Bashy's Birthday and Mom's Visit

We were blessed to have my mom here for a week over Bash's second birthday! We had a great time showing her our new little town, and exploring it more ourselves. A highlight from the last week or so was a fun BBQ at the home of some of our friends; we met them years ago in Flag and they moved to Williams a couple years ago. We already know a few other families as well; It's nice already having some community here and we're looking forward to making new friends! Of course, Blake's still in school so we're limiting our commitments like we've been over the last several years. However, graduation's on the horizon and we're excited to hang out with people again!

Bud-o's second birthday was a success! Rather than putting together a party like I do for Rory (who loves to play with her friends), I realized that Bashy doesn't really have little friends and could care less about an event like that. Instead, we had a family day on his birthday itself that included playtime on his own while Rory slept (a rare luxury!), a delicious dinner, time with his Gramma and Nana and Baba, and a few fun presents. Rory did chores to earn money to buy him a gift and we gave her her first budgeting lesson: one quarter in her giving box, one quarter in her savings box, and two quarters in her discretionary spending box! It was so sweet watching her labor over the decison about what to get him at the store! We finished birthday celebrations by going to a (sort of) local fall festival and pumpkin patch. They had hayrides, a carousel, train rides, tractors to sit on, a petting zoo, and other fun things. Bashy had the greatest time! We all thought it was a lot of fun!

He had a stuffy nose and had to miss Sunday school, but he got to play with his tractor at church and didn't mind.

Allowance boxes!

It happened that we were all in Flag on his birthday (the kids, myself, and Mom for MOPS, Blake for work) so we met up with Blake's parents and had a special b-day lunch.

Bash really enjoys having some alone time. He got some on his birthday when Rory took a long nap!

He also got to watch Mighty Machines with Gramma!

I had the brilliant idea of making him an indoor sandbox. Yes, those two words should not go together. But he LOVES it and so far it hasn't been too messy :)

He constantly begs to play with his sandbox (which he doesn't have free access to).

Oh, Rad. Such a sweetie!!

Tractor-pumpkin cupcakes for our trip to the pumpkin patch!

Pants are optional. Trucks are not.

So grown up!

Corn maze!

First carousel ride! Her look of wonder was so neat :)

On and On

We've had a busy couple weeks of settling in. There's lots of unpacking still to be done, but we're making progress! Meanwhile, life goes on:

The all-important coffee station! Don't worry, crazy coffee-free friends: There's tea and cocoa and cider too!

Illicitly obtained animal crackers: Check! Winter garb: Check! Bathtub: Check!

He lights up when Blake gets home! And yes, I fed my husband a microwavable mini pizza for dinner. Wife of the year award.

Makin' things pretty!

Our viking wears puppy slippers.

Rory's interpretation of "Read your baby brother a book."

We have an awesome park nearby!

He scrunches up when he's overwhelmed with happiness!

He couldn't stay awake during Zorro.

Blake had an extra day off so we enjoyed some local outings, like Bearizona!

Bashy was more interested in the tractor than the wildlife.

Autumn in our backyard

Making potato soup out of some fun rocks with fossils and geodes and petrified wood left by the previous owners.

Home, Sweet Home

I am writing this post from our very own cozy living room! The high school homecoming football game is barely audible in the background and seems entirely appropriate for our first autumn in a small town. I love, love, love our cute little house and am soooo glad that God had us wait (and wait, and wait) for our home.
If you told me four months ago that we would just now be moving I would have totally freaked out, but God's hand was so obviously on this whole process and we just feel incredibly blessed. Without going too into the details that probably don't interest any of you anyway, here are a few highlights of our home:
- it's got character and charm and quirks but not so much so that it's falling apart (like a couple places we looked at)!
- it may not have the "perfect" flat, grassy yard (I am from Washington, after all), but its own wilderness for the babies to play in, and it's only a two minute walk to all the high school grassy fields!
- it's in what everyone says is one of the best parts of town to live in and it's very quiet.

It feels so good to be moved (sort of) into our very own place; such a burden has been lifted! Of course, unpacking with small crazy children isn't exactly a piece of cake, but we'll get there.

In other news, God also provided the minivan update we needed; if our tan van seems like it's on steroids, it is. Or maybe we have a slightly newer version of the exact one we had. It's awesome and I love it!

Also:
We're almost a quarter of the way through the school year!!! Aaaaah! That means in seven months we'll be able to have fun and watch TV shows with plots and go on excursions again! We are so excited for Blake to be done!!!

Bash is now speaking in sentences, though they're choppy Bud-o sentences and he sounds like a robot. He doesn't enunciate all that well: Bootie, berry, and blankie all sound identical. Usually it's easy enough to know which one he's referring to based on context... He's growing into such a rough and tumble little boy but is still our spontaneous hugger and is a sweet little cuddler with a contagious, toothy grin. He likes to give Rad kisses and slowly caress his little head, saying "niiiiice, niiiiice" in a kind of creepy voice (indicating that he's using nice, gentle touches). Usually those moments end with him joyfully poking the baby in the eye.

Rory is so fun to talk to; she has the most amazing things to say and is thoughtful and insightful. She can also be crazy and dramatic and emotional: yesterday she had the majorist of meltdowns when it was time to leave a friend's house. It ended with me wrestling her (almost naked) into her car seat because the friend had to leave and though I didn't mind if she screamed and was nude and freaking out, she had to be strapped in and safe. Fun times. It took her and Bash a few days to get used to the new place and we had some rough nap times and hysterics, but now they are happily repacking my boxes and scattering their newly discovered toys throughout the place and dragging each other (not Conrad) around on the wood floors.

Conrad...seriously, the cutest and sweetest baby ever. Even when he's mad he tries to laugh and smile, and he's so quickly over it. He's smiley and snuggly and always has a look of wonder or bemusement or satisfaction on his cute little bright eyed face. We can't get enough of our little Rad man! I mean, my other kiddos were cute and delightful, but Rad is something else. I call him "Charmey" because he's such a charming guy; there's no one cuter to wake up to (other than his bearded papa, that is).

Anyhoo, I'm sure lots more is going on, but that's enough of a recap for now. I'm enjoying the fact that we actually have a heater in our home and plan on falling asleep to the surprisingly soothing sounds of Friday night lights from down the street.

Our back patio- the wilderness goes quite a way back up the hill! It borders state forest land too,so lots of exploring potential as the kiddos get older.

Covered front porch, perfect for my swirly rocking chair!

A sweet flower garden, complete with a  Russian sage plant, which is my very favorite!