A Night Out

Phil started school today. The kids and I had a very rough day. They were extremely fussy, so I spent most of my day crying. As I type this, my eyes are burning and I have one of those headaches from crying. Lily fell out of her bed a half an hour into her nap. She woke up crying, so that was the end of nap time for everybody. Then our VCR/DVD player broke...no T.V. and no naps today! Hopefully each day will get easier for us as we adjust to our new life up here. Phil decided that we all needed to get out tonight, so we went to the Super Wal Mart and did some grocery shopping after dinner. My heart melted as I watched my girls put on their shoes to go out. They heard Phil mention an outing, so they found their shoes and plopped themselves down in front of the fire place in an attempt to put on their little shoes. Maybe they were as desperate as I was to get out for awhile.

New Church

I've been looking forward to and dreading this day since I found out about our move. I love visiting new churches, but I've never had to do so with 4 small children. The church we visited today is a little bit larger than Clear Lake Baptist, so the kids were in separate classes (except for the twins, of course). Caleb didn't want to get out of the car until he saw that every child had a yellow balloon. Jared was very excited, but then when we got to his class he cried. Gracie screamed and held on to me for dear life, which made me very glad that I trimmed her finger nails after her bath last night!

In the end, they all did well. Nobody had to come get us during the service. They were all very happy when we picked them up. By the time we got over to the table where they were handing out yellow balloons, the last balloon had just been given away. Caleb was heartbroken, and I was sad for him. He loves yellow.

Gracie Looks Like...

Jared Looks Like...

Caleb Looks Like...

Lily Looks Like...

Cutie

We're off to the library and to the dollar store this morning. Gracie wanted pretties in her hair for the big outing. Jared can't wait to browse through the movies at the library. Wait until we tell him that he can only check out books because neither Phil nor I have a Washington state driver's license!

Playing Outside

Here are a few pictures of the kids playing outside in the backyard today. We miss everyone.

We Made It!

Our Room--the kids need the larger room (you'll see why)


The kids' room--this is the bed that Phil made for them.

We said "goodbye" to California on Tuesday afternoon. We stopped in Bend, Oregon and stayed the night in a hotel. We arrived after midnight, hoping to carry 4 sleepy children into their beds, but they were not the least bit sleepy!

We've been busy unpacking boxes all day. The kids love the new bed that Phil made for them, and they're having a great time in our new backyard! Lily drives the Gator all over the yard, and then grunts for me when she runs into trees and can't back up. Jared loves to explore in the basement. He repeatedly says to me, "Mom, if you need me, I'll be downstairs." Caleb is excited to see all of his toys again. He played quietly with his cars for most of the day. Gracie swept the house, unpacked boxes, sorted toys, and then found a spare moment to ride around with Lily in the Gator.

Brooke brought dinner over tonight! She also stopped by last night with food for breakfast and lunch today. Phil starts school Monday morning, so we'd like to get things put away this weekend. I'm amazed at how much stuff we've accummulated in only 8 years of marriage, but our family has doubled in size since our last move 3 years ago.

Little Friends

Isn't this sweet? Grace and Lily are becoming little friends. They love to play tea party and grocery store together. Often they end up in the same bed by morning. I don't think Gracie just wanders into Lily's bed during the night unaware. Her pillow and blanket are there with her. I think she wants to be close to her sister.

Long Day

Here's a recap of my day:

Left the house at 7:15 to drive down to San Francisco for two of Phil's doctor appointments

Got stuck in horrible traffic

Golden Gate Bridge toll--$5.00

Arrived for second appointment on time (1:30), and weren't seen until 4:15

Doctor's visit was only 20 min. long

Parking garage attendant says, "$17.00, please."

Hit the Golden Gate Bridge at exactly 5:00 p.m.--lovely time to head home

More traffic

Good news: Starbucks in now serving Pumpkin Spice Lattes...ahhhhh!

Happy Birthday Emily!

My little sis is 27 today. She was due a day before my birthday in July, but she was born one month late. I guess that was okay back in the '80's. I remember how excited I was when I found out that I had a new baby sister! Love you, Emy!

Get a Clue

"Get a Clue" is this year's theme for the Summer Reading Program at our library. We attended the awards party this morning. The boys earned certificates, book bags, pencils, bookmarks and free pizza for their efforts.

Gracie's Shopping Spree

We drove down to Santa Rosa today for Phil's doctor appointment. We made our usual stop at the mall so the kids could visit the Disney Store. As we walked by The Children's Place, Gracie got very excited. I was actually going to stop in there, because I received some coupons from them in the mail. Phil took Lily, Jared and Caleb into the Disney Store, and Gracie and I did some clothes shopping. She used to sit in the stroller and clap when we approached the girls' clothes section of any store. As we walked into the store, she squealed! I grabbed a little shopping bag, handed it to her, and she started shoveling clothes into it. I told her that Mommy needed to say "yes" first.

We looked around the store and found some really good deals. I let her look at the T-shirts and pick out her favorite one. She picked out a shirt with a sparkly pink dress on it, and then got very excited when I told her, "One for Lily, too." She also loved these little skirts. When I was looking through the clearance rack, I spotted her on the floor taking off her shoes and trying on a pair of new shoes with pink hearts. I'm not much of a clothes shopper, so I don't know why she enjoys this so much!

Overcooked Hot Dogs and a Yard Sale

So glad to have Phil home again!


The girls enjoyed their hot dogs in the shade


Caleb is waiting for everyone to finish lunch so he can ride the yellow train


Jared on the giant shark slide

Phil made it home safely! He arrived home Thursday night around 9:30. James and Mariann just happened to be in Sacramento on Thursday and offered to pick Phil up at the airport. Becky, Morgan and Lindsay also flew in on Thursday night. Originally, we were going to make one trip to the airport and have one big happy reunion. It was nice that James could help me out, because Becky's flight was delayed 2 hours, and they didn't get home until 3:00 a.m.

We took the kids to the park this morning. There were free train rides, bounce houses and overcooked hot dogs--they weren't burnt, just shriveled up and a little dehydrated. The event was sponsored by several churches in the area. We stopped by the pet store on the way home to buy crickets to feed the alligator lizard, and then we spotted a yard sale down the street at a friend's house. Caleb came home with 2 new paint sets, Morgan found LOTS of chapter books, and Jared found a Disney Sing-a-Long video. I hesitate to stop at yard sales since we're moving in 3 weeks, but as we drove by, I saw lots of pink stuff! Gracie loved playing with the doll house that was there, but Phil wants to make one for her. I think a daddy should make his daughter her first doll house if he's able. It's so nice to have Phil home again!