thanks and giving.

I have no idea where November went.

But I wanted to write a few things about it before it is too far gone.

My life feels like a strange combination of out-of-control and perfectly settled. My kids are busy. John and Quinn are approaching three years old, and they are non-stop. There is a never ending stream of requests. I regularly find myself simultaneously playing trucks with John, ordering ice cream from Carly's ice cream shop, and reading Quinn book after book. I don't know how other mothers keeps up. I don't keep up. I'm always getting my trash-kicked in one facet or another. But we have a happy home and a happy life, so I'll accept the piles of laundry and unmade beds.

Carly is s superb school girl. She currently loves math activities. She finished the "hundred board" (a Montessori milestone), and is now moving on to counting chains, where they count by 4, 5, 6, and so on. It was so fun to see her finish the hundred board, as she had always talked about it in an intimidated way. She is also working on the early stages of reading. Her favorite thing is imaginative games. She could play pretend all day. At parent-teacher conferences her teacher even mentioned she occasionally has to reign in her imagination when it gets in the way of work. There could be worse problems. Carly leads J and Q on pirate ships, though jungles, and opening their own businesses and libraries. It is so fun to watch them play.

Quinn loves ballerinas. She loves wearing her "pink tutu and dance black shoes!" and twirling around the living room. True to prima ballerina form, she is also quite the little drama queen when she doesn't get her way. She loves books. She loves dressing up. She loves sweets. She loves her sister and she loves her brother. She is a chatter. She will tell you a big long stressed-out story and the only way you'll understand is if you speak Quinnish. She's still a mama's girl, and her little arms squeezing tight around my neck is a feeling I never want to stop.

John is becoming an increasingly good talker, too. I write this every time, I feel, but he is a sweet boy who also happens to be a total stinker. He is discovering how to bug his sisters. He'll take a favorite object and hold it high and squeal "wooohooo!" He thinks gross body sounds are funny (is that inborn in boys?!). Every time he passes a man hole he says "Ninja Turtles in there!" While the twins don't nap regularly anymore John has been wearing himself out lately. He falls asleep on the way to get Carly from school and now has quite the reputation among the other moms for sleeping anywhere. I take him in asleep and he sleeps on the bench while all the kids come out. We even went to the book fair the other day and he slept through the whole thing crumpled up on the tile floor. We're classy like that.

As J and Q approach their third birthday they are looking like they will follow in Carly's footsteps with being much harder three-year-olds than two-year-olds. They are constantly demanding attention and throwing fits if they don't get to do what they want, like chopping things with a sharp knife, for example. They team up to get into mischief, and its so hard not to laugh right in front of them. They are a hilarious duo.

Our November was so fast, I felt like I didn't get to grasp the feelings of gratitude I usually try to focus on. But through a coincidence that wasn't really a coincidence, I witnessed giving and the Lord's hand in the little things.

A while before Thanksgiving I went to a meeting for my calling. As the group divided into smaller groups, I realized there wasn't a group for my specific calling, which is a Humanitarian aid worker assigned as a liaison to local food banks. At this meeting, I ended up with food storage specialists. I had the urge to sneak out, but decided to stay for information for my own family. I sat next to a woman and casually chatted with her. In our conversation, she told me about a food pantry that needed turkeys. I know that God has His hand in the smallest details, and I couldn't help but think it wasn't a coincidence I was at a meeting I didn't need to be at sitting next to this woman. I contacted the food pantry and they said they needed a large number of turkeys to meet their needs.

The meeting was on a Thursday night. I emailed the sisters in my ward on Friday afternoon. Over the weekend the turkeys came flowing in. I had a trunk full of turkeys by the time I made the delivery on Tuesday morning. I was overwhelmed by the goodness of the women around me. They are examples of giving, and I felt such gratitude to witness it. My heart felt warm as each one was brought to my doorstep. "We have so many turkeys for the people who need them!" Carly squealed. In the ocean of need that exists, our turkeys meant very little. But it reminded me of Elder Holland quoting Mother Teresa when she said that her work was just a drop in the ocean, but without it the ocean would be one less drop. It was such a blessing for me to witness this drop.

We spent Thanksgiving week at my parents house in Idaho. It was so good to be there. We hung out with Mimi and grandpa, went to Target (yay!), saw family members, got suckers from grandpa's bank, and ate at Five Guys. The night before Thanksgiving we had a pizza party with family. I put prosciutto on my pizza that was old but "probably ok," It wasn't ok. That night I got so sick. The food poisoning lasted all night and through the next day, Thanksgiving. I spent the day sick on the couch, not even able to come upstairs. I missed Thanksgiving dinner with my family. It would have made me so sad if I was able to care too much. Mostly I wanted the pain to stop. My good husband kept me hydrated, my parents gave my kids a Thanksgiving dinner they barely ate and let them decorate their Christmas tree, and my kids brought me hugs and smiles. It wasn't the best way to spend Thanksgiving, but it was a sweet reminder of all I have to be thankful for.

The only photo of Thanksgiving 2014.

It was a good November.

xoxo.

little house on the Palouse.

Our house. Oh, our humble little abode. I love our house. I feel like I'm home when we pull up into the driveway. I knew it from the first time we saw it. It was our house.

But first, it belonged to a middle-aged Chinese couple. They were empty nesters with significantly different tastes than our own. When we looked at our house, I saw potential, and that is why we went for it. We've been in the house for 3 months now, and some of that potential has come to fruition. I'm not going to sit here and say I'm any sort of home decorating pro. I pin much better than I create. But we love our home. Here's what we've done, to date, to make it our own. (PS. Forgive me these are all terrible quality iPhone pictures, especially the ones from before the previous owners moved out. I love that we get so much natural light in our house, but it makes taking pictures of it tricky.)

The main living area was priority number one. We hired an inexpensive (and therefore imperfect) painter to paint the living room and mantle. He threw in the kitchen for free! We went from yellow and wood to gray and white. We replaced the blinds and painted the fireplace face. Though it doesn't show up in pictures, the wood grain pattern above the mantle shows up through the white paint, and I love the way it turned out.

I love our living room. It is long and open, despite being cut off slightly from the kitchen by a bearing wall. We found the big temple print at Bed, Bath, and Beyond, of all places (got to love Idaho). We had been wanting a big Bountiful picture, since we got married there, but I felt like Deseret Book didn't really ever sell it. We were so excited to find it, and I love that it hangs so prominently in our home. I also love having a mantle. It is so fun to decorate it according to seasons.

Changing the fireplace front made a huge difference. After the mantle was painted white I almost thought the gold would be good enough, but I'm so glad we decided to go black. We yanked the face out and taped the glass. Then I used Rustoleum High Heat spray paint. It is designed for grills so it can withstand high heat should we ever decide to get our wood-burning fireplace in working order. It made such a big difference in making it look more modern, and the finish of the paint matches the surrounding black metal on the fireplace perfectly.

Attached to the kitchen and next to the living room is our dining room. We extended the gray paint down the wall (that dining room wall is the same wall the temple picture is hanging on). The wall with the door was yellow, and other sections were mint green. These parts are what our painter painted white for us. It was so kind of him and it turned out exactly like I wanted it to. We got our table from Amazon. Eight years of a shaky, sticky hand-me-down table and metal folding chairs finally gave way to a real one. I really wanted one with 8 chairs for when we have guests, but that just wasn't going to happen at our price point. I love our table though. It fits our space perfectly.

We tore out the vertical blinds. Two weeks into living here and the kids had already taken out 4, so they weren't going to last long anyway. And they were old and yellow and ugly. I had seen using curtains on sliding glass doors but was hesitant. I really wanted horizontal striped curtains, but couldn't find any. We were at the TJ Maxx in Lewiston and ahhhhhh! there were horizontal striped curtains! It was a home decor miracle! I had thought I wanted navy stripes, but love the way the "greige" stripes look in our kitchen. The curtains were oversized, so I did a crude hemming job on them, but it is holding up against washes so that is all I care about. The Consider the Lilies print hangs on the dining room wall, and the window frames hold seasonal pictures (right now it is kids in fall leaves and pumpkin patches). And that light fixture . . . another Amazon find (Amazon is your best friend when you live in a place with limited shopping). We had everything done for a long time before Chris's parents came to town and his dad helped replace it. That old gold and glass light fixture haunted me. Changing it made all the difference. I'm so in love. I still can't believe how different it looks from when we saw it for the first time in May. 

A few more pieces of our home. I realized I don't have a picture of the whole kitchen. I originally wanted to paint the cabinets, as the light wood isn't my favorite, but they are new nice cabinets and I have a feeling painting them would be disastrous. I would like to change the backsplash some day. On the left is the kitchen side of the bearing wall. The bottom is the opposite side of the living room from the pictures above. Next on my list for this area is figuring out how to change the light fixture you can see above the staircase. I wanted a fun-colored accent table under the pictures of the kids, but the kids come running down the hall at high speeds, and a table would just block their path and create safety hazards. Perhaps someday when they no longer run up and down the hall. But I hope that never happens.

Down the stairs we go to the basement. You'll find an outdated bathroom that I'm excited to make super cute someday. I'm thinking stripes on the walls. Who wants to do that for me? But that will be a project for another year. Our basement is a big L-shaped playroom. Right now we don't spend a ton of time down there. We are usually upstairs or outside, but I have a feeling that will change when the weather takes a turn the the worst. I love the space. It is bright and kid-oriented, and was so fun to set up. The side not pictured is pretty bare. Some day maybe we'll own a television again and we'll put it down there. Maybe even a couch to go with it? Then we'll be living the high life.

We'll go out to the garage from the basement, and walk around to get a view of the front door. Don't mind the wreck of a front yard. We yanked out a lot of dead and nasty plants, and now have a fabulous mess of dirt and rocks. Spring will bring landscaping lessons. Our front door was a honey wood that I didn't love. I wanted to paint it, but our exterior is off-white with pale blue trim. I didn't like the pale blue enough to match the door to it, but no other color seemed to be a good idea. Then my mom suggested navy, and moms are always right. I picked out a color that sure looked navy in the sample, but when I opened it, it was anything but. Royal. It was royal. I primed with a tinted primer that turned the door gray. I actually loved the gray, but it wouldn't have looked good on the house. I began the blue and was on the verge of freak-out. It was SO blue. Luckily, it dried darker and it was growing on me. I would stand in the front yard and just stare at the door, trying to decide if I wanted to keep it, if I needed to do more coats. One time Carly was being insanely indecisive and ended up getting in trouble because of her behavior over it. Later she told me, "It was just like how you can't decide about the front door." Touche, child. Touche. I did one last coat and it made the difference. I really like it. And now we can tell people, "We're the house with the blue door,"

The projects continue. We are currently in the midst of revamping the kids room, and I'm excited for that to come together. Our master bedroom and bathroom need to be done. It is our first master "suite", even though our bathroom is pretty small, and I want to get it just right. I'm trying to decide what I want . . . and, I guess, what Chris wants. The yard will probably take a few years to get perfect. And the second bedroom, the tiny one, hosts the blow-up mattress when guests come to town. Along the way there will be leaky pipes and broken lights. But that is home ownership; the American dream.  

This house of ours isn't perfect, but it is perfect for us. The day before we closed on our house in July, a friend (coincidentally) shared this quote on Facebook: 

"The poorest shack in which love prevails over a united family is of far greater value to God and future humanity than any other riches. In such a home God can work miracles, and will work miracles. Pure hearts in a pure home are always in whispering distance of Heaven." -David O McKay

Naturally, there were tears. What a sweet thought. We have a beautiful home, and we try to fill it with love. We pray we can fill it with the Spirit. We want it to be a safe place, a refuge from the storms of life we face and that our children will face some day. I love this home not because of the ways we've fixed it up, but because it plays host to art projects, ballet performances, giggling lunch times, and bedtimes stories. I see daily miracles here, and when we kneel in our living room to pray, I know we are in whispering distance of heaven. 

It really is our home, sweet, home.

a Washington October.

As October rolled on, I was experiencing some heartache. It is no secret I've missed Michigan, but October in Michigan is the very best. My heart missed the brilliant colors, our big tree and piles of leaves, and our favorite cider mill. A week into October everything here was still green. I saw that quote, "I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers", and thought I didn't anymore. It was all ridiculous, this I realize, but what can I say. So I decided to shift my attitude and figure out what Washington Octobers were all about.

Halloween pajamas from grandma.

We found a pumpkin patch. We went with some of our friends and it turned out quite fun. There was a petting zoo, a hay pyramid, farmer's market style fruit and veggie stands, and of course, a pumpkin patch. The patch was a large field surrounded my small mountains, and it was so beautiful. We spent a lovely afternoon there, and didn't even need coats and winter hats. I got to snuggle a bunny and Carly picked out the most gorgeous big pumpkin, so really what else do you need?

A few nights later we headed over to our friends' house for a pumpkin carving party. Pumpkin carving isn't really my thing. Its gross and hard, and I spend entirely too much of my time doing things that are gross and hard. The last few years we have been carving just one pumpkin, a traditional jack o'lantern. But he (our pumpkin) always turns out so cute. My carver does a good job. And when my kids are willing to dig out the pumpkin guts, they are welcome to carve one of their own. The kids were quite smitten with our little pumpkin though. And so was I.

And what is October without Halloween costumes? Last year the kids all matched under a theme, but this year I decided to let them pick anything they wanted (and honestly they are so stubborn I doubt I could have gotten them all to match anyway), and the results perfectly defined each of them. Since each kid had landed on a costume they loved so much, I decided to try to take costume pictures. The Monday before Halloween we made it our FHE activity, and the results turned out so fun. The kids love them, so we've decided to hang them in their room.

 Quinn developed an unexplained love for Snow White sometime around the end of September. She's never seen the movie, but loved stories about her. And I'm thinking the red lips has something to do with it. As the fates would have it, I found a barely used Snow White dress at a consignment store for $2. It was a Halloween miracle. Quinn loved her Snow White dress, and wore it daily. I was a little worried about it surviving until Halloween, but we made it. I found a sparkly red cloak on Amazon to top off the look. Most importantly, she was allowed to wear red lipstick. She loves "red lips". One day Quinn was requesting red lipstick and I kept denying her. I was praying over lunch and she leaned over and whispered "Me red Snow white lips." So I said "please bless that Quinn can have red Snow White lips" and she broke into a huge smile. It was so sweet. And of course, she got Snow White lips after lunch. Her pictures were quite simple, as we happen to have an apple tree in the backyard and a windstorm had just littered the ground with apples. We went our there and she turned into a little model, posing perfectly. Quinn was a perfect Snow White. The fairest one of all.

There was very little questioning what John would be. He's been a fan of diggers and tools and "work" as long as he's been old enough to be a fan of anything. I was trying to figure out his construction worker (or "Bob the Builder") costume when a friend texted and said she had a pair of construction worker overalls. She was kind enough to send them my way and they were the most perfect thing. He looked so adorable and loved wearing his hard hat and tool belt. He would wear his hard hat until bedtime and put it on his shelf next to his bed right before he climbed in. And often he'd come out of his room in the morning with it on. For his pictures I had noticed a little digger at the end of a neighborhood road where it appears they'll eventually be building more houses. It was perfect. John excitedly smiled for pictures, and when we were done, he started walking toward the digger. I told him we had to go and he burst into tears. Not a fit; real sadness. "Me drive dig dig?" he asked with hope. He actually thought he was going to get to drive it! Break my heart. He was so so sad as we drove away. He's a devoted worker, that boy.

Carly was debating between Elsa and Wonder Woman for months. I tried not to be bias, but I really wanted her to be Wonder Woman. I knew there would be so many Elsas, and I thought Wonder Woman would be a really fun costume. Luckily, she went my way on that one. We found a Wonder Woman shirt that came with the crown and wristbands, and a blue tutu that I added white stars to. She liked to zip around in her costume. We headed to "downtown" Pullman to take her pictures. Pullman is sadly lacking in graffiti, as I thought that would be a fun backdrop. But the townscape worked well. She was a super Wonder Woman.

Halloween finally arrived. I had done very little in terms of Halloween fun, because in years past we've been over Halloween before it even arrived. Luckily, all our festivities fell right in a row. We had our ward truck-or-treat the night before, and on Halloween we had a playgroup party (where Quinn mysteriously decided to be Super Girl and Carly wanted to be a "cheetah princess" from a mix of things from our dress-up box), Carly's school party, and the main event. 

All the excitement made for some pretty crazy kids. They were bouncing off the walls on Friday, and it wasn't a particularly good day. But trick-or-treating was SO much fun. The kids were so sweet and excited and polite. And so big! They were such kids running from door to door. At some point I've gone from a mom of a toddler and two babies to a mom of three kids. It was the perfect weather. Cool but not too cold with hazy clouds partially covering the moon. It snowed in Michigan on Halloween. I wasn't missing that one bit. It was a really perfect evening and we came home and ate a bit of candy and watched Garfield's Halloween before getting to bed way too late. Then Chris and I, in our lazy Minnie Mouse and Theo Epstein "costumes", claimed our 50% candy tax.

Near the end of October I was driving down a hill and looked up over our little town. The trees were brilliant shades of yellow, with touches of orange and red. Grand "forevergreens", as Carly calls them, popped up in the mix. Tears came to my eyes. It was beautiful. Every home we have, every place we love, has its own beauty. October came. And you know what? It came slower, so we could enjoy it longer. It came with beautiful sunny days and not a single bit of snow. I haven't had to pull out our winter coats yet. We live in a safe, friendly neighborhood for trick-or-treating. And we make apple crisp from the apples in our backyard. Yes, there are perks to Washington Octobers, and I'm so glad I live in a world where they exist. 

settlers.

October has passed much too quickly. We are hitting a stride in this not-so-new-anymore place, and it has been nice. Sometimes things still feel too new, and there is so much to learn and so much to still settle in to. But now is better than it was. And next time will be better than now.

We kicked off October the way we love to: General Conference weekend and my birthday. We went apple picking between Saturday sessions . . . in our backyard. The apple tree we expected to be a worthless hassle is proving itself to be anything but. We got a lot of apples this fall, and that is without the tree being taken care of. We have high hopes for many apples to come when we actually prune it and do what one does to trees to make it so the worms don't eat through three-quarters of the apples (obviously we've got some learning to do). My birthday was simple. We celebrated with homemade pizza and pumpkin chocolate chip cake with cousin Alyssa on Sunday, and on Monday my aunt and uncle were kind enough to watch the kids so Chris and I could go on our first date in much too long. I think 28 will be a good year. 

We are figuring out a groove. Carly has school every day and dance once a week. Our regular schedule also includes my D&C class and library story time (our story time is really awesome here!). Having school every day has been rough on me; not so much Carly, just me. For whatever reason, getting her there and back with the twins in tow is exhausting and stressful. Late afternoon pick up is somewhat disastrous. J and Q don't nap anymore, but get tired and drift off in the car, meaning I drag two cranky/sleeping babies in to pick up Carly. Oh, how I wish it was 1994 and I didn't have to sign her in and out. Our mornings are spent simply, coloring and playing. One morning I was feeling stressed. Lunch was approaching and the kids were all still in pajamas. The house was a mess from the morning of imagination. Imaginative games are their number one form of entertainment these days, and it is so fun to hear them play. But on this morning, I felt bad. I should have things more structured, I should be doing those crafts I pin or going to the children's museum. In my mom guilt, I came down the hall and found three little pirates on their pirate ship (the couch). "Hoist the sails!" Carly cried out. "O-tay!" John replied, clearly having no idea what "hoist the sails" meant. And then I heard the answer: This is why you kept her home. There were a lot of factors that led to us waiting a year to start Kindergarten, and for me having an extra  year of childhood, an extra year to stay in her jammies until noon and play pirates with her brother and sister, was a major one. I love these relaxed unscheduled mornings. I try to cherish them, because I know they will be gone much too soon.

Chris continues to love his job. There is so much to do, so many facets, that it is hard to balance them all. But they are all so positive and exciting, one can't complain too much. To add to the exciting balancing act, Chris was called as the Young Men's president in our ward. To say we were surprised would be an understatement. We had been in the ward a month and a half when he got the call. We met with the bishop and I was fully expecting to be called as primary team teachers--why else would he want to meet with both of us? Honestly, my heart initially sank. I felt like I had just gotten him "back" from his dissertation, and felt like things were so pleasant and simple. The bishop asked if I would support him and I barely squeaked out a yes. Right then Quinn started throwing a fit, so I took the kids into the hallway and burst into tears (hows that for support?). But there was no doubt in my mind he would be great with the Young Men. It has been a bit hectic. He is just getting started and has a lot to figure out, not to mention the fact that we don't know anyone in the ward. But the day after he was set apart, I felt the strongest spirit in our home, and I continue to feel it as long as I'm not being a negative Nancy when he's gone. I know we'll be watched over, and I know he's serving right where the Lord wants him to.

We got to have both sets of grandparents come in the last couple of weeks. It was so fun to have them in our new house and show them this new place we call home. We took them on tours of campus, seeing Chris's office, lab, and the bookstore. We ate yummy food and got ice cream. My mom piled in to the BodPod with the kids and they counted down to blast off to space (naturally). Chris and I managed to go to the temple and a [very tragic] WSU football game when his parents were here, and his dad painted the kids room (yay!) and gave Chris light fixture replacing lessons (more yay!). We loved having our mimi & grandpa and grandma & papa here. We are always accepting visitors, FYI.

Carly continues to enjoy school. It has been an adjustment for me as her school is not traditional. I sometimes feel like I should be seeing more "results" or academic rigor, but that isn't the point of Montessori, and I knew that going in to it. Its clear she's learning, as she knows her months and days and continents. She's constantly singing songs and reciting classic rhymes I never thought to teach her. And she has a French/music teacher come in a few times a week. She sings this song: "Bonjour! C'est moi. Je m'appelle Carly." It is really cute and the twins sing it too, so we are basically a bilingual home. She had her second primary program this past weekend. Her part was a fraction the length of last year's, and she delivered it flawlessly: "My body can do many things. I like to go swimming." John and Quinn were pretty interested in the whole thing. When Carly reached the stage, and things were kind of quiet, Quinn waved and yelled, "Hi, Sissy!!"

John is the sweetest wildest boy. He's a simple man. The other day there was a leftover fort in our living room. Chris and his parents were looking for John, and were everywhere calling out his name. Then Chris spotted him: in the fort, laying back on a pile of pillows, one leg folded over his knee, eating a sandwich. Chris asked why he didn't answer their calls and John held out his sandwich and replied, "Sandwich." Obviously. John is a really funny kid. He makes his sisters laugh all the time. He makes me laugh all the time. His obsession with construction equipment continues. The other night we had dinner at a Mexican restaurant and John was scooping up chip crumbs with his little toy front-end loader. He's a constant source of tackle-hugs and big wet kisses. Now that the kids are out of the baby stage, I can't get over what a contrast John is to his sisters. He does the boy thing exceptionally well. 

Quinn is a total crack up. She has been using longer and more complex sentences lately, and it helps that big little personality show through. The other day we were at the park and it was cloudy and she kept saying, "Rain in two minutes!" It was so cute how worried about it she was, I started to laugh. "What's funny?!" she asked with her stern little face. She's a stubborn one. We got her boots that you slip on, and she kept trying to step into them, instead of pulling them on with her hands. She would fall over, and I said "Quinn, you CAN'T do it that way." But she kept trying and wouldn't you know, she learned to step into her boots. She did it and looked at me, crossed her arms, and gave me the proudest I-told-you-so smile. Stinker. Q continues to be a mama's girl, and most of the time I rather love it. She's my little pal, and I know I will be so sad when she grows out of wanting to be with me all the time (though it will be nice to use a bathroom without her sitting outside chirping "Maaaam! Maaaam!"). She is such a girly girl. She loves wearing dresses and her little ballet outfit we found at a consignment store. When we wears it she does ballet in the living room with the most intense little face you've ever seen. Quinn's most frustrating, yet somewhat endearing, habit right now is the wardrobe changes. She's a regular Kim K regarding the number of outfit changes she does per day. And she manages to get each one just dirty enough to not be able to stick back in the drawer. Three or four (or five!) times a day I find her wearing something totally different. Which is great because I don't have enough laundry to do as it is.

So, we are settling. 

I might even stop talking about how we are settling, that is how settled we're getting.

It has been a sweet October. 

We are all set for the main event on Friday.

xoxo.

our last days in Lansing.

Our final days in Lansing were hectic ones. We were throwing things in boxes, dumping things in the garbage, eating as many Dairy Dan flurries and Cottage Inn pizzas as possible, and visiting our favorite places. The weeks leading up to our departure were so stressful and busy with moving and visitors that I didn't have time to feel sad. Then we were in Idaho, and I didn't have time to feel sad. The sadness came when we settled in Pullman. Now that it is Fall, the very best time of year in Michigan, my heart still hurts. Maybe it always will? I am learning to love this new home, but I ache a little every day for what was. You know, besides the whole getting a PhD thing.

The 4th of July was a fun and simple one. We went on a walk at a nature reserve, John put a golf ball through the tv (which we have yet to replace; thanks, bud), I made the coolest fruit pizza you've ever seen, and we enjoyed a small-town tractor parade. You better believe I'm writing about the 4th of July in October, mostly because my posterity needs to know I made that United States shaped fruit pizza.

We visited lakes as often as we could in the final weeks. Chris sister Jenny and her husband Christian came for a visit and we headed up to Lake Lansing. Sadly it was a pretty chilly day, but it was nice to make one last visit.

We also bid farewell to our MSU Kinesiology family, particularly Chris's adviser Jim and his wife Linda. They were and continue to be a blessing in our lives. Goodbye was hard, but we can't wait for them to come visit (hint, hint).

Our final week in Lansing, my parents came to town to help me progress in packing and to fly with me and the kids back west. We paid our last visit to MSU. We took our picture next to Sparty and saw Tom Izzo and fed the terrifying aggressive ducks. My mind kept wandering to our first visit to campus with one-year-old Carly in a little jean skirt. It felt like such a long road, but somehow the journey we had there turned Michigan into home. I still think of it that way. I'll let you know when it changes. 

Our last Michigan weeks were good ones. We are pretty lucky to have loved it so much that it hurt to say goodbye, only to move to a place we will surely love just as much.

~

And a little bonus: I found a few pictures of the kids from our final trip to Lake Michigan. 

A beautiful place and some beautiful kids.