The Spruce Goose

One of the perks of moving is the massive influx of paper. The kids have had a grand time drawing giant pictures. Peter took the packing material that was around one of our paintings and made a humongous paper airplane. Sadly, it couldn't fly, but it sure looked cool.

The Gateway

I saw this today and was highly amused.

Trial Run

Today the kids and I practiced walking to school. That's right, we haven't started school yet. We've still got a week to go. In a way it's great, they have more time to get used to the new area, I have more time to gather needed supplies and spend time with them.

On the other hand, they're hungry to make friends. And I may be going a little crazy trying to keep everyone getting along with everyone else. I've been reminded recently how much I need a little quiet time everyday to maintain my sanity. Remember how we used to be so good at quiet time? We still have it, we're just not very good at it anymore.

Peter mostly stays in his room (or the playroom) until I say quiet time is over; he's always been my most successful quiet time participant. Cooper comes out every twenty minutes or so and asks if it's over yet. That's not terribly conducive to me getting a nap, but it's not awful. Phoebe has decided she's afraid of her room and can only have quiet time if she's in the same room with someone else. This means that she comes out every few minutes unless I'm camped outside her door (and then she yells out to me over and over asking if I'm still there) or she has a big person in there snuggling her and trying to help her nap.

That was a long way to say, this week we're practicing for when school starts, trying to add more structure into our routine, and learning the walk to and from school. It's not quite a mile one way, which means we walked almost two miles today. I'm sore and a little nervous that I might not be able to move much tomorrow. But I figure it's better to be sore this week and build up my stamina for next week. And who knows, maybe I'll wear the kids out so much I might just get quiet time again!

Back To the Grindstone

Were you impressed that I had three posts that were published during the morning hours this week? I prepped them all on Monday night and scheduled them. Why?

Bryan had his first week of work at his new job. And it took place in New Jersey. So after a whole summer of having Bryan at home, we ripped the band-aid off and sent him to the other side of the country for a week.

I'm kind of tired.

We did plenty of fun stuff while he was gone, like exploring the city (we discovered the boundary between the safe and not-so-safe areas, oops), finding a few cool parks, going on some easy hikes, having new friends over to play, producing art, putting on shows, holding a few pretend-surprise parties, and (as I wrote about on Tuesday) baking. Oh, and that means that for the second year-in-a-row Bryan and I were in different parts of the country for our wedding anniversary.

He got back today and is worn out, but really happy with his new company. Next week he'll start his responsibilities locally.

We're very glad he's back.

Drip Drop

The kids are really loving having a backyard. Often they're out the door as soon as breakfast is over. On Monday I walked out to see what they were doing and was caught off guard by how cold it was, but they were unaware of the chill as they bounced around the yard.

That same morning, Peter was thrilled to discover that the grass was still covered in dew. He carefully carried in a strand to show to everyone. I got this picture just before the dew dropped off.

Sweet Dreams

This picture was neither staged nor posed. That's just how she sleeps sometimes.

Toss It In the Oven

The kids celebrated our anniversary by baking.

Peter made soy nut butter cookies.

Cooper and Phoebe rolled out (kind of) pie crust and had chocolate pudding pies.

It was sweet that they were excited about the anniversary.

Phoebe likes to ask if she was there when Bryan and I got married. I tell her that I'm sure she was there in spirit. Then she says, yes, she and the boys were there, but Cooper ran around the Temple and she had to tell him to stop running and be quiet. Knowing her, she probably did.

An Even Dozen

Yesterday was our twelfth wedding anniversary!

When we got married Bryan said that he wanted our honeymoon to last for twelve years. That way if someone asked if we were newlyweds, he could say yes for a really long time.

On Saturday I reminded him of his declaration. "You know what that means, right?" I asked.

"What?"

"That means that tomorrow the honeymoon is over."

He said maybe we should extend it. Or, better yet, second honeymoon!

Happy anniversary Bryan!

Hand In Hand

The Creature From the Black Lagoon

Just in case you ever move into a house that has a jetted tub, make sure you run the jets before you get in. That way, if scores of black specks come spewing out you won't be sitting in the middle of it.

It was gross.

Until last night I didn't understand the beauty of having a shower that is separate from your bathtub. Now I get it. And boy, was I thankful for it.

Bryan spent a chunk of time today trying to flush out the jets. I'm not sure that we'll be able to get them completely clean. It kind of looks like they've never been cleaned out before.

Here's to showers!