Since I have a bunch of pics from before the move that hadn't been uploaded, I'm going to start w/ the most recent pic and then go back in time, hopefully with a minimum of commentary on my part. Or else this is going to take me forever to write (and, by extension, forever for you to read.)
The first picture. The new house!
I really like the color of the cement board (it isn't vinyl siding--our first house with cement board). I also like the white accent. We didn't get to choose our color palette since the house was a spec and the colors were already chosen by the builder, but I did get to choose if I wanted red or a lighter beige in the roof peaks. I thought red would be fun--a number of the houses have colorful accents--and I didn't know if I wanted a brown-and-beige house. But now I'm a little unsure about the "red" since it has a decidedly purplish cast. I thought it would be a more brownish-red. It's so hard to tell from paint chips! But apparently this is the red that is used on other houses in the neighborhood. So. I either have to decide that I like it or see about having the roof peaks repainted in the lighter beige color. What do you think? Forrest says we should let it grow on us and that it will all look nice once the landscaping's in and the front door is on. I suppose time will tell, as it always does.
This is also the first time I've had a house with the garage on the left hand side, and that's throwing me off a little too. Perhaps because we read left to right, I generally "read" a house left to right, and I don't like starting with the garage. But I'll get used to this too, I'm sure. But now I sound like a big whiner, and I don't want to, because I really really love the inside of the house. It's going to be a great space and fit our family really well. I wanted to take pics of the inside, but when we went over with the camera they'd taped off everything in order to paint. So those pictures are forthcoming.
A few other quick moving updates: 1. We went to church today and it was really good. It seems like a very nice ward--big!--and the kids were very friendly to Ethan, Elise and Jonas when they went to class. (I'm sure the nursery kids were friendly to Wyatt, too, but it's harder to get reliable intel from a 3 year old.) 2. My hair likes Minnesota, I think. It's shinier and easier to tame. The humidity maybe? 3. After two days of listening to Phineas and Ferb blasting on the Disney channel in the main kitchen/family room area, we broke down and bought a smallish TV from Sam's Club so the kids can have a TV in their room. It's for my sanity, people. And the kids' sanity, too. It's hard to come up with stuff to do all day when you're in a 3 bedroom apartment and have no friends. Hence, Phineas and Ferb. This too shall pass, yes?
Okay, now another picture. I'm not doing so hot on the short commentary thing, I realize.
This is Ethan, smiling in front of his birthday cake on Friday. Doesn't he look old all of a sudden? It's because he's 14 and heading to HIGH SCHOOL! And yes, that's the apartment kitchen in the background. Haven't taken any other pics yet because I want to get the joint put together first. Almost there.
Ethan spent his birthday at the "Raptor Roundup"--a daylong event for incoming freshman at his high school. He strode in there surrounded by a bunch of other 9th graders without knowing a soul and did just fine. He said lunch was a little long--they gave them a whole hour, which is a long time if you don't know anybody--but overall he had a good day. He's a self-possessed kid and I know he'll be able to take all of this in stride, even if there are a few bumps in the road along the way. We spent that evening eating at Buffalo Wild Wings, since Ethan loves a good chicken wing, and had a fun meal together. Happy Birthday Ethan! We love you.
Here are a couple pictures of the kids last Sunday night, spending one last evening with their cousins at Grandma's house. Even the big girls dressed up (beautifully).
Wyatt now thinks he wants to be a police man when he grows up. Mainly so he'll have increased access to guns. Perhaps this is why he's decided against the ninja route; ninja weaponry is so old-fashioned.
Last Saturday, Forrest and Tony and Peter participated in the Jordanelle Triathlon. Isn't this a hunky picture of three good lookin' guys?
They even looked good after they finished, which is an even more impressive feat:
All three of them did an excellent job and it was fun to go and cheer them on. Here's Forrest looking downright pleasant after emerging from the swim, making it look easier than it actually is:
Those people behind him are all the people he beat. :-)
And here's Jonas and Reagan, hiding in the tippy top of a tree while they wait for their dads at the finish line:
Speaking of trees, the weekend before the Jordanelle Tri, we took the kids on one last trip up into the mountains. We found a nice spot just off of Strawberry Reservoir and pitched our tent.
Grandma and Grandpa came up and joined us for s'more cooking.
And here's some s'more dancing:
Some adolescent tree sitting (right back atcha!):
And some pre-K fantasy gunplay. Because wherever you find Wyatt, you'll find fantasy gunplay. Even in the woods, he's able to find a left over tent spike and turn it into a firearm. (At least I've gotten him to pretend to be killing "robots" instead of "bad guys.")
And finally, a few pictures Elise took of her time at girls' camp. I can't believe she's already doing the whole girls' camp thing! And doing it much better than I did. I wasn't much of a girls' camp fan. Preferred Youth Conference, where both boys and electricity were available in abundance. But Elise had a great time, even though it rained buckets and buckets. Here's all the cute girls in the ward:
And here's cute Elise:
And now (whew!) we are finally caught up. I'll take more pictures of the beautiful greenishness of Minnesota, the apartment, and the inside of the house here soon. Love you all! Miss you!
