Goodbye Bear Lake, Hellllooooooo Daddy!

Our last day in Bear Lake! We headed back to Sandy this morning.

We stayed at my mom's second house- it was big enough that I could put Kael in the master bath and close the door between us. It was really nice to be able to roll over without waking him up from the sound of the sheets just inches from his pack-n-play... ;D

Our last trip to the beach (on our last day) was pretty miraculous. All day long the wind blew so that the windows screeched and the trees bent almost sideways. The girls ran around all morning in their swimsuits contented with the promise that we'd head to the beach when Kael woke from his nap. I was banking on a typical Bear Lake storm that howls all day until about 4 or 5 when the sun always seems to come out. We left at about 3:30 in the pouring rain. If you look closely you can see the back window is being pounded with water.
We drove around in the rain for a few minutes to see the different places to eat, and then as we headed back toward the beach, saw a clear patch of sky blowing nearer. We drove to the same piece of beach we'd been to on a couple of other days, and the sky above us cleared completely for about 45 minutes.






Then, as dinner time loomed nearer, so did some ominous rain clouds. I love it when I'm not the bad guy for ending the fun... the girls took one look at the clouds coming and agreed it was time to leave.


It started to rain just as we drove away from the beach, and kept raining as we ate dinner. Then when we went to get some famous Bear Lake shakes, the sky cleared up just long enough for the girls to play on the playground at Merlin's. But when it was time to head back and get ready for bed, the sky played bad guy for me once again. We got back into the car just before getting soaked, outdrove the storm and got into the house before the drops could catch us there, either.



So, as you might have heard from my Facebook posts, our new closing date is the 15th. Exactly one month later than our original close date. Zach is thinking even that is an unrealistic goal based on the timeframes they've given us for the things that still need to be done, but we've got our fingers crossed.

Zach has already been down there for a couple of weeks, so we've been looking for a place for all of us to rent short-term, but with no success. People are charging an arm and a leg for rent down there because they can get away with it. So many people are losing their homes...

When we found out the new closing date, I put an ad up in the Craigslist wanted section explaining that we need to rent a place for July. That worked a lot better- we got three responses and decided to go with a two bedroom apartment on Summerlin (west side of the valley.) The owner had to move unexpectedly to the east coast and couldn't get out of his lease. He hadn't found anyone to rent for July, so we're a perfect option, it seems. He left a couple of beds and the bare necessities, so we'll be good for a few weeks.

Vegas here we come! We get to see Daddy (and the new house in person) when we head down on the 5th. Wooooooot!

In case you're wondering how those crazy Vans are faring

Well, here we are at Grandma's house- coming up on week two of our camp-out. Our gracious parents have told us we can stay as long as we need. Their eyes looked a little glassy when they repeated that for the eighth through tenth times in response to our plans H-K regarding this house closing and the second half of our move. At the moment, the date has officially been pushed back to the 30th. Of June.

Luckily, my parents' family has a place up in Bear Lake which was going to be empty this week, and which will now be occupied by us homeless people. Unluckily, Zach has to be in Vegas by the 23rd. So we'll be up there daddy-less. Luckily, a sweet family has offered to let Zach stay with them until the house closes.

All our stuff is being stored in an ABF truck. If the house closes by this new date, we won't have to pay for extended storage time.

If the house closes by this new date, we'll have exactly one day to unpack before Zach has to start his night float shift. (Work all night, sleep all day for a month. Which might be a blessing in disguise, Zach says. If he needs to take care of house stuff, all he has to do is lose sleep! ;b)

If this house closes by the 30th, we've got plenty of awesome family members to help us with the drive down and settling in. (Yay for close-ish proximity!!!)

We miss home. But things are going good.

Entropy

This has been quite the month. Two months, actually.

I can't even...

Here.

Last Easter:



This Easter:



That's all.

Two Little Four-year-olds

These girls. I just can't believe they've been in my life for four years now.

Their infanthood is kind of a big blank. Their toddler years are kind of a blur. Their preschool years have been overshadowed by Kael's infancy. Honestly, and we hate to admit it, but it is only recently that Zach and I have felt we are really getting to know them. Mia got ALL our attention, and Kael gets EVERYONE's attention. These two not are not only suffering from the deficient "middle child" attention, but in a lot of ways it has been divided by two.

They have shared absolutely everything from the day they ended up in my belly. I used to feed them with the same spoon from the same babyfood jars (they've also shared many colds...) They've shared the bathtub with two sisters their entire lives. They share the bottom bunk of the bunk bed. If we go to McDonalds, they get one water for both of them, and split their chicken nuggets. Birthday parties, presents, cards. This post. Everything. And they have never minded, because it's all they've known.





Every morning for the last six or so months, I've been spending about one hour doing reading lessons with Anya and Bree seperately. It has been the most one-on-one time I've ever had with them, and I'm so glad we did it. Just like my experience with Mia, there were some really rough times when neither of us really wanted to spend the effort that day, and we really had to struggle to keep it up. And there were times (sometimes on the same day as the rough spots,) when they were so proud of themselves and we got some good laughs in. My sweet giggly Bree and my earnest, hard-working Anya. I didn't realize I had no idea who these little girls were until we did this together- just me and Anya, just me and Bree.

Slowly, but surely, they are growing into little individuals, just like any other sisters. I'm trying to enjoy this time while sharing so much is okay... I feel they're on the verge of a change. I know there will come a time when they will start wanting different things, wanting their own different ways, and I'll have a little more to keep track of. ;) 4 years old. I will appreciate their "four-ness" more than any other age, I think.


I love them. As much as they love each other. :)