Bathing Beauty

I love the feeling of swishing my hair back and forth in the bathtub. This little girl likes it too!

Victoria's cheer season

V's cheer season was a little off because of her ankle. She still went to games and practices, but couldn't cheer for several weeks. She couldn't jump or stunt, for sure. 

I think the first thing performance that she was a part of was a preview of the Varsity's competition routine. They did a few cheers and dances together (JV and Varsity). 

Baseball Continues

Grant has a beautiful natural swing! I really loved watching Grant play soccer, but I am finding more and more that I also love watching him play baseball. I am also enjoying getting to know other parents at the practices and games. Katherine is definitely making friends and enjoying herself too.

I caught a couple nice hits on video.

Pigs in the Neighborhood

Victoria didn't believe us that there were pigs in the neighborhood. Everyone else had seen them out in the neighbors' yard, but she hadn't. We finally got photographic evidence. Initially we thought there was only one, but now we know that there is another. This has been an source of amusement for us. We like the neighborhood pigs.

Great Primary Teacher

Katherine loves her primary teacher, Brother Glass. He is really fun and you can hear his class singing happily and laughing in the hallway. We thought it was really nice that he shared pictures from time to time. This is one of the first ones we got. So cute!

Grant's 9th Birthday Celebrations

Grandmad and Grandpa came to visit at Yowell! Katherine and Grant's lunch times overlapped, so they got to see both kids! They brought Chick-fil-A and they let Grant buy an ice cream too.

Grandma and Grandpa gave Grant a Bryce Harper jersey that he really wanted for a birthday present. He loved it and you will see it a lot in the upcoming pictures.

 Make a wish and blow out your 9 candles!

Present time!

Instead of a party, Grant chose a family outing to a Nationals game! It was so much fun! He loved it!

Grant Making Friends at School

We got good feedback from Mrs. Wheeler that he was settling into the routine of school nicely. He had been pretty fidgety at the start, but is now doing a great job making friend sand working hard!

This is Grant and a new friend, Kenny, who he discovered is in the church ward that we shared a building with us. 

Flora

One day when I was feeling a little lonely at home in the new house, I thought that gratitude and being in the sun and in nature might cheer me up. It did! Look at the beauty in our new yard! I really am so thankful for nature! I am really thankful to the previous owners for planting these things that bring me joy!

Running into Cousins while Running(Hobbling) Errands

A couple stories... 

First, V sprained her ankle really badly and also got an avulsion fracture when she and a boy in her PE class collided playing volleyball. He stepped on her foot/leg while they were falling. Not fun. Major bruises up her foot and leg. ER trip/ Xray/MRI. She had been on crutches before for a minor sprain on the same ankle. She was had to stay off of it for a few days, but then could ease back into using it with a boot. This was dissappointing, but she dealt with a positive spirit.

She went with me to Fredricksburg to look for some new things that we needed for the house. We went to Homegoods and then went to @Home. We saw Kattia's car there and V wanted me to drop her off near the door so that she could go in and "surprise them!" Haha, they saw hew coming from a ways away, but it was pretty exciting. Cool to be close enough to run into them randomly! 

Of course, the girls tried to get together.  Why not. Camila came with us to come see the new house and to spend the night. She came to church with us and stayed for dinner- Chili in the back yard.

We set up the back yard and hung some new lights that we ordered. I love them and really like the outdoor space in general.

Our New Home

We finally got in, on the 26th, I believe!

I am not going to lie, the process was rough!

We got here and the people were still here too. Still moving things out and the house was really really dirty. I was upset and remembered how nice it looked when we looked at it, I knew it wasn't perfect, but it was very well staged. Staging and cleaning to sell is so important. I was just upset because I had put so much care and effort into making our old house look as nice as possible for the new owner. All of the drawers and cupboards, appliances, bathrooms, baseboards, floors etc. were completely clean. I had  dusted all of the blinds and light fixtures. We replaced bad carpet before selling, we touched up scuffs on walls, filled in nail holes, etc.

I was really mad and overwhelmed to get the opposite- floors that appeared to not have been cleaned since our showing, dust, dirt, trash everywhere, food in the fridge, many left items, etc.

To be fair, they were trying to get out of there and probably had no malicious intent. They had wanted to close a bit later, but we wanted to close sooner so we met in the middle. That was probably why they were so behind on the timeline. From my understanding, the couple was divorcing and the man was the one moving things out. He had a bit of help and they were hurriedly taking things away.  They did leave a patio table and a few chairs and some furniture in the basement, so that was a bonus too. We knew that they would leave the basement sofa and chairs, which was cool. That enabled us to leave our huge sectional in the playroom at our last house.

Our realtors called a cleaning company to come. She came and ran a floor cleaner over the wood floors a few times. It was a big help. She couldn't stay long because her kids were with her. It was a bit chaotic, but she was very kind and it was awesome that she was willing to come by last minute.

I know this is a crazy thing to be upset about, but I was just really overwhelmed! I don't even know why I remember these feelings so vividly, but I think it was just that. I felt like I had to do it alone. Danny was working really hard at a new school at the beginning of the school year. Both tough and time consuming for principals. Have I ever mentioned that he tends to be a bit of a work-a-holic anyway? He was also working on his phd (although he just finished his summer coursework and was taking a bit of a break from that to work on work).

On the brighter side, I LOVE this new house. It is pretty good already, but I see beautiful potential in my mind! When it is decorated and painted the way I would like it to be, it will be amazing!

Next, we were WONDERFULLY welcomed here!

First, we received a beautiful house plant arrangement from our friends, the Engs, in Isle of Wight, wishing us luck in our new town and home. I wish I had a picture of it! The thought behind it brought tears to my eyes. They knew a bit about our reasons for moving and it meant a lot that they were still thinking of us. FYI, the plant lived for over a year and a half and brought a lot of joy.

We also received a sweet welcome card, fresh picked tomatoes, chocolate chip cookies, and flowers from our neighbors across the street! It took me a while to meet them in person, but it made me feel so good that they wanted to say hello and introduce themselves.

The next day the trailer was dropped off and Danny's brothers and a bunch of faculty members from CCHS came and helped us unload! It was so very generous! We were so appreciative!

One of those teachers, Beth Lane, not only came to help, but gave us the sweetest gift! Such a kind gesture!

I love it!

And a family in our neighborhood, the Gyory's surprised us with a beautiful potted mum on our front porch! So very kind and welcoming! 

These things all made us feel so good. So in spite of the work of cleaning, unpacking, and making this place a home, we were very thankful to be in a town full of good, caring people!