Sarah & Tanner got Hitched!

We made a whirlwind trip to Utah over a weekend in between rotations to see Sarah and Tanner be sealed in the Timpanogos Temple. It was a beautiful day! We are excited to get to know him (we've only spent a few minutes with him, and that was on the day of the wedding). We arrived a few hours before the ceremony and flew back to Mississippi the following Monday- a quick 3 days. Trace and Honey were awesome travelers, which made all the difference.
We couldn't be more excited for them!

Potty Training

We entered a new chapter of parenting a month ago... initially discouraging and ultimately rewarding... We haven't had to change a #4 diaper in 3weeks!!!! The down side is that our carpet required spot cleaning for the first few weeks. We had to use a laundromat for the first few weeks so we resorted to doing some of our laundry out in Traces plastic pool for a while (the bedding and clothing turnover was upped by 300%). Shayna has been fearless, and although I think it was a bit intense for a while, it is now paying off. Trace now knows when he needs to go to the bathroom (he announces it in public loudly), it has given us a glimps further into his kind nature (he never fails to say, in a southern accent, "bye bye poo poo" as he flushes the pot), and it has added some spice to traveling (we pull over more often to use the side of the road; like mother like son... when you gotta go you gotta go).

Ants

After setting up the trailer in Mississippi, following our time away in Ethridge, we were greeted by a host of ants. Shayna and I have had different responses to their invasion. There are literally sometimes so many of them that it feels like we are camping. This is not our first bout with ants in the trailer (the day Shayna had honey I battled them for about an hour while Shayna started having contractions, for example). Shayna's rage has been fueled and I believe I am entering a new phase of apathy towards hygiene. Shayna has spent hours this week sucking them up with the vacuum and luring them out of her favorite cereal with an orange slice. I have just decided that because they don't bite or poop large enough to see that we can share our trailer with them. Maybe this goes along with the fact that my response to a tiny shower space was to shower less. Shayna is the one keeping our house from becoming uninhabitable and I thank her for it. I do help swat approximately 20 flies per day (10 in the morning and 10 before bed) because they have also started to become interested in our living space... and because Shayna likes to pretend like we are camping sometimes and leaves the door open all day. Moving into a house in Utah could not come sooner... thankfully it comes in 3 weeks!

Farewell to the Amish

Our time in Ethridge came to an end. We became close friends with an amish family. We were sad to have to say goodbye; they are such good people. This is what we've learned from them: never say goodbye (they kept talking as if our paths would cross in the future as we were stopping by for the last time), take life as it comes (they do what needs to be done when it needs to be done), simplicity (Mary makes all of the clothes and food, Jake works in the field, the kids help with everything, and they don't need anything extra), always treat people fair (when we brought them some bread pudding Mary instantly handed us some jam, and before we headed home Jake gave us some pumpkins), focus on important things (Our conversations with them never went past family, religion, or core life necessities- there was never a mention of Hollywood or hyped politics), find enjoyment working (their children were happy every time we came over, and they were always helping with chores; Jake and Mary were always busy but never seemed stressed), trust people (Mary lended us a book the first evening we met  and just mentioned to bring it back when we were finished). We made sure to get their address so we could keep in touch.

Shayna's 29!

Shayna turned 29!! We spent the evening at the Davy Crockett state park, and I surprised her (for the first time ever) with a handcrafted ring (thanks Darren). It was interesting trying to play tennis with 2 children; one that cant crawl and another that had to stop mid game to pee off the side of the court. We're thankful for such a beautiful yet simple natured woman in our lives (I'm implying that the children feel the same way I do).