Look at me!

Oh the milestones just keep coming don't they? Guess who learned how to climb a tree this week?

The Fortress

So, Austin had to do a biography report. He choose Julius Caesar as his subject. I was a little concerned that he didn't take away very much from this report. I was wrong. He got it alright. How to defend ones buildings. I have to tell you that if you click on the pic with all the kids, you need to take a good look at the crazed look on Melissa's face. Should I be worried?

Saying Goodbye

The clock is ticking and I'm waiting for our paperwork to show up to sell the house in Colorado. If everything goes as planned, we'll be closing this Thursday. I haven't wanted to say anything out of fear that something might happen. I know, I know, superstitious I know, but...after having the house on the market for 40 something days and everything else that is going on in our lives, it almost seems worth it.
We'll miss that house. Well, maybe not the house because it was starting to seem small, but what it represents. Good family and good friends. The past 2 years that we spent in Colorado were incredibly important to our family. We all got to know one another again, without the pressures of outside influences. It was quite a realization to come to the awareness of how important family time is to our family. To just simply spend time together, going out to dinner, 4Wheeling on the weekends or taking in a movie. I love those little things and with any luck our kids will look back and have great memories of doing things with us. Things were tight with the video business, but we managed to make that family time important. We took vacations for the first time ever as a family and learned that we LOVED it! And with all of these new awareness will continue to do so as we make decisions in the future. And for that I will always be grateful for our time back in Colorado.
And the friends...what can I say? We became such great friends with such incredible people! Bryan and Kristi with their incredibly strong faith and unshakable marriage. Johnny and Marty with their whit and wisdom of parenthood. Brent, one of the kindest guys I've met. Yes. We miss those impromptu BBQ's and Margs. And we miss the conversations, be them rantings or ravings. And just the simple wave of a hand as one of us left the neighborhood. We were incredibly blessed to have met all of them and we hold our time with them dear in our hearts.
So it will be hard to sign those papers when they finally come, realizing that our time there has truly come to an end. But we go on, realizing that the friendships that we have made will last a lifetime. But finding it hard to believe that I can't go borrow a cup of sugar from them again...

The Blue Angels

So Greg and I drug the kids into San Francisco this weekend for fleet week and 3/4 of us had a great time. We hopped on the Bart into the city and well, it was crowded. There was fleet week of course, but also an opera and a SF football game. Needless to say that we didn't have seats and the kids weren't too happy about standing up all the way in. But we managed to get there ok and promptly got the kids pretzels and churros from a vendor on the street. Ohhh did they look yummy! It was neat seeing guys in uniform in San Francisco, seemed out of place, but it does make you proud to be an American. Made our way down to Pier 39 and staked out our spot. The planes were awesome! I still don't understand how they get off the ground, but the power that the jets have are just incredible! All Melissa could say was "Mommy, I think Matthew would love this! I wish he was here!" Things started to go downhill as Austin lost interest. Claimed he was bored. Well, sometimes in life we have to do things we just don't want to do and this time he was just going to have to wait it out because the rest of us wanted to see the Blue Angels fly. Well, crisis time hit when Austin accidentaly kicked his water bottle off and into the bay. Now keep in mind this isn't just any water bottle, this the the Mary Blair water bottle. Those who know Austin and how he hangs onto things can see where this would just put him over the edge. The drama the ensued was soooo over the top. But we pushed through it and watched those Blue Angels fly. Incredible is the only word for it. They certainly can put on a great show and it was an honor to be able to see them again. Our thoughts and prayers are with our troops and families always.

Life is good

I'm sitting here this beautiful Sunday afternoon listening to the sound of 7 (yes count them 7 of the 12 or so on the block) boys playing cops and robbers on their bikes and scooters. I tell you, if nothing else, the fact that our son is out there playing with other kids, made this move worth it! They are out there having a great time! Austin comes in every once in a while to grab a drink. I don't think I've ever seen him drink this much water. Thank goodness he hasn't hit puberty yet though, or he would STINK!

Retheth

Melissa's favorite thing to do in school is recess. Growing up they are. In school full time, learning how to read and do math problems. And then there are the other milestones.

My baby has gone and lost both her front teeth! Well, okay, she didn't lose it! She had Greg pull it out! For a week now she has sworn that it was loose enough for him to pull out. (And pulling is better than waiting because then the tooth fairy gets here sooner) He kept talking her out of it for days, but then Monday night she was sure! He tugged and pulled and wiggled while I cringed on the couch trying not to look cause it was grossing me out. But it wouldn't budge. Poor thing, picture her cute little blond self with blood dripping down her chin, her mouth hurt and nothing to show for it! But last night was the night, she kept wiggling it and wiggling it and as soon as Greg walked in the door she had him pull it right out.

So now, if you ask her, Melissa's favorite thing to do in school is retheth.

Living out of boxes

Trying something new. Taking a page out of my friend Shawns book and I'm going to try the blog thing. I figured it couldn't hurt trying to keep myself organized. I find myself not being able to remember time frame of happenings in our lives with all this moving. So, we'll give this a shot. Post some pictures and share what the kids are up to.

Anyhoo...
I can't seem to get unpacked. I don't really know what my problem is, I find myself finding excuses to not be in the house during the day. It could be the fact that someone else (that I don't know) has used my toilets, or that I'm staring at plain white walls or quite honestly I'm missing my friends, my house, and my dog. Really Janie is a huge part of why I'm having such a hard time settling in. This is the first time in 15 moves that she hasn't been shedding up a nervous storm getting underfoot. I miss her terribly, especially in the evenings when Greg works late. I miss seeing that sweet little face following me to every room, making sure I get her things unpacked.

But then there too is the curse of unpacked boxes. Inevitably if every box gets unpacked, we'll be moving again in 6 months. And who wants to do that?
Enough rambling. I need to unpack the camera so I can take pictures of this place to post here. If I could just figure out which box that is...