with just the right amount of sass and charm to have me hoping it would a permanent thing.  It sounded like mudder, and my favorite phrases included:  Oh muddder.  Mudder, you're silly.  MUuDder - holding each syllable a little long and giving me some look when she was mad.  Now she will only say mudder if I ask, and if the fancy strikes. 

2.  I was reminded how good it feels to work really hard at something physical while we were packing and loading the truck - Christopher was in a great mood all of our packing and loading days, I think it has something to do with "by the sweat of their brow"  and  also a little bit to do with not being professional movers, so the challenge was finite.

3.  It was fun to be all together in the car for those days - we only stopped to sight see in Nauvoo, but I still loved having all of my family together with nowhere for anyone to go but where we were all going together.  (3A.  I still don't like hearing "This would be a good time to die." from my husbands lips.  He says it almost every time we are all together traveling because in theory we would all go together and no-one would be left behind- of our immediate family. )

4. Ashlee and Maggie both had great years at school - they worked hard and I was proud of them.  Maggie left school on her last day crying.  Ashlee's tears came after we were here in the new house and the reality of a new school, new church friends, new everything moved into her little heart with all those boxes coming off the truck.  I felt all those emotions with them. .  . and hope they have many more happy days than sad coming up.

5.  I can see and feel some of the growth that has occurred in our marriage as we make this transition - and it feels good.

That's it for now.  We have traded beautiful green New Jersey for beautiful golden California. . . I'll try and get it together and post some pictures soon.