Guymon Gang

We officially made it to Iowa City on Sunday. After driving through some of the small, red-neck towns along the Mississippi River, I was beginning to get a little nervous as to where we were going to be living for the next two years. I was pleasantly surprised at how many of the "comforts" of Richmond are here also. I was afraid we were moving back in time! (j/k) The mall has an Ann Taylor Loft, The Children's Place, Eddie Bauer, Old Navy and even an indoor play area. The outlet mall is just twenty minutes away for more fun shopping. This area reminds me a lot of Cache Valley, so I am beginning to feel a little more at home. The people have been really nice and friendly.

We had eight days before we could get into our apartment, so we have been staying at a Suburban extended stay hotel. It is brand-new and nice, but our room is tiny! It is about the size of our old bedroom and has a kitchen (complete with fridge, stove, sink, dishwasher, microwave, cupboards), table, drawers, king size bed, bathroom, bed stand and we somehow manage to find places for Cole's blow-up twin bed (which we have to put up every morning) and the pack-and-play (poor Garrett has to sleep in the kitchen). To say that we are cramped is an understatement!! But, it is fun to have some close family together time, even if we are on top of each other. I know we will look back on these days and laugh -- we are creating memories! I'll post a picture of our little "home" when I get a chance.

Since we have had so little space, we have been trying to find things to do to entertain ourselves and get us out of the hotel. We have been to the malls, parks, and today we went to story time at the local library. There is still so much exploring to do and we have nothing but time, so I'm sure we'll find a few more fun things for the boys. Fun, Fun, Fun!

So, right new we are staying at a Holiday Inn Express in Indiana (I don't even know the town). I'm not sure exactly where we are or where we are going. We left our home in Virginia and took the 64 West and haven't had a chance to look back. We promised Cole that he could swim at the hotel tonight, so our only requirement was an indoor pool (which he absolutely loved!!). We are heading to Nauvoo tomorrow to spend a day or two and then are planning to make it to Iowa City in the next few days. We can't get into our apartment until June 2, so we are officially nomads! I really don't know what we are going to do with a lot of time and no home, but know that it will be a little crazy. I don't handle change very well, so by the time we get moved into our place I might be officially labeled "Katrina the Grouch". Today Cole looked at me and said, (while rubbing my ear - the thing he does for comfort) "I want to go home, Mommy." I got a little choked up (tears welling in my eyes) and said (half heartedly), "We are going home. We have a different home now." Cole knows we are moving to Iowa, but he doesn't really grasp what that means. I don't think I really grasp what that means, but I do know that a new adventure awaits us and once we finally get settled we can begin exploring, finding new friends, and making a new life for our little family in Iowa. But, the time between now and then sure could be interesting! Two little boys with short or no naps, fast food three times a day, lots of time in the car, and a grouchy mother -- I hope we make it!!

Russ' parents, Steve and Karen, have been so great to have along on this adventure. It has been nice to have two extra set of hands and legs to chase Cole or hold Garrett. They have even driven the Jetta -- they are troopers!! We are grateful for their help, love, and support.

Here's to a new life around the corner or half-way across the country!

Graduation -- what a wonderful day! Russ graduated on Friday, May 16, and is officially a Doctor! He graduated #1 in his class of 92 - quite an accomplishment. I am so proud of him and all that he has done in the past four years. It's crazy that as well as he excelled in dental school and as good as he is with his hand skills that he will never actually do those procedures again. Russ has had several of his professors tell him that he is wasting his talent on orthodontics! But, that is what he loves and is thrilled for the next phase of his education at University of Iowa. Congratulations, Dr. Russell Guymon!!


Thursday night before graduation they had a formal gala for the graduating seniors. Russ ordered my dress for me for my birthday and totally surprised me. It was fun to get all dressed up and have a night out together. I was even able to get my hair and make-up done for the event. It was nice to celebrate with his classmates and have one last party before they all go their separate ways. Steve and Karen joined us for the night and we enjoyed introducing them to Russ' friends and classmates. I know they are proud of Russ and we are grateful they could be here to celebrate his graduation with us.

Graduation is a time of mixed emotions as we leave one phase of our lives and begin another. We have loved our time in Virginia and feel that we have really "grown up" here. When we moved here it was just the two of us and all that we owned fit into eight feet of the ABF truck. Now we are leaving with two children and a whole lot more junk! I was able to serve in the Relief Society and love the sisters in the ward and are going to miss them. We have made life long friends that we will miss dearly. We will miss taking "walks" around the complex (where we walk a little and talk a lot with those we ran into), having Cole's buddies to play with (Dax and Ryker - we will miss you!), girls nights (crafting, movies, or enrichment), and so many other things that we couldn't possibly list all of them. So, to our friends we wish you well and hope you know that you have changed our lives forever. We will always think fondly on the Meadowbrook days and are grateful you allowed us to be a part of your lives these past four years.

Mother's Day was so great this year. Russ gave me a VCU hoodie that I have been wanting for a while and now that we are moving I am especially glad to have it. One of the highlights of the day was during the sacrament Cole turned to Russ and said, "I love Jesus, Daddy." It was so matter-of-fact, yet so filled with love. I told Russ that was the best gift Cole could have given me. He already knows Jesus and feels love for him -- yay! Later that night the TV was on and the Geico caveman came on and Cole exclaimed again, "I love Jesus!" It cracked me up! I guess the long hair and beard had him fooled!! Seriously, I enjoyed Mother's Day and am so grateful to be a mother to two beautiful, fun boys. I am so blessed!

I think that boxing up a house has to be one of the most miserable things! I am so particular about how I want it done (labels typed in the upper left hand corner, everything in uniform boxes, only 'like' things in each box, etc) and am realizing that I need to let a few of my OCD tendencies go. I am about to drive Russ crazy! Poor Cole has been a trooper through it all. This is a picture of him trying to play amid the madness. I couldn't help but laugh - he is still in his p.j.s, wearing a hard hat (he was in a danger zone!), and trying to play baseball. You can also see where Garrett had to spend some of his time so he didn't get lost amongst the boxes and packing. Our poor boys will love it when we finally get moved and unpacked so they can have some normalcy back. I don't know if they know exactly what is going on, but Cole can tell something is happening. He knows he's going to Iowa, but I wonder what that means to him. I guess we'll find out in a few weeks!!



We had to take a break from packing to have a little fun, so I took Cole to the fountains at the mall. He absolutely loves getting wet and running through the water. He is one of the only kids that will get totally soaked and laugh while doing it. He plays really hard for about twenty-five minutes and then is ready to go. We will miss the fountains! I hope we can find something similar when we move. Cole also had is pals, Ryker and Daxton, over for our final night of co-op. They have become such great friends - I also hope Cole will be able to find some new buddies to pal around with. We have made so many good friends it is going to be hard to leave.

We visited Gettysburg, which is something we've always wanted to do, but thought we would have plenty of time to go and see it. But, "time marches on" and suddenly we are racing to visit the places we have taken for granted for the past four years. The Visitor's Center was quite humbling and was so impressive -- we could have spent hours in there, but our spunky two-year old had a different idea about it! We went on a tour of the sites and was accompanied by a nice man on a tape that explained the significance of the sites. It was a long time in the car, but amazingly Garrett slept for most of it and we entertained Cole with Thomas the Train DVDs. At one point the boys got a little fussy, so I had to squeeze my not so small behind between two large car seats (as you can see in the pictures). I rode back there for a bit of the ride home, but when we stopped for gas I had to move to the front seat. My inflexible body wasn't made for sitting like that!


One of the places we stopped was the Eisenhower Tower that overlooks the area and the battle fields that have been preserved. Cole insisted on walking up the tower with me and wanted to do it himself (can you tell he's two?!). He kept saying, "I do it myself!" whenever I tried to carry him. While Cole was heading up, a man stopped and said to Cole, "Tell your mama to carry you" and acted like I was the worst mother and was forcing him to walk the stairs. I kindly explained to the man the Cole's determination to be independent, but really I wanted tell him to worry about his own business! Cole and I made it up and down just fine and even got a few pictures in the process.

We took one final trip to D.C. before leaving Virginia. We saw the monuments, walked the mall, went to the Natural History Smithsonian, and stayed at a hotel (Cole was thrilled to go swimming!). I know the boys won't remember it, but they have seen some pretty amazing things in their young age! We have been so lucky to live near so many spectacular things.


Both of the boys fell asleep while we were enjoying the sites. Cole's head wouldn't stay back, so Russ turned the stroller around, tilted it back and pulled it backwards. We got some funny looks as people tried to figure out what we were doing. Garrett was asleep in the sungli and his poor little head was smashed to my chest. They were both troopers that day!!

The next morning I got up and went with my friend, Sara, back to the city to run along the monuments. It is something I have wanted to do since we moved to Virginia. We started at the Lincoln Memorial, ran along the reflection pool, past the World War II Memorial, past the National Monument, down the grass on the mall with Smithsoninans on each side of us, up the stairs of the Capital, and then turned around and went back. It was beautiful as we ran towards the sun that was just up over the Capital. It was a memorable moment for me! What a great time we had!

In the past few weeks Garrett has discovered his hands and loves sucking on them. Every now and then he will zero in on his thumb, but any part of his hand seems to suit him just fine. Neither of my boys have liked "tummy time" and as you can see from the pictures, Garrett spends his tummy time sucking his hands instead of lifting his head! Oh, well, he sure is cute no matter what he does on his tummy!