So far so good

    Weston has completed two weeks of PA school and we have survived. Well it really hasn't been too bad since first week was mostly orientation. This last week, however, has been overwhelming sometimes for Weston, since they have started their anatomy boot camp. Needless to say I think he is doing a great job and it definitely will be an ongoing learning experience after the three weeks are over. We are all buckling down, mostly Weston, to allow some study time and getting used to him not being around as much. It's okay though, it's just for two years then we'll be done. Such an amazing feeling knowing there is an end. On the other hand, for me, I will be going back to school soon. I'm hoping to start some online classes this year after we get a better schedule and routine for the kids. It is yet to be determined what I will be studying, but I just need to get back into the groove of homework and such. Weston will be having his first exam on Monday so throw us good vibes his way, he'll appreciate it.

  

A part of his orientation was held in a nearby park

     The kids are enjoying their increase in running space that at times they don't know what to do with it. We somehow end up being cramped in a small room playing with toys those funny little tikes. When we do go outside I enjoy watching them play and skip and dig. We even had a time when we went outside and saw  our neighbor's outside cat hunching over something. So I went towards it and it had a dead baby rabbit! Oh the circle of life, right in our backyard. It was a good teaching moment. We've been biking to church which only takes us twenty minutes. When we arrived the first time we overheard a child say, 'oh that's dangerous!' Oops. We still do it but we will take the car (this is for the grandparents) if the weather doesn't permit us to do it safely. Overall, we are adjusting and enjoying our new adventures.

  

A short vacation

    My lovely parents were so kind enough to come out here for a couple of weeks during our move to help us get settled in and how grateful we were for it. It got quiet pretty quick after they left which was a little sad but we definitely enjoyed having them here. AND they really wanted to watch the kids by themselves so they kind of shooed us out of the door and have a mini vacation together (we wanted one too but we're not very good at planning).
     We knew we wanted to camp so we had all of our equipment ready and headed towards the mountains up north. BEAUTIFUL! It is absolutely beautiful. We ended up in Virginia and drove through the Blue Ridge Parkway. I cannot even describe to you how green and luscious everything was. It was calming and renewing to the soul and it was much needed. Our first night we found a campground that was thankfully opened. We were trying to beat the Memorial Day rush by going a few days earlier unfortunately most campgrounds didn't open until Memorial Day weekend. Luckily we stopped by an information center and, boy, did these two people know their stuff! I guess it is their job after all but we would have missed some wonderful sites if it were not for them. Back to the camping: since we were somewhat early we had the pick of the campgrounds, it was wonderful. Once we picked our spot and were getting our tent out, it started pouring and continued pouring all through the night til early morning.  Our rain flap wasn't on very well because we were desperately trying not to get drenched. We failed by the way. But it was some of the most fun we've had in a long time. We just kept laughing and laughing trying to get it on. We needed to stake the flap down and the spot we thought was great had a plethora of rocks that made it problematic. Needless to say we had a mostly dry night with minimal puddleage inside. It's a shame we didn't get any photos.
     The next day when we packed up, our tent was soaking but we needed to pack it up anyway because it was about to rain again. We knew that our tent was going to stink just sitting there in the car, but what are you going to do. It's part of the adventure.  We hiked up Peaks of Otter. It is a two hour hike up and one hour down, according to the brochure but we killed it. It took us 45 minutes up and 30 minutes down. I'm not trying to brag or anything but it was just so awesome! After that we drove to a bed and breakfast in Williamsburg, VA where we met some great people and a cordial and comic host. We had told him that we have two little people and he told us; "It's good to leave your kids once in a while but if you don't miss them then you've got trouble." Good thing we missed the kids.
       We went to Busch Gardens and rode some bone rattling roller coasters several times. It was also raining so it wasn't too crowded, which was perfect for us. Got a couple of ponchos and off we went. We also went outlet shopping and came out with a few great deals, then stayed at a hotel the next night and walked over to colonial Williamsburg. After all that excitement we headed home. Thanks to Lolo and Lola for making it happen.

At the top of Otters Peak

"Spread my wings and fly away! I believe I can soar!"

Bentley Manor was outstanding!

Weston ran up the dragon house in behalf of Oliver.

The Governors Palace in Colonial Williamsburg

Down south to NC

      

 Thank you Philly for all the amazing memories!

The beautiful skyline of Philly in the early morning on our way home.

After all the fun and games with the fam bam we did not miss a beat, we got home, woke up and started loading the truck. Luckily we had been packing for a few weeks prior to our vacation so most of everything had been in boxes ready to go. Unfortunately, there are always leftover trinkets that need to get packed. Despite it all we chugged through it all especially with the help of some awesome friends. I didn't get any pictures of her but my wonderful friend Rachel Tucker that kept on packing all of my trinkets while we loaded the trunk.

This guy right here is the tetris king of U-hauls. We had so much extra space. Thanks for keeping our stuff together. You guys are the best.

         After a day of loading we took a break and had to make an important pit stop, The Pop Shop. We absolutely love it and Oliver asked us," Are we going to have a Pop Shop around the corner in our new place too?" Well so far not yet. On our second day of packing we finally said our goodbyes to a city that will always have a place in our hearts. We were not there for too long but it definitely left an impression on us, one that will be with us forever. We love you Philadelphia! We will be back, but for now we have a new chapter ahead of us.

Loaded and ready to leave!

       The funny thing about this move is the day we came for the interview, which I may have mentioned previously, Weston did not think we would even get in and yet here we are. Off we go to Winston-Salem. The drive wasn't too bad. We had to make few stops because we were worn out from taking our wonderful things, that we clearly couldn't live without, down three flights of stairs. When we finally got to our new abode we had members from church arriving at the same time to help us unload. What took us two days only took us about 45 minutes. It was incredible (plus there weren't any stairs for us to deal with) and I love this gospel where I can always feel like I have a family away from family that is always willing to lend a helping hand. I'm truly grateful for our Savior that has blessed us with this new chapter. It will be difficult for the both of us, but I know the end will be sweet because of all the upcoming late nights, loving support, laughs and maybe cries that will go into it. It will be worth it. I'm excited for new memories, a little shy to make new friends, nervous for Oliver's and Weston's (which he already had and did awesome) first day of school, and grateful that we could go through this new journey/adventure together.

Smells and looks beautiful out here.

Home

       Hello Winston-Salem! The Becks are here and it's going to be fun.

Family bonding time

The girls

         It had been a long time since we had all been together in the same city so the cousins needed to get acquainted with one another; it was a blast to watch them together. It didn't take too long before the kids started following each other around. Khamie, Mitch and Valeria's daughter, is so adorable and hilarious. Khamie is a Mama's girl but I got a couple of hugs from her and some holding hands time too, which is a big deal so I'm good. Valeria and I got to do my mom's tradition of shopping at Kohls whenever we get together. We mostly just went shopping for our little ladies but we got to treat ourselves to some fun accessories. Unfortunately Madeline has already done quite a number on my sunglasses, that actually fit my face (found by Vale). Oh well that's what I get for letting her play with it. I'll have to find some sturdier ones. This get together was also Weston's first time meeting Khamie. So we were really excited that they finally got to meet.

Happiness!

Evidence that she held my hand ^_^

        I always seem to forget how epic it can be when you get the Dela Cruzes together. I love my brothers and I seriously wish we all lived in one compound: have Sunday dinners together, game nights, and who know what crazy ideas we come up with. But one thing you can definitely count on when we get together is some tennis bonding time. We only had a few days together, not nearly long enough, but we definitely made the most of it. We then got to make a fun trip up to good ol' Burley, Idaho. It's a small town that is home to Weston's wonderful parents. I have been truly blessed with incredible in-laws. And the little chilluns just adore them.
       Oliver had the time of his life tearing up Grandpa's garden. Weston and I were trying to be helpful by pulling out the weeds and of course the kids want to join in. Oliver just keeps digging and digging so we join in and then all of a sudden we hit something hard. We dig it out and it's a cinder block. This ultimately piques all our curiosity so the whole time we were there, without fail Oliver would get up and venture back out to the garden to try to solve the mystery of the cinder blocks. We all pitched in. Abby, Summer and Brent's daughter was there to help us. She's three and the cousins hit it off right of the bat. They all had the same goal of just digging and digging. Pretty soon the whole was deep enough that if the kids got in it they would disappear. It was quite an adventure for the kids. We never did solve the mystery. Grandpa did leave a couple of coins for Oliver to find. It was very sweet. We ate good food with Grandma's bountiful baskets that she gets and some awesome cookies that were DELICIOUS! There were so many fun things we did together like Stephen taking me along with him on his 5 mile, which I survived ( its the farthest I've run, ever!), going to see Stephen doing his umpiring over in Pocatello, camping the backyard, and rummaging through Weston's old keepsakes. It's amazing what you can find. So many wonderful memories with both families. Love. Them. Truly wish we were all closer.
      

Oh Weston, I love you!

But for now, since we are all in three different time zones, google plus, skype, or facetime will just have to do. Thank heavens for people who came up with these great modes of communication because it keeps me from getting too homesick. The kids can still see and talk with their grandparents and I get to talk to my brothers. It keeps us close even though we are far away. As cheesy as that sounds Weston and I keep family a very high priority. We love them, we need them, and like any relationship it takes work. Our family is important to us and I'm grateful that our Savior has made it possible for us to be together forever.

Oliver's epic superhero stance. He just stands like that naturally when he's got a superhero shirt on.

I forgot to mention the bunny, Bex. This is Stephen and Deneka's bunny the kids were absolutely over the moon when they saw it. Especially Madeline. She loves bunnies.

Before the overhaul and the start of the mystery solving.

Funny faces!

Storybook park

I think this pictures speaks for itself.

Congrats Kuya Mike!

          My big brother Mike just graduated last month (late on posting along with the upcoming posts, but hey at least I'm getting it up right) and the whole family got to be there. It had been a really long time so it was extra special. He is our first graduate from college in the family so it was so exciting to see him cross the stage. Oh man, if only you could feel how proud we are and see how big our smiles were during that day. Plus it got me and Mitch motivated to finish too. Mike is working now at Primary Children's hospital. He's currently helping with some research so my brother is pretty important. ^_^ Mike is planning on going to medical school so he's studying for that now too. He's very diligent and a great example. We love you Mike and CONGRATS!

Here is us trying to take some pictures together and some family adventures.