Other Plans- Better Plans!

Our plans for Memorial Day Weekend, for over the last two months, involved moving- unpacking, putting up blinds, etc.  God had other plans- due to complete incompetence, we did NOT close this weekend and instead of sitting around our house that is 99% in boxes, we went to the Eastern Shore and visited our good friends, the Ts.  What a blessing it was- God knew that we needed a break- and it was great to spend time at 2 of our favorite beaches with dear friends!

The kids are now old enough, and strong enough swimmers, that they embraced the beach for all it is- and I was able to sit back and watch them and occasionally jump in and play with them!

There are a ton of pics- but there are my favorites.  I hate the new layout here- so the pics will just stand for themselves!  

The kids loved Kiptopeak Beach where we met our friends our first day there, then they played soccer, climbed the boys tree house, drove the golfcart, played basketball, and ate icecream!  The next day we played on the beach on Assateague Island- and even got to see one of the wild ponies up close- next to the car!!  It was wonderful- simply wonderful!  We are now fully recharged and ready to move SOON!

Mother's Day

Mother's Day is always special- I love that there is one day set aside to honor Mom- being a Mom is a tough job!  For me, I love that I can focus on what makes me a Mom- and what a blessing I have been given!  This Mother's Day we had a low-key affair- I was allowed to sleep-in, then the kids made me a yummy breakfast (Al helped), we all worshiped at church, then it was peaceful during nap time....  The best part- I was able to snap some super cute pics of my two blessings!

For the last 2.5 years, Addie has been growing out her hair (sadly, she inherited my super-slow-growing hair)!  Orginally it started out that she just wanted long hair, then she wanted Tangled's hair, and finally she wanted to give her hair to a little girl who couldn't grow hair!  We have been measuring it and looking forward to the highly anticipated 10"!!  Friday, we reached that magical length and she was SUPER excited to cut it off and send it to a little girl!  I am so proud of her and her desire to help another little girl!

Morning of hair cut- look at her sweet little face!

The Pony Tail!

Snip-snip!

Cutting it off!!

SO happy to have short hair!!

Rockin' the new do!  Alden called it her Tangled Hair Cut!

Spending time with her Daddy

Update on Fun Stuff We Have Done!

 Life has been crazy busy- but we have made time for fun, not just uploading pics!!
Addie's class made these amazing hats in honor of Earth Day!  She wore it while we ran errands after school and lots oodles of complements!

We have been trying to spend some one-on-one time with the kiddos- here is a pic from my time with Addie!  Her choice- smoothies and a stroll through Goodwill!

We have had approximatly 100 million inch worms around here- and the kids have loved them!

We have also taken advantage of the perfect bike-riding weather!  They can't wait to move into our new house- there is a flat cul-de-sac so they can get rid of their training wheels!!

Word Wall Ball!

Dressed in her "gown" from MarMar!

For week we have heard about The Word Wall Ball- a pretty big deal in kindergarten!  In order to be invited to the ball, you need to know all your Word Wall Words....  For each word, you earned a bead, and once they were all mastered, you earned The Golden Bead!  The day Addie earned that, she was on cloud 9!  We were super proud of her!!  Orginally, Al and I were planning on attending The Ball for a few min, but then we found out that it was the equivlent of a kindergarten graduation!  We decided to stay for the entire thing- almost 2 hours!

Showing off her cutsy outside of the school!

Loving the Ball sign!

 

Sitting with her class, reading a new book!

Getting her certificate from her amazing teacher!

So excited!

Addie and her BFF Sydney- Addie is taller and is actually the leader!

Addie's amazing class!

Let the dancing begin!  She was super nervous about dancing with a boy!

She even danced with her Assistant Principal!

Her pretty curtsy!

BFF Jaida!

One Proud Family!!

Yard Sale!!

In an effort to not move anything we don't need- we had a yard sale!  Technically it wasn't in our yard- but some friends let us use theirs!  Their entire neighborhood was having a community yard sale- and we decided to ride their coattails!  The kids had a blast- they love playing with their little girl who lives in the house!

Who needs toys when there is a trailer to play in??

The kids got their first chance to climb trees and they loved it!!

They even made friends with the neighborhood kids!

What better way to spend a morning than having hot coco!!

All our treasures- and they all were sold or donated- whew!!

Our Soon To Be New Home!

We have been searching for a house to call our own.... When we moved to Richmond 2.5 years ago, we only rented, not being sure how long we would be here. It is now pretty clear that we will be here indefinitely so we are happy to buy a house!! For the first time in our lives, we had time to find a house- we didn't need to find a house in a weekend- how freeing!! We have looked and looked and looked. Finally this house fell into our price bracket! It ticked just about every box on our wishlist- excellent neighborhood, garage, cul-de-sac, 4 bedrooms, playroom, and has great bones- just needs updating and landscaping! The best part- it was a regular sale!! In our price point, most houses are short-sales which can take up to 6mo to be completed!!

The outside- the driveway is huge and needed to be weeded and eventually paved

Family room- doors lead to a sunroom which is off a deck (sorry, no outside pics now- I forgot to take them!)

There is a woodburning fireplace in the family room- the front door is to the left.

Huge kitchen! The front door is to the right and the open door you see is in the garage. Where I am standing is where our kitchen table will fit. I think we will put on new hardware and hinges and put in a new counter top and this kitchen will be welcomed into the 21st century!!

This is the formal dining room which is right off the front door where I am standing and the entrance to the kitchen is to the left. We are going to make this the playroom. There is a set of French doors that we will put up and be able to enclose the playroom so you don't have to see the mess- perfection!!

Upstairs are 3 bedrooms- the master- I like to think of it is primed for my painting....

What a HUGE master closet!

Master bathroom- new vanity and toilet- just needs paint on the walls!

Looking down the hall from the Master and the top of the stairs. Addie's room is to the right, to the left just outside of view is the kid's bathroom and huge hall closet. The doorway you can see on the left is Alden's room with the office/guest room at the end. The hallway is a nice tan- just need to paint the trim white!

Kids' bathroom- love the new toilet and vanity! Al will re tile the floors soon.

Addie's room- huge closet and cute little shelves! There is also a door for the walk-up attic here!

Alden's room- his bunk beds will go on the wall you can see. Both kids love the new brown carpet that is everywhere!

This is Al's office and guest room- super cute and plenty of room!

The backyard is plenty big just a bit steep in sections. There is room for the swingset- my biggest criteria! I'll take more pics and hope to show you a transformed house soon! We hope to move Memorial Day weekend!!