First Day of First Grade!

So Hailey's first day was today. She was a little nervous but she did great. In fact her teacher is sooo nice. Everyone I have told who her teacher is says how great she is, how she is the most requested teacher, etc. etc. And I can see why. As soon as she saw Hailey was a little sad she took her by the hand and told her that she had chosen her to be her special helper for the day. She also said she had some little girls picked out to be her new friends. It was so sweet. She has taught for 15 years and she is super cute and trendy looking. Not that that matters but anyway. I could tell she is just a really loving teacher. In fact at the end of the day she hugged Hailey and said, "I am so lucky to have you in my class."

She rode her bike to school and I rode mine with the little girls in the trailer. It was really fun. As I was riding I was joined on the path with many other parents and their children. In fact I have never seen so many families with more than 3 children in one place. This community is full of fertility I tell ya! When Rachael was here and we pulled up to the pool she said, "Oh my...this is stay-at-home momville. I bet they all have a blog." Anyway back to Hailey- I think she is really happy. She talked about some of the little friends she met and seemed to have a great day. Its always hard to get all the details out but from what I gathered it was a success! Thanks everyone who was praying for her. OH and I handled it much better than last year- only cried for a little bit as opposed to all day long!! The girls did really miss her though and kept asking for her. Sad to be back into the routine so soon it seems.

Busy Weekend

Sorry no pictures but here are some weekend highlights:

Friday: Scott put up a play structure. It was supposed to take 6 hours- I think it was more like 12. I helped a little but mostly took care of the children in between doing things like taking the Idaho driver's test! My license expired the day before from Washington so I had to get my Idaho one and you have to pass a written test. I barely did! If you miss 7 you fail and at question 21 I had missed 6. I was in a panic. Sweating, shaking, and praying for mercy. Somehow I passed so I am now a legal Idaho driver.

We also put Avery in a big-girl bed and so far no issues. Let's hope it stays that way.

Saturday: We went to a fish thing in Idaho city. They had some fun booths with crafts and the girls even got to practice fishing. It was fun. It is fun to explore a new area. When we got home we ate dinner and then took the girls swimming. The great thing about the pool is there is an outdoor shower so afterwards we washed them up, washed their hair, and then took them in the bathroom to get their jammies on. So then when we got home they could go straight to bed!

Sunday: Went to church. Our 3rd time at this one and we really like it so we are just going to go with it. There are tons of churches here but frankly trying them out with 3 shy girls who don't love going into new places just doesn't appeal to us. Last week since Katie and Rachael were here we each took them to a class and stayed the whole time to get them used to it. Today Scott stayed with Hailey for about half of it; but me being the less compassionate in these situations left Karis and Avery in their classes. Both cried but were fine within a few minutes. Since church is such a big part of our lives I figured the sooner they go into class without us the sooner they would be OK with it. Hopefully they won't reject the faith when they get older from the trauma of being left in Sunday School. The church actually texts you if you want after a few minutes if the kids are still crying. They asked me how long and I said 10 minutes and both were fine then. In fact happy when I picked them up.

We are going to Vineyard Boise. We really like it for a number of reasons. The worship and teaching are great, from what we have heard we agree with where they stand on things, and they have a huge outreach. A food pantry, a free medical clinic for uninsured, they feed the homeless on the weekends, and go on tons of mercy trips to 3rd world countries. Also they have a great kid's program that seems so safe. The kids are all checked in on the computer and have bar codes on their name tags to let us pick them up. My kind of place! :) And it is very family-friendly. Kids are welcome in the service or not and their are some rooms that have glass walls so if your kids are too loud you can sit in there. It reminds us a lot of Mercer Creek in their style and welcoming and philosophies. Its not Mercer Creek and we miss that a lot but it is great! Scott and I were saying it would take a long time to form the friendships we had in the burg!! Sniff..sniff....OK this has become a novel and I still haven't blogged about the fair that we just got back from. It was fun, a typical fair: cotton candy, greasy food, farm animals, etc. etc.

Bitty Twins and Big Girl Bed

I can't believe this day is here. Avery's first night in a "big-girl" bed. I swore I'd keep her in her crib until she was 5 but lately started to rethink that. She has been getting her legs stuck in the crib and that is no fun! Plus she is no longer napping. I can't believe after 6 1/2 years of being a slave to a nap that I no longer am!! Basically she was napping for at least 2 1/2-3 hours. I would literally wake her up everyday and she would be sooo cranky. Then it would take her forever to fall asleep. Like some nights she was still awake at 11:00! She never got out of bed or even cried, she would just sing and talk. Well then I would wake her up in the morning and she would be a basket-case until nap time again. So it was just a bad cycle.

I never thought giving up naps was the answer but it has been. She goes down early at night now- like by 7:15 and I let her sleep as late as she wants. Usually until 8:30 or even 9:00. She seems to be in much better spirits although believe me we still have our moments of self-expression!! So anyway all that to say we put her in a bed tonight and she was THRILLED. She didn't get out and in fact said, "If I sleep in a big-girl bed, I won't get out and I won't sceam or cy (scream or cry)." Such a sweetie she is!! Here's to hoping the bed works out. The other 2 girls were in beds right at 2 and we never had issues with them getting out so I am hoping Avery follows suit. We did keep the crib up just in case! I can't believe our baby is almost 3. Another big night in Hoeferburg.....oops I mean Hoeferidian. Need to change the blog header but have no idea how to do that.....

So far I haven't been lonely here! Rachael was here for 2 weeks, then Katie and the girls, and now my cousin Monica came to Nampa to visit her Grandma this week so she came to see us yesterday and today. She has a little girl Anya who is 5 and a pure delight. The girls had a wonderful time playing with her. She brought her blonde Bitty twin so of course it was the perfect photo op. It was great to see them and we hope to again soon!!

Our Subdivision

So I am thrilled with our neighborhood. We have 2 pools, 2 play structures, 2 lakes you can fish in, several long walking paths wide enough for bikes, and even Hailey's school!! We have gone to the pool almost everyday and the girls love it. There is one pool that half of it is 2 feet deep so it is perfect for little kids. I took the play structure picture through the fence.

Also down the road we have a fabulous park with a splash pad and huge play structure. The girls love it.

Rachael has been here the whole time with us and leaves tomorrow. I don't know what we would have done without her. She entertained the girls while we frantically unpacked. She entertained us quite a bit too but we won't get into that. Although she did "pull a Rachael" SEVERAL times! She also gave me much advice like: "I notice your children don't quickly follow your commands or sit still very much. I guess that is normal but MY children will not be like this!" "My children will be very obedient and will follow me in a line."

She has now acknowledged that stay at home moms do more than blog. In fact she is quite exhausted and wanted to know why I still was working at 9:30 one night. Hmmm....

Finally Posting Some Pics of the House

OK- apparently getting internet in Boise is like.....well a non-windy day in the burg.....it's just hard to come by. (Sorry E-burgers- I had to throw that one in. That being said we MISS the burg and all of you so much!!!) Anyway after 2 weeks, an hour and a half on the phone, and several temper tantrums by me we now have the internet. I know some of you have been anxiously awaiting these photos (in fact Katie gave up waiting and drove on over here to see the house for herself! More about that another day but it was so great to have her and the girls for 5 nights!!!)but before you go any farther please look past the messes, clutter, things laying around. This move has been crazy trying to get everything unpacked and organized and we still aren't there. Several rooms will not be featured today but will eventually! And these aren't in the right order once again but anyway here you go:
This is the downstairs which is so great. There is an extra master bedroom down here so the lucky little girls have their own suite. We debated over and over how we would set this house up and ended up with Hailey and Karis sleeping together with H's stuff in one room and K's in the adjoining. We originally had them sleeping in their own room (their idea) but switched K's bed into H's room late the first night due to many tears and hysteria. Hailey informed us she would be ready to sleep by herself when she was a bigger girl- like 7. We'll see....
Also the downstairs has a craft room! Complete with counters and shelves. I am still working on setting that up so I haven't photographed it yet. And the common area is the girl's craft room and my work out area. I hope this isn't too confusing but I am trying to quickly do this.

Love that we have a much smaller yard here!! Scott's time mowing has been significantly reduced. He is thrilled with the water fall in the front and I am thrilled with our quiet neighbors behind us. We've met 3 or 4 families in the neighborhood and so far everyone is so friendly. I will do a post later of our great subdivision. Although we went on our first playdate yesterday and were there 5 minutes when Hailey threw up all over the couch and floor. It was so mortifying. They did say we could come back another day and she was really, really nice about it.

I am so thrilled to have central vac. Especially because this house has lots of stairs- 3 stories so lugging a vacuum up and down wouldn't be easy. I didn't mean to have it out for the photo though! This will also be the guest room- we are planning on putting a hide-a-bed in here.

The kitchen pictures are so dark- sorry. And I forgot to show the baking area with lots of shelves and big doors to cover the mixer and appliances. It is over by the laundry room which I also forgot to show.

LOVE This area- the girls can come in from the garage and put their stuff away and take off their shoes. Everyone has their own cubby for all the random stuff I find during the day. I put it there to be put away later. Even Scott and I have one.

Love that we have a fireplace now!!

We told the girls they weren't allowed in here. I tried to use my Kate Gosselin voice like she did when they got their new house: "Children who come in here will be severely punished". Unfortunately our girls just gave me a blank stare and ran in and jumped on the bed and turned on Noggin. I LOVE that we have noggin here- we went without for awhile but got direct TV here and it is so great!!! OK enough of this- you get an idea of the house and I will start blogging some more hopefully.

Still No Internet

Hello Everyone-
We still don't have Internet access so I haven't been able to update the blog. I am at the library right now and I must say- going online with the girls at a supposedly quiet place isn't very easy. Right now Rachael is with them on the children's computers so I have a minute or so of peace.

Here are the updates:
We are just about all unpacked and set up. Andrea reminded me when we moved to Oregon City it took 1 day to unpack (we had 1 child), Ellensburg took 2 (we had 2 children) and well.....Meridian has taken a bit longer. If Rachael hadn't come with us I seriously don't know what we would have done. She has helped so much with girls and been my social outlet since we have no friends here yet. Actually I met a friend a the pool yesterday and boldly asked for her phone number. She has 3 girls and the 4 year old was having a great time with Karis so we are going to get together soon. She seemed really nice and normal so that was encouraging.

The girls have been having an OK time. They have fun during the day but as soon as night time hits they start crying because they miss their "Ellensburg house", their "Ellensburg friends", their "Ellensburg room", and their Grandma, Papa, and cousins. It is quite sad. Karis keeps saying, "Let's just invite some new friends over." Then I try to explain that we don't have any new friends to invite yet and she says, "Well just call some new friends." Doesn't quite get it.....

Scott LOVES his new job. He just loves it and is so excited for all the projects he will work on and the research he can do and the people he works with. Although he misses Justin his office-mate and running buddy!!

We are really liking our neighborhood. We have two pools that the girls love and we have gone swimming everyday. I will take some photos of that later. Also we have biking and running paths as well as a fishing pond right down the street. It is great. We also love our new house and as soon as I can I will get the photos up since I know some of you are waiting!

I registered Hailey for school and keep hearing how great the school is. I am so glad it is right in the neighborhood so hopefully soon she will have friends to walk to school with. School starts August 31 and I know she is nervous so I am hoping it goes well.

We all are a little homesick for our friends and family but each day we get into more of a routine and have a little more fun. Yesterday we went to the mall and that boosted all of our spirits! And I also went to Albertsons and got a whole cartload of groceries for $35. I can't get into all the details but you must go to Albertsons and read the ad for the free groceries/rebate. Great deals. And they have free milk and Post cereals for $1.50.

And one more thing. The girls are THRILLED because Katie and Sadie and Audrey are on their way to visit today and stay until Monday. I think it will be so good for them to play with their cousins and have fun. And Rach is here until the 26th so I am feeling very blessed!! Miss you all and hope to post some photos soon!

LIfe in.......

Well our plans changed once again when the movers showed up on Friday instead of Monday to pack us up! Thankfully for good friends we were able to farm the girls out to 4 different play dates- 1 in the morning/1 in the afternoon for the next two days. They loved it and it was a good way to say good-bye. Our friends also had a going-away party for us Friday night. It was really fun and also really sad at the end. Really sad especially for me. I have decided that moving at ages 2,4,6 isn't nearly as bad as at 34!!! Seriously- can we not do this again?

Since we were all packed and moved out Saturday night we headed to my parent's place. It turned out really nice. We were able to relax and the girls were able to swim, swim, swim, and play with all their cousins, and spend lots of time with Grandma and Papa and Grandma Ruby. I liked how the good-byes turned out. It was just kind of non-emotional. They hugged and then said good-bye. I don't think they realize yet that we can't just drive for 40 minutes to play with the cousins or see the grandparents but it was a lot easier than them wailing. It was hard for me to say good-bye to my Mom and Dad and sisters and brothers and Grandma but I know we will be back in a couple months to visit.

Auntie Rach is with us and I am so grateful. It is way easier to travel with 3 adults and 3 kids than 2 adults and 3 kids and a dog and 2 vehicles and a trailer. We are quite the parade. The girls played Leapster and DS, listened to books on CD's, listened to music, and ate. Slept? NO! Avery actually went in Scott's car for many reasons- but one was so she could sleep and she did! So that was great. OK I need to go- we are going to sign papers on the house. The girls are still asleep and so is Rach so we will come back here after and get them to go see their new house. They are so excited. For them this is one big party! They swam last night until 10:00. Really 9:00 but we are now an hour ahead. Love you all and miss you and if I didn't get a chance to hug you and say good-bye it was because of the rush of everything but I do love you!

More Tearful Goodbyes

Moving is not fun!! Last night our wonderful neighbors had us over for dinner. They have been such a huge blessing to our family.

The girls love them and so do we. Helen Gene is an incredible baker and has taught me some of her skills. She also came over at least once a week to watch Avery while she napped so I didn't have to wake her up to go get Hailey from school. Her mantra is: Never wake a sleeping baby! So she was happy to ensure that didn't happen here! They have also been like grandparents to the girls. We'd go visit and they'd play in the toy room and eat chocolate. They came to Birthday parties and events. We will miss them so much!!!

Hailey's BFF

Yesterday Hailey's best friend (and some of our best family friends) moved to Arizona. A little side note here: In the past few months 4 of Hailey's favorite friends have moved away and 1 more is moving away. TBH it makes me feel a little less guilty that we are moving. Even though she still has several friends here that she will miss it feels a little easier that many of them are also moving.

We have known Mckenna and her family basically since we moved here and spent time with them at least once a week if not more. They came over Friday night for their last meal here and let me tell you it was a rough night. Christy and I were sobbing, the kids were sad, etc. etc. Moving is NOT fun!! So many emotions!! We move in a little over a week. I will blog more about that later. But for now will leave you with the note Mckenna wrote to Hailey:

"dear hailey

im reley going to miss you.

you are my best freind.

and that will never braek.

Iv never had a freind

like you.

you never had a freind like you"

SNIFF SNIFF- that's my addition.