Finishing Four Fresno Years

Another week of box packing, friend playing, deep cleaning, creative cooking (gotta use up all that food), temperature climbing, social distancing (now in the -ish stage), and more box packing.

We played with Weston and his mom and sister on Monday. Those cute boys and their fun friendship were just so fun to watch this year. We also swam with Emily and her girls this week and loved that. I still can't believe we were random roommates at BYU and randomly overlapping in Fresno too. I just love her and her cute girls so much. Michael went to a little get together with his coresidents on Saturday and had a good time. He ended up swimming in his clothes because #Fresnotemps. Then Saturday we planned on going out for the first time in 3 months, for the last time in a while because of moving and all that's about to come up, but our babysitter ended up not being able to come. I was just happy we didn't find out until the moment we were waiting for her to come over, because then I at least still got to look forward to it all day and it made the whole day better. That sounds sad, but really I mean it. It made the whole day better just thinking we were going to finally go on a date, haha. Instead Michael put the older boys to bed, I went and grabbed some take out, and we had a little mini-date with Camden. That sneaky baby, staying up when he knows there's a party.

The final stages before moving are so weird. Transitions are so weird. Moving is so much work.

I can't believe next week we won't be in Fresno. It feels like we just moved here, and it also feels like soooo much has happened since then, too.

I thought I would write more about residency and a reflection of just what these years were like. But I'm just not ready to yet. This transition still feels very heavy and I'm emotionally not able to go there while there's so much physical work around me. Coping mechanism? Denial? I don't know.

I just know that I revert back to drinking chocolate milk like a child when I'm feeling stressed.

And that's ok.

Pictures of our fun this week!

Sprinklers with friends!

I thought it was so funny when they put it on top of their playground so it would spray everywhere.

Sweet Weston and Westin.
His mom brought over matching lego sets for them to play with together on Zoom after we move,
plus a stationary set for each of them with their names on it for their letters to each other.

This little friendship was so cute to watch this year.
I am looking forward to watching them keep in touch!

Westin used to love to ask Michael to bring home San Pellegrino from work.
He doesn't even like it. I think he just likes that it sounds fancy.
Anyway, he was excited to see it in the bag of samples Walmart sent home with our grocery pick up.
He still doesn't like it.

Boxes are rocket ships, pirate boats, race cars ... all sorts of things before they're filled up with stuff
and demeaned back to mere box status.

Last swim day with our sweet Ryans.
Living by Emily for the second fateful time in life has been just the very, very best.

This post-bath koala baby is my favorite!

My little sewing sidekick this week.
He really wanted to sew himself in his Captain America shirt and he's been working hours on it.

Oh baby Cam Cam, you are so sweet!

I love you, mom!
Sometimes I send Ali screenshots of the Facetime moments when I see more of your finger than your face.
It's out of love and we love you.

These boys earned moving buddies!
The kicker is -- Westin was pretty sad that this Buzz didn't have a laser or wings that moved.
And the Buzz with a laser and wings that move is half the price... ha.
So, once I realized this was NOT what he'd been earning money for in his mind,
we returned them and ordered the different buddies online.
They're set to arrive on Wednesday. Which is the last full day we live here, so....
please arrive by Wednesday.
And now it's literally just like the movie -- we're packing up boxes and hoping Woody and Buzz make it back here before the big move. 

We returned Marcel the Shell to our friend who gave her to us a few years ago.
She was a good turtle. I think she was happy to be back with her family.
Bennett was so concerned about her.
This kid needs a lot of pets in life.

A Few More Goodbyes

We spent this week saying some other goodbyes -- a swim party with Westin's Sunday school buddies, a farewell to Yosemite day, a Girls' night with my Clovis friends, Michael's final dinner at Dr. Julian's house, saying goodbye to some ward friends.

Westin has had the three cutest little buddies in his church class since we moved here. I'm sad I didn't take a picture of them swimming together but it made my heart so happy to see him back together with friends after missing them for so long. 

Michael took Wednesday off so we could do a couple of our bucket list spots in Yosemite -- Glacier Point lookout and Taft Point/Sentinal Dome loop. The boys hiked 5 miles and Bennett did SUCH a good job. He does not complain and keeps up so well. During the last bit I heard him make a little whimper, so I leaned down to check on him. "Me just so tired." My heart melted and I carried him for a bit, but really he did 95% of the hike on his own. The views were gorgeous. Yosemite is unreal.

My friend Ginny threw a girls night for Emily and me before we go separate ways in July. I cannot believe Emily and I have been able to cross paths in the BYU dorms and during our young mom years here in Fresno. I just love and respect her so much and it was so happy to have fate hand us some more years together! She's heading to Texas just a few days after we head to Colorado. It's so sad to say goodbye, but she's just one of those forever and ever friends so it's at least easier knowing we'll keep in touch and see each other when we can. Ginny was so sweet to throw such a cute party right before she has her third baby -- pregnancy energy is no joke. She's amazing and I'm going to miss her so much. I wish we took a picture earlier in the night but at least we remembered when a few of us were still there!

On Saturday night Michael had dinner with at his attending's house. He and his wife made dinner for the three graduating chiefs and the fellow who's finishing up. UCSF wants gatherings less than 10 still, so it was not the typical huge graduation party and dinner and roast that we've been to each year. I'm sad he didn't get to have all of that but he also really enjoyed that night and talking with these people he's come to know so well and respect so much. Fresno was a wonderful residency program for our family. I have been grateful for that every single day, and I always will be.

On to our last full week of packing, lasts, goodbyes, cleaning, 

and crying when songs come on that are sentimental. I know the drill.

I have like 20 pictures of this moment but I love his face in every single one of them.

Peeking at daddy

We debated if this was a coyote or a fox.... it was weirdly hard to tell.
He crossed right in front of our car and stared for a bit before going on his way.

Glacier Point Views

Good thing Bennett brought his binoculars so he could get a view of that squirrel.
(Also, he's looking through them backwards, so... the squirrel looks further away. Hahaha I love him so much)

We held on tight to their hands at the lookouts on this loop!

Westin wants to sew with me lately,
so he's making a little self-portrait.

Sweet friends. None of us knew if we were supposed to hug,
or touch each other in this picture.
Life is going to be weird for quite some time...

Ginny is so stinkin sweet.

Bennett loves to hold clovers next to bees so that they climb onto his flower.
But this time he took it a step further and let it crawl all over his hand.
Yes, he's been stung once before. No, it didn't change his ways.

The boys have LOVED living by Ashley these few years!
Best babysitter!!
We were so sad that her freshman year at BYU got cut short this year,
but we were selfishly happy that meant we got some more time with her.
She is heading on a mission to Guam soon!

Kitty hates all other cats. These two keep having face offs.

Happy Father's Day! We're so lucky!

Home church. Alma and Amulek (Lego men) in prison (play dough and toothpicks).
I keep home church very age appropriate.
At one point Michael said, "I love this."
So, I'm glad we can all appreciate simplicity right now haha.

GRADUATION!

Michael graduated!

He finished his oral and maxillofacial surgery residency and we LOVE him.

(Though he does have to keep going to work for about two more weeks haha.)

This was not the graduation we pictured. But it's just fine. We're just grateful we're healthy,

and that we have a job lined up, and a new home and city that we feel really good about.

The Cannons came up for one last weekend visit. Moving further away from them is the saddest part of leaving Fresno. We have so much fun getting together with them and I'm said that quarantine life slowed down our get togethers during our last months living in the same state. But I know we will still visit each other even when it's Colorado to Cali :)

I'm so glad they came up so that we could have fun at Shaver Lake together and feel like Michael's graduation was celebrated a little more. He chose a Mediterranean meal (falafel & the works) and sticky toffee pudding for our graduation dinner with them. We spent the next day on the kayak at Shaver and we sent it home with the Cannons so that we can have fun at the beach with them when we visit them! We need to get some kayaks in Colorado that don't let quite so much cold water in.

Oh this week. It's all still surreal.

Camden has been waking up with good hair.
It's so cute to walk into his room (ahem, our closet) and see him so happy,
in his flying squirrel outfit rocking his bedhead.

Just staring at daddy. Wondering why he's home. Saturdays are confusing like that.

Studying. Michael: for his test. Camden: his toy car.

Packing always comes with some pauses to go down memory lane.
Kindal made me this journal after we graduated high school,
and I used it from then to right after marrying Michael.
It's full of bits of BYU, Alaska, London, Jerusalem, DC, Indianapolis.
This journal is such a treasure to me. Sometimes all of those experiences seem surreal.

YouTube art lessons and furniture turned boxes.

Bennett turned Kitty's scratch post into an "Animal Catcher"
and I laugh every time I walk by it.

Michael's sweet parents sent him some graduation cookies,
complete with COVID masks! So cute and thoughtful.
Such a strange time to hit a milestone.

The boys and our babysitter Ashley helped me put up a little memory wall so that
we could look back on the hard work and happy times that have gone into getting here.

We watched Michael's graduation by ourselves, eating scrambled eggs for dinner.
I think that might look and sound really sad. But honestly, this moment. I just loved it.
We ate a lot of dinners alone at this table. We ate scrambled eggs for a lot of them too :)
From when Westin was tiny to adding Bennett, to adding Camden.
This moment was not the graduation I pictured but this moment was really sweet.
Michael watched by himself in a lounge at the hospital having just gotten out of surgery.
We were all in our element :)

"There's daddy!!!"
So grateful my kids have so many examples of hard work in their life.

Shaver Lake day with the Cannons! I loved this day so much.

Bennett fed ducks like it was his job. For quite some time.