No more laundry mat!!!

Today we bug bombed our house (yet again), and the apartment next door. Yes, we are leaving in eight days, but some nights I feel like I'm going to go beserko when the cockroaches start creeping out. And Will is not here (works the 4-12 shift), and I am left with the revolting duty of chasing them down and smashing them myself. YUCK! So Will decided we need a little sanity for the week before we leave. The bombs don't seem to totally get rid of those buggers, but it helps. It at least slows them down making them easier to catch! Anyway, while the bomb was going off we went to Burger King. Belle played for about an hour and a half. Afterward we asked her if she had fun playing with the friends she made in there. She said, "I was playing with some chocolate friends." She has decided, I guess, that darker skin must mean you're flavored. Will and I laughed. We both just love our silly little girl.

Belle trying not to fall asleep at the laundry mat.

This is my last week at the laundry mat, our new place has a washer and dryer. Time to celebrate! Woot woot! I'm very excited, and I feel very blessed.

Packing Up

More packing madness that fills our everyday:

Belle is loving all the boxes

Well, it is official. We have a moving date and, hallelujah, a home to move into. We feel so blessed and excited. Thank you to Kari and the girls for scoping out homes for us and for finding this one for us. We get to actually have a house instead of an apartment this time. I am ecstatic. I told Belle she could jump up and down on the floor all she wants in our new house. She liked that idea. Will is liking the idea of being able to work out non-silent style and listen to his music as loud as he wants without me freaking out about everybody else hearing it. I'm excited to not have to worry about the neighbors caring if the baby cries all night. I'm so excited to have a yard for the little monkeys to play in. Belle liked that, too. We are ALL looking forward to a roach free home. Best part of all! :) 

Will packing everything up so the cockroaches have no more hiding places. Notice the roach spray in the sink.

We are SOO done with cockroach phase of life. We have been obsessive packers. Taped all the boxes around every little opening and bagged all the Rubbermaid tupperwares so no passengers can hitch a ride with us. Last week I had one in my hair. YUCK! But our landlord sprayed and we bug bombed, and it is much better. We still see a few everyday, though. He is going to come spray again. So hopefully we don't bring a stitch of them along. We are going to bug bomb our house first thing when we move in, too, just in case! This is the most prepared we have ever been for a move. We pack and take care of other moving necessaties everyday, and so we have never been overburdened with work. Slowly and surely we are almost ready to go. Departure date - July 20th. Coming so soon.

What a cutie!

Well, wish us luck on our next journey!

Let Freedom Ring

Yesterday was a really special day for us. Independence Day is one of my top holidays, and it definitely did not disappoint this year. We started out in the morning with a fun run. It is dedicated to Parley P Pratt who was imprisoned in Columbia, Missouri for nothing other than his religious beliefs. He made a flag with the word "Liberty" on it. And on the 4th he busted out and ran down the streets. So some of the wards and businesses in Columbia put on this race every year in honor of it. It was neat to see so many people there. Over 250 people participated in it. Will ran the 4 mile. Belle ran the last few feet of it with him, and I manned the food table.

Will pre-race - already looking tired.

Belle ran around the corner to run the rest of the way in with Will.

Will is amazing. He has not run at all in a couple of years. He was just on crutches a month ago. And yet he went out and ran it. Boy is he sore today though! 

Later in the afternoon we went to some friends from the wards house for a party. They invited everyone in the ward up to their house, and they roasted a pig in a homemade oven they made out back. You can bet Will thought that was pretty cool. Everyone brought pot luck, and we talked and enjoyed ourselves. We swam in their pool, and they made homemade ice cream. Yummy! I got the hookup on the ice cream because I told Brother Egloff he sure knew how to make a pregnant woman happy. I have extreme ice cream cravings with this pregnancy. After ice cream they had a sound system set up and Brother Kitchen (who Belle loves, and has named her Ken doll after) was our DJ. So funny. We had a big dance for a couple of hrs. Will and I swing danced, but we couldn't do any of the cool moves because of my belly, but it was still fun. We also did a lot of line dancing. I felt out of the loop. Wow, the teens nowadays sure know a ton of fun line dances.

Funny dance a guy in our ward made up with some friends. Love Will grabbing his "belt buckle" there. :)

Belle and her cute little friend Laneia were dancing out, too.

Belle has become the boogy queen of America. This girl has out of nowhere developed some serious moves! Cute lady in our ward said, "That girl has just gotta dance. She feels it in her, and you can't take it out of her." Anyway, after dancing we laid out on the lawn and watched the fireworks show that the Egloffs put on for us. It was impressive! It was at least as good as the fireworks I use to watch the city put on when I was a kid. Oh, the glories of legalizing all kinds of fireworks in Missouri!

They played patriotic music through the whole thing, and the three of us just loved it. What a wonderful night. We enjoyed our evening with these people that we have come to love so much, and consider my secondary family now. 

As I watched these people that I have bonded with in such a short time, and laid there watching those fireworks, I learned something that I think Heavenly Father wanted me to understand. This was my home. Missouri is my home no matter where I go, I know that it will always be my hometown. I don't think I have ever felt that feeling before. A sense of belonging. A part of a community, a people, and a land in such a way that forever is a part of me no matter whatever else happens. And it didn't feel sad in that moment. I have wondered many times why Heavenly Father asked us to come here only to move on again so soon. Now I know. He told me my family would find joy here and we have. Our little family has grown and been strengthened and connected to each other like never before. We love this place. I am sad to leave these people that are forever a piece of me, but I feel less sad now knowing that it's okay to go, because this is my home. And because of that, I will be a part of all of it again. Because it is a part of me.

Just today

 

Belle playing dress up and taking care of her doll

 

Belle in another costume singing and playing in the dirt

Will flushing out the transmission (grateful for a man who knows car stuff)

And that was our day today.