Life in the City

I'm sorry for the recent lack of posts.  You guys, it's just.so.awesome being home!  The kids all have so many questions.  Mostly about driving, ambulances & police since we don't see a lot of those the rest of the year.  Wyatt is fascinated by all things automatic and loves riding in shopping carts.  The twins are loving all the time with aunts, grandma's & cousins.  I am loving the warmth of the sun on my face, laughing with my mom & sister, the comfort of being surrounded by loved ones.

We did our annual summer-clothes-shopping and this year my saint of a mother went with me.  The boys did great and are thrilled to have sandals, shorts & tank tops, all of which feel pretty special compared to the layers they always wore in Marshall.

Every store is an experience.  We spent probably a half hour wandering through the tiny pet store in our local mall.  And Wyatt refuses to visit Walmart without paying a visit to the goldfish aisle.  Another favorite? Seeing the tarantula at the mall.  "It'll scare your pants off, mom!" he warns me.  He is tickled and delighted by every thing he sees.

My mother-in-law (whom we're staying with, which is also awesome because hello, built-in help!) has two cats, and the kids are loving having pets.  They worry after them and love on them, and the cats have been so very tolerant.

We've been mostly banging out appointments this week, dentist, eye doctor, pediatrician.  It feels good to be crossing them off the list.  We've completely settled in here except for two dressers for Josh and I.  We are still on the hunt.  

We've also squeezed in a trip to the coast to see my grandparents and a few trips to the pool as well as the river.  The boys are LOVING all the swimming and so am I.  We have three little fish on our hands.  I even signed them up for swim lessons this year with my sister's boys.  It will be so fun to watch them learn!

As I said, a lot of our conversations center around driving.  And the boys love riding in other people's cars.  So far they've ridden in Uncle Samuel's car, Grandma's car, Papa Barry's truck, Aunt Julie's car and Nanny's Mustang.  The Mustang + the top down was a big hit!

We've also been enjoying nature.  Walks to the school nearby, playdates at park and picnics on the waterfront.  I cannot express to you happy all this makes me!

We're also eating all the food!  The boys love eating out, and Josh and I love the simplicity of visiting the grocery store instead of making everything from scratch.  Wyatt still doesn't understand how it works here, though because when I tell him no about buying something he says to me, "But they have it!"  Like, if they have it, we have to buy it cause they might not have it next time.  It's going to take a while for him to get that grocery stores here aren't like the co op where the produce or variety comes and goes.  

And also? Netflix.  That's right.  In Washington we have enough internet to run Netflix, and the kids pretty much think it's the best thing ever.

And also... paved roads.  These boys have become regular stunt devils riding their bikes on the sidewalked street in front of grandma's house.  It makes me so happy for them.

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Summer on, people.

Summer on.