Getting Settled

It's crazy to think we've already been here for six weeks! We're all feeling pretty settled and finding our groove here, and we're so very thankful for that! This post will be basically a hodge podge of pictures from when our HHG arrived to now! So here we go! :)

First up is when the girls found their dress-up! Shelby's old bedroom in Las Vegas was actually our bonus room & didn't have a closet, so we bought her a wardrobe closet from Ikea for her room. Since she's back in a regular bedroom with a closet now, we are repurposing her wardrobe closet from Ikea in our playroom for the girls' dressup. They have been into the dress-up so much more lately b/c of how easy it is to access.

This is a terrible picture, but I had to include it b/c I felt so accomplished! The day the moving truck arrived we stayed up late getting all of the kitchen cabinets perfectly organized, and then the next night we stayed up and got our pantry organized. Each time we were able to re-claim a space, it felt like such a huge victory.

The girls are helping Brady open birthday mail from BooBoo in the picture below. And in the background of that picture, you'll see a box overflowing with junk. Despite the fact that we purged and donated SO much before the move, we still keep making more & more piles of stuff to get rid of. I think we've already taken two hauls to the thrift shop on base, and I've got another load in the back of my car now.

 {We took advantage of Derek's last days before heading back to work & took our first trip to the Doseum since returning to SA}

The last day of our drive to SA & the first few days in our house were incredibly rainy. And by incredibly rainy, I just mean that it rained at least once every day. ;)  To five people who have been living in Las Vegas for the past two years, rain is a big deal. One day as we were driving in the rain, Shelby said: "I just don't understand how plants can survive here with all this rain." The girls kept saying: "Do we live in a rain forest?!" ;)  The highlight of all the rain was finding puddles in our neighborhood to play in!

For kids who have had a pool in their backyard for the past two years, they were THRILLED when we broke out the baby pool one evening! They had the best time!

These next pictures were one of Derek's first days back to work, and I took the kids to the Doseum by myself.

{First family trip to HEB--Hadley was just so delighted with the big double cart, so she could sit with Brady} 

I took all 3 kiddos to Sea World for the first time, and they had so much fun! The highlight was the Pet Show, which we didn't get any pictures of, but the aquarium & rides were enjoyed as well!

I also survived my first trip taking the kids to Aquatica {Sea World's water park} by myself, but I'm not sure I'll be in a hurry to do that again any time soon, ha! Three kids at the water park who all have very different levels of bravery when it comes to the attractions isn't the most ideal, but we still had fun! The only picture I managed to get was this one, but it was definitely worth capturing! One of the few activities that kept all 3 happy at the same time--the sand by the wave pool! ;)

And last but not least, here are couple pictures of the kids playing in the empty house in the days before the moving truck arrived. I forgot to include these pictures in my previous posts, and I didn't want to leave them out b/c these are some of my favorite memories at each house. Moving is never fun, but I always love the memories made when we first arrive to a new house. I still remember the last time we moved to San Antonio, the girls' favorite thing to do was climb into the empty kitchen cabinets. This time around, their favorite thing was all of the "secret passage" doors. There are 4 bedrooms upstairs, and there are two rooms on one side of the stairs and two rooms on the other side. Each bedroom has its own sink/vanity area, but the toilet/bathtub is shared with its neighboring room in a Jack & Jill type bathroom. So the kids loved the fact there were different entrances/exits {"secret passages"} to each bedroom. 

{Also, please note our pile of dirty clothes in the corner of this picture. There are always lots of random piles during a PCS!}

We've got another week and a half of summer left, then Kindergarten & 2nd Grade will be underway! I'm thankful we had a few extra weeks of summer to get our feet under us before life started in full swing with school, but I think we're all eager for school to start so we can figure out our new normal here. And I have always always always loved the start of a new school year, gimme all the agendas & school supplies! ;)  There's nothing like a fresh, new school year!