We're moving!

Hi-ho! It's been six months since we've touched this blog so it's about time for an update. Let's do a quick recap since I'm super good at that!

January 2017: Happy New Year! We celebrated Christmas with Kiersten's family so New Year was spent with Scott's family. We did an escape room which was super fun and the babies did great.

Happy New Year!

 Mackenzie began to roll over more seriously and she tried peanut butter for the first time. Not allergic. Win! She was also sitting up by herself want starting to rock on hands and knees. Her first tooth popped through on the bottom by the end of the month.

Tooth!

February: It was a mild winter. No snow to speak of and warmer temps made our half marathon training awesome. Sometimes Mackenzie ran with mom in the stroller but 5 miles was about her limit so by this point of the training Mackenzie usually went to be with Aunt Carey and cousin Grace. Everyone was happy.

Mommy's view of Mackenzie during her runs. All bundled up!

Playing with Grace while Mommy runs.

Mackenzie is very curious and interacting a lot with people. She smiles easily and mimics a lot. Kiersten and Mackenzie also went to Michigan for Auntie Cindy's baby shower. It was really special to visit a dear childhood friend during this stage of life. Mackenzie tried out swings for the first time and loved them!

March: Rock and Roll Half Marathon! Scott and Kiersten ran the 13.1 miles in under 2 hours which gained them both PRs (personal records). Ironically the day of the race was about the coldest day all winter.

This was the biggest race for both of us and the first time where we spent the entire race passing people. It was awesome! We finally got snow about a week later. Mackenzie was a indifferent to the new phenomenon.

You can tell from our faces that we love snow!

Her big milestone that month was learning to crawl! She started slow but very quickly was racing everywhere, head down in determination to move.

April: Spring rang in loud and clear and for a few days the weather was quite hot. Mother Nature figured things out quickly and we had some very pleasant days. Mackenzie tried ice cream for the first time and liked it (what's not to like?). She also had her first swimming lesson in preparation for our pool in Paraguay.

May: Utah trip! One last week trip out to Utah before the big move this summer to visit family and friends. During this trip Kiersten was able to see both her MTC companions (who are both pregnant with their third child) and another MTC "companion" who is pregnant with her first. Families are forever!

Our little Mackenzie tried out stairs for the first time. She also learned how to clap and started doing a bear crawl to avoid scuffing up her knees. Smart girl. Scott and Kiersten celebrated six wonderful years of marriage by going to the drive-in movie in Stephen City sans baby.

Annual family photo with our newest addition.

June: Mackenzie's birthday! Can you believe a whole year has gone by since Mackenzie was born?! Nether can we. We had a small party at a local pavilion with local family and close friends. She tried chocolate cake for the first time and (surprise, surprise) liked it.

Birthday glamor shots.

Also in this month Kiersten biked to Purcellville for the first time which has been a goal for her for about a year. It's approximately 29 miles from our home. Scott and Mackenzie met her there with the car and lunch.

Scott's younger siblings came out from Utah and we had a grand Jackson weekend complete with BBQ, Nats baseball game (a first for Mackenzie and Grace, the latter of which enjoyed it immensely), and a lovely family Sunday dinner.

Our skeptical baseball fan.

July: This is our final month in Virginia and the United States for the next two years. We've been working feverishly to complete all the last minute things that come with an overseas move, some fun and some not as fun. The fun things include visiting family and friends, eating our favorite foods and hitting our favorite restaurants and ice cream places.

We love Peterson's Ice Cream Depot in Clifton, VA!
This was Mackenzie's first visit compared with our first visit.

Playing a duet with Grace.

We are gonna miss these guys!

We also celebrated our last holiday in America, the Fourth of July, with the Jacksons. Kiersten biked to Purcellville one more time and Mackenzie is super close to walking.

One thing we've neglected to mention during this six month recap is what Scott has been doing. He has been working and training and learning about his new job. He has been incredibly busy. But it is all paying off because last week our apartment got all packed up and we moved into a hotel. We had our last Sunday in the Reston Ward for two years and on Thursday we fly out ridiculously early to begin our journey. We'll fly from Dulles to Houston then to Panama then on to Asuncion, Paraguay which will be our new home for the next two years. We are excited and a little nervous about this new adventure, our biggest apprehension is of course our lack of Spanish skills which everyone has assured us we'll pick up quickly. If anyone has a desire to visit South America in their life time, do it during the next two years where you'll have a free place to stay in Paraguay! Wish us luck!