A weekend of GREAT firsts :)

We have been in our new place for three weeks...and this was the first weekend that Ryan and I were home together - the whole weekend! We had just lots of time with us and the girls, and it felt really good. We got some projects done that had been on our to-do list, we finally had time to just play outside with the girls, and we actually ate breakfast, lunch, AND dinner - all three meals - TOGETHER at the table. Good stuff.

When I was looking through Ryan's iphone pics from the weekend, I realized that we had a few firsts documented. :)

We hosted our first group of friends at the house on Saturday night...here is the kids table (minus little Charlie who was hanging out on daddy's lap). :)

And some of my favorite ladies!

We had SO much good food!!

This morning, Engedi had it's first church service at the new building!

This was the first time, since Camryn was born a year and a half ago, that Ryan and I were together in the main sanctuary for service together. We would go in the 'Room to Move' room to watch the service with Cam instead of taking her to her classroom (yeah, that was a mommy decision - guilt of being back at work full time when she was wee little :/). It felt really, really, really good to be able to focus and be a part of the 'adult' service. I realized how much I miss being truly spiritually fed for that time without having kid distractions. And the great part was that, despite teary drop-offs because of the new and unfamiliar classroms, that both girls got good reports when we picked them up!

Taylor is now in the 'beach' room - this picture doesn't really do it justice, but it is a cute room! She had a good morning! (She's the one in the white pants sitting down :)).

Camryn is in the playroom - equally as cute!
This picture is really not a good picture, but we had just arrived, so Cam is kicking her legs and has a big smile on her face, and you can also see a bit of the room in the background - very fun for little ones!

After naps this afternoon, we got to head out for a walk and play at the playground for a while.

Camryn went on a merry-go-round for the first time (didn't last long, she is more of a 'slide' type of girl :)).

Camryn with a {flat} football that we found - she was trucking around with it for a bit. :)

Yay for weekends!!!!

Apple Picking at Crane's 2013

 
It was Honeycrisp time at Crane's. The weather was gorgeous, Taylor was feeling better after her stomach bug the day before, and our favorite kind of apple was ready to pick!

The pictures don't really require explanation. Both girls loved, loved, loved their Honeycrisp apples. Camryn practically ate through an entire apple (she even got a few seeds down, ha!), and when she was finished, the girl was a happy sticky mess. Taylor was more than willing to help pick apples and help pull the wagon. And afterward, we headed to the Pie Pantry for some lunch and apple treats. It was a GREAT day for apple picking!!

 

New house....becoming a new HOME

Over two weeks since a post, and all I can say is the school year started and we moved... all within one week. It feel like two weeks later, life is FINALLY calming down!!

The old house.

We had one bathroom, two bedrooms. We had lots of "cozy moments" - sharing beds, sharing one sink in the bathroom, always having to tread carefully when someone was sleeping because of the creaking floors, and there wasn't a place in the house that you could get very far from the bedrooms.

But despite its size, and at times, the inability for us to just have a little SPACE to breath, we loved that house. It is where Ryan and I went right after we got married, it is where we brought both our girls home after they were born. The majority of our family's memories for the past seven years, happened in that house.
Ryan spent hours, one Christmas break, painting the whole basement so we could have an extra play space for the kids. 

We had fun decorating our little space for Christmas

I spent many snuggly hours with Taylor in her little room when she was first born

We could easily walk to a number of different parks

Our pink bathroom eventually grew on us and though we didn't love it, we got used to the color after while :)

Living in town, we got a lot of trick-or-treaters

Taylor started learning how to be a big sister in that house (any many first baths were taken on that kitchen counter)

The girls and I spent a lot of time in that backyard during summer break

Moving day felt significant. The craziness started early, moving all the "little" stuff first, and then the movers came through to get the big stuff.
 Moving out of the old....

And into the new....

 
And before we knew it - the house was empty. We brought the girls to the house one last time. Taylor was sad - she didn't understand where her things were, and why the house was empty. We were all a bit emotional. But then we drove to the new house. :)

The new house. No longer in the 'city', we are loving the quiet. There is space. The floors don't creak. We aren't fighting over one sink. The girls each have a bedroom they can call their own. We commented on how quickly it felt like...home.

Want to know what is one of the hardest things for me to get used to? The dishwasher! Ha! I automatically start washing the dishes, even after two weeks. I was so excited to have one, now I just have to remember to use it. :)

The girls and I at the new house, right after we officially closed.

One of their favorite places to be - so nice to have easy access to be outside.

And now we can play in the driveway, without worrying about traffic.

Feeding the ladies dinner in the new space (we can actually use all four sides of the table now!)

On a cul-de-sac...what I always wanted...

Moving was one of the most stressful things Ryan and I have done together - from the beginning of June, getting the old house ready to be "for sale", to finding a new house and negotiating price, to rescheduling the moving day three times because of our buyer, it was not easy! Hopefully we won't have to go through that again for a LONG time, but we would both agree that the end result is SO worth it. :)

End of "summer" stuff....

Summer technically doesn't end until the end of September, but in my teacher world, summer is done the day after Labor Day!

There are so many things I will miss about the 'summer schedule'.

Lazy breakfasts with Camryn.

I love eating breakfast with that girl - she babbles excitedly about her food, thinks dipping her toast into her cereal bowl is fun (and tasty), drinks up my smoothies like they are made of pure chocolate, and giggles and makes "ooh ooh aah aah" sounds at the monkey on my coffee cup. :)

I love breakfast with Taylor, too, but often she isn't up yet while Cam and I are hanging out in the kitchen - so it IS an extra special treat when we all eat breakfast together. :)

Play dates with friends! Summer is time to actually catch-up with people that I don't see as much during the school year - and play dates with other moms and their kids is one of my favorites! This was Ty and Tay at the splash pad together - wish we had spent more time there this summer!

Silly sister moments. Camryn has decided one of her favorite things to do is tackle Taylor with these big bear hugs. I have to make sure to referee though, otherwise it can easily cause tears if Taylor accidentally gets too rough back.

Hanging out on this dock. Enough said. :)

Outdoor play. Last summer, Camryn couldn't even sit up by herself. This summer, she is practically running around, so it is fun to be able to watch both little ladies playing independently. Camryn has loved this Cozy Coupe this summer, and also the little pink push toy.

Afternoon naps. Need I say more? I would either join the little ladies or enjoy having some "me time" for a little while. :)

Being able to see first-hand all the new stuff that Tay and Cam are up to.  Camryn got some new shoes - her first pair of tennis shoes (she looks so big wearing them!!). She immediately wanted to go outside and run around. Big Kid.

Camryn also decided hummus was one of the best things in the world - to eat straight up or suck it off a carrot or cracker. :)

This was Taylor's cupcake that she got for a potty training accomplishment earlier this summer. Cannot say enough how glad I am that we have completely hit the milestone. (She likes to eat her cupcakes with a fork :))

Yesterday was a glimpse into our our weekday mornings will go. I had a full day of work, so the girls had a full day at 'school'.

A picture of two (rather sleepy) looking little ladies eating breakfast next to each other at daycare.

And the 'four musketeers' as I fondly call them - Cam and Tay, Ty and Addi :) So glad they have each other!

This was my favorite part of yesterday. After picking up the girls after work, and once dinner was done, we just got to sit, snuggle, and read. Love.

Although there are things that I will miss about summer, there is also something exciting about the start of fall (and moving to a new house is pretty fun, too :)). Bring on the hooded sweatshirts, apple picking, and cooler weather!