These Two.

 We are living life on both ends of the age spectrum these days.

 

But sometimes,



just sometimes

 

it works out quite nicely.

And those moments make the crazy days totally worth it!

 

 

*Thank you all for your kind words over the last few weeks as we have transitioned.*

The saying is true enough... 

Thank you for being our "village"!

 



As Promised: New House Pictures

This post is dedicated to Cousin Beth, who continues to be our number one blog fan despite the fact that I STINK at blogging!  Beth, here are the many-times-asked-for and long-awaited pictures of our new house! 

 

Entrance

 

 

Living Room

 

Kitchen

 

Eat-in Kitchen

 

Family Room

 

And....our little friend The Bear.

 Our neighborhood bear eats our trash and climbs our trees.

He's a little scary but we keep our distance when he makes an appearance!

We are so happy in our new place!

The Great Move by Patrick (and of course edited for readablity by Emily)

As Emily has clearly fallen behind on her blogging, in an unfortunate moment of weakness I mentioned that I would step up and do a few posts to bring everyone up to speed on what we forgot to tell you about this summer.  I always envisioned my first blogging attempt to be an exposition of political theory tied to some sort of conspiracy, but I guess life had other plans for me.   

 

The first and probably most dramatic would have to be one of life’s most dreadful and feared events… MOVING.   It all started last winter when we decided we had had enough of home ownership.  About this time my boss John had also decided that now was the time for he and his wife to begin building a house, and he mentioned the possibility of renting his house out.  Seeing an opportunity, we quickly began working on a scenario when we would sell our house, rent his and be done with home-ownership for good.   

Starting in March we began to prepare the house to sell.  We patched minor holes, repaired cracks in the walls,  holes in the ceiling, touched up the paint, finished painting rooms we had started painting in 2009 and did everything I had always been meaning to do.  We had the landscaping redone, painted the shutters, and found out just how nice the fence looked stained and not a plain greyed weathered look. Alas, this was not to be and to make a long story short, we were not able to sell ours, and ended up purchasing their house making us both landlords and homeowners all at once  (But if you are interested in buying a lovely home on Haydon St, please let me know.)

By July we had set a move in date, July 31^st, and began to pack as much of the house up as we could during every spare moment we had. We also made what would turn out to be one of the best decisions possible… we hired a mover, something we now recommend to any and all who will listen (it’s so great, you just pack up little things and look busy and they pick up all the heavy stuff and put it in a truck! Yes, you have to pay them but that is beside the point.  It's so worth it!)  

Finally, the move was over and we slept.

Except, we didn't.  Because the cats took a few days to adjust to the new house and decided that the way to deal with their stress was to keep us up all night long, alerting us each time they discovered something new and different about....ANYTHING.

Unpacking went quickly and before we knew it, we were settled into the house.  Unfortunately we were too tired and confused to take pictures of the house…  but Emily assures me she will take some this week and upload them for all to see.  That being said, look for pictures of the new house this Christmas after I get done Grizwalding this baby!

However Calvin and I didn't have long to get settled in the house before ...... Spain… But that is a story for another post… or 3….

There's a princess wand in my bathtub.

And a pink backpack on my kitchen island.

And Dora the Explorer on my TV.

Hairclips in my purse.

Princess coloring sheets in my living room floor.

Sparkly shoes on my steps.

Yes, friends, it's safe to assume a little girl has made her very sparkly, very pink, and VERY imaginative mark on our lives... and our house.

On September 28, ONE DAY AFTER I last blogged and promised to be back with millions of new blog posts and updates, we got the phone call that a sweet six year old girl needed a temporary home.

And because of our big move (remember how I promised to write about that? yeah.) we were able to YES.

And the empty bedroom at our house just happens to be pink. (Is there anyone out there who thinks God doesn't have a sense of humor?!)

So here we are.  A little temporary family of four, wandering our way through senior pictures, SAT scores, and graduation announcements and now adding things like "sign Elizabeth up for dance class" and "return Barbie movies to library" to our To-Do list.

So you see?  I'm so good at finding excuses not to blog!  Just when things start to get settled, a whirlwind rips through our lives and stirs it all up again.  This time, the whirlwind is about 3 feet tall and lets me put headbands and bows in her hair.

My Brother Got Married! Part 3: The Wedding!

Whew!  Sorry again for the gap in posting.  School started, we moved (did I mention that already?), and we have lots of just plain LIFE going on.  But a routine is coming, slowly but surely. 

Guys, it's FALL!  I love fall.  And the best part is, we now have a fireplace at our new house!  I cannot wait for cozying up next to it with a book and hot drink this winter.  The leaves are falling, mums and pumpkins are bedecking front porches everywhere, and Starbucks is making millions off the Pumpkin Spice Latte.  Boots are coming out the closet soon!  I love fall.

But.

Before I get too far into this next season, I need to wrap-up our summer happenings by sharing some pics of the Event of the Summer aka My Brother's Wedding.

It was beautiful, sparkling, fabulous and I felt so honored to get to be a part of it all.  They did such an amazing job of making their guests feel welcome!  I love the celebration of two families becoming one, along with the two people that are becoming one.  And let's just say, This One was a long time coming!

Patrick took his camera and got some great shots so those are the ones I'll share here!  Of course there were two awesome photographers but I will leave it up to my brother and new sis-in-law to share those as they see fit.

So, without further ado, a smattering of pictures from The Event of the Summer:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Welcome to our family, Katie!

You have been a part of it for so long now, that it feels good to make it official.

Wishing you and Dave a lifetime of memories and celebrations.

 

Love you both!

My Brother Got Married! Part 2: The Rehearsal Dinner

Ok here's some exciting news and another reason why my blogging has taken yet another back seat:  we moved!  As in, houses!  We packed up all of our stuff at our sweet little yellow door bungalow and moved to a new neighborhood a little further out of town.  That will need to be a post all of its own, but for now, please accept that as my excuse for being so behind.

I think last time I left off, I was sharing pictures from my brother's wedding, one of the highlights of our summer.  The actual weekend of the wedding was so fun and warm and filled with laughter, tears, family, and great food.  I really want to go back and do it all over again.  My brother and sister-in-law really know how to throw a good party! :)

We kicked off the weekend with the wedding rehearsal and then all met up that evening for the rehearsal dinner hosted by my parents.  Patrick saw it as the perfect opportunity to take a million pictures with his new camera, and Dave and Katie were thankful to have some pictures of the night! 

We gathered with family and old and new friends to share stories and memories of our journeys together with Dave and Katie.

 We gathered to mingle before dinner and Katie had filled the room with pictures that told hundreds of stories of our all growing up together.

 (I took this one.  My cute husband. I love him!)

 My son and my dad did not plan to match...but isn't it awesome?! haha

Travis is basically my adopted little brother because he was around so much growing up!

 Sweet Family

Bridesmaids!

 Old friends

 

 (I got to hold sweet Millie!) 

 Dave and Katie shared a story about each bridesmaid, groomsman, and usher.

It was so thoughtful and kind.

And then Katie's sister, the matron of honor, shared an intricate story of their complicated friendship web...

I have not laughed that hard in quite a while!

 I probably do not need to tell you how awesome it was that the whole weekend was filled with cupcakes!

 It was a beautiful evening and a great start to celebrating their marriage!