The Everson Library and Other Random Things

We were all pleasantly surprised and quite pleased after our first visit to our new library.  It was small but seemed to have a very nice selection.  They kid's room was a marvelous place to play as well.  Oliver loved every minute!

 The other kids did too.  They played and were all able to find books they were hoping to find and shows that "would never just be on the shelf in South Jordan" like Inside Out.

 Not to mention the librarian was very nice and helped Ethan and Madeline to each get their first very own library cards.

 Getting Oliver to want to leave was the only hard part!  We will enjoy many more trips there for sure.  I really liked being there because it was perhaps the first time I felt like things were normal in my world.  I like normal.

 And you'll never guess what's just outside the Everson Market:  a bulldozer!  Who would have guessed?  Cooper was ecstatic to say the least.

 And in case you're wondering...still drowning in packing paper, bubble wrap and boxes...

 Another bunny walk by The Nooksack River (I really need to get a picture with Gpa and Nana next time!!!)

 Cooper being helpful!  He cleaned the half bath with my help too and the older two each cleaned their bathrooms as well.  Phew, that was some very needed work done!

 And look how I found Cooper sleeping in the afternoon...silly boy!

My Cuties

Oliver really likes getting his very own ice cream cone so he can sit it on the table in front of him and smile at it.  For real.  Believe me, we've tried.

 Cooper really likes stabbing pieces of boxes with his sword (that he cut using said sword) and calling out in a really loud voice that he's roasted marshmallows.  Also real.

 CUTE

 DOUBE CUTE

 TRIPLE CUTE (it would have been quadruple, but Ethan was puking on a fishing boat)

 Cooper came up and said, "I love you mama!  I love your legs!"

 And who doesn't love spaghetti?

 And tubbies afterward!

 And MORE ice cream.  All the kids decided to do ice cream Oliver style.  But only for the picture!

Craziness

I'm not up for writing much about the craziness that was the end of July.  I don't do well with chaos, but I did my best and we survived.  Here are just a few snapshots of our messy lives:

My bedroom complete with airbeds and boxes

 what a kid's room looks like when they have all their stuff and no furniture to put it in...

 Our furniture truck came late on July 26

 The kids were so excited

 Cooper helped me build his bed the next day

 Our garage was still very full of our stuff which hadn't made it into the house yet

 The stack of boxes I had unpacked

 Messes...

 And to add to the chaos, Todd and Ethan went on a fishing trip again for a few days only to end up both getting seasick.  Todd was especially bad, puking every 15 minutes for 6 straight hours.  He ended up having to go to the hospital for an IV.

Good grief!

While We Waited for our Stuff

July 18-22

Here are a few things that we did/that happened while we waited for our stuff to arrive at our new home:

Oliver got sick and puked three times the first day

 Cooper went swimming in my big tub

 We went on a walk to spot bunnies and see The Nooksack River

 We went to Nooksack City Park - Oliver was mad I wanted a picture because he preferred the slide!

 and Cooper liked the bench made between the trees!

 We painted Madeline's room

 We painted Ethan's room

 We took down wallpaper boarders and painted the piano room and (not pictured) painted Oliver's room too!

 We attempted emoji pillow pictures

 AND THEN OUR STUFF CAME!!!  Right at dinnertime on the 21st.  It was only one truck though, the one with our furniture was still in Salt Lake...ack!

 But that gave us more to do while we waited for our furniture, like unpack the kitchen!

 And Todd had a blast on his new riding lawn mower too.

I think you could say that we kept busy!

From Utah to Washington

July 16-17

We woke up Saturday morning ready for our new adventure.

We ended up having way too much stuff to fit in our van and had to rent a little u-haul.  It ended up working out pretty well.

My mom sent the kiddos off with matching smiley face shirts.  Bless her heart!  Saying goodbye to my parents was the final goodbye.  And a very hard one.  Living by them for 7 years was a blessing to me every single day.  So much love.  So much fun and learning and help.  Growth.  Laughter.  Cherished moments.  I really have the best parents.  I am so incredibly blessed to have them forever.  My kids just hugged them like they didn't want to ever let go.  I was so tired of crying.  But I just had to one more time.  That was another goodbye I just didn't know how to do.

And then we just drove and drove and drove.

The miracle that is this following picture only lasted 15 minutes.  Oliver basically refused to sleep in the car.  15 hours of driving and he only slept like 20 minutes total.  It was bad.  He complained and complained, but we managed.  We made it to Kennewick the first day and he was so pleased to get out and walk.

After church the next morning, we made the final push to Everson.  Cooper enjoyed stickers the last hour when even shows were tiring to watch.

Oliver, though complaining a lot, seemed to always cheese it up when he saw my camera.  What a good boy.  Haha!

In all reality, they did really good.

The drive from Bellingham to my house is a beautiful one.

And after arriving at Gpa and Nana's house for a much needed home-cooked meal and some stretching and lots of smiles and hugs!!! we set off to find our new home!

Booming downtown Everson...

And this view is how you know you're close: one giant tree along side all that corn!

It was all excitement once we made it.  The kids were thrilled to explore the new house.  Only Ethan had seen it before.  And with the new carpet, it was new for all of us.  Cooper was especially thrilled by his room and broke out into dancing to celebrate.  This picture was taken from my kitchen window at Todd with the little boys playing in the sand.  Our yard is huge and the sand pit has been very fun.  I am loving the sink in the mudroom/laundry room for washing up!

All four kids had fun rolling on the new carpet and just being together.

Ethan and Madeline had a few nights of slumber parties while we waited for our stuff to arrive.

I was so glad to have made it.  And I think it's a good thing that I didn't know how long it would be until our stuff would come.  But that's a different story.

And just like that, I live in Washington again.