Our many faces

This is just silly. My boys are cute...

 I don't know what it is, but when he closes his eyes it is the cutest thing!

Children's Museum... Virginia-style

We love a good children's museum in our family. So we ventured out to Portsmouth (even took an underwater tunnel to get there) to check it out. It did not disappoint. The upstairs was mostly science experiments and exhibits. The boys loved that. They used levers to hoist an elephant, they raced cars down a track, made music at differing decibel levels, used magnets... so cool. Then downstairs there was a little play town. 

They could go on a firetruck and put out fires. They could ride on this police motorcycle. 

 There was a grocery store, a bank, a pet shop, etc... I used to love that kind of adult-play when I was younger. I always wanted to work at a bank or a grocery store so I could press buttons on a register and use a scanner. I'm a nerd.

There was also a bubble room. You could put yourself inside a bubble!

 Oh yeah, and I got a van. I love it. I love it more everyday. The sliding doors are the best. The DVD player on long drives is a life saver. And they are pretty much done arguing with me about not watching it on a short drives. The car drives great. I can hook up my phone to a USB chord and listen to my podcasts through the speaker system. I feel pretty lucky. So here's a pick... the only one I have so far.

Austin and I went to TRader Joe's in Virginia Beach while Parker was at school last week. I just love familiar places. It's a little drive for us, but it felt good to pick up some familiar must-haves (i.e... orange chicken and sparkling water).

In other news...

*Parker loves school. He also loves being at home, so he always argues with me about getting in the car in the morning, but once we're on our way he looks forward to it. Not as much feedback from the teacher as I'm used to (perks of having Grammy as your teacher) but I think it's good. They have a Halloween Party this week so I'm excited to meet some other moms and get a better feel for the class.
*Austin has adjusted well to life here. He's my buddy and he loves running errands with me. He talks nonstop and Pete is astounded everyday at what he is able to communication. We were driving and I was listening to the radio... he said, "What's that? Who's that talking?" I said, "The radio." He said, "The rodeo?" I said, "No, the radio." This went back and forth about 17 times. Then I finally said, "Yes, fine... it's the rodeo." And he happily responded, "Oh yes, rodeo. I love the rodeo. I go there with Papa."
*We love our house. We love the extra space. We have two attic spaces, so despite not having near as much closet space, at least we have attic storage (with pull down ladders). It's in a great location near shopping and the library. I just got a library card, so I look forward to doing story time soon. House pics will have to come in a few days once our dining room table comes in and we mount our TV and finish up the last few boxes. But I'm really excited to share.
*My workouts have been on the back burner. I have been so swamped with all the details of moving that I have not had the time nor desire to workout... mostly the desire. I need to get back into it. I was meeting with a personal trainer for the month prior to moving, so I would hate to undo all I just worked for.
*I am in full fledge application mode. It's hard to find the time to get it all done with so many other things to attend to, but it's getting easier now that we are settled here. I love reading the apps and have so many cool candidates. I am so lucky to have this job.
*We went to another JAG's house for dinner on Friday night and then we had another one over for dinner tonight. George, who came over tonight, started work at the same time as Pete. He's the most chipper guy and really fun to be around. We have a standing invitation to have him for dinner on Sundays. So glad they have each other.
*Kids Sing is now being run by my good friend Laura. I am still running the business side of things, including costuming. I had picked this darling dress from Old Navy and ordered some sample sizes a month ago. Laura got all the kids sized and I went to order the remaining dresses and they were out of stock. NOOOOO!!!!!! It was devastating. I thought I was starting from square one again. But I had so many other things to do, I waited a few days and then went back online to find a new dress. Lo and behold what was restocked? The original dress! I quickly ordered the remaining dresses. Man, that was scary!
*Still trying to decide what I want to do music-wise here. There is a void of a performing group like that in the area, so I just need to start putting the word out.

Moving in...

After exactly one week of being here, our stuff arrived. We went to church for an hour, and then headed home to greet the truck. It was thrilling. The boys have been anticipating their stuff for a very long time. Parker was looking forward to Bumblebee (transformer) and Austin wanted Woody. The men did a great job unloading for us. 

 And the boys did their best to stay out of the way. That part was so-so. But once it came time to empty the boxes the next day, they were in heaven. They had forgotten about their toys that were just rediscovered, and they were all about the boxes. The kept burying each other and yelling, "Take cover!"

 This week I have assembled about 5 different pieces of furniture, with the help of Parker. I'm an expert at cube shelving units now (as long as I remember to have the painted side always facing out). Papa would be proud at his screwdriver skills.

We are about 75% moved in. It feels good to know where stuff is, more or less and do a little weeding out in the process. We love our house. It's so nice having the extra space. The boys have a large play area down stairs and also enjoy playing in the room they now share. Hallelujah! They are actually going to bed at the same time. I will do house pics soon, but we have a bit more work to do. Looking forward to the weekend to get some more to-dos done.

First days in VA

This has been such a whirlwind of a move. It feels like we've been here for so much longer than a week. Monday, we bought a new car. Tuesday, the boys and I explored Mt. Trashmore (who named it that?) an awesome park in Virginia Beach. Parker made some friends... we're not in San Diego anymore:) 

 There was a huge grassy hill and I just knew something cool was on the other side. But Parker DID NOT want to walk all that way up to the top. After an hour or so of playing, I convinced him to run up it with me. Sure enough water was on the other side (not full on ocean, but some body of water). The trees were also very beautiful.

 Looks like you're on top of the world.

And this was the park below. So cool. The boys have been wanting to go back, but it's not super close to our house. Definitely a plan-ahead kind of outing.

 Tuesday night I found a washer/dryer off Craigslist and had it delivered. I'm not super pleased with the set, because the dryer is both too hot and too cool to really dry the clothes in a reasonable amount of time. Hopefully I figure out the best way to use it soon.

 Wednesday Parker had school again. He loves it and has made friends quickly. there's another Parker in his class. He says his best friends are Jaden and Owen. His teacher is very nice and I've had only good reports so far:) That night we went to Pete's soccer game. He plays on base with a team of other JAGs. They were playing a team from an aircraft carrier (this is my life now:)) The boys loved running around the track during the game. Though Austin wasn't such a fan when he'd get to the other side and see how far he still had to go.

 We arrived on Sunday the 12th, and our stuff was due to arrive by Oct 22. In the meantime, we were put up in the Navy Lodge close to the base. We are so thankful to have had a place to stay. While I did spend some time at the house doing odds and ends before our stuff arrived, going home to a comfy bed at the end of the day was always a treat. Parker is such a character these days...

Thursday I took the boys to the MacArthur Center which is a very nice mall in Downtown Norfolk. As ghetto as Norfolk is, this mall is VERY nice. They have all my favorite stores and a large kids play area. So we spent a few hours there.

Friday our stuff still hadn't arrived, but we thought it would be here Sunday, so in the evening, we headed out to Charlottesville to visit Scott and Abbey. They have such a nice home, with plenty of space to accommodate us. Saturday morning we played at home and then headed out to lunch at a delicious Thai restaurant. Parker loved the soup! Then we took of driving tour of UVA and then headed out to Scott's boss's farm. He has an amazing property, and I had only seen it previously in the dark.

Trying the coconut tapioca... not a fan. 

 Austin on the other hand loved it.

 Now this is what fall looks like!

 The farm...

 Playing tag on the farm.

 Feeding the ducks at the lake (on the farm). This place has it all!

 And then Scott brought out his birds. He is a falconer, and has a hawk named Fox (Fawkes... don't know). The boys were so fascinated and not at all scared.

 We went into the barn, and Parker got to hold the bird. He said it was very heavy.

 Then it was Austin's turn. I was so surprised by his willingness to hold him. Even when he started creeping up onto his shoulder, the boy didn't flinch.

 There is also an owl... didn't hold that one:)

 Then we went to one of their favorite parks for a little hike. Can't take the California out of the girl... still wearing flip flops.

We BBQ'd that night and then drove home. Thankfully our stuff arrived the next day. But that's for another post. Thanks to Scott and Abbey for hosting. They're so great and we are so lucky to have this family close by.