Week 31 Around Here {2019}

throwback :: july 2016

  Watching... our garden grow and eating cucumber and peas straight out of it.  It is so lush & green.  I think the sunflowers are my favorite.  They tower over all of us, and I feel like they're smiling at the whole neighborhood as they drive by. 

Loving... these last few weeks in our first house.  It's bittersweet to know that we are moving on.  We have made so many sweet memories in this house and built a beautiful life in our new hometown here.  I will miss how comfortable we are here.  I will miss our front stoop and flower beds.  Wyatt will miss our garden.  Josh will miss all the finished projects he's completed.  But all of us are excited for different parts of the new house.  The boys are mostly excited that our new house has stairs.  Hah!

Attending... the inspection on our new house, and getting to meet the current owners.  I was thrilled to meet the sweet couple who has put all that work into our new home and to tell them how excited we are to move in.  The wife is a sign language interpreter and I laughed as I told her that my husband and I met in sign language class in high school.  She had the same table cloth that matches the curtains I have in my current kitchen, and we share the same sentimentality about leaving behind the houses we have turned into homes over the years.  It's like it was all meant to be.
Spending an hour and a half at the house had me falling in love with it all over again, and I was so grateful when the husband took the time to show me all around the garden so I could console Wyatt's broken heart about leaving behind our gorgeous garden.  In our new house we will have cucumbers and watermelon and tomatoes, like we do now, plus raspberries and a few other things we don't currently have.

Enjoying... these days while Carly is in her "Mama's girl" phase.  If I am running an errand, she wants to be my sidekick.  If I am painting my toenails, she wants me to paint her toenails.  If I am gardening outside, she wants to be gardening outside. She is my mini-me, and I know from the boys that this stage won't last forever, so I am soaking up every second of it.

Splashing... with the kids at the waterpark two days in a row this week.  First we went as a family Monday so they could do the inspection on our house for the new buyer.  Then on Tuesday we met up with Roxanne's family so the cousins could all party together at the pool.  Carly & Romy played so cute together in the shallow water. 

Filling... out lots of paperwork, gathering necessary documents and doing lots of terrible "adulting" to get everything in order for the houses to sell/be purchased.  In addition to the inspection, we also had an appraisal this week.  It's a lot, but the good news is that it seems like everything is moving along really quickly and we should be moved in before the end of the month.  Maybe even before school starts for our kids!!

Driving... Jack to a truck stop to meet my sister and her crew so he could tag along with them to Vancouver to see my parents.  She offered on Tuesday when we were at the pool, and I couldn't say no.  Being one kid down during the crazy chaos of moving has been lovely.  And he, as you can imagine, is having the time of his life!!!

Reading... Moloka'i and enjoying it so much.  I am also listening to The Current, which is disturbing and I am dying to know who did it!!
I sadly closed out July with my "least books read" so far this year.  Three.  That's it.  Three measly books.  But getting the house ready to go on the market took a lot of my time, as did two trips- one to Vancouver & one to Lake Wenatchee- as well as taking care of four kids full time with school out for summer.

Crossing... my fingers that the starts my father-in-law cut off our dinner plate hibiscus bush will grow and be hearty plants that we can use to grow our own hibiscus at our new house.  I love that plant so much!!!

Mommin'... pretty hard this week with two playdates, a few trips to some parks and a trip to the library to get some fresh reading material.  I am so thankful for friends who take my kids off my hands (hi Emilia! hi Priscilla!) when life is gets busy.  And thankful for some quiet mornings (thanks to the twins' morning math class) that gave me the opportunity to visit new parks with Wyatt & Carly. 

Blogging... my little heart out in the calm before the storm.  I wanted desperately to get the blog caught up before we had to start packing for the move.  So today's post is being posted on the actual day it should be (hooray!) and tomorrow I am supposed to start packing.  Wahoo! I made it!!

Making me laugh:

{thanks betsy}

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Here's to having steady souls,

despite all the chaos that surrounds us.

Hugs, my friends.

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Week 26 Around Here {2019}

{pc: Aunt Roxanne}

Having... my sister over along with her kids on Saturday.  It was a really fun day, and I was so glad to spend the day with her.  She even curled Carly's hair while she was here with my new wand from Ulta, and Carly looked so darn cute!
I enjoyed loving on my niece Romy & seeing all the kids snuggled up on the couch together watching a movie during movie night.  They're just so sweet together.

Trading... kids on Sunday with my sister.  She got Jack and I got Milo.  We met at the halfway point and swapped kids, then met again in the afternoon to trade back.  Logan & Wyatt had such a great time with Milo, and Jack loved being at Roxanne's sans his siblings.

Sending... Jack for a sleepover at Grandma's.  He was so excited to have some special time with her and Papa, and I think it was just what he needed.

Kayaking... with the kids and Josh while Jack was with grandma.  We had a great time on the water, but it was interesting to see how lost Logan was without Jack there to be his buddy on the water.  They drive each other nuts... but they also depend on each other for entertainment and companionship.

Celebrating... Wyatt's birthday with a pizza party.  We watched a Spiderman movie and enjoyed pizza, Koolaid, cake & ice cream.  Wyatt had a great time, and I think his friends enjoyed themselves, but the best story of the night is this: I had given Carly a little Koolaid before the party started.  Then about an hour later, the boys were all having pizza and I started pouring them cups of Koolaid.  Carly marched her little self right over to the table, jutted her cup toward me and said, "I need more alcohol, mom."
What?!? Somehow she mixed up the name "Koolaid" with the name "Alcohol", and wanted more.  Hahaha!  Then, later that week, we were at the grocery store and as we were cruising down the center aisle of the store, Carly pipes up, "Can we get more alcohol?"
She just can't seem to remember that it's called Koolaid.

Riding... with the kids to the school for a morning play time, and enjoying it so much.  Carly loved riding in the bike trailer, and I felt really good, too!

Spending... some time with my bestie on Thursday, and enjoying it so much.  We got lunch while we were together and had the chance to have so many uninterrupted conversations since we were kid-free (thanks to her mom and Josh).  It was lovely!

Playing... at home is going really well so far this summer, thanks to the boys' "Play List" (a list of all the things they can play when they have free time) and the consequence of weeding when they are naughty.  I had been so nervous for how it would go, but I am happy to report it is going just swimmingly.  They are having so much fun building forts and reading books and I am grateful for the permission my counselor gave me to give them more screen time if I need it to survive.  I always have that little card in my back pocket!

Reading... The Road Back to You (which is about the enneagram), Harry's Trees (which I talked about last week & am still working through) and Love You Hard.  When I finished Love You Hard I started The Prayer Box, which I am loving!  It's about a woman whose landlord passes away, and while cleaning out her house, she comes across a life's collection of prayer boxes.  Through these prayer boxes, she begins piecing together this woman's life story.  It's really good!

Taking... the twins on a bike ride, just the three of us, and having the best time together.  We raced and took turns leading the pack.  When we got home, we all felt great, and I was so glad I had said yes.

Storm watching... with the kids on Thursday night and loving how Carly got out her pretend camera to take pictures.  They loved the lightening and counting to see how far behind the thunder was.

Blogging... my heart out to get caught up on the few weeks I was behind.  I am so glad to be caught up!

Getting... away for a small group get together with the girls I started small group bible study with back in 7th grade.  For over 20 years these girls have been by my side through thick and thin, and it was so amazing to sneak in some time away with them.  We left our collective 13 children with our husbands and had some kid-free time in Seattle, going out to dinner, walking to see the sunset view and talking until 1:30 in the morning!  This time I got to meet Maggie's little girls, and her youngest is Carly's age and just a doll! I wanted to take her home! {swoon!}

{thanks to Tabitha's friends for sharing}

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