New Year's Eve 2014

We unpacked all day. So many boxes. So many things to find a new home. We need to find a home somewhere in this house as well. It is going to take a lot of time. I miss how things fit in our Williston home. I am excited to have more room but I had enough in Williston. There will be a lot of adjustments to make in the upcoming weeks.

I procrastinated unpacking the kitchen. It is the hardest room to pack and the hardest to unpack. So many things that need a new home! But I put off finding new homes for too long. Eventually I was ripping open boxes looking for the exact items I needed in order to make our traditional New Year's Eve fondue dinner. I went to the grocery store, which was my first experience at that store and it was a total madhouse. I hoped it would be a fast trip but it was not very fast at all. I somehow managed to survive. The food was made, the table was decorated, dinner was fondued, and sparkling cider was consumed. I will call it a success.

Welcome to Houston

We drove from Mesa to Oklahoma City on Friday. We got to our hotel room at 2am and we were totally exhausted. It had been a long day. We woke up Saturday morning and drove to Bartlesville, Oklahoma. When we were house hunting in Houston in November, we test drove an Odyssey. They told us to shop around but just do not try to compare them to Oklahoma prices because they could not beat the prices there. It is very funny (and sad for the Houston salesman) that we ended up going to Oklahoma. My Dad set up the whole thing. He did all of the communicating and negotiating with the salesman; all we had to do was pick it up! My dad is amazing! I was excited to get into Houston since Oklahoma City was so cold. The Sonata did not like being covered in snow. We made it up to the Sonata by buying it a friend.

We had to drive separately the rest of the way to Houston. There was no question that I was driving my beautiful new van! Alex and Edison were in the Odyssey with me and Declan went in the Sonata with Sam. When people ask me about the Odyssey, I say, "I love it so much I want to makeout with it." It's true. It is such a beautiful creature.

We spent the entire drive to Houston listening to the Serial podcast. I am obsessed with it. We got to our new house at midnight. The house was frigid. I had gotten our power turned on before we arrived but I was not able to get the gas turned on until there was someone present. That was very unfortunate. It also meant we had no hot water so that meant no showers. Yum yum. It was 61°F inside the house. I was not a happy camper. I really wished we had packed more warm clothes and blankets. At least we had electricity. I was beyond tired so Sam went to the store and bought a couple of space heaters and some food for the next few days.

We went to church the next morning and met a few people. I am trying to keep a good attitude about maybe meeting more people (my age) in the upcoming weeks.





The gas was turned on early Monday morning. I was so happy to no longer be shaking in the house.

The way Declan is sitting in this picture cracks me up. I love his little legs.



We went shopping and ordered couches and a bunk bed. Now that we have heat, we need furniture!



The household goods were delivered on Tuesday. It was raining. It always rains when we move. A crew of three guys showed up at 8:30am. One of them asked me if the boys are triplets. Uh, what? They worked quickly and were gone by 11:45am.





We probably should have stayed home to unpack but we went to Ikea instead. We also bought a 70" TV which is pretty absurd and Sam is now in love.



It has been a long time since they have had their very own backyard to play in. We are glad the rain stopped so we could go play outside!

Miscellaneous

It's time for your friendly neighborhood photo dump. December was a busy month full of lots of friends and fun. I am pretty sure this is the best life ever.

We love Miss Andrea and Toddler Time at the library. It is crazy to me that more people do not go. Often it is just us and maybe a few other kids.

"I don't need a coat, Mom! It's not cold!" It was -3°F.

We spent a lot of time at the ARC. One day, most of the TurboKick class was matching so we had to take a picture.

I was very excited for the special TurboKick 80s party.

The story here is all about the boots. I remember walking around the mall with my sister Rachael trying to find "boots that don't make a clacking noise when I walk." She was so specific about what she wanted. I inherited them after she died and it is one of the few items I have left since I outgrew many of the others. The boots are falling apart at the seam (they are at least 10 years old) and I had to wear them one last time. They carry good memories.

We did some volcano science experimenting. The boys were fascinated.

We also built a gingerbread house with delicious candy.

I was out visiting teaching and then somehow we ended up at Olivia's mooching her food. It was great!



This is my favorite neighbor gifts I have ever made. I put together Shirley Temple kits for our friends.

Alex's friend Ellee made this for him as a going away gift.

"Mom, this is from the American state of the W flag."

It is good to look at this messy kitchen and realize that sometimes my life really is as out of control as it seems.









I was heading to the indoor playground with the boys and I loaded Declan into the car. I thought I had put his shoes in the car but when we arrived at New Hope I could not find them. That was fine because you cannot wear shoes on the playground anyway. I got home and looked for the shoes and still couldn't find them. I wracked my brain and could not remember where they were. I was very confident I had put them in the car. The next day, I thought maybe I had put them on the car instead of in the car. I walked down the road and found them both smashed and smeared. I bought these shoes for Alex when we were living in Pennsylvania. I thought they were totally trashed but I cleaned and dried them and Declan is still wearing them!

Declan talking to the baby monitor.

Such a disappointment!

Alex's last day of school was also his Christmas party. I ditched out on the movers for an hour so I could go see the program. I really wish I had remembered to take a picture of Alex with Mrs. Kuester.

Alex loved The Letter People. This is Mr. O. He is opposite.

Alex and Asher