adventures... and now we are in Utah

We have been busy... wandering like gyspies.
We left Chicago on a lovely Sunday afternoon, after church where we said too many goodbyes to so many wonderful friends.
We had spent the day packing and moving the last of our stuff into storage.
The ride out of town was bittersweet. We were excited to see our new house and my family, yet so sad to leave our friends and the place we have called home for five years.
We stopped by our house Monday morning. The workers were sanding the sub-floors in preparation for the carpet and hardwood to be installed. The drywall was in. Windows too. We met our next-door neighbors. Alli saw the bus go by.
We spent a few days with my parents. We hiked in the woods and browsed the local antique mall.
And then we flew to Seattle to visit Andy's aunts and grandma. We took a duck tour of Seattle, we had lunch at Pike Place Market, we visited our friends, we walked along Alki beach collecting pebbles and treasures... the best part (of course) was playing with Anne and Barb and their pig Olivia.
Olivia is a toy pig... but Ruby had breakfast with her and dressed her up.
Great-grandma Janet enjoyed snuggling with June.
And then we flew to Utah. Alli and Ruby have been busy with cousins, toys, and grandparents. Andy has started a project in the woodshop.
We are looking forward to our house being done in a few weeks... but we are having fun in this transition. Life is good.

The picture uploader function of Blogger isn't cooperating, but there are picture of our adventures... hopefully coming soon.

day off #1

Andy is done working (for now)! His last day was Tuesday. Alli and Ruby didn't have school Wednesday, so we planned a full day of fun.
The best way to start a fun day: immunizations! Alli, Ruby, and June got their H1N1 vaccines. June also got the second flu shot. She is one tough cookie, she didn't make a peep and she got two shots! After immunizations, we went to my favorite restaurant for lunch. Simply It serves the most delicious, fresh Vietnamese food. The owner is so sweet. He always brings smoothies for the girls... the watermelon smoothies are fantastic! I should have taken the picture before the food was nearly gone. Everything I have ever tried there is delicious. I recommend it all!
After lunch, we headed to the zoo. We used up the carousel coupons I have been holding onto.
In the evening, we headed out to Rosemont for the main event of the day...
The Greatest Show on Earth!
It was a brisk evening, and we were so excited to get into the arena for the pre-show party.
The first performance was daddy-holding-two-girls-up-to-see-everything.
This is the real circus strong man.
Alli and Ruby got to try on real circus costumes.
We looked at the props up close.
The show was so fun. The performers and animals were great.
We were all entertained...
and exhausted by the end of the show. Alli and Ruby talked about their favorite parts of the show on the way home, but by the time we pulled in, we had three happy, sleeping girls.

and then it struck me...

Last night June pulled herself up to standing in her pack-n-play... yes, June sleeps in a PNP... in our room. (Another reason to be excited for our new house!)

This morning as I laid in bed, not quite awake, not quite asleep, the floor lamp near my side of the bed came crashing down on me. I didn't get hurt and nothing was broken.

But my heart went from resting (approx. 45 bpm) to fight-or-flight mode in .00241 seconds.

I looked over at June, standing in her PNP. Smiling.

I know, we should never have had a lamp within two feet of the PNP.

I guess it is time to take baby-proofing to the next level.

daddy's eyes

No doubt about it, this little one has daddy's eyes.

Student of the Month

I used to think people were crazy for putting "My kid is Student of the Month" bumper stickers on their cars. Gag.
But maybe the blog is the modern bumper sticker... and I am just as obnoxious.

Alli received this high honor for her exemplary behavior at school. Maybe because she is brilliant too.
Andy and I attended the award breakfast at her school. We applauded all of the star students... two from each class, grades K-6.
Alli grinned ear to ear as she accepted the certificate.

"The 'A' in my name looks like the Eiffel Tower," she noted.

(We did not get a bumper sticker, but if they had given us one, we might have actually put it on our car... that's how crazy-proud we were!)

pigtails in action

Pigtails!
June finally has enough hair to make two pixie pigtails on top of her head!

I know, I know... sort of a Hallmark milestone.

June still loves the jumper. Recently she has started to crawl the traditional way (instead of the worm crawl), though she seems more interested in vertical movement... she is pulling herself up on everything. June loves to stand, and she is so proud of herself.
June is a chatterbox. She babbles and giggles all day long.

CANDY OVERLOAD!

Last night was trick-or-treating in our neighborhood.
We met up with some friends for pizza and then we went up and down the street trick-or-treating. Chicago goes all out for Halloween, and the homes on this street were decorated festively... glowing lights, spider webs, carved pumpkins, monsters and skeletons... such a fun atmosphere.Because the homes are close together, it didn't take long and we didn't have to go far to fill our bags.
June enjoyed all the action from her perch in the stroller. Alli and Ruby walked, dragging their loaded treat bags behind them.
Of course the best part is coming home and laying out all the loot... surveying the sugar... sorting it and trading it. Alli made neat piles of each type of candy. Snickers won... again.
June couldn't believe her eyes! She was surrounded by colorful crinkly stuff! Awesome!
Ruby lined her candy up one by one.
June found a stray Rolo and popped it into her mouth... wrapper and all. By the time I found the candy, she had a chocolate mustache and beard and she was holding a little lump of sticky foil in her hand.
Today, I woke up to, "Can I have a piece of candy?" And yesterday morning too.
Now we have to figure out how to distribute the ton of candy that the kids collected. All at once? Stretch it out?