Well, I have to apologize for taking almost 6 weeks to create a blog post about our move to New Jersey. I am not ashamed to list you these reasons:
#1 - I am lazy.
#2 - Close to 100% of my pictures are taken on my smart phone. I've had issues taking them off of my phone to put on our desktop. But all is good, Ethan helped me do it just yesterday.
#3 - I've spent most of my free time during the girls' naps unpacking, organizing, cleaning, napping myself, doing my CBS homework, texting or shopping online.
#4 - My list of things to blog kept getting longer and longer, thus bringing me back to reason #1, especially if the list was downstairs or upstairs, where I was not.
Okay, I am back upstairs. Here we go.
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Saying Good-byes:
The last couple of weeks in August were spent with friends and family. After the house and moving truck were all packed, we spent five days at Janet and Denis' house. It was nice.
I stocked up on our favorite K-cup flavor from HEB.
Miss Rebecca, spotlight teacher of the year at Spillane MS.
Last Sunday at church
Hanging out with the Finks at our favorite place, Sushi Nikko.
Saying good-bye to Hazeldale.
With the Nichols and Josefys. Love these two families.
Ethan is always a hit with the kids!
Hanging out at Willie's with the Sarvarians, McWhorters and Mellos.
Aunt Kenny and Kaylan.
Had lunch at Phillipe Lounge with Mrs. Fields
Sundae Send-off at the park, hosted by the Nichols.
Four generations at Gringo's.
The Plane Ride:
The girls' first plane ride went really well. Callie makes friends almost everywhere we go (sadly most strangers gloss over Olivia), and so she was her happy self the entire flight. But, she doesn't like to sit still, so we walked up and down the aisle a few times. She had about one 20-minute nap. Olive did super well - she had stickers, the iPad, a DVD player and about 5 pounds of fruit snacks to keep her happy.
Our New House & Neighborhood:
We had to wait an entire week for our moving truck and cars to arrive. That's something that was pretty difficult. Not that I couldn't live without our things, but my back was killing me from not having furniture, especially Callie's rocking chair. Having to get up and down off the floor holding a 20+ pound baby isn't the most comfortable.
Once the truck arrived, we had an entire team unload for us. They didn't realize that they were unpacking for us as well, so once that time came around, we had a total explosion of our items. The kitchen was a mess. It took me about 5 days to finally pack away the kitchen. We have less cabinet space here, so it took a little thought.
Right now, we are in the process of having the entire interior painted. I'll post pictures when that's all done.
We really like the neighborhood. Within two minutes, we can reach ShopRite, Home Depot, Lowes, Target, Panera Bread, Chick Fil A, McDonald's, Michaels, Toys R Us, Babies R Us, Walmart, a dinky shopping mall and a movie theatre. Our grocery store, ShopRite, even has FREE childcare for kids aged 3-years and older. What a deal!
We've met most of our immediate neighbors, and they are so nice. One family brought us wine and brownies and another brought us banana bread and vegetables from their own garden. Directly behind us is a family originally from Dallas, and they have three young girls. There are nice walking trails in our neighborhood, but boy are those hills hard!
The only furniture we had downstairs for a week.
We didn't have much to do besides go shopping and go on walks when Ethan went back to work, and before our moving truck arrived.
The chaos as the movers un-packed our boxes for us. I had a heart-attack.
My girls.
Ethan's New Office & Job:
As I have stated before, Ethan's office is about 15 miles away from our house in Clinton. Not bad, since the commute is only 15-20 minutes. The weekend after we moved up here, his campus hosted their annual Family Picnic. So much food and fun. Next year, I am just going to make endless rounds to the seafood buffet.
Ethan's been traveling alot since we moved up here. By the end of this week, he will have been to Fairfax, VA 3 times and Houston one time. He already has two more trips to VA planned in October and then both a wedding in San Diego and a conference in Las Vegas for January. I am sure he'll have more trips somewhere in the world for November and December. I keep thinking to myself..."Why didn't we just move to VA instead?!?" I am praying hard to stop complaining about this so much. But all this traveling does give the girls and I a good excuse to visit Chick Fil A and Panera Bread often! Most importantly, Ethan LOVES his new job, truly.
ExxonMobil Family Picnic.
Carnival games at the Picnic.
So much food!
Olivia did not have a shortage of desserts either.
Look at this amazing view from Ethan's office!
This ain't Downtown Houston!
My three besties.
Olivia:
She started school the week after we moved at Phillipsburg Christian Academy. She likes it. She goes Tuesdays and Thursdays 8:20 am -12 pm. There are only 2 kids in her EC-3 class, including her. Olivia loves having stairs in the house, and has her toys everywhere. She is really into Disney Princesses right now - dolls, dresses and the DVDs. We started her in a ballet and tumbling class, and she loves it. She is becoming more independent each day, and enjoys going to school, ballet and Community Bible Study.
First Day of School
This is the face of an unsure kid.
Ballet class!
Callie:
She is so active and gets into everything! Callie is very close to taking some steps. She has eight teeth and is in teething pain almost all of time. She eats basically anything that you put in front of her, especially cheese. Her other favorite things to do is play with her sister and watch Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood on PBS. I thought that moving into Eastern time would allow her (and mommy) to sleep in a little, but NO, she's gone the opposite direction! Most mornings, she is up between 5-6am. Lord, help this mama when Daylight Savings Time ends in a few weeks...
11-month bunny picture.
This girl....
... will not sit still. Ever.
Proudly flying our Texans flag amid the embarrassing defeats.
Fun Stuff:
Ethan and I promised each other that while we're up in NJ, we'd spend most of our weekends out and about exploring this region. So far, we've been to farmer's markets and pumpkin patches. A few weeks ago, Greenwich Township (where we live) celebrated their 275th anniversary, and so we went to a cool Main Street parade and festival. It's really nice to live somewhere with a history that dates back so long. We've really had great weather up here so far. Most days it's been chilly in the mid-40s in the morning and then in the 70's during the day.
Waiting for the parade to start.
Celebrating 275 years of Greenwich Township
Hayride to the pumpkin patch.
This patch has seen better days.
Hallelujah!
At a farmer's market. Beautiful mums in bloom!
Shopping.
Church:
We were so sad to leave Second Baptist in Cypress, and knew that it would be hard to find a church to match it. We visited one church once, and then have been visiting Calvary Baptist Church in Easton, Pennsylvania since, about 15-20 minutes west of where we live. We really like it there, and will continue to pray about where we should be. We also want to be connected with other couples in the same age and stage of life. Things are just a little different up here.
Enjoying the playground at church.
As for me...
I am fine. The girls keep me busy. I enjoy the area, and we keep busy during the week. I enjoy going to Community Bible Study on Wednesdays with the girls, and meeting other ladies there. It's really my only time during the week to take for myself while both girls are loved on. I am proud to lug around my Texas-themed reusable grocery bags, wear my Aggie shirts, and will be so sad when I have to replace my Texas car plates. I think I might frame them. I have enjoyed all of the cards, letters and gifts that friends and family have sent to me. They've really cheered me up. I miss everyone!
