Moving On

649 S. 16th Street...it was a good first house. But we were getting close to outgrowing it and we didn't really like how busy the street was. So we decided to put it up for sale and see what happened! After showing it for a few weeks, we got an offer, and after a few counter-offers, all came to an agreement. We had the house tented for termites, did a few other repairs, lots of packing, and as of Friday, Dec. 6, we no longer own the house!!

It was a weird feeling, as I put the final things in the back of the truck, and drove away!

But we are moving on...and that currently means we are renting an apartment in what we like to call "the barn!" It's appropriately named, really, because it is actually located in a barn. The landlords converted a portion of their barn into three separate apartments! The property even has chickens, ducks, and horses! It is on the outskirts of San Luis Obispo, about 10 min from Kyle's work and about 15 minutes away from where we moved from. We are obviously still trying to get things organized and figure out where to put things and what stuff to unpack now, but I think our plan will be to stay here for several months before starting to look for something new to purchase. In the meantime, Annaliese loves that she gets to climb stairs everyday and that her friend Eli lives downstairs!

 We spend most of Thanksgiving Day packing...but we did manage to have a mini turkey (ok...it's actually a cornish hen) and a few traditional sides:)

 Packing up...

Thankfully, Kyle was able to round up a few guys to help move. We rented a U-Haul truck for a few days and they made several trips back and forth and got all of our stuff moved, either into the apartment or into one of the stalls in the barn that we are using for storage. We are so grateful for their help! 

 The new place...

Kyle, trying to figure out how things will all fit!

 Annaliese has been such a trooper with it all. One day, while I was putting things away in the kitchen, I turned around and saw her taking all of the chip clips and putting one in each baggie...she was fascinated by the project and stayed entertained for quite awhile!

I will have to try to get a few more pictures once it is a bit more organized and homey!!

A Washington Get-Away

The week before Annaliese turned two, we took a trip to Washington to 1) have a baby shower for Kelsey, 2) celebrate Annaliese's 2nd birthday, 3) see my parents new house, and 4) celebrate Thanksgiving. It was a busy 4 days, but we successfully accomplished everything we set out to do.

We flew into Seattle on Wednesday evening; Annaliese was fascinated by the 'pellers' on the plane (propellers) and is still talking about how much she likes planes and flying up in the sky! She was fighting a bit of a cold, so she didn't have nearly her normal amount of energy which made for a great flight! Auntie Kelsey picked us up at the airport and we spent the night at her and Ben's place on the north side of Seattle. On Thursday morning, my mom drove down from Bellingham to pick us up, and we all headed back to my parents house.

A few belly shots...Kelsey is 29 weeks; I am 27 weeks

 

 Playing games

 Auntie Kelsey playing with her niece and nephew:)

Grandma has an entire closet full of play things!

Friday morning we all headed downtown to the Bellingham Children's Museum. They had a great area designed for toddlers, including an interactive art area where they could draw with chalk, paint, dig in the sandbox for fossils etc. Annaliese loved it!

Friday night we celebrated Thanksgiving, complete with a turkey and all the fixings! 

There was also lots of time spend cuddling, relaxing, and just enjoying each others company. 

And then there were several attempts at family pictures...

Next we packed up the cars and headed to Ben and Kelsey's place in Seattle to prepare for Kelsey's baby shower. There were several girls from her work that came, as well as a few cousins/other family. We played a few games, ate some good food, and tried to be crafty and make Kelsey a mobile for the baby's room and a few headbands. 

 Everyone is sculpting a pregnant lady out of play-doh...Kelsey had to pick the best one!

At the end, while we were cleaning up, Grandma taught Annaliese and Elias how to play Ring-Around-the-Rosie!

I think that about sums up our trip to Washington!! We had a great time and are already looking forward to our next trip (which will be much different since by that time both Kelsey and I will have had our babies!!)

Look who's TWO!

Crazy as it seems, we now have a 2 year old in our house! Annaliese's birthday was much more casual than last year, in part because of the craziness of our life at this time and in part because I am just tired and didn't want to plan anything big. That does not mean, however, that we didn't spread out her birthday over at least a week! 

The birthday fun started with a visit from Grandma Kelley last weekend. She came to help us pack (more on that in a later post) and, of course, to see little miss Annaliese again. Annaliese quickly caught on to the whole concept of opening presents!

 Showing off her new shoes!

Thank you hug for Grandma!

 Grandma also brought along a gift from Auntie Sarah, Uncle Jon, Reed, and Kieran

Annaliese is a HUGE fan of the tunnel!! 

The birthday festivities continued with a trip to Washington to see Grandma and Grandpa Hendricks...we had to check out their new house, celebrate Thanksgiving, and have a baby shower for Auntie Kelsey and we thought now was a good to time for it all! (Again, a future post will be coming with more pictures from that trip!)

Thankfully Grandma H. was on top of things, so I was able to make Annaliese a birthday cake and we had a special birthday dinner. 

 Apparently we didn't really get any other pictures:(

On Monday, which was actually Annaliese's birthday, she was pretty worn out from the travels home the day before; and I, unfortunately, had to work for most of the day. But I was home in time for dinner; while we were prepping the food, Annaliese picked up the beaters for the mixer and said "I want to bake." Since there wasn't much in the house, our baking options were very limited, but I did find a package of instant pudding that she could stir (that was her second request!), but it was pistachio flavored and she was not impressed by the green color! In fact, she wouldn't even try it!

 Opening her package...it's an adorable little purse! As soon as she saw the tissue paper wrapping, she kept saying "It's cute. It's cute!" And today she's been walking around with it over her arm! Thanks Mark and Penny!

 And Grandma Kelley and Grandpa Jay sent a box as well...with this fabulous puzzle! It's also been a big hit!

A big thank you to everyone for helping to celebrate Annaliese and the precious little girl that she is! We are constantly amazed at how she is growing and learning new things, how her personality is developing, and how she is so quick to laugh and smile! We are truly blessed to be her parents!!