Happy Birthday!

Ken turns 35!!!! My Aunt Laura made the best chocolate mousse with oreo crust to help us celebrate. It's the best thing ever!!!!!

Moving Day

So it's official we have moved 12 miles south. After our failed attempt to move in November I was settling back into our routine not expecting to move anytime soon. But.... there was a house that had been on and off the market that Ken had his eye on. Although it wasn't on the market, we stopped in one day to meet the residents and inquire on if they still had an interest in selling it. We thought that maybe we could use one realtor and share a bit of a discount between us. They jumped on the idea.... and before I knew what was happening the inspection report came back sqweaky clean and the lenders had approved the loan. So we set a day and had a moving company come with a truck and two strong guys to help us move things in (and around). The sellers asked if we would be interested in any of their furniture since they were downsizing and we agreed they could leave it in the house. It ended up being quite a few items including a queen bed/mattress, twin bed/mattress, armoire, washer/dryer, couch and 2 matching chairs, Entertainment center, TV, dresser, end tables, coffee tables, nook table/chairs, window treatments, lamps, clocks, desk for the office, not too mention all the tools/yard stuff/ladders in the garage. So our house is totally furnished even though we just doubled our square footage when we moved. I'm not saying we totally love everything that was left... that's what craigslist is for right? But for now we don't feel the need to go out and purchase much of anything. Anyway, moving day came, Mom was super excited to help and then fell within 5 minutes of being there and was on the couch for the rest of the move :-( Poor mom, I felt terrible. She is finally feeling a bit better after 2 weeks. We are adjusting well to all the new space. The boys love running in circles through the kitchen and living room. They are still sleeping in the same room and love having "sleep overs" every single night with each other! It's looking less and less like a disaster zone and more and more like a home as we find new cupboard space and places for everything to go. We can even fit both cars in the garage now. I'm loving all the space in the master bathroom and the boys are enjoying the jacuzzi tub more than I am (if that's possible). The backyard is a nice patio with some trees and is great for sending the boys out to look for things. The grass is all on the side/front yard. I love the view from my kitchen window and can't wait till the peach trees and pear trees and blackberries are producing their fruit! Overall we are super excited to be "home" finally and can put the house hunting behind us. Now to sell our old house which is proving to be a bit more challenging. We actually had many come through and look at it and within 12 hours had a buyer offer over asking price for it. But the inspection has revealed a small siding issue which may derail the sale.... For now we are taking one day at a time and hoping to figure out what our next steps should be.

Good bye club

We went for a family swim on our last day as members of the club. It's been a good club for us. We actually used our memebership extensively and we enjoyed the "family atmosphere" it had. We were known by name there. It was my home away from home. My place to get one hour all to myself while the boys were in Kid Central. I made some great friends there. Survived my first 4 years of parenthood here. I took classes, used free weights, endured cardio, enjoyed socializing. It was a big part of my life. BAC will be missed. I'm not sure I will find a comparable replacement.

Easter Dinner

The boys got to do a couple of fun crafts with Oma leading up to Easter. We all went to Oma's house for dinner on Sunday and enjoyed the annual scavenger hunt. Mom goes all out and still does scavenger hunts for me and my brothers. This year Christian got to help the 30 somethings out with all our clues. The little guys loved looking for eggs and then following their picture clues. At the end was a little basket with an airplane and other goodies.I hope Oma saves her clues every year because I'm sure it took quite a while to come up with them. It was fun to be with family and just celebrate the amazing truth that there is hope for all through the One who died and rose again on our behalf. Happy Easter!

Neighborhood Egg hunts

The boys enjoyed participating at an egg hunt up at a church around the corner from our house. The boys had to start in a roped off circle and race to the eggs hiding in the hay. It was very Egg-citing for them. We even found a boy who came a little late and didn't get an egg so Nathaniel offered one of his eggs. When we got home Nathaniel started making piles of all his toys/candy that he found inside the eggs. And somehow he took the basket into his room at naptime and fell asleep with it. I'm pretty sure nothing was consumed during naptime though. It was a fun and exhausting day.

Easter Egg Hunt with the Neighbor kids

This was such a hit last year we got the gang together again for fun times. Lyla got a head start and then we let the boys run wild. It actually worked out really well with each kid going to a different area of the yard. I don't think any of the boys tried to go for the same egg. Afterwards we had lunch and dyed some eggs. It was a full day but so fun to hang out with friends.

Spring Break Beach trip

A dear friend called us up last minute and invited us to stay at a beach house with them. Deb and I have worked at two different companies together and have been work out buddies in the past. It was fun to see her and her family. Her daughter is 10 and the boys totally look up to her. They had fun digging in the sand and looking for treasures at low tide. The house was absolutely gorgeous and the view of the ocean was stunning. While other houses did share the same inlet, it seemed like we had a private beach. And the weather was nice (ie. no rain). It was a fun time!