Home Sweet Home- The First Week

From the very first night, we all slept like we were meant to be here.  No one woke up crying, no one had nightmares and not even once during the day did Wyatt call out "Mom?" or "Dad?" in a scared, frantic voice. From day one, it has truly felt like home.

So happy to be reunited with some of my favorite Alaska things!

The backyard has also been awesome from day one.  The kids have loved playing football, soccer & squirt guns back there.  And once the trampoline arrived from Aunt Julie, not a day has passed that they haven't jumped with the sprinkler under it.

Also from day one we've enjoyed having meals together in our dining room, chatting about the best parts of our day and slowly settling into a routine.

I wasn't the only one happy to be reunited with my things-- the boys, too, were overjoyed to be reunited with old favorites like their train set from Alaska.

Since these pictures were taken, some changes have been made, but these show our progress, so I'm going to share them this morning.

Here is Wyatt & Carly's room:

Here is Logan & Jack's room:

Here is the garage:

Here is my kitchen:

I just love my kitchen! If I could hug it, I would! ;)

The weather has been amazing since we moved.  In the high 90's everyday, with blue skies, it's been welcome after a mediocre summer weather-wise in Vancouver.

Here is our room:

I'm hoping to get a few more projects done this week while Josh is at work, and post another round of pictures before my sister visits next weekend so you can see my progress here in Week Three.  Thankfully the work doesn't overwhelm me, and I am really enjoying taking my time in making the space my own and unpacking/decorating at my own pace.

So happy to finally be here!

Around Here: week 33

Average sleep? 4 hrs 39 min.
That is sad! 

Zoom in on that sucker-- it was huge!

Being... productive.  We have probably six boxes left in the office that need to be unpacked. (The garage is another story... but we're getting there!)  I found bookshelves for only $30 at Big Lots here in town, and I am repurposing a lot of what we have to make the house run how we need it to. It's so exciting to see it coming along.
Josh built a new side to the fence so the backyard is enclosed fully, and he replaced our master bath toilet.  I am finding him to be a jack of all trades and am so proud of how confident he is tackling everything the house needs.
Meanwhile I am finding homes for things, ordering curtains online and loving unpacking boxes of things I have long missed.  This week's ultimate joy was a box of books I had left behind in Alaska.

Watching... Carly grow. She's in the 75th %ile for height and weight, is drinking out of a sippy cup and has allowed me to lay her down for naps awake a few times, which was awesome.

Loving... Jack wanting to wear her in the Ergo. (Also? That dimple. I die!)

Sending... cards filled with love to Grandma Pansy & Grandma Carol.  The boys miss their people.  (So does their mother!)

Enjoying... the three big boys turning into big helpers with Carly.  When I need to cook dinner or unpack a box, they are amazing at keeping her happy.  I am also enjoying watching them jump on the trampoline.  Currently they are obsessed with jumping with the sprinkler on underneath it. So much squealing & giggling!

Smiling... every time I walk past my new kitchen curtains. They were purchased on a whim at Walmart, and have brought me so much joy every day! I love when something simple makes me so happy.

Cooking... all the things!  Banana bread, homemade pizza, and even my first cobbler!

Figuring out... my oven temps. It runs a bit hot, which has been a learning curve. The cobbler looked perfect on top, but was uncooked in the middle.  I'm hoping to try again soon, though. Maybe this time with blueberries instead of peaches.

Planning... meals for the next week.  To be reunited with my cookbook has been as happy as being reunited with my Kitchen Aid mixer!

Re-instituting... Friday Night Date Night for me & Josh, and Family Movie Night for Logan, Jack & Wyatt.  We missed these traditions during the year we were apart from Josh and starting them up feels very much like coming home again.

Sleeping... very little.  So much to do, so little time.  Did you see that average sleep on my FitBit report? 4 hours 39 minutes.  Pitiful! I am hoping to do better next week once Josh is back to work.

Killing... all the bugs.  Seriously.  The house has so many potato bugs, crunch bugs & spiders.  I am over it! Josh is spraying today and we're hopeful it will eliminate these creepy little guests!

Reading... Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott.  Its a book about writing and I am loving every page.  It is inspiring me to make time for writing & get back to what I love.

I also just finished July's second book club book When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi.  It was a quick, sad, deep read that I really enjoyed.  The other July book club book was The Silent Sister by Diane Chamberlain, which I devoured!  Next up are Home Field by Hannah Gersen and What Was Mine by Helen Klein Ross.  It's not to late to join our book club and enjoy a few more good summer reads!

Looking forward... to my sister and her family coming to visit next weekend.  We can't wait to show them our house and our new hometown!

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The Move

Upon arriving at our house, we immediately began unpacking.  The guys (Josh, his brother & nephews and my dad) unloaded the rest of the Uhaul as my mom and I balanced watching the kids with unpacking what we could.

Even though it pains me to share these pictures because of the mess, I know I will want the before pictures on the blog, so here goes!

garage

living room

As the rest of us unloaded and unpacked, my saint of a sister-in-law continued painting, finishing the last colored wall of the house.  By the time she left, the entire house was neutral and my carpets were totally crawling-baby friendly.

entryway

coat closet

the kitchen

the kitchen

the office/laundry room

the office/laundry room

Aunt Julie even let Jack & Logan give it a go painting.  Seriously, best aunt ever!

This baby handled the entire move beautifully.  It helped that we had extra hands on deck for the first few days.

the master bedroom

the master bedroom

the master bathroom

the main bathroom

the main bathroom

the dining room

The mess of unpacking got (a lot) worse before it got better.  But we are slowly getting there.  I'd say by September I should be ready to share some "after" pictures.  That first weekend, my mom and dad worked tirelessly to scrub every inch of our kitchen and I cleaned the main bathroom top to bottom.  Josh got the garage up and running and he and my dad tackled countless projects to get the house in good working order. 

There are many, many things I am grateful for in our new house. (So many, in fact, that I started a list on day two of living here and almost hit 100 things!) ...but one of the things that has me most excited is this dishwasher! Five years of living in rural Alaska with no dishwasher, having one is sure a luxury I don't take for granted. 

The dishes in this picture were a gift I am also really grateful for.

Somehow we managed to perfectly mix working our butts off unpacking with making special memories while my parents were here.  I was so thankful they were here to help us settle in, and also thankful they got to see where we are settling.  It was really hard to see them go.

A large majority of our first days were spent running to and from local stores.  Walmart and Lowe's in particular.  I was happy to wear sweet Carly, who now at six months, fits like a dream in my Ergo from Wyatt.  My favorite is when she falls asleep in it. She's such a squish!

This week Josh spent just one day back in his classroom preparing for the start of school.  Next week he goes back full time.  I am going to miss him so much, but I think we are all ready for a normal routine after so much happy chaos this summer.  In the meantime, we are rushing to get the rest of the boxes unpacked so we can settle easily into the new school year.

I'll have a few days with the kids to myself before they all start school and I am looking forward to those special days as well.  I know the house buying (closing a few days late and all that) was bumpy, but I am so grateful to have it all finished in time for Josh and the kids to start school.  That was our ultimate goal and I feel lucky to have reached it.

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