Whew! Well, we made it through the month long hotel stay. We made it through the move into our new house. Finally, I'm getting a chance to decompress. Of course, there are still plenty of pictures to hang and boxes to open, but we've at least got the furniture in and clothes put away. It's amazing how much is involved with moving especially out of state. It makes me not want to move again for a long, long time.
Our new neighborhood is really nice. Not only is it a nice looking neighborhood, but the people are very nice. We've already met a bunch of our neighbors and have been invited to people's homes for dinner. The kids are making friends with kids at church and also on our street. It helps that the weather here is beautiful right now so everyone is spending lots of time outside including us. Our house has a great front porch, and it's so nice to sit out there and let the kids ride bikes. It really is beautiful here.
Although the climate and people here are great, I have been missing my life in Arizona so much. Truthfully, it's been pretty lonely in the house every day with the kids and not having the friends to call or meet up with. And it's also hard to be away from family when we've been spoiled for so long being close to them. I've done my share of moping but I keep reminding myself of all of the good things about this move. I love our new house. I love the weather. I love the rolling hills and grass. I love that Kent's commute to work is half of what is used to be. There are a lot of things to be happy about.
The kids seem to have grown up so much during this time. Forest has become a real talker. Kiira is crawling like crazy and will turn one in a month! Bekah's temper tantrums have become few and far between (happy day!) And Maija is growing up to be a sweet girl. She's an amazing person. Kent is loving his new job which is much less stressful than his previous job and he's really liking Colorado. We are excited to have a bunch of family come visit us soon. My parents and sister and her husband are all planning a visit in early July, and a few of Kent's family have been talking about coming up too. Can't wait!
Friday, June 3, 2011
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Big City
A couple of fun anecdotes from the Mile High City. We've been doing a lot of driving lately as I've been shuttling Maija to and from school in our new neighborhood. We don't actually live in the new neighborhood yet, hence all the road time, but we're hoping to be in our new house next week. I won't bore you with the details of how grueling it has been to drive across the city twice a day...I'm sure you can imagine how fun that is.
No matter how miserable the long drives might get, however, I always get a good laugh when Maija and Bekah see the city's skyline. They'll yell to each other, "Look! It's Big City!" Not the big city or a big city. Nope, it's "Big City" as if that were the city's name. Yeah, you know...Big City, Colorado. It makes me chuckle every time I hear it, and that's at least twice a day.
We are slowly getting accustomed to Big City. The first couple of weeks both Kent and I seemed to be having trouble with the elevation. I was especially surprised when Kent complained of dizzy spells the first few days, and then he said he was getting out of breath just climbing a flight of stairs. He's a pretty fit guy, so I knew something was up (no pun intended). I was also noticing how easily I got tired and out of breath. But, it seems that Big City hasn't gotten the best of us. We've both adjusted and now I'm pretty sure any exhaustion I experience is from living in a hotel with 4 children. That's exhausting regardless of the elevation.
Maija loves her new school (yay!). In fact, she told me she wants to go to this school until she's 13. Considering it only goes up to 5th grade, the only way to make that wish come true is for her to do really badly in school. I don't think I have to worry about that with her. She's my perfectionist child. One of the reasons she loves this school so much is that there are 3 Mayas in her class. They all spell their names differently but pronounce it the same "Maya" and are apparently referred to by their full names, first and last. It's pretty funny to hear kids yell "goodbye" to Maija as we leave the school.
Bekah is still wishing she were back at Mrs. J's preschool. I feel for her because she's had to watch Maija start in a new school, but next week is the last week of classes, so soon they'll both be together again all day long again...a l l d a y l o n g....all 5 of us. I think the altitude sickness is hitting me again.
So, that's the Big City scoop. And for you Arizonans...you'll enjoy hearing that today it was 40 degrees out (fahrenheit) and snowed a little bit.
No matter how miserable the long drives might get, however, I always get a good laugh when Maija and Bekah see the city's skyline. They'll yell to each other, "Look! It's Big City!" Not the big city or a big city. Nope, it's "Big City" as if that were the city's name. Yeah, you know...Big City, Colorado. It makes me chuckle every time I hear it, and that's at least twice a day.
We are slowly getting accustomed to Big City. The first couple of weeks both Kent and I seemed to be having trouble with the elevation. I was especially surprised when Kent complained of dizzy spells the first few days, and then he said he was getting out of breath just climbing a flight of stairs. He's a pretty fit guy, so I knew something was up (no pun intended). I was also noticing how easily I got tired and out of breath. But, it seems that Big City hasn't gotten the best of us. We've both adjusted and now I'm pretty sure any exhaustion I experience is from living in a hotel with 4 children. That's exhausting regardless of the elevation.
Maija loves her new school (yay!). In fact, she told me she wants to go to this school until she's 13. Considering it only goes up to 5th grade, the only way to make that wish come true is for her to do really badly in school. I don't think I have to worry about that with her. She's my perfectionist child. One of the reasons she loves this school so much is that there are 3 Mayas in her class. They all spell their names differently but pronounce it the same "Maya" and are apparently referred to by their full names, first and last. It's pretty funny to hear kids yell "goodbye" to Maija as we leave the school.
Bekah is still wishing she were back at Mrs. J's preschool. I feel for her because she's had to watch Maija start in a new school, but next week is the last week of classes, so soon they'll both be together again all day long again...a l l d a y l o n g....all 5 of us. I think the altitude sickness is hitting me again.
So, that's the Big City scoop. And for you Arizonans...you'll enjoy hearing that today it was 40 degrees out (fahrenheit) and snowed a little bit.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Saturday, April 30, 2011
In The Rockies
We've had a busy week, well a busy month really. On Monday evening we finally arrived in Denver. Although the drive was really long, I have to say that I was amazed at how well the kids (and dog) did. They were so good and either slept or entertained themselves almost the whole way up both on Sunday and Monday. There were only a couple of times when someone was crying which is pretty much a miracle considering all 4 kids are 6 years and under.
I think the biggest help was that we stopped about every 90 minutes or so because someone, including myself, undoubtedly had to go to the bathroom. By the second day I had a little "potty stop" routine down so that we could make the stops as quick as possible. Kent was driving the big U-Haul truck which was towing his little Honda. I think he ended up with the hardest part because he had the toughest driving...no cruise control and never getting over 60 mph. We thought that we would caravan up, but it ended up making more sense for me to speed ahead since I was stopping so much. In the end, he almost always caught up to us while we were stopped here or there.
So, now we're here and we've jumped feet first into getting settled. The morning after we arrived we were meeting with the mortgage guy to buy our new house up here, and then there was the home inspection, and getting Maija enrolled at school for her last few weeks of kindergarten. Then that evening Kent unloaded the U-Haul with a coworker, and I'd say all in all that day was exhausting!!! I was happy on Wednesday morning to not have anything to do. Our hotel room is a two-room suite so we have a family room area, a kitchen, and then 2 separate bedrooms. I wasn't sure how all 4 kids would do sharing a room, but it's worked out pretty well so far....for the most part :-) And we've also had our little dog, Remy, in the room with us. He's also done pretty well. As long as he gets his morning and evening walks every day, he's happy.
Thursday was Maija's first day at her new school where she'll also be attending 1st grade next year. it's located in the neighborhood where we're buying our house, so it's a good way to help her acclimate. I was really worried about how she would do. She loved, loved, loved her school in Arizona and her teacher! We miss you Mrs. Williams! But, so far this school has been great. They gave me and her a tour of the school and made her feel really comfortable. Then I was able to be with her as she met her new teacher and got settled in the classroom before the rest of the class showed up. It was so cute to see the kids come in, and they all surrounded Maija. I could hear exclamations, "The new kids is here!" "This is Maija, the new girl!" "Hi! My name is..." "Are you the new girl?" They all talked at once and Maija was enjoying the attention. When I picked her up at the end of the day, she told me that there are 2 other Mayas in her class and one of them has become her first friend. I'm so glad she's happy. It also helps knowing that she only has 3 weeks of school until summer break, so no matter how it goes, it'll be over soon.
So, have I bored you to death yet? There is so much to say. I was very grateful to my good friend, Sara Schumacher, who just moved up here from our neighborhood in Arizona a couple of months ago. She watched Bekah, Forest and Kiira while I took Maija to school her first day. I was even more impressed that she not only took my 3 kids when he has a 2 year-old and newborn of her own, but she took all FIVE of them to a Relief Society luncheon! That takes bravery; bravery that I don't think I would've had. But, it made my day so much easier, and just knowing that I have one friend here I can count on is so huge!
Tomorrow we will attend our new ward (church congregation). I'm sure there will be plenty of nice people and future friends, but I have to say that it'll be hard to beat our ward in Arizona. We still miss you all very much! I can't even begin to thank everyone who helped out leading up to the move - friends who watched our kids, brought us dinners, let me cry on the phone to them, helped pack up and clean our house, and friends who have already written or called to say they're thinking of us and are we ok? Leaving you and our families behind has been the hardest part of this move.
As for Colorado, I will say that it is gorgeous here and the people are very friendly and nice. Here are a few pictures of our new life here:
The Hotel Where We're Staying:
Our Hotel Room:
View from the Hotel:
The House We're Buying (should be moved in by end of May):
Another View of House:
Basement (Yay!):
Kitchen:
View of Entry (from Kitchen):
I think the biggest help was that we stopped about every 90 minutes or so because someone, including myself, undoubtedly had to go to the bathroom. By the second day I had a little "potty stop" routine down so that we could make the stops as quick as possible. Kent was driving the big U-Haul truck which was towing his little Honda. I think he ended up with the hardest part because he had the toughest driving...no cruise control and never getting over 60 mph. We thought that we would caravan up, but it ended up making more sense for me to speed ahead since I was stopping so much. In the end, he almost always caught up to us while we were stopped here or there.
So, now we're here and we've jumped feet first into getting settled. The morning after we arrived we were meeting with the mortgage guy to buy our new house up here, and then there was the home inspection, and getting Maija enrolled at school for her last few weeks of kindergarten. Then that evening Kent unloaded the U-Haul with a coworker, and I'd say all in all that day was exhausting!!! I was happy on Wednesday morning to not have anything to do. Our hotel room is a two-room suite so we have a family room area, a kitchen, and then 2 separate bedrooms. I wasn't sure how all 4 kids would do sharing a room, but it's worked out pretty well so far....for the most part :-) And we've also had our little dog, Remy, in the room with us. He's also done pretty well. As long as he gets his morning and evening walks every day, he's happy.
Thursday was Maija's first day at her new school where she'll also be attending 1st grade next year. it's located in the neighborhood where we're buying our house, so it's a good way to help her acclimate. I was really worried about how she would do. She loved, loved, loved her school in Arizona and her teacher! We miss you Mrs. Williams! But, so far this school has been great. They gave me and her a tour of the school and made her feel really comfortable. Then I was able to be with her as she met her new teacher and got settled in the classroom before the rest of the class showed up. It was so cute to see the kids come in, and they all surrounded Maija. I could hear exclamations, "The new kids is here!" "This is Maija, the new girl!" "Hi! My name is..." "Are you the new girl?" They all talked at once and Maija was enjoying the attention. When I picked her up at the end of the day, she told me that there are 2 other Mayas in her class and one of them has become her first friend. I'm so glad she's happy. It also helps knowing that she only has 3 weeks of school until summer break, so no matter how it goes, it'll be over soon.
So, have I bored you to death yet? There is so much to say. I was very grateful to my good friend, Sara Schumacher, who just moved up here from our neighborhood in Arizona a couple of months ago. She watched Bekah, Forest and Kiira while I took Maija to school her first day. I was even more impressed that she not only took my 3 kids when he has a 2 year-old and newborn of her own, but she took all FIVE of them to a Relief Society luncheon! That takes bravery; bravery that I don't think I would've had. But, it made my day so much easier, and just knowing that I have one friend here I can count on is so huge!
Tomorrow we will attend our new ward (church congregation). I'm sure there will be plenty of nice people and future friends, but I have to say that it'll be hard to beat our ward in Arizona. We still miss you all very much! I can't even begin to thank everyone who helped out leading up to the move - friends who watched our kids, brought us dinners, let me cry on the phone to them, helped pack up and clean our house, and friends who have already written or called to say they're thinking of us and are we ok? Leaving you and our families behind has been the hardest part of this move.
As for Colorado, I will say that it is gorgeous here and the people are very friendly and nice. Here are a few pictures of our new life here:
The Hotel Where We're Staying:
Our Hotel Room:
View from the Hotel:
The House We're Buying (should be moved in by end of May):
Another View of House:
Basement (Yay!):
Kitchen:
View of Entry (from Kitchen):
Monday, April 25, 2011
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
103
Having a child with a 103 degree fever in the middle of a move is NOT my idea of fun! Bekah always seems to get high fevers when she's getting sick. Poor girl!
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Deconstruction
We are about the business of deconstructing our home and everyday life here in Arizona. This involves things like cancelling the pest control service, cable TV and internet, going through the stacks of papers that have been sitting in a drawer for the last year, and slowly making the rounds to say goodbye to friends and loved ones. Not to mention packing boxes, boxes and more boxes of stuff. This is a painful process and even though 3 weeks sounds like a fast move, it feels very slow. It's like slowly taking off a band-aid; you wonder if it wouldn't be better to just quickly rip it off and be done with it.
This week will be our last in this house. OK, typing that makes me tear up a bit. This is the first house Kent and I owned since we got married. It's the house we lived in when both of our sweet adopted babies came to our family. It's where Maija and Bekah started preschool and now (for Maija) elementary school. It's also where we've had amazing friends, a supportive church community and family within an hour's driving time. That is the hardest part of all.
The good part of this move is Kent's new job. He was hired by a solar company in Colorado called PrimeStar Solar. The job is one that Kent was very excited about and that had potential growth for him in the future. Now it's looking even more promising. On Friday, Kent found out that General Electric just acquired PrimeStar so Kent will now be a G.E. employee. You can read the press release here. This is also significant because Kent will be the 3rd generation in my family to work for General Electric. My grandfather worked for G.E.; my father worked for G.E. his entire 30-year career; and now my husband will be a G.E. guy. Who knows if this will be an entire career or just a few years? But either way, it is a crazy coincidence.
So...one more week to pack up this house then Kent will fly to Colorado next Sunday to start his new job. My mother and I will hang out here with the kids until Easter weekend so we can be a part of the family festivities. And then we'll be loading everyone up in the minivan and heading to the Rockies.
On a final note, I wanted to mention the online auction the Grafton family is having to raise money for their adoption. Be aware that some of the items can only be delivered in Connecticut (where the Graftons live), but there are some nice items that can be shipped and they're also taking straight donations.
http://graftonadoptionfundraising.blogspot.com/
This week will be our last in this house. OK, typing that makes me tear up a bit. This is the first house Kent and I owned since we got married. It's the house we lived in when both of our sweet adopted babies came to our family. It's where Maija and Bekah started preschool and now (for Maija) elementary school. It's also where we've had amazing friends, a supportive church community and family within an hour's driving time. That is the hardest part of all.
The good part of this move is Kent's new job. He was hired by a solar company in Colorado called PrimeStar Solar. The job is one that Kent was very excited about and that had potential growth for him in the future. Now it's looking even more promising. On Friday, Kent found out that General Electric just acquired PrimeStar so Kent will now be a G.E. employee. You can read the press release here. This is also significant because Kent will be the 3rd generation in my family to work for General Electric. My grandfather worked for G.E.; my father worked for G.E. his entire 30-year career; and now my husband will be a G.E. guy. Who knows if this will be an entire career or just a few years? But either way, it is a crazy coincidence.
So...one more week to pack up this house then Kent will fly to Colorado next Sunday to start his new job. My mother and I will hang out here with the kids until Easter weekend so we can be a part of the family festivities. And then we'll be loading everyone up in the minivan and heading to the Rockies.
On a final note, I wanted to mention the online auction the Grafton family is having to raise money for their adoption. Be aware that some of the items can only be delivered in Connecticut (where the Graftons live), but there are some nice items that can be shipped and they're also taking straight donations.
http://graftonadoptionfundraising.blogspot.com/
Monday, March 28, 2011
We're Moving
It's all official now! Kent has been in the interviewing and negotiating phase for several weeks, but it's all been worked out finally. We are moving to Denver, Colorado...just in time for the beautiful summer there and avoiding the hot summer here. But, it's also hard to leave the happy life we have here. We both have family here and great friends, and our kids love their schools. Plus all of the logistics of moving in general... it's overwhelming.
We'll be leaving Arizona in 3 1/2 weeks. There is a TON to do between now and then. If I think about it too much, my head feels like it's going to explode! So crazy! At least, staying in touch is easy with the internet. Love live blogging and Facebook!
We'll be leaving Arizona in 3 1/2 weeks. There is a TON to do between now and then. If I think about it too much, my head feels like it's going to explode! So crazy! At least, staying in touch is easy with the internet. Love live blogging and Facebook!
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Long Time No Blog
It's been several weeks since I last blogged. There has been a lot going on in our lives including a trip to North Carolina to visit my parents. We had a very relaxing vacation and the kids loved running around outside every day. The weather was perfect, and my mother had bought the kids little bikes and trikes, so there was lots of riding back and forth on the long driveway. We also got to visit with Kiira's birth mom while in Raleigh.
Here is the month of March in pictures including some from Forest's birthday party:
Forest's Birthday Party
Forest Eating His Cupcake
Our Friends the Fennells Made a Surprise Visit
The Kids Got Hold of my Camera - Maija & Cousin Kennedy
In North Carolina:
My Boy!
Bekah Playing a Huge Chess Game
Laid Back
At the Marbles Kids' Museum in Raleigh
Kiira and Her Birth Mother
Here is the month of March in pictures including some from Forest's birthday party:
Forest's Birthday Party
Forest Eating His Cupcake
Our Friends the Fennells Made a Surprise Visit
The Kids Got Hold of my Camera - Maija & Cousin Kennedy
In North Carolina:
My Boy!
Bekah Playing a Huge Chess Game
Laid Back
At the Marbles Kids' Museum in Raleigh
Kiira and Her Birth Mother
Friday, March 4, 2011
Forest Turns 2
How can it be? Forest is already 2 years old and growing up more each day. Wednesday was his birthday and we did a little family celebration (see pics below). Tomorrow we're having his "big" birthday party. I'm so grateful that Forest is our little boy. We love you Forest Jackson!
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