and we're back...

hi!!!

we are officially "hooked up" again in the world. we now have phone, internet and cable (phone number stayed the same for those that might wonder). we are doing well, trying to get ourselves settled. i feel like i am slowly but surely getting there, a little every day! the kids are adjusting pretty well, ethan will need to be reminded where exactly the bathrooms are for a while i think and avery had a rough-ish day today but it might just be the little cold she has. or it's probably the move but oh well...we will make it:)

story to tell about today....
i was a little worried about the Cox people coming today to hook up the internet and cable because notoriously something goes wrong. so they tell me they are coming between 1 and 3 today (right at nap time, that doesn't bode well) and that it could take up to 3 HOURS for the installation! what??? holy crow! okay, so i've been prepping my mind for this since i made the appointment and i had a game plan. this morning, i sneak away at the end of cinderella to take a shower, about 8:45 am. then i am out of the shower and drying off and ethan runs upstairs and is telling me avery fell and i am hoping the next words out of his mouth aren't "down the stairs" and they are not...whew. but she did fall out of the laundry basket which was sitting on the couch. lame mom. so i rush downstairs to comfort avery (in a towel and still wet mind you) and i get her mostly calmed down and in the process i think, this would almost be funny if someone knocked on my door right now...and then the doorbell rang. honestly. so i look out of the peep hole and see...you guessed it! the Cox guy. he's early, any other time this would be great...but now it's not so good, you know, i'm wet here and in a towel! so i streak upstairs throw on clothes and hope he can hear the children talking and will stay on the porch until i get back down because if he leaves and i have to call and get someone back out..this could take another week! so i make it back downstairs in about 45 seconds i think:) then, without opening the door i ask who it is because (i remember the self defense class at church i just went to) and while i am expecting the guy, it's not for 4 more hours and he identifies himself and what he's there for and i let him in and thankfully it doesn't take 3 hours and now here we are...wow..what a morning huh?:) the fun doesn't end! but it was better for him to come in the morning than at nap time, i'll say that for sure!


so we are getting settled! give me another few days and then i'd love some visitors!

empty...

what do you do when you have packed up all your food and taken it over to the other house...you send your husband out to get Jack 'n The Box. that's right...awesome!


alright people, tonight is the night (we go incommunicado)...just think of us as being on the dark side of the moon for a bit...

see you on the flip side!

12:06 am: Friday: August 21

(allow me pontificate a moment)

technically it is friday, since it is past midnight. i can't sleep. we are moving. one day here is what we have left, effectively. it seems amazing that you can live in a place and then, in the course of a week or so, pack it all up and put it somewhere else and now you live...there. it is a good change. i am glad we are moving now and not any later...i have enough contractions as it is and moving with an infant is not what i wish either so the timing is good. as old as this house is, with the bugs, concrete walls, tiled floor that reminds me of a hosptial only harder to clean...we will miss what we have been in this house. we completed law school in this house, avery learned to crawl and walk in this house (not in that order:)) and so many other memories that i am glad we had. i know the kids will not really remember these years where daddy went to school and we lived in the houses out here "on base" but i will. i have enjoyed being here, even though it wasn't easy much of the time. thank you house. we have loved being sheltered. i will be grateful for the time we have spent here, especially in our ward and making friends. now...face forward...and on to new adventures! (but hopefully some sleep before the children wake us up:))

communication silence...

hey lovely people,
saturday we will be moving our big stuff and that means disconnecting the computer/phone so we will be reachable on our cell phones after friday night. if you need those numbers...email me.

love
my life is in a box...jen

57m 24s

that's how long i was on the phone for reporting changes for our insurance today...whew, not bad actually. i have waited much longer before:) of course we couldn't report the new house yet because we don't live there yet...so that's in the works so to speak:)

some of our rooms are starting to develop the resounding "hollow" sound that these concrete walled-tiled floor-no curtains on the windows-houses get when you move in or out. it's a good sound to hear. it means i am making progress even if i feel like i am moving through jello:) it's hard for me to have help packing, i am a little haphazard when it comes to packing it up. i think i will be able to use help cleaning (next week) and moving stuff into the other house...for anyone who wants to know such things:)

we are approaching 30 weeks with little blake man...this is always an auspicious event for me because i was born at 30 weeks so i always feel like i have REALLY accomplished something when i reach this point. so yay...not that anyone has ever been early...on the contrary we tend the other way...but it's good to pass a milestone:)

happy day to you all. i'm pack pack packing away...

he said...

today we embarked, officially on the packing expedition and kendall, with ethan in tow went to clear out one storage unit and load stuff into the van to take to the house. i was inside packing while avery was sleeping. ethan comes in and i ask him if he wants something to eat, he says, "nope, i'm full. i just need some organization and a drink!" hilarious person. i wonder where he hears about organizing;)

keys...

we got the keys today for the house!!!! i will have to take a picture of it soon, it's a nice house, i am excited. the things i think i am most excited for are....the pantry! it's very large! and the garbage disposal, we haven't had one of those for a while, i think we had one in our first apartment but that's it! also cabinets under the sinks in bathrooms...storage in the house! and it has a loft. wow, i guess i am excited about the whole entire thing.

now i have a question...what is your best toy containing solution? i think the kids' rooms are a bit smaller, not teeny but it might just look small because there's nothing in them...sometimes that happens. but i am feeling like we might need to revamp our toy containing especially because avery is having her family birthday party tomorrow and it sounds as if everyone is being super generous to this tiny girl!

so tell me how you've found that works for you to organize the toys and books...if you've found a good way:)

avery had her two year check today...fit as a fiddle. she only had to have one shot (happy day!) and she weighs below the 3%, at 21 lbs and 4 oz. but she is tall for her age group apparently or at least average, 50-75% at 34.5 inches. and of course ethan wanted to be weighed as well and he still weighs 32 lbs :) bunch of light weights over here. i have no doubt that our friend little blake will follow suit...yikes, my countdown says i only have 76 days to go. that is frankly frightening...and amazing. it's gone SUPER fast! so now here's to packing! yay!

birthday girl...

the day she was born....

well today is our little miss avery's birthday! she is 2 years old today...time flies so fast, especially lately. she is a delightful little girl, she is learning so many things everyday, it is amazing to watch! she loves fruit, she loves her daddy and especially she loves ethan!!!! she loves to do whatever he is doing. she started out with reflux and she has come a looooooooong way! she is happy and affectionate and really a sweet girl. we love you avery! happy birthday little princess.






here she is on her first birthday....


and here she is last night, taking everything in stride (she actually did that on her own...silly girl!)

first day of preschool....

here is ethan, today, on his first day of preschool! yay for eth! he had a great time and avery and i had a good time together as well:) he is getting so big and growing up so fast...we love our boy!

dear {daddy}...

good luck on monday, your first day of work. we love you tremendously and know you will be a great pre-lawyer man (only "pre" because the results from the bar take so freaking long). frankly, we are happy that a paycheck will be coming soon but we are also so happy that you are so freaking smart and good at this. thank you. we love you. be safe. have a great day!

love,

ethan, avery and blake {& jen}

-ps-mommy wrote this, as we are not allowed to say "freaking" and don't really know what "tremendously" or "paycheck" really mean.

we're baaaaack....

we got in this morning after an all night drive. i'm so glad to be back! we had a great time on our trip and the kids got thoroughly spoiled by the grandparents (thanks mom and dad!!!!) so everyone was very happy with the overall trip:) i'll post some pictures later. right now...i'm tired:) we have much to look forward to though...kendall starts work on monday, ethan starts his preschool on tuesday, avery turns two on wednesday, we get the keys to the other house on saturday...wow...sometime i need to pack yeah? i'll get right on that...maybe:)