California

The Move!

It feels like it has been a long time coming to talk about since we have been planning and trying to get here for so long. We finally made our way to California and into a new apartment for the next year (at least) for Chris to attend PA school. We left our mini vacation in Idaho Monday afternoon so we could drive through the night with the girls sleeping in the back. I was worried, but we were watched over by the Lord and the trip went great! I didn't have any real trouble staying awake because I had a nap earlier in the day and the guys in the truck didn't run into any problems either. We had a slight delay around midnight where we were stuck behind a reck for half an hour, but the girls didn't wake up and we didn't fall asleep on the road. We had a lazy day after getting here and unpacking the essentials since we were all tired and trying to catch up on sleep.

Unpacking

There have been a few bumps (like not having a fridge, finding money on the garage sealing..., and spider!), but for the most part getting settled has gone really well. It took me 3 days to unpack all the boxes and get most things where they need to be even though I'll do a little more switching and organizing as I go. I mostly wanted the boxes gone and to feel like this was our home with our decorations, so I exhausted myself and skipped workouts to get it done. We've already taken care of so much that needs to be done with security cameras, spraying for bugs (and to get rid of the black widows!), getting drivers license appointments, and other little house keeping things. It is nice to make a house feel like a home so quickly.

Claire

She had so much fun when we first got to the house and everything was echoing and empty and she could run around. I think she fed off the level of excitement that we had when looking around and seeing the house for real for the first time. She also helped me decorate and found a doll that I've had since I was a little girl that I inherited from my mom so it was cute to see her wrap it up and kiss her good night. Now there are all new places for her to "hide" (lose) things and new things to make sure she doesn't ruin right off the bat. Originally we thought to start potty training her when we got here, but we ran into resistance, so we are going to let her feel more settled first and hope things go better in a few weeks. She is even eating better now that we are in this new house and tries a lot more food we offer her, she still has her favorites but she gets moods of adventurousness.

Claire practicing her colors

Shay

As the younger sister, she followed Claire around yelling and making echos as we first got to our new house and was very excited about how loud she could be. I'm sure she would have done it alone too, but they are partners in crime most the time. She has enjoyed the sprinkler we bought to water the back lawn and sometimes just sits in the water to really soak it all up. I know she liked baths before but now she will spend a good hour in there just enjoying the bubbles, toys, and water. The bath is even bigger because of our master bathroom and they have plenty of room to play and splash! She does have a better mastery of tantrums now and will walk to where we have a rug to throw herself on the floor to cry in protest of whatever it is she is disagreeing to.

Playing on the rolling chair before saying goodbye