Getting Settled

We have gotten a lot done in the last few weeks.  It has been very hectic but I think we are almost feeling moved in.  There are still things that need organized, put away, pictures to hang, but we have come a long way.

The kids have been doing well.  They haven't really talked about missing Seattle, I guess that's good.  They only have each other to play with and luckily they get along pretty well.  Grace loves to take care of Jake, teach him things and almost always be the leader.  Jake just likes to have fun.  When Grace is busy, his favorite thing is lining up his cars on the stairs.  Their personalities work well together.

http://youtu.be/sQTHK-MOWuE  (link to movie of kids playing)

We've got a number of options to get out of the house and be around other kids including the pool, kids club at the gym, McDonalds playground, and storytime.  I've also found a drop-in daycare place that was just opened by our landlords very good friend.  It's really nice and brand new, the kids have been twice now while I had doctor's appointments.  We have signed Grace up for two weeks of swimming starting next week at the rec center and the city soccer program that starts later in August.

We have met several neighbors, but mostly the neighborhood is very very quiet.

Montana Cows Video

Here's a link to one of Jake's favorite videos to watch from our vacation.  He'll watch it over and over and over again.

http://youtu.be/qDyZtp4Y208

Unpacking

We have been unpacking now for almost two weeks.  It's amazing how much stuff we have and how much paper is required to pack all this stuff.   Sometimes the packers go overboard with the paper.  You never know what you are going to get when you start opening things up, it could be a glass candle holder or a plastic toy cow!  I suppose Jake appreciates how carefully they wrapped one of his favorite toys.

All this paper was in this box with all our plates and bowls!! 

Big house!

This house is so different from our last house where we had three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a living room/kitchen.

The rooms in this house include:
• Grace's room (with Ariel mural)
• Jake's room (perfectly blue)
• Master bedroom
• Living room
• Office
• Mud room
• Laundry room
• Formal dining room
• Basement guest room
• Main floor guest room
• Theater room in basement (with projector)
• Paper room (extra room upstairs that currently has no purpose other than it's where we toss packing paper so the kids could have a "paper party" while we unpacked")
• Mechanical room (unfinished basement room with HVAC equipment, cabinets, and "hair cutting station" for Matt)

It's a lot to get used to!

Moving!

Our stuff finally came yesterday. Well, half of our stuff. Matt has been painfully dealing with the "Move Coordinator" who is apparently not very good at "coordinating" to try to get the rest of our stuff ASAP. As of now, the other half is on it's way and should be here Monday.

In the meantime, we have been trying to dig ourselves out of paper and boxes and put things somewhere (anywhere really).

We got some furniture, but not Grace's. Luckily boxes make good kid furniture too.

We have been dealing with the not fun aspects of moving like buying a new washer and dryer, calling about cable, Internet, gas, electric, buying food to fill the fridge, enrolling Grace in school, finding new doctors, etc., etc. Our to do lists our very long!

New Home Sweet Home!

We're here!! Cleveland!!

We got here Monday. The last couple of driving days were really long. We were very ready to get out of the car.

We made it to our new house in the afternoon and spent the rest of the day unloading the car and checking out the new house. We had two days until our stuff would come, but luckily we had agreed with the owners that they would leave some stuff behind, including a bed, table and chairs, and toys. It was just enough for us to be comfortable. The bed was down in the basement bedroom so we all slept there even though this is a huge six bedroom house.

Things we do in Kansas that we don't do in Florida or Seattle

We burn trash in the backyard.

We ride four wheelers (with two year olds).

We let Matt's 11 year old niece drive Grace around in a farm cart (with a cooler of beer in the back of it).

EVERYWHERE we go we run into someone Matt knows (cousins, friends from elementary, people who know his parents or sister, etc.)

We see people wearing cowboy hats and cowboy boots on a regular basis.

We know people with horses, tractors, and cows.

We let Jake ride rides at Kiddie Land without any kind of restraint that are operated by 12 year olds (ok maybe he was a little older but he really looked 12). Hold on Jake!

We go to two bars on date night because those are the only two in town that are open.

On date night we buy two good beers for $6.

We walk almost 45 minutes home after date night because there are no cabs.

We drive across town to get to the only Starbucks around (we had 6 Starbucks within a mile of our house in Seattle).

We don't have any trouble finding country music stations.

Hot!!!

I was ready for warmer weather after living Seattle for four years where we didn't have and didn't need air conditioning. Well, be careful what you wish for. It's not just warmer in Kansas it's really, really hot, 107 hot. Walking outside is like walking into an oven. Riding on the four wheeler at noon is like riding through a blow dryer.

The kids were able to cool off in the baby pool outside Papa's barn.

4th of July

Growing up in Tampa we would maybe have some sparklers and then go out on someone's boat and watch city fireworks.

In Kansas it's a little different. First you go to the local fireworks stand where your cousin works and get twice as many fireworks as you pay for and then you set up lawn chairs in the backyard and watch the kids light fireworks for a couple of hours while the adults drink beer. It's a lot of fun.

Pittsburg, KS

We spent the next three nights in Pittsburg, Kansas at Matts Moms. Here's all the things Grace got to do while we were there: go to a movie, play in the sprinklers, water the garden, play with dogs, cats, uncles and cousins, go to Kiddie Land, eat popsicles, go to a water park, go out to lunch, go fishing, and do fireworks. Jake got a even more cars, trucks and tractors to play with (which is all he really needs) and a new lawn mower to push around. I'm worried about how they are going to handle our new home where they will have to clean their rooms and entertain themselves.

Kansas

We spent the first couple nights in Louisburg at Matts sisters house. The kids had a great time playing with their cousins (Jake had a whole new set of cars to play with) and we had a nice place to relax. Everyone (except Jake and I since he was napping) went for a boat ride on the lake.

Kansas

It was a 20 some hour drive from Victor to Kansas City, way to long of a drive to make with a two year old. We decided it would be best for everyone if the kids and I flew to KC while Matt drove the car. We found a cheap flight from Denver to KC, meaning we would still all have a long 8 hour drive but much better than 20. We woke up early and packed up the car. We left Victor at 8am and made it to our hotel by the Denver airport about 8pm. It was a long day for everyone.

Music on Main - Victor

Our last night in Victor was the first night of the towns summer concerts in the park. Apparently they are very popular and draw people from all around the area.

We loaded up with chairs, blanket, diaper bag and walked to the park. They had good music, great food, beer and wine. We had fun listening to the music and people watching. Not a bad way to end our trip!!

Victor, Idaho

Our last stop before Kansas was Victor, Idaho, about 20 miles from Jackson Hole. I originally wanted to stay in Jackson Hole but I could not find any reasonably priced accommodations that would work for us. I started looking in nearby towns and ended up finding a townhouse in Victor. It ended up being on of our favorite places.

The drive to Victor from Yellowstone was about 2.5 hours. We had to drive by the Grand Tetons, which were gorgeous.

Victor is a very small but upscale town (population 2000) with several coffee shops, restaurants, a brewery, and awesome bike path. Our townhouse was very nice and spacious with a hot tub, creek and fishing pond across the street. We were only a few blocks from town.

Grace got a fishing pole in town and LOVED fishing even though she only caught one little fish. Jake loved the stairs in the townhouse and having the space to run around, and playing with his cars of course. Grace got bunk beds again too. We had some nice meals out and Matt and I took turns going for bike rides. We had a lot of time to relax too.