Video..

Sorry about the lack of a Cribs video- I don't know where it went!! When we get to Maryland we'll repost it. Sorry to keep you in suspense, it was there at one time! ger :)

Cribs - Halsey Style

Well, we are officially outta here. We made a sweet, little video before we began the packing craziness...since it will probably be a while before I can post again, I think I'll leave this with you. It was a weak attempt to show off our "crib", please no mocking :)

As soon as I get time, there will definitely be an ode to 847, as well as some sweet before and after pics. Monday morning begins out trek across the country, we'll do our best to keep you updated!

Packing Complete

Thanks to the awesome help of some burly, muscle men we were able to get the Uhaul packed in record time! Seth was stressing that we wouldn't have enough room in the truck, but we definitely did. With room to spare! (Okay, so not THAT much room!)

THANK YOU - Dad, Phil, Jorge, Seth & Eric...we owe you big time!

I was glad Seth was able to hang out with Jorge and Eric a bit before we moved, it's good to have the roommies back together again. Phil and Dad were huge help, and YEAH! Seth and I are outta here!!!

Cleaning Elves

Some little elves came up this morning to help us clean our apartment. Yes, I promise it is clean. Can you spot the elves? There are five of them!

Thanksgiving Houses

This year, Thanksgiving was at the Gaufin's. The food was TASTY! Mom did an excellent job. I am THANKful for my awesome fam! I am going to miss being so close to everyone. We spent sometime this afternoon making gingerbread houses...the boys really liked to lick the candy and then put it on their houses. Tasty!
Mason wasn't thrilled with the idea of having ANOTHER picture taken of him!
I am hoping Seth and I can find a neighborhood like this to move into! I personally like my amazing brickwork!!

Packing: Week...well...not going so great!

Some have wondered why I haven't posted any updates on our packing progress...well...hopefully these will say enough...

Friend-ly Farewell!

This week was a rough one! Lots of goodbyes. I said goodbye to Studio 9 this week, and it was rough! I have loved working at that salon, and I am so bummed I won't get to see everyone each day.

This weekend was our Farewell Friends Bash! It was a ton of fun. We actually had a few people show up!! We've managed to make a few friends while here in SLC, and I think we had friends there representing all different aspects of our shady pasts! (Or not so shady!) We had high school friends, college buddies, old roommies, swim buddies, Dan the Man, Potter the Dog and a few other assorted people!

I know I will really miss all of the friends we have made. We have been so blessed to have such great friends. Hopefully there will be a few cool people in Maryland that will want to be our friends! We hope, at least!

We definitely have some good memories...

The Bailey fam - oh the memories of mannnny swim meets. Good times!

Jarad & Ashley - seriously Ash, where to begin? Hickin', Summer conferences, the Oldsmo, waaaay too many good memories!

Um, Steph - Stinky Steph! I love your Boise guts, I have missed my little running partner, I'm pretty sure Maryland needs some excellent PTs...interested?

Ah- the 3 am mission crowd - we love you!! Thank you for all of the entertainment - it's neverending around you guys! Someday we'll be the next generation Ghost Hunters...when we all become brave!
Yes - taken at 3 am!
Jorge - how can you not love someone who runs around in a sweatshirt, skibbies and sneakers? Oh, and what? You're a doctor?

Barefield and Shino - it's going to be a bummer not hanging out at the Country Club next summer. Shino - I will always think of you when I think of Final Fantasy.
Sam & Peter - THANK YOU for putting up with me as a roommate for two years...you seriously deserve an award!
ADam, Megan, Swiss - cookies, please?
Amanda & Ryan - proof that I DO stay in contact with friends from high school. Fact. The Office rules.
Eric. Ed. Potter? TRUCKS, TRUCKS, TRUCKS - too many good memories, I think you are the unofficial third member of our family. Either as a brother or our kid - depends on the day! We will be back for Ed Burgers.
Spence - frisbee in class, Utah football, and telling our professor I was too hungover to do my homework - you made the "academic" part of college bearable.
E-Beth - um, please. African dance, house gnome, pantless?
Christina - freaking amazing, need I say more?

Dan the Man - this had BETTER not be the last we see of you!
Oh hey- the girls of 560...minus one...Ash?
Joe P & Taylor - Joe, I hate to break it to you, but your hair will suffer immensely without me near. Sorry.

Sorry if your pictures isn't up here- I forgot to take some pictures! Sorry!! I still love you.

Sad Days

The final moments...

...and she's gone.

Today was a rough day, Seth and I suffered our first loss as a little family. We knew it was coming, but it was still a bit shocking once reality set in. We thought we were prepared for the grief, we knew it would have to happen, with the move and all. And overall, I suppose it was for the best. Today we said farewell to Bronco. I feel I owe it to Bronco to reflect on the memories we shared. After all, it's only fair, I did write an ode to the house next door (a house I've never even entered). So, here's to you Bronco.

I'm a little fuzzy on how you entered Seth's life, all I know is his walking days were over once he met you. He said, "hello gas-guzzler" and "goodbye walking shoes". He'd found his match. You came into my life much later... a few months to be exact. I first noticed you one Sunday morning as I pulled into the parking lot of the church. You, too, came to church. I made my roommie, Suzanne, wait in the car, to see if you were truly driven by The Crush. We waited as you parked, and watched as The Crush descended from your high lift. It's possible to say, that my crush grew a little bigger that day. From then on, I began looking for you, casually of course. I would casually scan the parking lots when I was driving by, and yes...I did notice when you were there.
After months of observing you, I really never thought we'd actually get to meet, face to face. But then, as shocking as it was to me, The Crush asked me out. I remember being nervous to meet you, Bronco, you are rather tall, and I feared I would not be able to get in on my side, without making a fool of myself. Thankfully, prayers are answered. That night we bonded, you and I, and for the past 4 years and 8 days we've been buds.
We had some good times. Remember the big snowstorm of 2003? You were swimming in snow, and Seth was worried about leaving you alone for weeks, while he played in Florida, so I came up and made sure you were okay. Good thing I came, the snow was above your tires, and I feared frostbite my set in. We made it through. You helped a lot of stranded cars that winter, it seemed every Sunday I would find you and Seth in the parking lot pulling another car out of a snow drift. Always there in times of need.
Remember the off-roading/camping trips? How could I forget. You were a real trooper. (Not Isuzu). You made it out of all sticky situations, whether we were in Moab, Uintas, West Desert or above Bountiful. You always made it out okay. Remember the time Seth got stuck playing in the mud and tried to blame it on me? Yeah, you knew I had nothing to do with it. And thankfully that beer-toting, cigarette-smoking, pot-bellied, 4-wheeler driving man was there to offer chains to help us out. You know I liked you best when you were muddy. I'm sorry for those traumatic times, I feared for your life the day you nearly rolled over the cliff in the hills above Bountiful. I hate to admit, I was willing to sacrifice your life so that Seth could live. Selfish of me, I know. I felt we really bonded that weekend in Moab, yeah, you know the one. We were driving up that hill and due to your rather large front side (no offense), I couldn't see the road. At one point, I just wanted to give up and jump out. But after realizing there was no road on either side of you, you talked me into gripping the wheel tight and we made it up the hill.
We also had good times, inviting people to hang out with you. I know you and I both got a good chuckle watching Mom attempt to jump in while wearing a skirt. We had fun taking Byron, Laura and Ryan on off-road excursions. We also shared the fun with roommates. Like the summer your back window had decided to stay down and my little roommies froze on the way back from camping, they looked like little penguins. We even discovered a car seat would fit in your backseat, when we took 1 year old Mason camping. Thankfully he survived the rocky road. You handled a child on board responsibly.
Uh, speaking of responsible, remember the summer you went topless? Too bad it rained 90% of the time! But ya looked good. It was funny that time we made Byron ride in the back, too bad we were on a dirt road, and with no top you really gave Byron a dusty ride. I believe that was the same summer your radio actually worked. Bronco, those were some awesome, music-filled months. Then we took you camping, and promptly jammed a CD in the radio. Sorry about that.
I know you didn't get as much attention this past year. With the addition of another car, you might have felt like your gas-chugging days were over. But you knew you were still needed. Eric's truck, permanently residing in our driveway, needed someone to look over him. The poor truck was bruised, battered and missing an engine, as well as several other important features. You stood strong and guarded the little big guy.
Although many thought we should put you up for adoption a long time ago, we felt you deserved better than that. We held on. Who else would take us camping in the far reaches of the Uintas? But unfortunately you just couldn't come to Maryland with us. It's really for you, we felt it would be selfish of us to bring you along. You wouldn't be happy. Maryland doesn't have the mountains we have, or Moab! How could you be content in a place with no Moab? So Bronco, you see...we had to do it.
It was hard saying goodbye, your new friend looks like a nice guy. And it sounds like he'll be able to take great care of you. But as he and his little son climbed in and drove away, I caught a tear in Seth's eye as he turned away. I can't be sure he was crying, as my eyes were a little bit blurry. We'll miss you, we hope you have a great time with your new family.
Love,
ger :)

The Nephew Brag

I know everyone always loves to blooooog/brag about their kids. Well, we don't have any, and that's not changing anytime soon. So...I'm taking a moment to brag about my nephews. They are stinkin' cute and I love their guts...so there!Seth & Mason took some time for a man-to-man conversation.
I was tickling Drew and he was scooting around on his head...seriously?Mason loved the pile of leaves at my house.Drew loves to watch videos of himself.

Packing: Week 4

In running, people often speak of "the wall". That point in a run, where you get stuck. You know you need to keep going, but you just can't seem to figure out how that is going to be possible.

We've hit the "moving wall". We have packed as much as we possibly can, without feeling like we are living out of boxes, and now we just have to endure the next few days until we can pack up the rest of the house.

It is a nice feeling knowing we are all caught up. We've been able to really sort through everything, and get rid of a lot of stuff. This morning, we sorted through our clothes, and the "donate" pile quickly became larger than the "keep" pile. Seth informed me, it was all part of his master plan. He figured he would start me sorting through our random junk, and get me used to the "throw out" feeling. (Tossing everything we don't actually need). And then he would start me on my clothes, he just wanted me to get a taste of how good it feels to clear out the clutter. It must have worked. I think I am taking 6 shirts to Maryland with us! Anyway, that is about as far as the packing has come. And yes Joe, the table continues to hold strong in the corner!

Soup-er Sunday!

We had some of our friends over for dinner this evening. Everyone brought their own soup and we had a soup-er night. (ha ha ha). Being so rainy, it was the perfect day for it! We also pulled out the cards and played a brutal game of Spoons. One of my personal favorites. We also played Taboo...the girls beat the boys two games in a row, after which they decided to move on to a different game. Smart kids! Christina, Thayne, Scott & Anna

Camille & Brandon

Jen & Scott

Unfortunately I pulled my camera out too late, and some lucky ducks escaped without being documented!

Lost Dog Syndrome

I have officially diagnosed myself with "Lost Dog Syndrome". I hate lost dogs. They torment me, cause me grief and leave me worrying all day. I am currently suffering from a rough case of LDS. (Ha ha ha). It all started this morning. Being a pleasant Sunday morning (pre-torrential rain), Seth and I went for a nice long walk. About a mile from home a little brown dog (normally I am opposed to small pups) took an extreme liking to us. He apparently decided to join us on our walk, I tried to inform him that this was a human-only walk. And that's when it began. Unfortunately, he didn't really grasp what I was saying, and took my stressed-out attempts to shoo him away as a fun game. The worry level rose, I was positive we were leading him further and further from his warm and cozy home. He did have a collar, but no tags. Seriously people, get tags! He proceeded to follow us for two blocks and down an extremely steep hill, at which point I feared for his life as his hind legs were moving three times faster than his front legs. We rounded a corner and he got distracted by some leaves. I thought we were in the clear, could it be? Was he headed back home? No. Against my stern warning, Seth looked back. Never look back! The dog saw Seth's moment of weakness and again began following. He maintained a constant pace right at my left heel. I had come to the decision that we would circle back and make our way past the park where we originally gained our canine companion. Unfortunately we didn't circle back soon enough, and up ahead I could see trouble. Big black dog meet our little brown friend. Big black dog stared down our little friend, and I knew he was done for (our little friend is not brave, it feared a small cat that ran by). I began worrying about the safety of our buddy, while Seth saw this as an opportune time to ditch the dog. Harsh. Well, Seth won out. We rounded the next corner, and big black dog kept little brown friend at bay. I walked a few yards down the block, and then...against my own warnings, I looked back. I snuck down the street just to make sure little brown dog was not a bloody corpse. He was not. He seemed to be doing just fine, and I snuck away before he could see my moment of weakness. However, I have been stressed about little dog all day. I hate stray dogs. I stress about them, their owners and how they will survive on a cold, rainy day. Curse that little dog.

Super Sister Saturday!

Super Sister Saturday!

I couldn't possibly leave for Maryland without one more Super Sister Saturday! The theme of this Saturday was Christmas cards and goodies! We successfully stuffed ourselves to the brim with both! We (Mom) made English Toffee and Kellie made some yummy caramels...which Aunt Genie showed her up on by making equally yummy caramels in the microwave! We appreciated the time and love Kellie put into hers!

Mom insisted that we all wear red ribbons in our hair, somehow Drew dodged that bullet. Lucky guy!

Drew was a big fan of my chocolate fondue.

He watched the entire Cars movie in this position. We found it pretty funny!

Kellie, KayCee & Aunt Genie

Mom, Madison & Kellie...hmmm, I'm noticing a Kellie theme in these pictures!

Me & Karen!

Bye Bye Gaufin's

Friday night, Aunt Barb had the fam over for a goodbye party for us. It was fun to see the cousins and family before we take off. The food was great, and as always the company was excellent. Always good times when Gaufin's get together!

Kellie & DeAnn

Steve & Tressa

Kellie, Mom & Karen

Derek's girlfriend (I know...I should remember her name, sorry!), Derek & Ben

Seth & Geri

Uncle Kent & Phil

You may notice, several of the small ones and half the men-folk are missing. They were all goofing off downstairs. Hearing the shrieks and giggles I decided it was probably best I stayed upstairs!
I am seriously going to miss everyone!!