Our whirlwind life has kept us spinning the
past few weeks as we prepared for our big move.
Ellie, Ryan and Trevor started school at Chapman Heights totally last minute.
We had planned on waiting until we moved to Roseville for the kids to start school.
I called Chapman Heights on the first day of school (where they were registered) to get home study packets for the three weeks we would still be in town. The office staff said they weren't ready and it would be easier for them to just be in class. So, I hung up the phone and said, "Do you guys want to go to school?" Gratefully, they were excited about the idea. So, they threw on their shoes and grabbed a backpack and away we went! Trevor is in afternoon Kindergarten, so he was even on time! I snuck a picture of him (that I need to edit when I get my computer back) since it was his first day of public school, ever. He jumped in line with everyone else, waved to me, and strutted inside, all confidence, and didn't look back. He's Mr. Independence.
Amid all the 'to do's' of the day with paperwork and buying our house, I managed to throw in the traditional First Day of School cookie,
but I didn't get it decorated. So they each got a Ziploc of frosting when they got home and they decorated it themselves. :)
We sold Ellie's furniture and the boys bunks in preparation for our move (we love craigslist). It ended up being quite the ordeal, with us transporting some of the furniture in our van, but it will be nice to have a fresh start on setting up our lives. I had to take a picture of the way Ellie had set up her cute shelves. I love it when the kids make their space their own, and I'm looking forward to being able to take time to do that with them in our new house!
Even with the moving prep, house buying,
and goodbying whirlwind, we found time to enjoy our lives together a little bit.
One day after school, Trevor walked into the kitchen looking like this:
Ryan and Ellie had dressed him up.
He was trying out a French accent, and it was hilarious.
Sterling had to get in on the fun.
Brenna is such a sweet, doll baby!
Smiles and chub.
We love her big, curious eyes, and cute grins.
She is such a light!
All the kids are enjoying her all the more now that she is responding with smiles and giggles.
Scrunchy nose grin! We love her personality. She's a blast.
Sterling loves his new frog from Grandma Nana, and his cute imagination is running wild these days. He usually becomes an amphibian or four legged creature daily. He usually transforms back into Sterling in time to read books together and snuggle at bedtime.
The girls.
Brenna is looking more like Ellie all the time! Lucky, little sister.
We had a rainstorm on the afternoon of a half day of school,
and the kids put on their boots to go out and play in it.
I grabbed the photo op.
The rain didn't last long, and soon the boys had kicked of their boots (and lost their shirts) and were playing in the puddles.
Pretty sweet, tough guys.
I love the saying,
"Don't cry because it's over,
smile because it happened."
The last week of August was one of goodbyes,
although we choose to say, "See you later" even when we know it will be hard to do.
Our good friends, the Browns, had us over for Family Night on Monday and we enjoyed sitting in their beautiful back yard, letting the kids play on their pirate ship, and having chocolate, banana bars.
Wednesday night we had a goodbye dinner for with all the Podiatry department at
Claim Jumpers. Brenna and I tagged along, and it really was a great night. It was fun to chat with everybody and show off baby Brenna.
Being a part of the group has been a wonderful experience for Robert, and a great stepping stone for his career.
Friday, I brought cheesecake, cookies and fruit in to all the nurses and staff at Rob's work since it was his last day of clinic. He sure will miss working with Dr. Stutz, whom he shared an office with, he's a stellar guy!
During Rob's lunch break we took the bunk beds (that we had taken apart and put in the van early that morning) and delivered them at someones house. It was pretty wild. Me with three kids in the back of Rob's car and Rob in the van with the bunks...anyway it all worked out. We made it back to clinic in time for Rob to see his patients, which I actually was one of!
Trevor had fun making the chair go up and down while I waited for Rob to come give me my first ingrown toenail surgery.
I thought I'd bring the kids to this Doctor Appointment so they could see their Dad. :)
I rushed out of the office and made it home 5 minutes before Ellie and Ryan walked in from school.
That night we had a dessert, goodbye party at the park with friends from the ward. It was quite surreal. We've talked about leaving so much, it's strange it's actually happening. I'm really going to miss these fabulous families! They have been so supportive to our family this year, and such fun and inspirational friends!
Ellie and Kira Horspool, cute girls!
Trevor and one of his Preschool friends, Paige.
The kids loved playing, "Get the Bishop!" They chased Travis around the park for quite a while.
Rob worked in Young Men's with Brook Horspool and Mark Ewell, fantastic guys.
We sure have a lot to smile about!
We are grateful for our time in Yucaipa.
Especially for all the people we met and loved,
the experiences we learned from, and the wonderful memories we made and will keep forever.
