And We're Back

Moving is always an interesting experience. It's exciting to see new places, meet new people, and explore. It's exhausting to unpack and organize, change information and start up all the utilities etc, and learn a new area. We love Culpeper so far. It's a great mix of a small town feel with easy access to all the things we consider essential. And yes, Target is one of my essentials. So is access to more than one park. It's been so nice to spend time with Roy's family up here and see the cousins play together. Abby and her cousins took about three seconds to be uncomfortable around each other before running and playing. Sam took a little longer to get accustomed to the noise while not in the safety of a lap, but the boys have won him over now.

So on top of all the moving fun, we have discovered a great park:

attended Roy's swearing in:

explored downtown Culpeper (including discovering a fabulous bakery with the world's yummiest doughnuts):

bought a new car

attended cousin Zach's birthday weekend celebrations (where our camera stayed, dang it!)

started Abby in art school

started both kids in library story time

found out my brother (finally) got engaged and started planning our CA adventure for the wedding. Yes, Neil, I did say finally :)

and did lots of other fun things that will have to wait for another post and our camera to return home.

And We're Off

Moving day is tomorrow. I think we're ready. We were a little disorganized for our move here so we've been a little preparedness-happy this time around and hopefully it will pay off tomorrow. Roy will load the truck in the morning and I'll take the kids to library school and run errands. Hopefully we'll have the truck loaded, lunch eaten, house cleaned, etc and be driving off by 1 pm. Optimism is a good thing, right?

Abby has had a few funnies this week that have kept the stress levels down.

Abby and Sam were playing in the front room, I was in the kitchen, and Roy walked into the front room from a long absence in the bedroom and said, "Hey! Where's my crazy-head?" Without missing a beat, Abby responded, "She's in the kitchen."

Yesterday we were on our way to make a donation and we were explaining what we were doing with the bags of clothes, toys, and other stuff. Abby was quite upset about donating toys she never played with (of course) and then suddenly said, "I don't want to give away Sam's clothes! Then he would be naked!"

One of my favorite oft-repeated Abby phrases is, "Okay. I'll try." She says it in this cute voice and always makes me smile. We saved the kid's stuff to pack last so they didn't lose it, but some things got boxed up that Abby apparently cared deeply for and we would have rounds of tears over the object. Several times when we suggested she play with a replacement item, she would sigh and say, "Okay, I'll try." Too cute.

Sam is as lovable and wonderful as ever. He is incredibly independent, which is handy for packing, and loves watching Abby. Everything she does makes Sam laugh. He gives huge hugs and slobbery, wide-open-mouth kisses. Sam is babbling more and growls a lot. He's a pretty great kid.

It's been a good year in Wise, but we're excited for our new adventure in Culpeper. Here we go!

First Day of School

Abby really wants to go to school so we're taking advantage of our week left in Wise to go to library school. She was so excited all morning to go to school! She packed a backpack full of essential school supplies (dolls and My Little Pony toys) and was ready to go an hour early. Here's to the first of many first days of school!

All dressed and ready for school!

On the way...

"Oh no! My backpack won't buckle in my car seat!"

Dancing with all the other students and Miss Nancy.

Abby and Alice--two peas in a pod!

Sound Bites

Life in the eyes of an adventurous, fun-seeking, happy two-and-a-half year-old:

• As we drove past the Ford car dealership, Abby delightedly said, "Oh look! There are cars on those balloons!"
• "Oh, you said no, Mom? I'll go ask Dad!" (I have NO idea where she learned this, but I see this line being said for at least the next 16 years. Heaven help us.)
• "But I wanna be 16!" (Her response when I told her that no, she can't drive the car today, but she can when she's 16.)
• "Where's my car?" (Said every time Roy takes it to work.) Followed quickly by, "I need it! It's my car!"
• "But Mom, I'm doing my job." (Abby says whenever I ask her to do something she isn't totally thrilled about doing.)
• "Are you a monster?" (Our next job is to say yes, growl, and then chase.)

Abby dancing with Backyardigans.

Life in the eyes of the 6-month-old little brother who thinks his sister is hilarious, life is the best, everything should be eaten, and that we should laugh at every possible opportunity. Good philosophy.

• "Abby is so funny!"
• "Hmmm, mulch. Mouth."
• "What are you doing, Mom? Quit making me laugh!" (Then, as he's laughing he attacks me with his gooey open mouth for a big kiss. I love it!)
• "Rock? Mouth time!"
• "DAD! Pay attention! It's me!" (We know this is what he's saying because he shrieks and stares Roy down until Roy pays attention.)
• "Food! Finally!!!" And the shoving begins.
• "Who are you? And why are you talking to me?" (Sam gets lots of attention when we're out in public--he's cute and always making noise. He will be all smiley and talkative until someone talks to him. He then goes stone-faced. The really persistent adults tickle his feet or continue talking until they get a little grin. The extra effort is worth it. Sam has one of those light-up-his-face, breathtaking smiles.)
• "What's this? I'll stick it in my mouth and find out."

Yes, that is his toe in his mouth.

The big Sam news of the week is that he got his first tooth! Hurray!!!

Roy got to see a 10 foot tall marijuana plant today at work. I got to see it all wrapped up in the back of the squad car when we picked him up at the end of the shift. Go ahead, be jealous. That sucker was squashed into a big black garbage bag and took the whole back seat. Perks of Roy's job. :)

Cutest Kids on the Block

Not that I'm biased or anything, but we have really cute kids. I don't even need anyone to tell me that because I just know it. They may have gotten their strange sense of humor from me, but I'm pretty sure the looks came from Roy. At least that's what strangers and friends alike say when they see our kids, "Whoa! It's mini-Roy!" or "Wow, that's Daddy's son/daughter." I used to think it would make me sad if my kids didn't look like me (not that I'm vain, but, for crying out loud, I carried them for 9 months so I should get something out of the deal!), but Sam and Abby are both too cute for me to even be upset about the constant commentary about the origin of their looks.

We had a great time out at the park this week. Sam attempted to sneak in bites of mulch while Abby practiced her scooter. We love being outside and both kids are happiest when we're busy so we spend lots of time inventing things to keep us busy, which results in many romps to the two-and-a-half parks we have in the area.

We had a stressful Wednesday. Without going into too many details, Roy's new job he is transferring to almost became the job that wasn't. Thankfully, all the miscommunications got resolved and the rescinded transfer is now unrescinded and we're still heading to Culpeper at the end of the month. Phew!

And because it's been an entire paragraph since I got to show off the world's cutest children, here are my favorite kids dressed in their Sunday best!

How can you beat this smile?

(Can you tell who is learning what to do for the camera?)

Abby picked out headbands at the store yesterday and was so proud to show off her matching dress (thanks, Cindy) and headband. Everyone we saw today was expected to make a comment on her outfit (if they didn't do it willingly, they were invited to comment on Abby's cuteness by the queen of cuteness herself). As you can tell, she is extremely proud of her new big girl look!

Bays Mountain

Our big adventure this week was going to a state park in Tennessee called Bay's Mountain. They had wolves, deer, otters, turtles, and bobcats. Abby had a great time looking at the animals and the sticks and leaves. She particularly liked an indoor playground and threw an absolute fit when we had to leave. Her dad had to bribe her with another park to get her to leave.

The most exciting thing that happened while we were there was that three deer came right up to us while we were eating lunch and even made a move for our lunch bag. No there was no fence, just three deer making a move on Roy's grapes. You can tell the locals feed them. The good ole boys in Wise would have shot the deer and took them home for dinner.

If You Chance To Meet a Frown

Abby's new favorite primary song.