Getting Ready and Going on our Yuma Adventure

Wow! How time flies. I am so far behind on blogs, but I want to include some fun stories, so I'll begin with our rush to prepare for Yuma... WARNING... LONG post...
David has his last two rotations in Yuma, AZ. We had to get lots of stuff ready for our adventure and have a clean house in the end for a friend that would be staying at the house for us. I am okay with getting ready to go away for awhile, but having a clean house in the end is a whole other ball game. I had to clean for about a day after we packed... with two kids "helping" all along the way. Not helping in the task was the fact that we had construction guys in and out of the house all day working on repairing the bathroom. But we got it done.
The day before we left our friends the Moore family had us over for a "post Christmas dinner". It was AMAZING food and wonderful company. It is funny that we can live somewhere and be in a ward for years and not get to know such amazing people until we have to leave. So sad, but we hope to keep in touch and repay the wonderful dinner when we return. David loves to talk and I think he misses social interaction because once you get him started it is hard to get him to stop. We left around 10:30pm but had a wonderful time. Thanks for not kicking us out Moore's... you have a wonderful family.
The next day it was off to Yuma. I don't know how, but David fit all we needed into the van. I used to mock minivans... until I had one. Our minivan is used more like a "covered truck" most of the time. We made it to Yuma without incident and the kids even did pretty good. Timothy just hates having to face backwards. He can't see anyone else so it makes him cranky. I can't say I don't blame him... I think I would be cranky looking at the back of a seat for four hours. Alexis had to stop every 40 min. to use the bathroom. That made things fun. But we made it! Yeah!
We brought in the new year in Yuma with family around the fire pit in the backyard roasting marshmallows. Alexis and Timothy slept through the fun, but that is fine with me. It was an uneventful but nice start to the new year.
Our adventure here is just beginning though. The second night here we thought we had an earthquake. The news interrupted programming to say that it wasn't an earthquake, but that it was YPG (Yuma Proving Grounds) testing bombs. They must have been HUGE bombs because they are at least 30 miles away and they were shaking the house. YPG is one of the few places where you will see "tank crossing" signs and warnings all along the roads stating, "Do not leave the road or you may be bombed". Apparently they are also moving the Miramar station from California to Yuma in the near future too. Because of the urban encroachment in California they need a deserted place to train and test... so where do they go.... Yuma of course!
Alexis also experienced her first week in Sunbeams at church. We were worried about being in a different ward with so many other changes. When we arrived we were happy to learn that my sister Katelynn teaches the sunbeams class. It was a much easier transition than we were expecting. When we asked Alexis is she liked primary she said, "Yes! They have an instrument in there!" Upon further questioning we learned that the instrument was the piano. Funny how she will say instrument instead of piano. She love to sing though. She will sing primary songs in the tub, while she is on the swing, doing a puzzle, coloring, eating... well you get the idea. She is ALWAYS singing, and if she doesn't know the words she starts making up her own songs. So creative!
While here we have also decided to find all the parks within walking distance to go to. My mom, the kids and I decided to trek to the first park close to us. We walked, and walked, and walked... and when we thought we were there it was one of those drainage fields... so we kept walking and walking until we found another park. Funny how when we drive there it seems so close, but when pushing a stroller with 80 lbs. of kids in it... it seems much farther away. The kids played for a bit and then we had to trek it back. It was a good walk but reminds me how out of shape I am in.
The next day Timothy was super sick. He had the stomach flu and couldn't keep anything down. He was not himself and all I could do was hold him and help make him comfortable. It is so hard being a mom with a sick kid knowing that there is not much you can do for them. He did get better though and his appetite returned within a few days... just in time for everyone else to get sick. Katelynn got sick next, then Alexis, then my sisters, then me, and then dad, David, and my mom. Imagine 5 people being sick at the same time with only two bathrooms. NOT FUN! Might I repeat, NOT FUN! There is nothing worse than having the flu, but then having the flu with a whole house full of other sick people is ten times worse. But... We did survive and are all better now. Whew!
Timothy is growing up fast. He is saying words now. The day after Christmas he finally said dad. David had been waiting for that and he finally got it. Timothy's words now include: Mom, Dad, Wow, Ouch, and Hi. He also loves the swings. He hadn't been in a swing before we came here but now we have access to a swing every day and he can't get enough of it. He just giggles when it tickles his tummy. He also loves the dogs. He will go to the window and watch for the dogs and barks at them. It is hilarious to watch. My parents also have a big fish tank that he loves to watch. We will set his chair in front of the tank and he will just watch them swim around. We definitely need to set up the tank at our house when we get back.
Alexis also has a new buddy. She follows my mom, "grandma" everywhere. The other day my mom was going to pick my sisters up from school and Alexis said she wanted to go with grandma to get some pizza. I guess she thinks every car trip with my mom ends up with pizza... at least in her mind. She is funny like that. So we made pizza instead. Alexis "helped" make the dough. I had placed the water and yeast into the bowl and was getting ready to add sugar. I turned around for a second and Alexis started pouring sugar into the bowl. I've never seen yeast rise like that before. What a good helper.
We are starting to settle in here. We are still looking for parks and things to do. We tried one park today that was rumored to have ducks to feed. Upon arrival we found no ducks so we went to play at the playground. After playing a few minutes they closed the park due to "human fluids" that needed cleaned up. Really? Are you serious? I don't even want to know... Ugh! Ick! Gag!
Ten weeks left... need I say more...