I'm anxious to get caught up on the blog here so that I'm not posting my back-to-school pictures at Christmastime! :) This past summer was a crazy summer. A whirlwind of emotion. We started out the summer doing all of the normal fun summer things and then three weeks in, we found ourselves preparing to move. It all happened so fast--only four weeks between putting our house on the market and moving out! It was exciting and hard--mostly hard. It was a lot more difficult to leave than I thought it would be! Probably because it was our first house, and we brought home most of our babies there, and we really made it our own. That house was pretty bare bones when we moved in and we had done much to improve it--everything from a full-repainting, to a complete yard re-do, updating cabinets and woodwork, etc. It was ours and it was beautiful. Although the tiny space was driving me bananas! And of course, the neighborhood. Leaving friends and neighbors was so hard as well. But...we felt it was time to move on and gain a bit more square footage. We still miss the house a lot and feel sad sometimes, but I'm guessing that is normal for awhile.
Anyway.....some good stuff happened this summer too. This sweet little guy turned two in June! Isn't he just darling? He makes us laugh every day.
We went out to eat at Chili's as a family and then spent a quiet evening at home, opening gifts and playing with them. The following Sunday, we had a family dinner and enjoyed some yummy strawberry pie.
My two-fisted pie eater!
Emma had her piano recital in June. Emma invited a few friends to be there along with the relatives. It's always amazing to see her progress!
The Fourth of July was spent with the Familias, per tradition. We always have such a blast eating our hearts out, laughing, being crazy, lounging, fireworking, and feeling glad to be American. We love the Familias and we love America!
Early July brought swimming lessons. Sarah and I love to chat while we watch our littles learn new tricks in the water. Good times! All the kids really love to swim and learn a lot during lessons. Rachel lost a lot of her fear this time and it was great prep for our trip to Texas, where we swam nearly every day!
July mostly meant packing and prepping to move. We said goodbye to this house....
...and this yard.
Thankfully, we had a super fun trip to Texas to see my family planned right after we moved out of our old house. The timing could not have been better! Seriously. We nearly killed ourselves all weekend moving out and cleaning, had two days to rest at my in-laws' house, and then jetted off to have fun and relax for two full weeks. We really needed it--all of us. It kept my mind off of the sadness of moving and the work of moving in that awaited me when I came back. The kids needed the extra love and attention. And we all needed to PLAY! And play we did. Here are some of the things we did:
*SWAM! A lot. Almost every day we spent 2+ hours at the pool.
*Rodeo. Can't beat a Texas rodeo!
*Frozen yogurt, ice cream, popsicles....
*Park
*Cousin birthday party
*American Girl tea party
*Visit to the Alamo and dinner downtown
*Cousin playdates
*Pioneer ward party
*Saw Despicable Me 2
*Shopping
*Game nights
*Movie nights
It was wonderful to be with family and have so much fun together. Thank you mom and dad--you are absolutely perfect hosts!
On August 10th, a few days after we got back from Texas, we moved into our new house in Orem. Pictures to come soon, I promise! We live just a few blocks away from beloved Aunt Sue and we have been loving it. Sunday family dinners outside are always fun. The kids love Aunt Sue's dress-ups.
I can't thank everyone enough for their help in getting us moved out and moved in this summer! My dear in-laws took us in for several days and cooked for us, cleaned for us, watched our kids for many hours, so we could do the work we needed to do. And so many others helped us along the way--we thank you from the bottom of our hearts! Though we are sad about moving, we love our new home and neighborhood. It is nice to feel like we are not tripping over each other all the time!
