New House Projects, Troy off to work

Troy ended up having about 3 weeks off in between the end of fellowship and starting his first REAL job. It was so nice to have that time together after all that work. We went to Chicago during that time. We also worked on some house projects. Troy rescreened a bunch of our window sun screens to try to make our home a little cooler. We got a king size bed. HOORAY! And moved the queen bed down to the guest room. We are hoping lots of visitors come stay in this room. I hung a new picture wall on the main floor with some cute pics of our kiddos. We enjoyed having the extra Troy time. Ruby especially liked having her Dad all to herself while the others were at school. Troy started the day after Labor Day. He had his picture taken for the wall and everything. So official!

August 2018

Some moments from August, not already discussed. :) Gray at kindergarten roundup. Cute boy. A retro 8 year old pic of me in honor of my mom's birthday. A close-up of Ruby's favorite blanket, taken by Ruby. :) A very HOT August Day. :/  Clara trying on her dress for the upcoming weddings. THREE of them. Cute table decorations at a party for the primary teachers, which was so fun. (I got to attend with Troy as he is now teaching the 10 year olds.) A date with Gray. He loved his ice cream cone. Ha. Jackson at scouts. An Escape Room. 2 engaged uncles. Trying to get Clara to wear her new glasses. SO HARD. She will only keep them on for 2 seconds. Or less. Meeting up with my friend Stephanie Bramwell at the Phoenix Temple during Troy's break from work. Troy putting together our new BBQ-- which I WON from my dentist's office. So funny! And awesome too. Ruby being cute in glasses. It's been a great month.

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Aug. 24, 2018: First time doing an escape room was a success. The Rodriguez team were clue finding experts. 🔎 It was a good night. Also I haven't laughed that hard in a long time.

Aug 9, 2018: Perhaps you have noticed this man in some of my pictures. This is Aaron Taylor, and come October he will be my brother-in-law. I'm so happy that it's official so I can say it out loud. MY SISTER IS GETTING MARRIED! We are all thrilled about "New Uncle Aaron" (What my kids call him) joining the family.

Aug 24, 2018: Troy's brother Mckay got engaged last week. Isn't this pic just perfect? So happy for McKay and Morgan. Nov 9th is the big day. Photo credit: @brittnig90

Aug 24, 2018: This picture makes me so happy. Troy's brother Regan also got engaged last week. So excited for Brittni to be part of the family. That makes 3 family weddings happening this fall. So excited! 🎉

Aug. 24, 2018: This girl loves glasses in any shape or form. I've started buying readers from Dollar Tree to keep up with demand. 😉

Dbacks Game

Troy took the boys to a Dbacks game with the Teftellers during his hiatus from work. They had a blast.

Day 6- Headed Home- Breakfast at Wildberry

Most of the last day of our trip was spent conferencing and traveling. BUT we had time to squeeze in one more delicious breakfast at Wildberry Cafe. Heavenly. If only our stomach's were bigger. Ha. What a great trip we had. And our kids had the time of their lives with Grandma Bushman while we were gone. So glad we were able to go. Such a blessing to get away! {8.17.2018}

Day 5- Anniversary, The Bean, Magnolia Bakery

We were in Chicago over our anniversary, which was really fun. I made Troy take me back to the Bean, since we ate dinner nearby. (It may have been my 3rd or 4th time visiting it during our trip, but I didn't care. It's just so fun!) We headed home the next day. Bless Troy's mom for watching our kids while we went on this trip. Going adventuring with Troy is one of my favorite things to do. I'm so glad we were able to go! {8.17.18}

A big part of our Chicago trip was the food. We had some excellent recommendations that did not disappoint. Authentic Chicago pizza from both Lou Malnati's and Giordano's (We are on team Giordano's). Hamburgers from Billy Goat Tavern, Chicago Hotdogs from Portillos, Banana Pudding from Magnolia Bakery (to DIE for), and the best breakfast in ALL the world from Wildberry Cafe. (So good we had to go twice.) Vacation food is the best food. {Aug. 13-18, 2018}

Anniversary Post: Aug. 17, 2018: 1 years. 7 moves. 3 states. 7 homes. 4 C-sections and 4 babies. 2 car deaths. 1 bachelor's degree. 1 doctorate degree. 1 unexpected diagnosis. 1 open heart surgery. 1 intern year. 1 residency. 1 fellowship. There have been hard times, but we've grown because of them. The happy moments have outweighed the sad. There is no one I'd rather experience it all with. Heavenly Father has been good to us. Happy anniversary, my love!

Day 4- My City exploration, Fellowship meet-up, Navy Pier, Giordorno's

DAY FOUR. While Troy was in classes, I was brave and went exploring by myself. On my way back to the hotel, my subway stop had a little concert going. They were good! Riding public transit while traveling is one of my favorite things. So many interesting people to see and meet. 

We stayed at the Hilton Downtown during our trip. It just so happens it is the same hotel where the end of the movie, "The Fugitive," was filmed. Troy got some pics of the famous spots while at his conference. Colleagues from Troy's Fellowship program had a meet-up one evening. We met them for appetizers and the whole group happened to be wearing coordinating colors. So funny!

After the meet-up we did some more exploring. Did you know Chicago is where the Ferris Wheel was invented? We took a scenic ride at Navy Pier and couldn't for the life of us get a good pic. Ha. {8.17.18}