Saying Goodbye

Although we had to spend a lot of our last moments in Idaho packing, we also had to say good-bye to some amazing friends. Flower was one of the first people I met in Idaho at a playgroup. She's the best listener and most unselfish person I know, such an easy and precious friendship. I know it will remain, just in a different form.

We started with the two boys (Jacob is hers), very close in age, but have certainly expanded our group since those early days! Thank goodness we have many ways to keep up with each other's family as they grow up.

Leida is another dear friend I met through the stroller bootcamp class. She is so generous and kind! Everest and Owen were born just a couple of weeks apart and were fast friends since they could walk.

And how cute are these BFFs? Nothing like a buddy just 4 doors down - you can walk to school together, walk home together, and make plans for when you can go to each other's house later that day on the walk home. So cute when they FaceTime each other!

A tough one for the kids was to say good-bye to their favorite babysitter of all time, Meg. They used to beg me to make a date so that they could have Meg over. She would indulge their imaginations and expand their pretend games with them like no other!

Our sweet friends threw us a good-bye party at the local brewery, complete with baby-sitters and a taco truck! It meant so much that they insisted on doing this for us and they gave beautiful toasts in our honor. I promised I wouldn't cry... We will so dearly miss the wonderful friends we have made here.

They even secretly collected pictures and surprised us with an inch-thick "Idaho adventures" book, which looked back at our last 8 years there through the eyes of our friends with personal letters, too. Pretty special. The kids love flipping through it. (I have to mention that both kids' teachers had their classes create surprise books for them too. Each page is a creation from a classmate reminiscing about the kids with a hand-drawn picture, as well as some pictures the teacher took. We love them!)

As we were packing up everything in our house, it struck me how blessed we were with this house. More space than we needed, everything was/is in great shape, and there was no significant work to do moving in or out (other than the hail storm repairs this year and the furnace repair the first winter!). Most importantly, it's the first and only house the kids remember, so I asked them what their favorite parts of the house were and documented them with photos to remember it forever. Owen's immediate answer was the vent in his room that he used to call down to me when I was in my basement office. I had to laugh that that was the first thing he thought of!

His other answers were a bit more traditional: reading by the fire (which attracts cats!), and the big screen downstairs. We'll all miss that one!!

Hadley loved her room and the cubby under the stairs, complete with mini-window.

As we were packing up and paring down our belongings, the kids watched a lot of their old toys and clothes go out the door to be donated or sold. They were totally on board with most of the things that had to go, but the one thing that made Hadley cry was selling her skis. I was a little surprised by her reaction, but I told her that we would ski again! She just would probably be a little bigger by then and therefore need bigger skis. This seemed to placate her, but she requested a picture with her skis nonetheless.

We packed pretty much for two weeks straight, outside of work and school. It's a strange thing to see your life quantified by and confined to a pile boxes.

Finally, it was moving day! We sold several pieces of furniture and had a ton of donations so that we could fit onto the back half of this truck from Idaho at a bit of a deal. For a while, it looked like we were not going to fit (what was Plan B?!?), but it was a Christmas miracle that they could shut the door with no room to spare! 

Kids were interested in the movers for about 20 minutes and then ready to do something fun not in the 20-degree, doors open wide, drafty house. Since it was Owen's birthday, I took them to Barnes & Noble (once it opened) and Jimmy John's (their request!) for lunch. Then they played at their friends' house, while we finished up the move and started the cleaning phase.

Another weird feeling is to look at the house so filled with memories as it is empty and ready to receive its next residents. I hope it brings them as much joy as it did to us!

Just one more night in Idaho Falls. Our lovely friends, the Trudells, of Adam and Ella fame, put us up for the night. It worked out great, since we could leave the cats at the house, kids could have a sleepover with their best buddies, and we could walk over to the house in the morning to finish cleaning before we hit the road. As a small token of our thanks, we took them out for dinner at Owen's favorite place, Fuji, for teppanyaki and sushi.

Again, it was Owen's 9th birthday, so I will leave you with this stunning display of flossing (it's a dance move, for those that don't know) while the restaurant staff sing happy birthday to him.

Idaho Lasts

This time of year is often full of "the last ___ of the year" sentiments, but for us (just before our move) it was a constant reminder of the last ___ of Idaho. Here's a look back at some of our "lasts." For starters, the last "first snow that sticks enough to leave footprints on the way to school." 

Which leads to the last time for Owen to shovel the driveway! So glad he got to do this at least once (2-3 times in reality!) before we moved. He really did enjoy it.

The last time to swim at the gym with friends. Although their favorite part was the outdoor hot tub and walking back and forth to the snow to cool off and warm back up...

The last theater show. We took in a Holiday Cirque show that was quite entertaining with acrobats, contortionists, jugglers, and other jaw-dropping acts set to a snowy backdrop. (To be fair, I won't miss the bone-chilling wind that accompanied us to and from the car in the dark parking lot as we tried not to slip on black ice.)

Not really a last time decorating cookies, but the last kid project in this kitchen! We managed to squeeze in Christmas cookie baking and decorating just before we had to pack all of that stuff up.

The last easy day trip to ski at Grand Targhee. This trip was girls only, as the boys weren't interested, but Hadley and I had a great time in a perfect day on the slopes!

She was so excited to go ski and we were making good progress on her form and turns! We will have to continue this somehow to cultivate this skill in her.

The ski trip was also our last glimpse of the Tetons. I love these mountains! The morning started off overcast and grey, but the clouds evaporated as we approached the ski hill so that we were greeted by these majestic peaks on the way up and escorted by them nearly all the way home too.

There was the last sledding day with friends. My awesome friend graciously offered to take them sledding (along with her boys Oliver and Arthur) so that I could get some packing done one afternoon.

And just barely, the last single digit birthday for this boy! We had a mini celebration early, since moving day was on his birthday. He obliged and all he wanted was Minecraft, as he's slightly obsessed with that game.

In lieu of a big birthday party, he invited his friend Adam to a "night at the museum" event. They were in a small group of kids that got to do some STEM activities, watch a movie, eat snacks and breakfast, and sleep in the museum! I think they had a fun time, although Owen wasn't too excited to sleep under the moving steampunk exhibits.

Texas Thanksgiving

What a fast week! Two solid travel days, two house hunting days, a day at the ranch, Thanksgiving, and birthday celebrations, and it was done! Phew! The good news is that we seem to have found a house that we all kind of liked (kids joined us on the hunting!), and we are under contract for a great price! Fingers crossed.

Other good news? We got to see a lot of family that week, too! We stayed with cousins, Addy and Will, so we got in some good quality time with them in between house hunts. Addy was pretty excited to have a sleepover, like her favorite Peppa Pig!

Will was pretty excited to eat! He spent a lot of time in this chair. Haha.

There was a lot of reading at night before bed, mostly older cousins reading to Addy.

The kids enjoyed hanging out with baby Will, too! Hadley especially got a kick out of walking (and following) him around. He took a few steps on his own while we were there! Love that stage! Maybe he'll be walking on his own the next time we see him.

After a couple of days of house hunting, we had a small (24-hr) break to run up to the ranch to see Granna and Grandad, so of course we did.

We also got some time with Uncle Michael, which the kids enjoyed. 

Luckily, the ranch had beautiful sunshine (opposed to Houston's constant overcast/on-off drizzle), so we took advantage of it!

In between, the kids tried their luck with the HEBuddy Bucks machine. Hmm, I wonder how much of our future will be spent here...

Then it was back to Houston to commune with the other side of the family at the brewery! Colorado and Ohio family had all convened in Houston this year.

The next day was Thanksgiving, so there was work to be done before we could eat.

But it all came together for a great meal! Happy Thanksgiving!

The following morning we met up with Aunt Loni and her friends not far from the house we put an offer on. We had a tasty brunch, and then a large game of tag ensued.

And from one large meal to another, Addy and Will celebrated their birthday that night with a cousin and their extended family for a big, Chinese meal, and we got to tag along! So much yummy food! Owen ate a pretty good meal; we asked Hadley to try at least a little piece of each dish. Lobster, chicken, fish, pork, shrimp, soup, and veggies - she was out of her comfort zone, but at least she tried them all!

We had a mini birthday with Addy and Will upon our return to the house, before we had to leave the next morning. They were turning 3 and 1 the following week!

Our intrepid travelers! This is getting to be old hat to them, but it may be one of the last holiday trips they have to take for a while! At least we got upgraded to Economy Plus on the return flight. Extra snacks and legroom? Yes, please!

Reality hit, of course, back in the parking lot in Salt Lake City with two inches of snow on the windshield. And us without our snow brush - still rookies at this after 8 years.