A New Beginning...

That's what I feel I have right now. In the last 3 weeks, I have run a marathon, packed, cleaned and moved an entire household of almost 10 years into another house of which I have unpacked and mostly organized! Whew! It has been busy, but suprisingly, it has not felt stressful or chaotic. There were a couple of days that I felt overwhelmed, but each time I was able to take a breath and just keep chipping away at it. I am very pleased with how well it has gone. A main reason it has been so smooth is because of this amazing woman:

Yep, it's my mom! Even though she looks like she could be my sister instead of my mom! When I found out I might be moving, I called her and asked if she would come out for a week. I knew that having her here would make things much, much easier, and I was so, so right! She was basically in charge of Bryce so that I could make a million trips over to the new house in the "country". It is only a mile and a half away, but it feels worlds apart, and I LOVE it! I wake up to deer running across my yard and I enjoy the quiet.

Here are a few pictures:

This is the view off our deck and the kids are playing in the leaves they spent all day raking!

We have been very lucky to live in such an amazing neighborhood for the last almost 10 years. They have been there for me in good times and bad and I hope they can say I have done this same. This was such a tough choice for us to make, but we have both always wanted to raise our kids with more space. I want my kids to run out in their own backyard. I want to have kids over to play and in our old house I just wasn't doing that as much as I would like. I love nature! I feel claustrophobic when I walk outside and see a fence 10 feet away. When we had our house on the market, neither Dallin nor Emily even wanted to look at the possible houses to buy. At the end of the summer, our good friends bought a house and were looking for someone to rent their house on 5 acres. We realized it was a perfect opportunity for us. Surprisingly, the kids were great sports about it because they already know the house. We ended up renting our house instead of selling it. We had a renter lined up, who then backed out. Luckily we found another great renter and it has been crazy fast since then! Many of my friends have helped us move and unpack and I am extremely grateful. I know it is what has made this process run as smooth as it has. A few of my friends and neighbors have joined us to play and I hope they will keep doing so. We want to share our home with others often!

While my mom was here we took a "break" for one morning and went on the preschool field trip to a beautiful pumpkin patch. There was a train ride out and a boat ride back. It was a perfect day to go! Not a cloud in the sky. I am glad I was able to enjoy that with my mom. She helped me with the packing also.

One of the nice things is we live next door to Suziepetunia and her cute family. We always talked about having a house in the country next door to each other, but I don't think we really thought it would happen. We have even been able to run together and we just meet in the middle of our houses! I have enjoyed chatting with her at her house as she creates fun school projects. Her kids play outside with mine and when they are done they are not afraid to say so. Bryce told Alice, "Go to your side." I thought it was cute and reminded me they will fend for themselves just fine!

Here are the chickens and we will be adding a few more tomorrow.

Here is my favorite chicken! This leads right into our Halloween pics. Bryce loved being a chicken. He was very cute with all the people who commented on his costume. He was very upset when Emily told him that roosters are boys and chickens are girls. Bryce has made the transition to this house very easily. He loves running around outside and is glad that all his toys and puzzles made it here. :-)

Here is another Halloween picture. We went to the trunk or treat with our good friends the McDuffies. We love spending time with them. I enjoyed seeing all the kids in costumes and my candy bowl with the hand that grabs was a hit! (only made a few kids cry...)
After a couple of days of rain, we had one dry day for trick or treating around Old Town. Even the donut shop gave out free donut holes. I love our little town! I enjoyed the time with my kiddos!

Another one of Bryce and Alice! They are a great pair.

Now onto Miss Emily. I love this picture of her and it captures her expression perfectly. She always has a smile on her face. She does her best and always wants to learn more. She will shower you with love and affection if you let her. The move has been the toughest on her because she loves the neighborhood. I know she will love it in the end, and she is already attached to the chickens! She is doing great in kindergarten. She turned 6 while my mom was here, so we will have more pictures about that shortly! I love this little girl!

Speaking of updating posts, I have so much more to write. Today is actually the 5 year anniversary of my first blog post! I wrote about being a chicken with my head cut off. One of the reasons I moved to the country was to slow down and really enjoy life. I am excited to have that chance. November is the Nablopomo, the challenge to write every day. I have decided I am going to use it to catch up this year. Then my Christmas present to myself is going to be to print out my blog books. This is my scrapbooking! So, feel free to check in often and say hello. It feels good to be back!

I will leave you with the Chicken Dance!