August 2014

Our last Sunday in Sunnyvale, I asked Todd, "Is this our last Sunday?  Should I tell people it's our last week at church?" and he said, "We'll know on Friday."  Turns out, we actually knew Thursday night.  Wednesday, it was looking like we'd be in Sunnyvale another week or so.  Thursday, Todd got fed up with it and decided we could move into a house that wasn't quite finished.  He got online and rented a moving truck, with an appointment to pick it up at noon Friday and have it back by 7:00 am Saturday morning.  

The craziness got worse.  Friday morning, with a four-hour block to pack and have everything ready to load onto the truck, Todd remembered he had to meet a contractor at the house in Livermore, and jumped in the car.  I packed everything on my own, with the three little ones at home with me.  It was insanity.  Todd got back around 11:30, helped me finish up, then left to get the truck.  He had about two hours to load it before he had to be on the road again, or he'd hit the bad traffic and double his drive time, so that was stressful, too.  

Lucky for me, my job was done for the day, so I spent the afternoon in the pool with the kids and some friends.  

Friday night and Saturday morning, we cleaned our empty apartment, went swimming one more time, then hit the road.  Our van and Todd's car were packed to the roofs with everything we hadn't had time to load in the moving truck.  We had to leave a couple things behind. 

The first couple weeks in Livermore were intense as well.  In addition to the regular unpacking and organizing, we were cleaning up construction dust and messes, and still adding things like towel racks and light covers, touch-up painting, and other odd jobs around the house.

The kids have been big helpers.

The kids finished strong with soccer.  Jack rarely runs, but he will at least kick a ball as he strolls behind the pack.  Hazel turned into an intense defender and can drive the ball into the net.

Hazel is still practicing body art on a regular basis.

One of the best parts about moving is we have all new spots to explore nearby.  Todd found a lake with a pretty good beach just 20 minutes away.  It doesn't beat the beach, but the drive is great and the kids loved swimming in the calm water and playing in the sand.

We've got the tramp set up - HEAVEN!

We put up a hammock in the backyard.  Man, I love having a backyard.  Hazel's got a little table set up out there; she likes to get out notebooks and paper cups full of leaves and play school or concoct witch's brews back there.  

I am *in love* with my kitchen.  It is super dreamy; huge and gorgeous and brand spankin' new.  Todd and I can both bustle around working on dinner, with kids running between our legs, and I don't feel stressed out or cramped.  It's a beautiful thing.  We've got empty cupboards and drawers, there's so much storage space.  It's fabulous.

We were able to choose paint colors for the whole house, so the kids' rooms got makeovers.  Jack and Hazel's is a bright aqua and I'm so in love with it.  They've got pink, orange, and turquoise textiles in there, and Todd refinished their beds in white.  The whole thing looks great.  I mod podged their name letters with scrapbook paper to match the new look, and took their pictures with them tonight to mark how crazy cute and big my kids are now.  

When I planned out their rooms, I had to find something that would work now, with Hazel and Jack sharing a room, as well as a year or two down the road, when we put the girls together.  Gemma's walls are my favorite sage green, with dark pink name letters and curtains and butterflies on the wall. It's such a great room.  Both the kids' rooms turned out so fantastic.

Hazel started kindergarten August 25th. It's from 8:30-1:30 every day.  She eats lunch at school.  It's been hard getting up in the mornings, but she's otherwise loving it so far.  

Jack is moving up to the 14 inch bike.  We're calling it "the white bike," so if you're around, please don't point out all the girly stuff on it.  It's working out so far.  He rode it to pick Hazel up from school the first day and was super proud of himself.

I bribed Hazel with a giant cookie so she'd tell me every detail about her first day.  It worked, but only for day one.  I rarely get anything out of her.  It's driving me nuts.

Jack started preschool the next day, and he got a giant cookie as well.  He's enjoying school - doing much better than I anticipated, actually.  He's comfortable with the teacher and is making friends with the other kids.  He's not acting reserved or cranky at all.  It's good.

I came a few minutes before school got out today and got to watch Hazel's class decorate her teacher's car with schoolhouse magnets they'd colored.  Apparently, they get to decorate Mrs. Allen's car every month.  It's a Beetle with eyelashes on the headlights and flower taillights.  Hazel was going gaga over it.

This weekend we went to a Scottish Festival in Pleasanton.  It was hands-down the best festival we've ever attended.  It was huge, with entertainment everywhere you went, so you didn't have to watch the schedule and join the masses in the one spot something was happening.  Instead, we could wander around and stop to watch Highland Games sporting events or listen to music or check out sheepdog competitions without feeling any pressure.  Todd wore a kilt, we ate meat pie for lunch, and we finished it all off watching the caber toss.  It was a perfect Saturday.  

We invited the Wikle's to come up and attend with us, so we all had buddies to chat and run around with.  We are definitely making this a yearly Labor Day weekend tradition!