Getting Settled

No house tour yet, sorry people.  Although, I have to say this place looks much better with our furniture than the last people's.  I'm probably biased.  I do have things workable, a couple boxes in the corner of each room and all the things I need out.  Unpacking is so tedious.  Today I threw a bunch of stuff away since that was easier than trying to find a spot for it.  And working on it with two needy kids and a missing husband,  right now shopping and having sushi in San Francisco, is going to take longer than expected. (I don't ever remember being jealous of Brian, but this week I am).  Thinking back, we unpacked in the condo after one day, we were so excited, not that we aren't now.  The kids do well out in the yard on their own for an hour or so, but they are much more content when I'm out there with them. Right now I'm using otter pops to buy time. And this:

We have been enjoying our close proximity to EVERYTHING. When the kids and I need a break we find out about the neighborhood, shops, playgrounds. Today we walked to his future elementary school, a rigorous 3 blocks.

She doesn't need a toy stroller.

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He also visited his pre-school and met his teacher. He's finally excited.  He used to be so scared. All it took was going to a pre-school open house in Sandy a few months ago. The sand table had him hooked. Luckily Miss Sabrina's class room, with an under water theme, had a sand table too.

It's a really good school that our realtor recommended as the best in town and they magically got a space for him a couple of weeks ago. It will be a class of 10 boys, good luck teacher.  Eli will help, he's going to be a hall monitor someday, I know it. In primary he tells kids to stop this or that if he knows its against the rules.  Miss Sabrina even said he could bring Mousie to school.  But the spot she gave Mousie to sit wasn't secure enough, so he'll keep him in his backpack in his cubbie.

During Esme's nap Eli and I were together instead of me sticking a movie in so I could get boxes emptied. We hung laundry and laid in the hammock literally watching it dry. A nice quiet moment. I kept thinking, this must be heaven.

A Few Firsts

It has been an eventful couple of weeks.  Getting a house, visiting a new place, and a few other things. Definitely the most firsts for Esme. To start out with, her first time on kid rides. We had to do something fun the last day before Shannon, Curt's mom, went back to work after a carefree summer, so we took the kids to Jungle Jim's, like an indoor carnival.  Esme was so adventurous! She begged to go on rides and even went by herself which I was still trying to coax Eli into. She even preferred to sit with Curt over her brother.  For some reason they didn't fight over the steering wheel the way siblings do and she liked his crazy driving and crashes.  When Eli rode with him he would chew Curt out when he got jolted and Esme just laughed.

Looks like a date to me

Must've been her favorite, judging by the expression.
For some reason my kids have blank stares on rides and get off smiling and saying how fun it was. 

It might've been Mousie's first carnival ride
too, Eli would want this recorded.  His obsession
with that mangy thing just keeps getting worse.

And Eli gave his first talk in Primary his last day there before we move. He did so well, not as shy as I thought and did better than our practice runs. I had to keep reminding him that even though I was whispering, he had to talk louder. 

Oh, and on the same day Esme looked so cute (not a first for her), I couldn't resist a photo shoot.

And, this past weekend we joined Brian for one of his martial arts trips. A summer camp in Aspen.  I realized he leaves us 4 times between April and October just for martial arts, not to mention regular work conferences.  He goes places like, San Diego, Aspen, Sun Valley, Idaho, Whitefish Montana, Arizona, and we've never gone since driving that far is a nightmare, we just sit around bored waiting for him to finish, and hotels are pricey.  But now that he's "regional examiner" his expenses are paid and Aspen's not too far.

During our long wait for it to be over I ventured into Aspen by myself and it was my first time there, or even in Colorado. Luckily it was a small town and the road practically led us downtown, where there was a playground and farmer's market going on, besides the snooty people shops.  Hopefully Brian was proud, all I bought were these irresistible pastries and some awesome red shoes for Esme at a second hand kids shop.

I think she knew how many calories were involved,
couldn't get her to take more than a couple of bites.


So I found a diner and we had ice cream for dinner.  She wouldn't eat any until I called the pink ice cream "strawberries" and she opened up.  Maybe I should start calling fattening food things like "cabbage" "green beans" or "salad" hmmm....

It's a hard life trying to gain weight. 

Anyway, it was a nice trip. Definitely easier to stay home, but good to see where Brian's going all the time.

As for the last "first". We came home from that trip and the next day went to get the keys  for our first house. So exciting. It is now 11:30 at night and Brian just finished painting two rooms. I'm not too picky, but the peach/cantaloupe color in Esme's room had to go.  Well, the first thing I did was tear out the carpet to reveal some decent hard wood. 

As soon as we got in yesterday they ran straight for the sand box in the back yard, already full of toys to play with. First time playing in their own back yard.

Pretty significant, I'd say.

6 Years

Last Saturday was our anniversary. We're getting so practical now that we're old timers. No more hundreds of dollars dropped at a fancy spa. Last year was mini golf and Italian food in town. And this year my great visiting teacher (who LOVES kids and was surprised we weren't staying out long enough for her to have to put the kids to bed!) watched Eli and Esme.  We went up to Solitude for a hike and dinner at a nice restaurant there.  If you hike up the mountain and find where the chairlift ends, then you can ride it down for free.

Not sure how he mustered a smile, must've been after we figured
out how to pull the bar over our laps.

I even learned something new about Brian.  He's scared of heights!  Just like the old man!  I called him Frank the whole way down.  The only other time I've ever seen him scared was in Switzerland driving a one-lane road (where you have to honk before you go around a turn) on the side of a cliff in the heaviest fog I've ever seen.  In this not so equally dangerous situation he sat down, put his hand behind my back and froze. So I had to be the one figuring out his fancy phone for this unflattering picture.

I guess we won't be skiing, since I'm too scared of the steep hills and speed and he's terrified of the chairlift.