I live in Idaho...

Tonight I took the kids to the Bannock County Fair in Pocatello while Dave was at work and I just realized  how much I was analyzing this new place that I live by what was going on around me.  It probably isn't fair to judge a town by what you see and hear at the county fair, but here goes...

The quilts were good, the crafts were mediocre, the bottled peaches were pretty and we did see one big zucchini-- but they had nothing on the Amish and I knew I wasn't in Hershey anymore!  I used to LOVE to drive down to Lancaster County and just drive around the farms, see the men out in the fields with their old-fashioned plows and horses, buy fresh produce from the stands on the side of the road where there was always shoe-fly pie and whoopie pies for sale too and just take in how beautiful, simple and peaceful it was out there.  We also used to go to the Farm Show every year in Harrisburg and comparing that to tonight's fair made Bannock County feel pretty dinky, small-town and I have to say it...pathetic.  The animals, the scenes carved out of butter, the huge arena for horses shows, the room full of the best farm and fair food you've ever had and the most amazing home-grown produce made the Farm Show a must and something I just might go back for one of these years (Micki, I know you will come with me!) I loved living in Hershey and think I will always miss it, no matter where I am.

Moving on, I knew I wasn't in New York anymore because the parking and the admission were both FREE and there were no lines!  We parked amongst a bunch of big rigs with our new Idaho license plates and just walked right in...loved it! I didn't see any name-brand $1000 strollers, like you see all over Central Park and I saw many belt buckles and boots that weren't "in-style" but actually just what people wear everyday.  I didn't see any nannies watching the kids, just lots of dirty happy kids running around  barefoot while their parents sat back and enjoyed the Karaoke and dirt bike tricksters.  The ice cream treats were only $1.00 and I really new I wasn't in NY then and we all got our own instead of sharing one for the whole family!  I did miss the evening fireflies, the option of kosher or non-kosher food, the lack of cultural diversity among the folks and the option of taking the train home since I was tired by the end of the night (but it only took about 10-minutes to get home :)  

This place was definitely not Palo Alto!  There were no recycle and compost bins next to the tin garbage cans, nothing was organic and I didn't see one person who had ridden their bike to the fair!  The kids weren't pulling out Trader Joe's snacks from their mom's bags and I didn't see one pair of Vibram fivefinger shoes walking around.  We did see lots of people getting their exercise by shaking it on the karaoke dance floor, some cute dance numbers in the finals of American Idol Talent of Pocatello and all the kids got a great cardio workout on the bounce houses, greased-pole climb and sumo-suit wrestling.  I loved our year in expensive Palo Alto because we were able to bike, scooter or walk just about anywhere and I felt very safe there (except for the few sketchy park dwellers behind our house :)  I haven't met too many people here in Pocatello yet, but I'm hopeful they'll be as great as those in Palo Alto, New York and Hershey because I miss my friends!!

It's fun to think about all the places we've lived and the experiences we've had over the last 8 years that have led us to this point.  We are still settling in here and figuring out if this is the place for us, but so far Dave loves his job, the kids have made some really nice friends on our street and Mia is loving a house big enough to have her own room and to run around in! I love having the park and walking trail behind us, a washer and dryer, a dishwasher and our printer all under one roof-- it is a dream come true!

Thanks for all your help and support getting us here, and go to your County Fair this summer-- it's an eye-opening experience!

Hershey Days

New York Days

Palo Alto Days

(had to put a picture of my laundry shed from little house in Palo Alto :)

The Fam at Half Moon Bay

Kindergarten at its finest...

We've been out of school for a little over a week now, but I just keep thinking about James' year as a kindergartner and how lucky he was to have Mr. Morris for a teacher.  What a great teacher!! I cried on the last day when I had to say good-bye to him and his beautiful classroom and just didn't want the year to end for James.  James has also cried himself to sleep a couple of times thinking about leaving Mr. Morris and his friends in kindergarten.

 Mr. Morris started every day with singing on the rug with his guitar and Mia and I would often stay to hear the song--which she loved and the kids loved to see her "dancing" to the music.  He had the most organized classroom and the kids did so many projects and experiments and really learned how to learn.

Mr. Morris spent a lot of his weekend at school going over homework and preparing for the following week.  His life seems to be totally revolved around the kids and his classroom and I just couldn't believe all the time and dedication he put into the projects, field trips and performances.  The kids performed many different times throughout the year and always had costumes and were well-prepared and excited to show what they had learned.  

Mr. Morris is one of the most kind, calm and likable people I have met and I think our standard for teachers as been set to the top and it will be hard to find another teacher as organized and devoted as he was. 

Here are some pictures of James' year and a glimpse at the costumes they wore (so cute) and activities they did...what great memories!

first day of school

Mr. Morris and James

learning about other cultures

James' summer birthday celebration

Zanna got to join us for treats for J's b-day

The Graduation Celebration--dancing, singing, diplomas cookies and a very memorable night for all the kids and families!! 

These kids were great performers!

costumes

singing with the guitar and actions

ready to graduate...

the diploma

love my guy and his silly faces...

the fam

one of my favorite pictures--makes me teary

singing on the rug

halloween

crazy hair day

Chinese New Year Parade...with homemade dragon

Mexican Dance Performance- love this picture!

James and Emmy...his great buddy from school and church!

Cinco de Mayo perforance-- you should see him shake his little hips!

The Last Day of School

Singing "walk around the room" just like on the first day of school

saying good-bye to Lydia...the teacher's aide in both Z and J's classrooms

James and his buddy Benjamin

The last picture at Barron Park School-- we will miss you!!!

I may seem a little emotional about all this, but what can I say- I'm pregnant and it truly was a GREAT year!

Here's a little video of the last day of school song with Mr. Morris playing the guitar...sniff sniff

the rest of the story...

Thanks for being excited for us and our crazy news!


I am 13.5 weeks along right now and feeling pretty good.  I've had the nighttime nausea and have thrown up a couple of times....for the first time in all 4 pregnancies, but I can't complain compared to what some people have to go through!  We ARE going to find out BOY or GIRL this time (last two were surprises) and should know end of July-ish. 


The craziest thing about this timing is that Mia and the baby will be 19 months apart, exactly the same distance as Zanna and James--I guess that is just what works for us.  So, two pairs with 5 years in-between, who would've thought!


We knew we wanted a friend for Mia, but this was a little sooner than we were expecting and we were a little surprised, but very excited after it all sunk in.  Our Christmas season will be a little different than we were expecting but a great way to celebrate and be together.  Another crazy year of moves and babies!

Moving news...


The kids and I are leaving California on July 2nd and driving to Utah (with Mindy- yay!) to hang out while Dave finishes work here through the 8th.  The movers are coming--let me repeat, THE MOVERS ARE COMING (yes, the hospital is moving us and our moving "coordinator" has told us to call him if we ever feel like we have to lift a box--so amazing!)  They are packing, loading, hauling and setting up out stuff in Pocatello.  Dave will oversee the move here on the 12th and then come out to Utah for a few days and then we will meet our truck and stuff sometime that third week of July. 


So, I will be in SLC July 3rd-16th if anyone wants to play!


We are very excited to see what Pocatello has in store for us and are hopeful that we will love it there and love feeling more settled after all these years.  We have always been blessed with great friends and have learned to love to places we have been so just hoping that will happen again.  
We are renting a house for now and will look to buy something once we get there and can scope out the homes and neighborhoods more closely.


We are sad, sad, sad to leave our friends here in Palo Alto and have really loved it here and all the amazing things there are to do and the all the great food to eat!!  The friends we have here have made this year so much fun and we will really miss our school, ward and great people all around us-- we hope to come back and visit!

So...that's our news-- big changes and crazy times!

you might be surprised by this but...

If you're interested in what we'll be doing this Christmas, watch our little video :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IFcmrCsoWU

Love, 

Mel and Dave

Due date: 12.20.2011

Clear Lake with the Peachey Family!

During Spring Break we were invited up to our neighbor's lake house about 3 hours from here and it was SO RELAXING and FUN!! 

We stopped at Muir Woods on the way up and enjoyed all the Redwoods and banana slugs and then had  a beautiful drive through vineyard and wine country to Clear Lake.

Muir Woods Pics

Clear Lake

Cindy and Lizzie Mae

James F. and James P.

The water was FREEZING and James was the first one in---Dad was SO PROUD!

I am very PROUD to say that even I dove in...just so that I could get Dave to stop calling me a cold-water wuss.  It was breath-takingly chilly but I did it!

We all took turns in the kayak and it was great exercise and really relaxing at the same time--if we ever live near a lake we will definitely own one of these!

even zanna could do it solo and loved it!

she learned how to hoola-hoop and is now really good at it

a nice evening stroll with my girl

we got introduced to Geo-cashing...

the gang...we will sure miss this guys!! we have loved being their neighbor this past year and have loved all their yummy dinners, afternoons in the park and Marc has mowed our little strip of lawn every week-- thanks guys!!

we were introduced to SPAM sandwiches-- a lake tradition and really tasty!

Mia diggin' the SPAM

We never wanted these couple of days to end!

Dave found a rope swing and had to show off his Tarzan impersonation...