Mountainland.

No TV stand yet...

Our backyard with a garden area separate in the back.

Here is our home. We are renting it until we find a place to buy. This area is amazing. Right up against the mountains, up high on a hill, close to everything we need.

What a huge change. HUGE. The first night in our lovely little place our heater broke. Turned off. Never to turn back on no matter what we did. We froze. And Jake had to work the next morning. So the girls and I made phone calls starting very early until we had someone out by 11a.m. By then it was 55 degrees in our house. That is so far beyond cold for an indoor temperature. We were all in shock, huddled on the couch, with layers on, and a comforter on top. And the girls were nuts, asking me a million times if they could go outside and play in the snow. I'm like well that confirms it, none of you think clearly.

Problem fixed, we moved on to weekend chores and unpacking. I woke up each morning to massive mountains. Massive. I had forgotten how huge. We took a drive, drinking in our new surroundings, getting our bearings. We've never lived in this particular area so everything is new. I could have kissed the young mexican boy at Cafe Rio who handed me my first Veggie Salad With Shredded Lettuce And Everything On It.

Grace has moved on from the Lakeland crowd and onto the Utah boys. Apparently she is going to marry Evan from her class. He comes up to her cheek. She says he's a little small but very nice and plays Alvin the Chipmunks the Squeakquel on the playground with her and her new friends. I drop her off in the morning (curse the bitter cold that makes Lillie cry when it touches her warm morning hands) and she gallops off to form a line with the rest of her first grade class. She adapts so well.

When Lillie was born it took Ruby a few days to have the desire to hold her. She then fell in love and came into her big sister title in her own time. Same with our move. Wasn't happy with the change, missing Reef and Nana, didn't like the cold, etc. But today as she and Grace were outside playing in the snow, riding scooters around the driveway (it was in the 40s!) eating leftover Iceberg ice cream with two spoons (nuts I tell you), she proudly exclaimed that she LOVED THE SNOW. And she was VERY HAPPY! And I smiled back at her. What a little thing.

Jake and I are both really happy here. It's where we met and fell in love. It's where we started our family. It's where we feel the most at home. I have some dear friends that live here and I hope to meet more people as we settle in. I feel lucky to have a little house to tuck my family into, lucky to have a car to drive, lucky to live in another great place, lucky to have so many people who care for us.

Lucky to have eaten that root beer float a minute ago. In case you were wondering, 23-week baby girl Smylie in utero is growing just fine. And she loves root beer.