Commute

Justin sure enjoys his new and greatly shortened commute. If it’s a nice day the girls like to meet him down the street when he’s walking home. On this afternoon they brought him a scooter to ride the rest of the way home.

Okay, so we’re not close enough to Justin’s work for him to walk the whole way home. He’s found a great vanpool in the area that picks him up and drops him off at the entrance to our neighborhood. We love having him on a schedule and best of all the company pays for it.

Easter Egg Hunt

I was torn this year about what Easter Egg Hunt we should attend. We LOVE the hunt in our old neighborhood and since we still own a home there we have claim to attend – besides it would be fun to be among friends. But with gas prices so high (and much to do at home) we just couldn’t justify the drive down. Instead we opted to attend the Easter Egg Hunt sponsored by the city of Snoqualmie. With Mount Si in the background the setting was gorgeous, the fields were green and spacious, and the eggs were aplenty.

This is the huge field for the 0-3 year olds

What is it with this boy and hats?

Never before have my kids scored as many eggs as they did this year. I was pumped when I saw all the full baskets.

Since Abigail and Jason both have food allergies this would usually mean more chocolate goodness for me. But my excitement was short lived. Instead of the mini chocolate bars we have found in our Easter eggs in years past these eggs were filled with the cheapest, least-desirable candies I could imagine. Below even the tootsie rolls and sweettarts level.

I’m still smiling here cause we hadn’t opened any eggs yet

As it turns out, I’m the only one who felt slightly jipped - the kids had a blast and I’m sure we’ll make our way back next year.

Tulip Festival

We finally had a small break from the rain this past Friday and Saturday. Since the girls get out of school early on Fridays we took advantage of the beautiful day and drove north to the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival.

After experiencing the Tulip Festival our first spring in Washington we said we’d try to visit every year thereafter. Well, life gets busy and it is quite a drive so we haven’t made it every year (I think 2007 was our last visit), but we are always glad when we have taken the time to go. It is absolutely beautiful.

We first stopped in Tulip Town – a large touristy field with several different varieties of tulips. We took lots of pictures.

Definitely beautiful, but I wanted to find some fields totally saturated in one color. We drove around a bit and found red fields and yellow fields as far as you can see. These were easily my favorite and best of all they were free.

We had a great afternoon and hope that it doesn’t take another 4 years to get us back. Even though it was chilly and breezy the sun made it a gorgeous day. I almost believed spring had arrived, but alas the clouds and rain have already returned.

West Tiger Summit #3

With the move to Snoqualmie, I (Justin) have really looked forward to the access to local hiking and biking trails. A couple weeks ago, the forecast looked decent for hiking so the girls and I woke up intending to make the short hike to the bottom of Snoqualmie Falls. We arrived and found it was closed for improvement until 2013. We were a bit disappointed so decided to head to the trail to Tiger Summit. We hiked about 6 miles roundtrip and climbed 2000 feet in elevation. Many times on the way up we asked other hikers how much further to the top and almost turned around a few times. Initially we figured we would hike up halfway but Abigail was persistent that we make it to the top.

Abigail and Carly in the snow

Taking a break at the top and trying to get warm

Abigail and Carly at the top

The weather turned windy and colder the closer we got to the top and we had to watch our footing in the snow. Unfortunately the clouds rolled in and the view was limited but we definitely felt a sense of accomplishment in reaching the top. There are no bathrooms at the top so Carly practically ran down the mountain and Abigail and I had to keep up.

Hopefully this is just the beginning of many more adventures to come.

More Katie

With all the events of the weekend (see below) the kids spent a lot of time with sitters. I think I was away from the kids 9 hours on Friday, over 12 hours on Saturday, and close to 4 on Sunday. Sunday evening I could tell Katie just wasn’t feeling well. Thankfully it’s just a little cold and she wasn’t sick when we had babysitters.

Usually the plus sides of having a sick baby is that I have an excuse to stay home all day and that the sick child sleeps more than usual and wants to cuddle more. I’ve never had a cuddly baby so I enjoy it when I can. Of course when my kids were teeny tiny and couldn’t move for themselves I got plenty of snuggle time, but never beyond that newborn stage. So when Katie woke up early this morning still not feeling well I tried to bring her into bed with me with the hopes we could get a bit more rest before starting the day, but I’m afraid we’re already far past that stage. Oh how I miss those days when I had a little baby snuggled beside me sound asleep.

Katie resting with me at 2 months old – pure joy!

I gotta say it… I can’t believe Katie is already a year old. Here’s a slideshow of her monthly shots; unfortunately, amist the chaos of moving I missed her 11th month.

Monday Katie had her one year check-up (sick AND four needles... poor girl!). Here are her stats:

Height: 30.5 inches (90th percentile)

Weight: 21 pounds, 12.8 ounces (about 60th percentile)

A Weekend at the Temple

This past weekend was wonderfully busy. A year ago Justin was able to baptize our friend DJ a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His son was also baptized and as a family they have been working toward being able to go to the temple and be sealed together as a family for all eternity (more on that here). Friday night we joined many friends at the temple to support DJ and Susi as they attended the temple for the first time. Justin and I were asked to be their escorts and be right by their side as they experienced the joy and spirit of the temple. It was an amazing evening for us.

Saturday afternoon they returned to the temple with their son to be sealed together as an eternal family. Another wonderful day.

We wrapped up our weekend on Sunday joining friends in Auburn for a delicious dinner and sharing our thoughts about the temple experience. We feel very blessed to have been able to be a part of their special weekend.

Katie is ONE!

Thursday was Katie’s first birthday. Grandma Fletcher surprised us Wednesday night by bringing over a few gifts for Katie since she was going out of town for the weekend.

I liked these pictures of Katie – she really is quite clueless when it comes to opening gifts. Her first thought was to try and taste the beautifully wrapped box placed in front of her.

Everything still goes straight into Katie’s mouth so while Carly played with Katie’s new stuffed toy, Katie played (and munched) on her new puzzle.

Katie’s birthday was very low-key. I didn’t make her a big fancy birthday cake, buy her any gifts, or decorate the house, but I’m pretty sure she enjoyed it anyhow, even in its extreme simplicity.

She wasn’t quite so sure about having a cake set in front of her and people singing “Happy Birthday” to her.

But once she was set free and got a taste she was quite pleased.

While she munched on her cake, she entertained us with her goofy pig face and blowing bubbles.

By the time Katie had her fill she had done some pretty decent damage to her cake and wasn’t too incredibly messy herself.

With the help of her cousin, Katie opened a few more gifts.

(Katie was excited about her new nylons and tights – thanks Mom!)

A few tidbits about Miss Katie at ONE:

Hollers when she wants to get our attention, which seems to be quite often lately

Pulls herself up, but isn't cruising; however she can stand without support and is starting to take steps

Slobbers... a lot

Tries to roll around when I'm changing her diaper, she thinks she's hilarious (me not so much)

Likes to play with the our toy kitchen and Jason’s cars

Magnetizes to the dishwasher any time it's left open and goes straight for the sharp knives

Katie also likes our kitchen pantry

And before we moved she liked to park herself in front of the backdoor and play with our detested vertical blinds

Katie has six teeth and is still an awesome eater, not picky at all, but if we are trying to spoon feed her she likes to have finger food on her tray as well

Can wave and clap

We think she says "ma-ma", "da-da" and "aba", maybe even "ni-ni" at bedtime

Is very ticklish, especially under her chin

Happy Birthday Baby Girl – We love, love, LOVE you!

Sunday Snow

April 17th and it was snowing this morning as we were getting ready for church. I suppose it’s only fitting that Jason grab his “winter hat” when gathering is Sunday attire.

What a handsome stud!

We’re lucky we were able to get it off of him before sacrament started.

Happy Birthday Katie!

After 17 days without internet I am finally back online!

Much to do including baking a birthday cake for my sweet baby girl…

more to come…

3.25 - 4.3 – The long and the short of it

SHORT VERSION

We are moved into our new house and are slowly getting settled into our new place and new routine. All the work that it took to get us packed now needs to be transferred over to getting us unpacked. The girls had a fabulous first week at their new school and haven’t had a single negative thing to say about it; we couldn’t have asked for smoother transition for all of the kids and Justin loves, loves, LOVES his new and improved commute.

LONG VERSION

For the sake of posterity I’ll do my best to remember this past week. On Friday (March 25th) Justin and I each signed our name (or initials) approximately 80 times with a stipulation that no funds would be released to the builder without our written stamp of approval once the house was complete. After we signed everything we drove out to the house to see if the work was complete. It was already 4:30pm so we were surprised to find that the granite for the kitchen island was still on the truck. Our superintendant was there trying to get everything wrapped up so we didn’t stay long. By this time we were starving and decided to try out some local cuisine. We heading into the little shopping area down the road from the new house and settled on a quaint little Irish Pub. Justin was thrilled to find that each booth had its own TV so he was able to watch some basketball during dinner.


What had Justin even more excited was that we were there during happy hour so all the appetizers were half off. We started off with a trio platter of calamari (for Justin), mozzarella sticks, and our favorite discovery – fried green beans (delicious!).

Next course was a sampling of sliders for Justin, nacho fries, potato skins, and a bowl of corn chowder.

Yes, we went way overboard on the appetizers, but we’ve now learned what we’ll want to get when we return and that two appetizers is really more than enough.

Of course we spent the bulk of the weekend packing boxes. It amazes me how long it takes. Every box is like a puzzle – what size box do you need, what fits best where, and what can we squeeze into this little spot… We thought we’d end up having to drive up to the house on Sunday to check everything out; however, by Saturday afternoon we got a call from our realtor that the kitchen was done and ready for inspection.

The kitchen looked great and the island was perfect. Never again will our home look as clean and perfect as it did that day.

Once home we sent an email to escrow that we were pleased with the kitchen island and prepared to officially close on Monday. Sunday we woke up bright and early to attend our new ward. We got there a little early and sat in our pew. Yes, this was our first week in the ward, but for the past 10 years we’ve pretty much sat in the same pew every Sunday. Back row, left side. Unfortunately, we are now in an older chapel and the legroom is really tight even in the side benches – something I suppose we’ll have to get used to. Everyone was very nice and several people introduced themselves (sadly, I don’t remember a single soul). Lots of young families, but with a good mix of older families and couples as well. Abigail and Carly are both in classes with several girls their ages. Only a few families in the ward attend the same elementary school that we do so it was very lucky that Abigail had a girl in her church class that also goes to the same school. By the end of church Abigail already had plans to meet up with her new friend at recess the following day. Jason was nervous to go into Primary at first – it took about 10 minutes and promises of lots of treats when we got home, but he finally took his seat among a dozen other sunbeams and had a good time. What a blessing it is to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We could move anywhere in the world and know that we have an instant circle of friends. We don’t have to search for a congregation that believe what we believe – we will be taught the same principles and lessons in our classes regardless of where we live. This is such a huge comfort and blessing to our family.

Sunday evening we were invited to a friend’s house for dinner. I’ve always thought it silly that people offer meals when families are moving, but now I understand why. Our cupboards were bare and since it was Sunday we don’t eat out. We were incredibly grateful for a hot, homemade meal and when they asked if we’d stay and play games we were grateful for the reprieve it provided from the tasks we had waiting for us at home.

Monday was another early morning as the girls were starting at their new school 40 minutes away. We arrived early enough to meet both of their teachers and look around their classrooms.

Both of the girls’ teachers found them a buddy before school to show them around and play with them outside until the bell rang. I was nervous for them, but grateful to walk away and have them surrounded by new friends. I picked them up after school and as we drove back to Auburn to load up the moving trucks they talked non-stop about their first day. Seriously, they had so much to say that we had to take turns so I wouldn’t miss anything. They haven’t muttered a single complaint. The staff at the school has been awesome and their teachers have really helped them feel included. The students in Abigail’s class had even put together a gift basket to present her on her first day and Thursday she was asked to make an announcement over the intercom to the whole school. Their first week couldn’t have been better.

Getting on their little bus Tuesday morning Monday was a crazy, busy day.

After dropping off the girls at school we headed back to Auburn to finish packing up. Thankfully, I had a great friend offer to entertain Jason all day (7am-6pm) and Katie was able to nap at another friends house that afternoon. Justin thought that with a 4pm start time we’d be done loading the trucks by 6pm – but of course it took much longer than expected. We couldn’t have done it without so much help from friends in our ward. One of our favorite families brought their youth age children along and helped load up the trucks, take care of Katie, and clean the house. I will forever remember how grateful we were for everyone’s help.

We drove up to the new house around 8pm that night and were greeted by our deer friends.

Our friend DJ and his family followed us up to the house to drive up the trailer (Justin drove the U-Haul) and they were able to help us get out a few mattresses for the night. The girls had their sleeping bags and I thought I was prepared with something for Justin and I but I could only find Jason’s bedding. So Justin and I slept on our mattress with only twin-sized sheets to keep us warm. Even though the day had been so long and exhausting neither of us could fall asleep (not unusual for me, but completely out of character for Justin). At 2am we finally got up and walked around our empty house and took it all in. Not the most restful first night, but one that we’ll remember.

Tuesday was unloading day (and night). Our friend DJ took the day off to help us out and was joined by two members of our new ward bright and early. Between the four of them they were able to unload the entire U-Haul and trailer by 11am. They put the boxes in the garage and that evening ward members came and help distribute the boxes to their rightful rooms in the house. During the day Justin and DJ had to return to Auburn to fill the trailer up with the rest of the things there. I’ve never considered myself a hoarder in any way so it was shocking how much stuff we had. I hope we never have to move again and that if we do someone will pay to have the professionals do all the work for us.

I am so disappointed that I didn’t take a single picture of the move. No pictures of the huge U-Haul full to the brim, or the big trailer full of even more stuff (twice). How could I have missed those ginormous vehicles? They were quite the sight parked in front of our home. No images of all those who helped carried out box after box and carefully maneuvered our furniture down our angled staircase and through narrow doorframes. Actually, I tried to avoid watching them move our furniture myself – it made me too nervous. And apparently I gravitate toward large, heavy furniture - or so I’ve been told.

Wednesday we had to head back to Auburn to clean up the house for a showing that afternoon (at nearly $4/gallon our gas expenses have been ridiculous this week!) Once again we had amazing friends step in to lend a hand and by the time Justin and I got there the house was looking really good. Since we were near a Sam’s Club Justin did a little shopping before heading home and managed to rack up our biggest grocery bill ever – I suppose it’s to be expected when you’ve used up all your frozen food and bulk items over the last several months – funny though how we still didn’t feel like we had anything to eat.

Justin returned to work reluctantly on Thursday morning. I stayed at home all day planning to get things organized but instead ended up on the phone most of the day switching utilities and trying to figure out who we should get TV service and internet through. A week without internet and I was struggling – turns out it’s extremely difficult to research internet and cable companies when the only internet access you have is on your cell phone.

Good thing I had Jason around to help me with all the boxes around the house

Justin’s also done a great job unpacking boxes – in fact, he’s probably unpacked more than I have – what a guy!

Friday we had Dish Network come out and get us hooked up with a satellite. We had dish in Auburn and never had any issues so we decided to go with them again – we just can’t justify paying any more than we have to by getting a “bundle” through anyone else. Thankfully, they were able to come out quickly so we would be able to watch General Conference from home over the weekend. That evening Justin (with the help of a handy friend) installed the TV above our fireplace. It looks fabulous.

We spent the weekend getting organized in between General Conference sessions. Justin headed back down to Auburn Saturday night for Priesthood session and returned home late after doing a massive Winco run. So nice to finally have decent food in the house. While Justin was gone we had a visitor.

A little deer was mowing our front lawn. All the banging on the window and squealing didn’t even phase the deer, she just kept on eating.

Apparently she can’t read When the rain started back up (has it stopped this past week???) she took shelter on our front porch. If I would have opened the front door I think she would have walked right on in and made herself at home. Even though we are on a dead end street there are still several cars that drive by. Every single one had to stop and take a look.

Sunday was a welcome opportunity to stay home all day and watch General Conference as a family. The kids listened to a lot of the conference, but they also had some fun building forts with all the boxes we have laying around. Their largest fort took up most of family room.

Well, that takes us through week 1 (did you make it?) – this week is spring break, but we’ll leave that for another post. Tonight I’m posting from the city library five minutes down the road (forgive the formating issues) - hopefully we’ll get internet at home by the end of the week.