And then there were tears...

Tonight is our last night in CRW at PTS.

I've waited and prayed for this night to come -- especially right at the beginning of our stay as I was overwhelmed with the thought of being so far for so long or the times when I just really hated our apartment (for a recent story, wait till the end).

However, as the years went by, as our friendships here got deeper, as much as I wanted to leave, I knew it wouldn't be easy. I guess you could say that in this New Jersey soil, our family has put down roots, even without intending to. We put down roots not in buildings or things, but in our deep friendships within our community. We left family to come here and while here, we found a new family. When you live at CRW, it is not just an apartment complex, it a group of people who are incredibly invested in their neighbors' lives -- we eat together, we pray together, we celebrate together and we on occasion mourn together. I know that while there are wonderful things in our future, a situation like this will never again present itself.

Today I started crying. It started when the Rigoulots left -- a family that we have lived pretty much every day of our lives together for the last 3 years (with the exception of their long visits to Texas). But really, I hadn't started earlier because I was denying that our good friends who had already left for vacations weren't going to be back till we were gone. I think I'll most likely keep crying on and off for another day or so, then it will subside for awhile. However, when it will really hit is in about a month. Something tells me that when the excitement wears off and real world (with Kevin working full time) starts, then I'll realize what I had to leave behind and then I'll really start crying.

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Funny story to lighten the moood/disgusting story to illustrate the crappiness of CRW apartments.
The last 6 months we've had an occasional cockroach problem. Every once and awhile I'll find one and holler to Kevin "to be a man and kill it!" Our cockroach problem has gotten progressively worse, to the point where we were finding a few a week. Well, three nights ago, after Abby's middle of the night (okay, 3 am) feeding, I fell back asleep only to wake up to the light feel of -- yes, this really is going where you think it is going! -- a cockroach walking on my face!!!! I flipped out and had Kevin "be a man and kill it!" in the semi-darkness of our bedroom (after all, didn't want to wake the baby). Let's just say that I had a hard time falling back asleep. Let's also say that it did make me a little more excited to leave this place.

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This blog will most likely not be updated much for the next 10 - 30 days (give myself a little wiggle room) and will also most likely be picture free during that time period. We leave tomorrow for our road trip West, which will take 10 days. Then, who knows how long till we have Internet set up? However, I will probably be doing mini-posts at night in the hotel rooms to update you all on how the girls are doing on our 47 hour trip across the country.

There will be tears...

We are getting close to the end. Wednesday the packers come, Thursday the movers come, Friday we leave. We have had a test run at saying good bye because some good friends have gone on vacation and won't return till we are gone. Kevin keeps saying that I am projecting my feelings onto Hannah, but I still maintain that she is going to be one sad little girl when she realizes that all her friends, all she know, has stayed in New Jersey while she moved to Washington. I'm sad for her just thinking about it.

For her last time when Hans, they decided to learn the cha cha (seriously!). It resulted in the following pictures and a lot of wet eyes from the parents.

We decided that after all their time together for the last three years, that Hannah and Kennan would have a photo shoot, something to give them a tangible thing to take with them. The kids were great and just for fun, we threw Abby and Brayden into the photo shoot, which Abby loved but Brayden could have done without....

Now, Hannah won't be the only one crying... I'm sure I will (I might even admit that I've already started...). Last Friday we did a "one last" hurrah and went out to brunch with some of my good Princeton friends, Michelle (Hans' mom), Karin (Katie's mom who we helped celebrate her coming baby boy) and Jennifer (Kennan's mom). I've stayed sane the last three years in large part to these three women (and some others who weren't there for the photo shoot). Life won't be the same for me without them to depend on.

Ride like the Wind

Hannah recently got a new bike. A BIG girl bike, with 16 inch wheels and training wheels. She mastered the trike last summer and quickly moved on to a 12 inch wheel bike that we found at by the dumpster (she delighted her parents when she informed friends that her bike was from the trash). We decided that the dumpster bike was NOT coming with us to Washington, but knew that Hannah would need a replacement because bike riding is one of her favorite things to do. So, even though we probably should had waited till we got to WA, we went ahead and bought her one here (my argument was that when would we have time while first moving in to go find her a bike in Spokane, 1 hour and a half away). I must admit, I have bike envy. Hannah's bike is light blue with white and yellow daisies. She has an awesome pink bell and cute basket. Basically, it is adorable. It is also highly functional and Hannah has done great adjusting to the larger bike.

One day shortly after purchasing it, Hannah met up with some of her buddies in a parking lot and had a ride off. Michelle, Hans' mom, was kind enough to snap some cute photos of Hannah.

Here is Hans, Allie and Hannah all on their new bikes. (FYI-Those 3 kids were all born within about 10 days of each other.)

A catch up...

Well, with all the craziness of the last month, I have neglected some of the picture posting of the different things we have done. Life hasn't calmed down, but I thought I should do this before things get even crazier.

We went to the zoo with our good friends, the Rigoults (better known as Kennan and family) and the Tuckers (better known as Katie and family). We had a great time -- the kids loved looking at animals together and running all over the place with each other. I was a slacker and did not bring my camera, mostly because I didn't have enough hands for it and also, Jennifer and Karin always bring theirs. I haven't stolen Karin's memory card yet, but I did get my hands on Jennifer's. Here are the results.

After the zoo, we came home and had the community Cinco De Mayo party (about 10 days late...). Abby had a fun time at the party hanging out with her friends, Brayden (the oldest one) and Lydia (on her tummy).
We also did a trip to the fire station, where a seminary friend volunteers. Hannah loved it, especially since she went with two of her favorite boys, Kennan and Joshua.

Now, you know spring has arrived when you start taking carpool trips to the Bent Spoon (Princeton's best ice cream shop). We went with Katie and Kennan (again... notice a trend?). Later, the dads lend a hand/head. That's all the pictures for now! I have some aquarium pictures I need to download and share, but it might take me a day or so...

Now a funny story. We've been riding on lots of elevators, where it is always Hannah's job to push the buttons (it is a great number recognition activity-too bad most places don't have more than 3 floors!). Today, as we were getting ready for bed, Hannah climbed up on her bed and, while I hurried her, said, "wait a minute! I've got to go down on the elevator. Not the stair thing because I've got a stroller! Push the button. SWOOSH!" Hopped off her bed, "okay, now I am down."

Officially a Master (of Divinity)

Kevin has now graduated with his Master's of Divinity degree. His educational career has come to a close and his professional one will start in about a month and a half. I would like to wax poetically about his graduation ceremony, but really, I could barely see (he was a tiny speck in the distance shaking hands with President Torrence) and instead of listening to the sermon, I kept Abby from adding details to the sermon. Still, it was a great ceremony in Princeton University's Chapel, which is amazing beautiful, built the old school cathedral way, and it symbolized an ending for our family, which, of course, means a new beginning.

A nice family photo -- I don't know to correctly express this, but when the dad gets a degree, it is really the whole family that earned it through hard work and sacrifice. Of course, he did all the homework...
Hannah tries on the hat -- in about 15 years she'll get one of her own. Don't we look cute? Somehow we survived our Princeton experience.
Abby got to attend the graduation. Lucky me. But really, she did great.
Kevin's parents came for the weekend.
Kenny and Kevin, celebrating the end of homework Us with the Rigoulots. They have been our great friends (and neighbors) since about day three of seminary--we've shared late nights, rainy day playdates in pjs, game nights, adding second kids and so much more. I think there will be tears on moving day... (we also have a picture just like this from orientation week, three years ago)
Always, always a dad first.

Mad skill

Our girl is very talented.

Abby -- 7 months already!

Where has the time gone?


I swear, she is still just a tiny little baby, who just happens to do older baby stuff. When Hannah was 7 months old, I was revelling in having a big girl who could do such neat tricks, like sit up, roll over (sounds kind of like having a puppy?), clap, carry a conversation (of sorts) and such. Abby can do all those neat tricks, but I swear she is still my little baby. I guess that is one of the differences of the second, at least for me.


Want the low down on Abigail Fern?

She can sit up for very long periods of time.
She can roll over, but doesn't like to while sleeping.
She can sort of clap (okay, so her hands don't always connect, but she's got the idea down).
She can sometimes wave.
She is a little jabberbox (wonder who she gets that from?). She has quite a few consonants down and is putting them together with vowels.
She can get what she wants by reaching for it.
She will still sleep in a stroller and while being held (Hannah wouldn't do either at 7 months).
She still delights in her sister, who still delights in her. Keep praying that this continues for another 18+ years.
She is happiest in her mommy's or daddy's arms.
She has two bottom teeth.
She gets comments about once or twice an outing about how cute she is. As her parents, we whole heartedly agree and wonder why everyone doesn't say that. :)
She is the smile-est girl ever -- just glance her way and you will be rewarded with a big ol' grin.
She just might be working on her stranger anxiety, last night at a BBQ she allowed herself to be passed around for quite some time.
She still needs to work on sleeping...


As you can tell, we are pretty crazy about her.
Still, where has the time gone?

Family Picture!

So, every year for Father's Day we go take a family picture. When Hannah was born I decided that if I set a time each year to do it, we would always do it. That theory has worked now for 4 years. However, this year, we will be in the midst of moving during Father's Day, so we took our picture a little early (the picture people asked if it was for Mother's Day--I felt foolish saying no, it was for Father's Day). This was just about the only picture that turned out decent -- let's just say that Hannah has a hard time smiling like a normal person. I think the next picture illustrates that...
Again, don't mind the Zazzle imprint -- that is just to protect the copyright stuff.

Going South

As my last post mentioned, to celebrate the end of Kevin's academic career (no more school!) we went on a mini family vacation to Blacksburg, VA, home of Virginia Tech (VT). We got to spend some great time with our college buddy Beth, who is in her last year (or less) of PhD studies. For most of our trip the weather was beautiful, which meant fun time outside seeing the sites.

First off, let me tell you about this school. We probably just saw a sliver of it, but the student population is somewhere in 25,000 range (so, 5xs the size of the area we are moving to). Enormous! I guess quite a bit of VA attends college there. The campus is, of course, huge and made almost entirely of "Hokie" stone (some cool grey stone). I think most of Whitworth could have fit in a tiny corner of VT (or maybe on their quad type field).

While Beth was off recruiting undergrads to torture for her dissertation study -- I mean, talking to volunteers to conduct scientific research with a small monetary reward, we stayed at a park and Hannah got to try out some new play equipment. She quickly made friends with one little boy, who she then proceeded to follow around until his mother took him home. Gotta teach that girl that not everyone is her friend... Abby had fun hanging out on a blanket and later chilling in her stroller. I think that girl will be glad when she is finally able to do just some of the fun things her sister does.

Later on, Beth took us to a duck pond which, sadly, lacked ducks but made up for it with baby geese! We tried feeding the geese bread, but they were a little too assertive for Hannah's comfort. We also got to see a bright red cardinal (a first for us!) and some big fish swimming in very shallow water.

That night we headed back to the hotel where Abby had a very exciting first -- her first time swimming! She seemed to like it, but that could have just been being the center of attention. It was harder for us to do pool time with two girls instead of one -- we literally had our hands full the entire time. I guess that will stay that way until Hannah learns to swim.

It was a wonderful trip, and the drive wasn't as frightening as I thought it would be. It was a good test run for our big trip across the country (which will be 10 days!). Mostly, it was a great time to get out of New Jersey, visit a good friend and not think about homework/finals/sermons/etc for a couple days.

Two funny end notes: 1) while stopped at a McDonald's (to enjoy the playland) in southeast-ish Pennsylvania, our Kara comes up to us and offers to take Hannah into the play area. Come to find out, two families from our seminary community where there for lunch on their way to Ohio. Totally crazy, but Hannah loved playing with her friends (especially the big girls). 2) when Hannah got home, she decided that Bentley needed some lovin' and "I just want to hug him a lot". See picture below to get what this might have been like for Bentley.

Simply Divine

When asked how he felt to be done after three years, Kevin replied, "tired." That was three days ago, right after Kevin turned in his last paper to finish his Master's of Divinity. To celebrate, Kevin requested a family trip and to get out of New Jersey, so we headed south. Well, first we went west, then south and ended up in Blacksburg, Virginia, home of Virginia Tech, and a good college friend, Beth, who is getting her PhD at VT (something to do with nutrition and sports.... ).

Now, on the last night of our trip, I'm not sure if Kevin would say that he is any less tired -- Abby has a cold and has been keeping us up at night. But, I think he would saw he is less weary and as relaxed as a guy can get while planning a move in just a few short weeks and doing paperwork to buy a house.

I was just going to write about how long the last three years have felt, but really, although there were long periods, they have gone faster than I thought they would. Kevin has worked so incredibly hard, while also perfecting that balance of work/home life. I'm very proud of him, and glad that there are no more finals weeks in our future!

I'll post pictures of our trip when we get home tomorrow. I also have a video of Hannah's school play that I need some help posting, but it is something for you all to look forward too!

Sesame Place

Last year, Hannah discovered the wonders of Sesame Place, a Sesame Street water theme park located just 30 minutes away. This place is a toddler wonderland - there are shallow wading pools, squirty water fun and Elmo. We decided that, for the one month that we have left, we would wisely not buy passes this year, but, luckily, there is a pass member bring a friend for free day, which we did go to yesterday. A group of four families went, which included some of Hannah's favorite people -- Kennan, Katie and Hans. Now, it did only get up to the low 70s yesterday, which meant that the squirty water fun was really chilly water torture, but the kids didn't mind as much as the adults did. Kevin and Hannah took a trip down the Lazy River, for the 3rd year in a row (we went once before she was 2). After this trip down the river, Kevin realized that his dry shirt was in car -- poor guy froze for the rest of the evening!

This picture was taken at Ernie's Waterworks, which has always been Hannah's favorite stop. After her time spent there, her lips did turn a little bit blue (honest--for some reason her lips really do change color, I always thought it was just a saying till she proved it accuracy).

Abby was our happy trooper. She was so content to sit and watch all the excitement. I really expected her to get fussy/tired/bored, but she seemed thrilled to experience SP.

Our poor girls -- they will never get much "ride" experience at theme parks. All of Hannah's buddies were going to go on the spinning teacups when I looked at Kevin and said, "oh, you should take her" only to have him reply, "I don't do rides." I then replied, "neither do I." Might clarify why we have never been to a theme park besides SP in 6 years. I started to feel bad for poor Hannah, left out while her buddies spun, when I decided to be a good mommy and take her. It was easily my first ride in 10 years (I'm thinking I went to Great America when I was a Junior in high school... okay, make that more like 11 years). We shared a teacup with Katie and Jason, who promised not to spin it. I feel a little pathetic for my apprehension about going on a ride that is geared at the under 5 set, but we all know I'm a wimp... luckily, I survived and Hannah enjoyed it (until the last 30 seconds, at which point she put her head in my lap).

The gang with their hero. It is a sad truth, but kids LOVE Elmo, I have no idea why. He is their rock star -- he even gets the last slot in the SP parade (Big Bird, Cookie Monster and Abby Cadabby come right before him).