Cowboy, Cavewoman, and Pirate

My Halloween morning started off with a Twix candy bar. Somehow I eat really crappy when I'm sick. I can't seem to help myself. I haven't exercised in a week and a half and I've been eating whatever I want. And I want candy. No wonder I'm not getting better. Life goes so much better for me when I exercise every day. I just haven't exactly figured out how I'm going to get to my CrossFit gym more than once a week. Timing is not working in my favor.

The kids were excited for Halloween as usual. Gavin is definitely pushing the age limit on trick-or-treating but he figures as long as his friends go then he goes. I don't mind, gives me more candy to steal for breakfast. Drew is also pushing the age limit, but she looks so dang cute dressed up that I can't say no. Plus, her friends all go out. And Gilli, well she's always going to be my baby and she can pretty much get away with anything.

Earlier on in the day Gillian had to do a book report at school where she acted out a scene from her book. She was Pippy Longstockings. She got pretty nervous and talked really fast but she did well. She wore her braids sticking out with the help of wire, and mismatched stockings with Gavin's shoes. She looked adorable.

I am quite certain that we will never get trick-or-treaters at our house. We live at the end of a half mile private dirt road. You have to go through a gate and up past our barn to get to our house and you can't even see our house from the gate. Thus, we decided to keep with old traditions.

After school we went to Woodinville to have dinner at the Gregson's and trick-or-treat with friends. Gavin wore his new cowboy hat and carried a feed bag to gather his candy. When people asked him if he is supposed to be a cowboy he said "I guess so, I'm just going as myself." He is really embracing his whole new lifestyle, and that suits me just fine. Drew dragged out an old cavewoman outfit and Gillian wore a pirate costume that we had. I didn't buy any halloween costumes for once. Hooray!

The kids all like to dump their candy on the floor, count it, and then do trades.

Settling in

Wow, it's been a whirlwind of a month. So much has taken place in such a short amount of time. New house, new town, new schools, new ward, new friends, new pets, new everything. It's been exciting and it's also been hard. This place is all we hoped for and more, yet it is still hard to leave other stuff behind.

We just got internet installed yesterday-- yes, we've gone a month without internet, weird. The company that we were told to use couldn't make it out here until mid-November, and since it's satellite there aren't a whole lot of options. I was able to find another company that had no problem coming out sooner. So, I'm back in business. Hooray!

Gavin's new high school, Snohomish High, made national news this week when one student stabbed 2 other students. One of the girls almost died and remains in the hospital. The school was on lockdown for the morning. The girl who did the stabbing has had a history of mental problems and she just randomly picked two freshmen girls who were in the bathroom to stab. So scary. It had Gavin pretty upset, as well as everyone else.

The girls go to Dutch Hill elementary. They catch the bus which is new and exciting for them. I have to drive them to the bus stop which is a half mile down the private dirt road. After school they tell me all about the boys on the bus and in their classes that have crushes on them. One day Gavin and I rode the horses down to give them a ride back home after school. They are living out my childhood dreams. And so am I.

Gavin has set up a shooting range and taught the girls gun safety and taken them target shooting with his 22. They actually enjoy spending time together and I don't see them inside so much any more.

We are about exactly 30 minutes from our old house. Our house is on ten acres, fully fenced to keep dogs and horses in. There is a big barn with a hay loft. The kids have stall cleaning added to their chores, but somehow I end up doing it most days. They love to climb the rickety metal ladder to get to the hay. At night we all go out to put the horses away and they climb up on Breezy and Jay and just sit there while they eat in their stalls. Last night Gavin fell asleep while laying on Breezy. Chuck is being a bit crazy and I'm the only one that can ride him for now. He's still adjusting to his new place I guess.

Last Saturday night we had our friends over for a party. In our old house there wasn't enough room for people to park on the street to come over and our house wasn't very big so we never had anyone over.

I have been sick the past week with a nasty cough and stuffy head. Darren has been gone to Baltimore for the past few days so things have ground to a halt for a bit. Still a few boxes here and there but mostly moved in. And the greatest miracle of all-- our house sold within a month of listing it. We didn't get what we wanted but I guess nobody does these days. I still have some work to do on it before it closes next month. I thought that I would be more sad about leaving but our new circumstances are so nice that I'm getting over it pretty quickly. I do miss neighbors and friends and schools, etc... but I'm not that far away that I can't see them. That was our first house though and it is a great house. I will always have such great memories of that place. It is fun making new memories here too.

Drew riding Jay in our yard

Gavin, Roxy (in her new sweater), and Holly.

Moving on

It has been quite a busy month since we've gotten back from California. We bought a new house, the kids started school, and now we have to move this week and re-start school in our new town. We are finally realizing our dream of moving to the country and having some privacy. Privacy comes in the form of 10 acres, a barn, and a beautiful home. I know that our whole family feels that this is the right move for us, even though it is a big leap and pretty scary. We have loved living in the Bothell/Woodinville area for the past 10 years. We have such great friends here and love our schools, CrossFit gym, and church. I'm sure we will love Snohomish too. It's only 30 minutes away.

More about the house....

We had the opportunity to meet the owners last week. So cool. They have lived there for over 20 years. Their house burned down in 2008 and then they built our home in 2009. It is beautiful and I feel very blessed. They even have a sun motif throughout the house, on the tiles and inlaid in the entryway mosaic of rocks. It is awesome. They must have known that I am a California girl who needs some sort of sun. At least I have it in the house if I can't see it in the sky. They also have two horses that get to stay with us--Breezy and Jay. So now I have a 3 stall barn, 3 horses, 3 kids, and 3 dogs. What am I thinking?! It will be great. I'm going to have the busiest week of my life. So, I'd better get dressed and get to Home Depot to buy some boxes. Wish me luck!