September - and a few repeats

Moscow is a great place! It's growing on us.  I know I didn't LOVE it whenI first moved here but I'm learning to love my new home.  We are learning/hearing about things to do in the area so we are trying to keep our ears open and see what Moscow has to offer :)

For example Mike plays soccer on the "law students team" once a week :)  Hannah and I watch and cheer him on :)

Isn't she sooo cute :)

I kept thinking all the bottles were washed/in the dishwasher.  But when I started the dishwasher again I noticed not all the bottles were in the cupboard.  I thought about it,  Then it came to me to look in her diaper bag…THERE IS THE OTHER BOTTLE!! BLECK! That bottle had been in her diaper bag for two days; since during church on Sunday. I kept it on the counter for Mike to enjoy when he got home from school haha.

For date night that week we heard about the local fair and that there was no entrance fee! So Mike showed up early from school and took his girls to the fair and walked around and looked at the animals and photography and ate the popular fair curly fries.

I had a pretty bad week a few weeks ago and on the way home from running a few errands I decided we needed to stop at the park and hang out for a bit :) She LOVED it! :)

She was starting to wake up and get fussy so I went to check on her and this is what I found hahaha, I couldn't help but run and grab the camera to take a picture.  

She has been fighting a stuffy nose this last week. And it was just about bed time.  I knew she was blowing bubbles but I didn't realize she was THIS wet! AND had been smearing snot ALL OVER her! in her hair, clothes, face, hands and arms.  Poor girl :(

My cute daughter eating my purse 

She is a sweet, peaceful sleeper :)

Since she had a stuffy nose we stayed inside all week to play and take lazy relaxing mornings :)

Mommy and me time with new Mary Kay nail polish! :)

It only took about an hour to pain them and clean up the mess; because she was so wiggly :)

Saturday we took a stroll on the local Latah Trail that runs from Pullman, WA to Troy, ID. 

We found an entrance to the trail closer to Troy and walked for about 45 minutes. 

On the way home from the General Women's broadcast for church I snapped this picture just outside of our apartment :)

Sunday we got invited to our friends daughter's first birthday party; Hannah's first birthday party!

And then enjoyed the Super moon eclipse for a few hours Sunday night :)

Tonight's FHE as a ward we hiked up Moscow Mountain and enjoyed the scenes of a Moscow, ID sunset :)  

Todays' sight during lunch hour :)

Love,

The Dukes :)

My husband told me to write down my feelings; happy or sad, to help relieve some of my stress.  So the posts will vary.  I apologize in advance.

He is one hard working man and always knows what is best for me and for us :)  Hannah and I try to visit him when we can but we also know he needs to study hard so we try not to bother him that much.  But he has been really good about knowing what I need lately and we are enjoying life as best we can with him in school so much.  It's actually not that bad of hours.  Actually when I think about it, in his undergraduate program he was busy/gone just as much. So it's not terribly new to me.  But it's new to me with not working and having a baby.  Government help has helped put our minds at ease a little more.

So I have tried to look up a few things I can do on my free time and I am EXCITED to start some of them!  I'm kind of hoping I fall in love with a few :)  And get started on a few of my own projects I have in mind.

I also think maybe I need to get my bum off the chair and go on walks before it gets too cold. Hannah LOVES being outside!!

Mike came home early the other night and said let's go to the fair! It was approaching 8pm but we went anyway.  We had fun walking around people watching, looking at the art and photography, watching sheep, and watching the pigs fight over food and eating curly fries :) It was all in the dark but who cares, Mike came home early because he knew we ALL needed a break :) And who can beat a FREE fair! Sadly Mike had to go BACK to school but it was a nice fun break :)

Hannah is just cute as a button and we can't get over her!!


A family fun date night to the Latah County Fair! :)
Hannah loved all the lights and sounds, animals and people watching too, but fell asleep eventually.

Tonight she is soaking wet but is loving just sitting there playing :)

Last Saturday we turned on football and she rolled out of my arms on the couch and layed there and watched football with us for a few minutes :)

This morning during her morning nap she was starting to wake up and was getting fussy so I went to check on her... she got herself covered by the blanket and was just laying there not moving because she couldn't see. haha :)

Love,

The Dukes :)

Moving is hard.

When I moved to eastern ID I moved in with my sister,  I was working full time, and I had a boy friend. So I was meeting people at work and through my boyfriend and I had my sister and her family. I wasn't THAT bored or lonely.

Moving after my boyfriend and I got married was SO exciting and easy because it was something we wanted and we are best friends so of course it would be easy and fun!

When I moved to northern ID. Different story. No friends. New city I knew nothing about. Don't know the roads. Don't know how to get anywhere; except the one route to my husbands school and one route to the grocery store. So now I'm bored and lonely.

So what does one do when you are bored living in a new city that's a college town. You have a 'newborn'.  It's getting cold outside and your husband is MIA half the time because of his busy school schedule. And you are getting antsy and have cabin fever from being inside all the time, but have ZERO friends.

I have tried to get to know/tried talking to a few girls at church BUT they seem to not care and have their own friends they would rather hang out with.  Who wants to hang out with the 'new girl'??

I guess it's just harder for me than other people to introduce myself to others and be that person everyone wants to hang out with. I'm just not that outgoing person.  I've tried to use my time and try baking and cooking new recipes.  I've done some scrapbooking.  But there is always the dishes, laundry, vacuuming, feeding and changing baby, playing with baby, eating for myself, showering, workout.  How do I find time to do those fun crafts and DIY projects I want to do for myself? Or find time to do something different with my day??

My husband and I have had several talks but it always ends with me crying because I feel like the worst wife.

It's been a VERY hard adjustment for me and I'm still working on it all. But there is still that loneliness inside me.

I feel so far away from all my friends and family. And some days wonder if they even know or care I'm still alive.

It's also a hard thing to swallow when your business is not doing well, and people have unliked your business page.  So I'm losing people instead of gaining people and support.  And the few friends you did have (or thought you had) from your previous city don't respond to your text or messages or phone calls. So then you feel REALLY alone. Then you get the thoughts did they even like me when I lived there?

It's also hard going from working full time for ten years then one day being done working and being shut out from that line of work; in-office and globally.

It's just  been one of those weeks this past week.  I have a wonderful husband that cares about me and is working hard to provide for our family. I can't take away his passion for what he is working towards.  We will survive, it's just a hard adjustment for me as a wife and mother.  I know I will overcome this and that it will take time, I guess I just figured I would have made a few friends by now.

blogs are safe stressful days, happy days, and lonely days, right?

Love,
Mrs. Duke

September

September is FLYING!
Hannah is GROWING!!
Mike is LEARNING,
and Lanae is BORED! haha

First of all Mike is seriously loving law school! He enjoys doing his homework and reading all the interesting cases.  He is making some friends at school and studies til the wee hours of the morning. He actually loves school and what he is doing! He is very excited to be done and finally do/have that job he has always dreamed of doing! (Yes I know we still have 2 3/4 years left), but we see the light getting brighter every day :)

Mike tries to ride his bike to school as often as he can.  He also has a workout buddy at school :)
Or he walks to and from school.  And in the winter he will probably take the public transportation bus :)

Last week Hannah and I went to the park with a few other woman from church.

And on the way home we ran into SIX of these guys just a block from our house so we got to follow them home :)

Hannah- just keeps growing every day. I swear every morning she's three inches taller.  She is the best baby! Ok maybe the perfect, cutest, most adorable, most precious baby! haha. But really we love her to death and seriously can't get over how cute and beautiful she is!  Everyone says she looks so much like Mike but I don't really see it. And not because I'm her mom, I don't see more of one parent than the other, I think she's a good mix. :)

Me- well I'm not enjoying law school, haha but ONLY because I hardly ever see him. BUT it could be worse, right?  I'm learning to find things to do, trying to cook more, trying to catch up on scrapbooking, and I'm wanting to get my sewing machine out to do a few projects. But the laundry and dirty dinner dishes are in the way.  Ugh.  BUT next week my goal is to start that sewing project and bust it out! :)

I'm also trying really hard to start exercising again, I stopped for about a month because of the move etc. But I'm getting back on track with my Beachbody workout, eating healthier and drinking my Shakeology drink! :)  (If you would like more information on this workout let me know).

Hannah and I just hang out all day and do this that and the other.  There are a few walking paths in town I want to walk before it gets too cold.  I also have a list of some fun things to do while we live here, so hopefully that list will keep us busy :) And a lot of it is FREE!! That's the best, especially when your poor!

Labor day weekend we headed down to Boise to attend my nieces baby blessing.  One the way down to Boise you pass this cute Bed & Breakfast just off the highway :)

  It was a fun weekend with the WHOLE family!!  We ate dinner as one big family every night and just visited and played. We had family pictures in my mom's backyard and then Mike and I had our own family pictures on Monday morning before we came back home. It's always great to see family and just hang out with no or a low agenda.
Saturday morning we got up early to attend the Spirit of Boise Festival.  Hot air balloons everywhere! It was so fun and cool for all of us to see! :)

Here are just two pictures from our pictures on Monday :) I LOVE them!!!
Thanks to my good childhood friend Kathryn! She did an AMAZING job on our pictures!

And Hannah turned FIVE MONTHS on Sunday! Like I said she is a growing girl!

Love 

The Dukes :)