Now it feels like home!

Quincy worked all weekend despite the heat to put together his basketball goal for the driveway. Now this house really feels like home!

They're back...

We've got all the kids back now and are having a great time hearing about their exciting week! Quincy and Tabitha had fantastic times at CYO camp and got to do everything from kayaking, to cooking over an open fire, to horseback riding, to crafts. They have told us many stories and sang us many, many songs. Max and Calvin had great fun with Grandma Greene and then Grandma and Grandpa Weber. They got to do everything from touring a pickle factory, to touring a car museum, to going to the zoo, to listening to an accordian player at an outdoor concert. A super time was had by all! We are thrilled to have them back - it's nice to have our family all under one roof again!

The Real World!

The real world returns today, a.k.a. Quincy and Tabitha. I will leave in a few minutes to go pick them up from camp and then Josh and I will have to return to the world of being parents again. Max and Calvin will come home with my mom and dad tomorrow. We have really enjoyed our week of freedom and have been able to get quite a few things accomplished, however, I do miss the kids and will be very happy to have them come home. It's a sad day when you don't get to see their big smiley faces and get numerous hugs for no reason at all! That said.... it was amazing! We only went through one gallon of milk instead of 8 and only ran the dishwasher once or twice instead of once or twice a day! Crazy!!

Worth every scuff and scrape!

We got our new refrigerator delivered yesterday and after removing several doors, pieces of molding, door frames, and scraping the floor in several places, it is now in place. I love it! It immediately makes our kitchen look better and since the old fridge was circa 1985, it has many more amenities as well. Josh and I are still very much enjoying our week without kids although I am missing their little smiley faces and frequent hugs. I am rapidly getting the house unpacked and organized, as well as letting in all the workmen - electricians, carpet cleaners, cable guy, etc. We have been going crazy in the evenings though and doing those nutso things like going to see a movie, going to an outdoor concert, going out to eat, etc that we don't usually do with 4 kids in tow! Love it!

We're Free!

Big day today! This morning, we got to show off our new house to Josh's mom and grandma. They then took off with Max and Calvin for the week while we left for Brown County with Quincy and Tabitha. After dropping them off at camp for the week, we had a great time exploring Nashville for a couple of hours with our friends Jane and Greg. We then headed back home and immediately started doing some projects around the house. Since we have no kids and no immediate obligations, we went crazy and got sushi carry-out for dinner! How cool is that?!

Unburying the house!

We are finally making some headway in getting all the boxes unpacked and things put in their rightful places. The weather was a beautiful 80 degrees today so Josh and I spent some serious time out in the yard trying to tame the jungle that this yard had become between owners. We finally got the trees and bushes trimmed back far enough to actually see the front door! The kids were great helpers in picking up branches and twigs. We were able to meet some neighbors while outside also and the kids were able to see all the potential friends that live around us. Taba came home Thursday from spending several days with my mom and dad and her cousin Natalie. She immediately dug into her boxes and started to put her room in order. All of the kids leave tomorrow for the week! What will Josh and I do with ourselves?... Quincy and Taba go to CYO Camp while Max and Calvin go to Grandma Greene's and then Grandma and Grandpa Weber's until Saturday! They are all very excited and we spent much of the afternoon packing to get them ready. It's hard to pack when you haven't completely unpacked yet!

Moving....

I finally got my computer all assembled so I can now post some pictures. You can see the trucks loading up the old house, unloading at the new house and the mess that awaits me at every room. The kids are holding up pretty well but are torn between excitement and boredom so we're struggling with keeping them occupied. Today the temperatures are finally cooler so maybe we can hit the playground in our new neighborhood a little.

We have moved!

The trucks have been loaded and unloaded and the movers are gone. I am now facing the daunting task of getting it all unpacked and put away... It is hard to believe that in 3 short days, we could go from one town to the next, one house to the next, and be already partially settled in. The kids are being troopers but mommy is exhausted and cranky and there are many more days like that to come.... I'll get some pictures posted once I get all the components of my computer hooked up again. Okay, my procrastination time is over... back to work!

Boxes everywhere you look!

Amazingly, three men have managed to pack up everything in our house in only about 6 1/2 hours! Tomorrow is moving day!

Breakfast in Bed!

This morning, the kids all made us breakfast in bed - poptarts, scrambled eggs and sliced apples. Quincy even made us coffee in our French Press, exactly the way we like it! We knew all those years of taking care of them would finally be rewarded! What great kids!

Vacation Bible School

Max, Tabitha, and Calvin participated in a local Vacation Bible School Monday through Friday of this week and had a great time. They loved learning a whole bunch of new songs, playing games and putting on skits. On Thursday night, they put on a short program for the parents which was very cute. Quincy was a little too "cool" for Bible School this summer but he had a good week visiting some friends and having a sleepover with his friend, Max.

What are we thinking?!

Okay, leaving your friends and neighbors is hard.... leaving a house that you love is not easy... leaving a nice job and great co-workers is difficult... but leaving the best babysitter anyone could ever ask for?! That's just nuts! What are we going to do without Ms. Sarah?

Good friends

Yesterday afternoon, I got to go out for one last lunch at "the club" before leaving town. Some of my good friends gathered together and we had such a nice time. As one friend put it, "Batesville has been a very special experience" and I will certainly miss all the great connections that we have made in our time here.

Graduation!

Josh turned in his last final today for his MBA! He won't officially graduate until July 22 but he is done with his course work and we are thrilled! 3 1/2 years of hard work! We are all very proud and happy to start having some free time again!

Climbing the Walls!

We are having a steady, hard rain all day today and Max is literally climbing the walls! Actually, he does this quite often just because he can. Needless to say, mom and dad don't enjoy the marks he makes on the doorframes but are impressed with the fact that he has this much strength! Anyway, he's cute and entertaining us during this rainy day!

Saying good-byes!

This is our last full week in Batesville before our big move so we feel like we are in the sad phase of all of our good-byes. We had a great weekend spending some time with good friends. We hate to leave our wonderful little town and neighborhood. I am now working my last two days before my official resignation, this has been a great place to work and a very relaxed environment so I hate to leave here too. But... onward and upward! Josh is still loving his new job and getting the opportunity to travel to D.C. tonight for some business meeting tomorrow. My dad is at our new house today overseeing the carpet installation in the basement and painting a few rooms for us. What a great guy!

Again!?!

We never seem to learn! We are now the proud owners of two homes once again! You would have thought that we would have learned from our previous experience that this is not always the way to go, but.... Anyway.... As of June 30, we took possession of our new house and have not yet sold ours here. We are optimistic however that this will not be for long. Josh is now able to stay at our new house during the work week and the kids and I were able to spend a nice day there last week, meeting some neighbors and exploring. Very fun and we are very excited about the new house as it is very nice in a very nice neighborhood with lots of kids.

Notre Dame

We just got back from our 5 day weekend at Notre Dame and had a great time once again this year! This is the 5th year that we have taken part in Notre Dame's "Family Hall" which allows alumni and family to stay in one of the dorms and have the run of the campus. We always do lots of bike riding, scootering, swimming, tree climbing, eating, rollerblading, etc. in the great facilities and open air ways on campus. The kids just love it and look forward to it all year long! This year while there, we were also able to enjoy a visit with our friends, Matt, Annie and Grace who live very close to ND and with my parents and brother and Josh's mom and brother. It was fun to share our fun! Max had a pretty significant crash on his little bike but bounced right back and was ready to ride again (after Daddy made some repairs and bought him a new helmet) by the next morning. Definitely a good advertisement for the importance of wearing your helmet! Taba also had a few falls on her rollerblades but kept plugging away, trying to keep up with mom! We had a few rainy days but still had a great time and the kids were able to enjoy the scheduled kids' activities that the campus offers during the rain. Very fun!