SO MUCH......

........ has happened over the last month and a half!!!

My wonderfully talented, hard working, handsome hubby graduated from BYU-Idaho!!!

A few days later we started packing up EVERYTHING to move down to Idaho Falls for a couple weeks so as to be able to spend some quality time with Trent's parents.
(she totally fell asleep while I was cleaning the apt.)
And it was a good thing we hadn't started unpacking anything!!!
One week after graduation (Friday, July 30th) Trent accepted a job offer with a company just outside of Denver, CO. The original start date was August 15th... then Trent mentioned he could be there sooner if they'd like to which they said, "great! how bout the 9th?"
So Tuesday morning we rented a u-haul and loaded it up! That night we had dinner with Trent's Mom and second Dad Wayne after which we hit the road!
We drove a little over 3 hours then stopped just after midnight at a little... and I mean little... motel to get some sleep. Bright and early the next morning we were off!
We got into Denver about 8 and we were beat. Trent had made reservations for us to stay at an extended stay hotel because we still needed to find a place to live.





Our kiddy-winks Thursday morning in bed at the hotel. And no I didn't pose them, that's how I found them. :o)
I had been apartment hunting online for days! I had a pretty good sized list of places to look at but some of the issues we ran into were: no short-term lease, over budget, no 3 bedroom availability, too far away from Trent's work.... sigh.
It started to feel like a very looooooong day.
Trent had contacted the services missionaries who put us in contact with a leasing agent that was helping their son rent out his empty condo. We looked at the condo and I didn't like it at all. The leasing agent, Melissa, told us that she had a town-home that had JUST become available but that she couldn't show it to us until the next day. After one of her co-workers told her that we were hoping to be moved into something by the next day Melissa called and told us that we could come and pick up the keys and go over on our own to look at it. She was so confident that we were going to love it that she gave us and application to take with.
We saw it. We liked it. We spent a few hours thinking and praying about it and that night faxed the application to Melissa. We signed the lease on Friday and the unloading of the u-haul began!!!!
We liked it a lot when we first saw it but the more time we spent in it we kept telling each other how much we love this town home. It's so totally perfect for us right now and we couldn't be happier. We felt/feel so spoiledly blessed with the way that things had been falling into place for our little family.


And here it is!!! It's a 3 bedroom, 1 1/2 bath town home with a garage, and and a small fenced in patio. It's in a whole neighborhood of similar town homes and tucked back in a little cul de sac. The kids love it, we love it, and we're really enjoying our new ward, they have made us feel so welcome.




So we get all moved int and a week after we rolled into Denver the kids and I hop on a plane to SLC to attend Melaleuca's annual convention. This year they were celebrating 25 years! Wa-hoo!!! This was my third convention and just as I have in the past I loved absolutely everything about it. For the first day my sister-in-law and I went in on a baby-sitter together, the next day my dear friend Sarah spent part of the day with my kids, and then my Mom and my brother came into town to help with the kids and of course hang out! Thanks to Mom and Jason this was the first year that I was able to attend the closing banquet and it was a neat experience.

The kids and I got home Sunday night and then the next Wednesday got on another plane to go to Idaho! I was able to spend a couple days with my parents before getting on a plane with my in-laws to head up to Oregon for the family's annual crabbing trip!
Our weekend looks like this:
Leave Friday afternoon. Friday night we get together and eat Thai food until we're sick. Head to Tillamook, get a good night's rest. Get up super early Saturday morning, have breakfast, head to the marina. Then we hit the water and we're out crabbing, this year we were out from about 8:30 to 1:00. Back at the marina we cook up the crab then clean it and take it over a little diner near the marina. On the way back to the hotel we stop by the Tillamook Cheese Factory for cheese and ice cream. Then back to the hotel to shower and crash for a couple hours before dinner. Then we head back to the diner and eat our catch of the day! Then we head home Sunday morning. Love it. It's so much fun to have the kind of time with the family and I'm so grateful for the opportunity that we have to do it every year.
THANK YOU THANK YOU MOM AND DAD VANDERSLOOT!!!

Trent, Jessie, Cassie, and I with our biggest catch of the day.
Here's the family's joint catch of the day! Yes... that's a lot of crab. And yes... it was very yummy.

We we got back to Idaho Trent and I were able to spend a few hours with my parents and brother before catching our flight back to CO. Thanks so much Mom and Dad for watching the kids so that we could go crabbing!!!!!!


The Saturday after we got back from Oregon Trent's company had a family night at the CO Rockies game and it was so much fun. It was neat to be able to meet and spend a little bit of time chatting with and getting to know the partner's that Trent has been working pretty closely with. They seem like really great people and it was so great of them to treat their employees and their families to such a great night out together.

I think that pretty well sums it up. Trent's really enjoying his job. He flew out to Dallas Wednesday night with some of the partners to meet some potential clients then was home Thursday night. And they're flying him out to LA later this month for some training meetings. So it seems like things are going quite well for him thus far. And so far we love it here in Denver. Its been hot but I can't complain. :o)
Life is beautiful and we continue to feel overwhelmingly blessed.
And yes.... I am hugely pregnant but not due until November 18th. I'm not quite sure what this little dude is going to do for room for another 11 weeks though.... he's strong... and sometimes when he kicks it hurts. We're excited for him to join us.