Back in Minnesota

We made it back to Minnesota! Thank you for your prayers-the trip went well, saw no precipitation along the way, and Lyla was a trooper. Joel's parents traveled with us, which was a HUGE help! Now we are at their house (again) until we find a house to purchase here. We are on the hunt... I will miss my family a lot, but it is good to be back in the Midwest. We've learned that we just belong here. :)

Here are a few pics taken shortly before we left Arizona.

Our car full of 3 of my favorite girls in the whole wide world :)

She's ready for the Minnesota weather!

Being silly with my brother and sis-in-law

the "Blue Steel"

And just a few pics from the road...

napping in the backseat

Lyla eating marshmallows for the first time at Texas Roadhouse in Wichita, KS--yum!

cutie getting a little tired of her carseat

And this past weekend we got to have a visit with Grandma Nita before she goes to Arizona for the winter. :)

Splish Splash

Somebody's getting too big for the sink.... :)

And, yes, I am slightly obsessed with taking pictures of Lyla in the bath.

Oh, and the movers will start to load our stuff tomorrow (11/11)--MN here we come!

I'm a little slow...

Yeah, so I just figured out how to get pictures off my phone and onto my computer. So I couldn't help but post some of the ones I really like, even though they're kinda old!

Well, this one is pretty recent--I just LOVE her pouty face here.

This was about a month ago.

This is the doctor that did Lyla's big surgery--we are so thankful for him!

This was when Lyla and her friend Sandra got their ears pierced

(over a year ago now!)

Just plain cute :)

Halloween Fun 2010

Two cowgirls and a cowboy :)

My luchador "Hairball"--complete with sparkly chest hair and stretchy pants.

(inspired by lucha libre fighter Nacho Libre)

And our beautiful fairy princess :)

She liked Daddy's mask

Hairball and my bro the surfer dude

The awesome cake Abby made!

And two more beautiful princesses

One month from today...

...one little miss Lyla Jane will be TWO!

Only by the grace of God.

Mt. Lemmon strikes again - this time it was 50 degrees. We love that place!

Fall colors in Arizona--who knew?

Another excursion to Mt. Lemmon revealed to us that we really can get a "fall fix" in Arizona, if needed. :) Enjoy...

It was 55 degrees up there at 8000 feet and we were lovin it!

With the change of seasons and the change of colors, comes more change for our little family. We have decided that Arizona is not for us. Joel has been fortunate enough to get his dialysis job back in La Crosse to start at the end of November. We will be moving back to Minnesota mid-November and start looking for a house to purchase. We will stay at Joel's parents' house until then. We are so glad that we will have been able to spend 4 months with my family in AZ before we move. We have prayed much and have decided that Minnesota is the best choice for our family. So that's the update. We are so grateful that our careers allow us the flexibility to do all this moving, and that the Lord has opened doors for us to move back. Life is always an adventure!

A Zoo-y kind of fall

We went to the Tucson Zoo yesterday and enjoyed ourselves immensely! The weather is finally getting quite pleasant around here. :)

Lyla got to get a close look at lots of animals

And here's the peanut standing in her crib--she's getting so big. Won't be long til her 2nd birthday--what?!?

She's working on her Aunt Rita look :) :) :)

Lyla just loves her cousin Sophie!

More from the San Diego wedding...

The Brayer Bubbles 2 :)

the bride & groom, Cara & Aaron

the mommies with our babes

the newly engaged couple, Jeremy & Danielle--east coast here we come!

San Diego!

Well, we just returned from a trip to beautiful San Diego. My cousin Cara got married there so it was a week of family fun. :) I (Jenny) have never been to California so it was fun to arrive there on my birthday--what a great gift. San Diego is awesome-probably my favorite city in the U.S. Here are a few pics from the week...

My cousin Kelly, her husband Steven, and their son Lucas (CUTENESS!!!!!) I wanted to take him home with me...Lucas, that is. :)

Mission Beach

Lyla loved playing in the sand!

And we did get a chance to go to the San Diego Zoo--it was so big!

Skyfari ride

Lots of koalas in a tree :)

The bride and groom: Cara and Aaron--what a beautiful wedding

Two great daddies with their sweet babies

Lyla at the reception

Kelly and I (and the babes) at Balboa Park

My friend Katie came up to San Diego from L.A. Katie, Kelly, and I got to go to a Rascal Flatts concert--we felt like we were in high school again--fun!