Goodbye

The rumors are true! We are finally leaving Laramie. We are moving on Wednesday to go to Alabama to live with my parents until we can find a job (which will hopefully be very soon!). I really hated Laramie for the first year. I know that is a strong statement, but with Caleb's cancer, no family around, no friends yet, and never-ending winter I really felt that way. So it comes as a shock to no one more than me how sad we are to leave now three years later. I feel almost as sad moving from here as I did initially moving from Alabama to Laramie. Wierd! I really grew to love the people here...and even the winter. We will miss everyone very much, but we are also excited to be moving on with our lives. Even though we still have no job prospects, we are optimistic and look forward to what surprises God has in store for us. Diane Poledna and I were giggling in Relief Society yesterday and then she leaned over and said we would never see each other again. I realized she was probably right and felt really sad, but then she smiled her mischievious grin and said "not in this life anyway." She reminded me that all partings are just for a moment. Imagine what an amazing party we'll have in heaven when we all see each other again! Thank you to all of you who have touched our lives. We love you!

Steve and I decided to make a list of our most notable experiences in Laramie for our own archives, but thought some of you might like to read it. We were surprised how long it got and we just included the highlights. There are a couple unpleasant memories, but they are far outnumbered by all the good times. Enjoy!

The Laramie Experience

• bought our first house
• discovered Caleb’s cancer
• 3 below-freezing temperature Halloweens
• laughed with Kristy in the Crow parking lot while our kids ran around crazy
• Jeanne was Ward Chorister, Enrichment Leader and Enrichment Counselor
• Steve was Counselor in YM and the Bishopric
• partied with friends
• parades, fairs and festivals
• miscarried with pregnancy before I had Oliver
• sledding, snowmen and snowball fights
• skimped by going to “the start of school” free food week every year YUM!
• got cars stuck in the snow
• picnics and rock climbing in Vedauwoo
• picked out the perfect Christmas tree in the Snowies
• Caleb: walked, talked, potty trained and everything in between
• spent countless hours with Kate Anderson planning Enrichment activities
• summers spent in Washington park
• camped in Vedauwoo and Snowy Range
• made my first quilt by myself
• Steve almost set Vedauwoo on fire shooting fireworks at Orcutts house
• endured three winters…each 8 months long!
• racked up a ton of loans
• had our 2nd child, Oliver
• lived through a tornado
• trips to the petting zoo in Ft. Collins
• celebrated Caleb’s clean bill of health for his cancer
• lost 45 lbs between the both of us (oops! gained most of it back : D)
• Oliver was born in WY and learned to walk here
• Caleb made his first best friend: Quentin Smith
• Steve’s law school classes and homework
• trips to the Denver temple
• campaigned for Kiowa park with Erin Mead
• home repairs
• airplane rides to Alabama
• Jeanne’s university classes and homework
• visited Steve’s parents in Cheyenne
• rode bikes to church in the summer
• Steve’s Juris Doctorate degree
• Jeanne’s Bachelor’s in Psychology degree, Summa Cum Laude
• sold and lost money on our first home
• were two days away from being homeless with 2 kids
• moved into no-privacy basement apartment
• studied all summer for the bar…and passed!
• girl’s nights at Applebees with Pam Bressler, Kristy Smith and April Morgan
• made amazing friendships we’ll never forget!

Miracle of Miracles!

Steve passed the Tennessee bar! We are completely ecstatic! We have been really stressed about it the past week and now we can hardly believe it. It still doesn't feel real. For those of you who know what we've been through since graduation, (house problems, nowhere to live, moving, job searching, etc...) it truly is a miracle that he passed and we are so grateful. Hallelujah!!

A Beautiful Fall Day

We went up to Vedauwoo Monday to see the beautiful fall colors and we were not disappointed. We cooked hotdogs, got sticky with smores, scrambled up rocks and went for a pretty decent hike considering we were with two kids. We love being outdoors together!

Steve - ever the daredevil on rocks - with our precious cargo (Oliver!) on his back.

Caleb kept wanting to build a campfire for our smores, but with our curious and mischievous Oliver mobile now we opted to use the campstove on top of the picnic table to cook our food. Never one to be deterred, Caleb built several of his own "campfires" which we had to be careful not to step in and be "burned." He held a firehose just in case such an accident occurred ... such a good imagination.

Ooey, gooey smores!

Boys are so much fun ... except for this giant stick collection we are amassing. They are both obsessed with getting armfuls of sticks wherever we go, whether it be in the woods, at the park or in someones yard. My car is buried in sticks - it is their favorite thing to play with when we are traveling in the car. I finally had to draw the line at bringing them in the house. What is it exactly about a stick that is so cool? I love nature as much as the next person, but just looking at a stick all day long doesn't sound that fun to me. I guess I should just be glad it is such a cheap, replaceable toy.

This is Oliver's first injury from learning to walk. He decided to take a dive off of some concrete steps a couple of days ago and landed squarely on his eye. He didn't get a stratch anywhere else, of course. Steve kept saying at church, "you should have seen the other guy!" I guess it does kind of look like he was in a boxing match.

Grandma Izatt requested more video of Oliver walking, so here is some taken in the mountains. Take into account that he is a little more stumbly than normal because of the bumpy ground. Oh, Grandma, notice that reddish tint in his hair? His hair is definitely a reddish-brown now and that is as close to a red-headed grandchild as you're gonna get. : )