Juliet is super righteous
I wish you could see in there how tightly Austin had it packed in that 24 ft. truck. Better than any tetris game.
Lunch at 3:30 after cleaning and more packing all day. Hoping to leave for Sarah's in the next hour...but didn't leave till 6 - ugh!
We didn't bring our dining table and chairs so we just had some folding chairs and a tiny round table that the landlords had outside for the first few days.
We bought this one at IKEA. It fits pretty well in the eat-in kitchen space and has 2 leaves that can go in it. Austin had to assemble the whole thing including each chair.
Austin had the boys help him put this one together....
We got essentially the same table and chairs for the formal eating space, except the table is significantly bigger. In this picture it has 1 leaf in it. We eat here every night together. Surprisingly, eating in a more "formal" dining area, rather than just a table in the kitchen, really changes the whole mood of the meal. The kids seem better behaved and eat better and it just seems like a more bonding family experience for some reason.
The boys latest catching craze. Oh and the lizards/geckos, that are everywhere out here - but they are quick! The boys really have to up their game for those.
Going through an old box when we moved in, I found this love note from Bethany. We are always were the very bestest of friends, right Beth?
And before Whitney, I was Cassidy's favorite sister.
Did Cassidy make you one of these, Whitter? Hm?
Before Sarah became super nice and charitable, she wrote me this...
I think this was made for me the day I became the designated pianist of the family - ha!
This is the kind of stuff Austin found when he was going through his boxes:
nominated by his senior class as "Biggest Klutz"
4th of July parade - the largest one in Florida. Unfortunately, it's a voting year so there were SO many politicians handing out cards (lame) instead of fun floats. It was SO hot! Over 100 degrees. Austin was smart and opted to stay home and put together furniture.
We only stayed about an hour at the parade, but each kid walked away with about 20 strings of beads.
Our 4th of July Party
In the distance, you can see the river (but probably can't see that in the picture). The river and docks are right across that green grass and our neighbors/landlords said we are welcome to keep a boat or kayak at one of their docks.
If you're thinking the water in that blow up pool looks dirty, you can't even imagine how gross is was in real life! The yard got pretty muddy from the sprinkler and it was just downhill from there. But just like the old days when we swam in trash cans, our kids happily swam in the black water - ugh!
As Austin's mom said, "35 years old and he's FINALLY having his FIRST DAY of work!" And, yes mom, he goes to work in his "pajamas!" Justin and Kelsey, notice that cool shell in the background? Everyone always asks us about it. I wish we had brought it back from somewhere cool.
The boys after playing soccer in the backyard for an hour. We survive playing in the backyard in the heat by eating popsicles, fudgesicles and gatorade. Not such a bad deal.
Fudgesicle face
Katie has a special kind of bottom that for some reason cannot be kept covered by any swimming suit. After an afternoon of swimming at Hyrum/Jessica's pool and seeing Katie's bottom too many times to count, Jessica said to me, "you should get her some board shorts." Oh yeah, duh! Kate loves them and we love that we don't have to see her bum anymore.
On 7/11/16 - aka free slurpee day. Unfortunately, the only flavor 7/11 had working was birthday cake flavor, which was not tasty. Oh well, they'll always be next year I guess.
One day we read a story out of The Friend about how Ammon was such a good missionary and did so much service. I challenged the kids to do at least 1 act of service each day for a week. They were super excited and got right to work after breakfast, all doing each other's chores. Jensen climbed up on Eliza's bunk bed to make her bed and, not being used to her room or bed, nearly got his head chopped off by the fan. Poor guy. But he has continued to make her bed almost every day and do tons of service, so I guess this didn't dissuade him.
It's always fun when grandpa comes...
Always the last room to be done - the master bedroom. Our chef was trying to give us advice on where to hang all our pictures.
Today's fun adventure - Coquina Beach!
Come see us!!!
