A Leap Day for Moving

The boys said they were both pelted with hugs from their classmates at school today. What a great way to put a little bit of fun in their goodbyes!

After we checked out of our hotel, Allie and I went over to the school to pick up the boys. We made sure to take a few pictures of the boys with their amazing teachers. Justin said he felt just like he did on the day we moved out of our house. I reminded them both that it is o.k. to be really sad and cry if you feel like it.

Then we drove straight to Burgerville for a late moving-day lunch for Travis and I and an after-school snack for the boys.

Afterwards, we picked up the Uhaul and speed-loaded everything from our small storage unit. Our realtor, Lisa Miller, brought us our keys at about 4:00. Yay! It was so exciting to pull up to our new house at about 5:30 and walk inside!

We hurried to unload the van and Uhaul with the help of one of our new neighbors and his teenage son. Then I put the kids to bed in their new rooms while Travis returned the Uhaul and picked up his truck. We camped out on the floor for our first night and were just so happy to be in our own place again. Two weeks in the hotel was making us a little batty.

(Insert big sigh of relief!)

The Park House

We are so excited to finally move into our new home in NW Portland this week.  Here is a picture of our new house and also links to some catch-up posts below:

Afternoon Adventures
I'm an aunt...
The Final Countdown
Tyler
Happy Birthday Allie!

Afternoon Adventures

When we arrived at the hotel after school today, the maid was cleaning our room. So we went exploring around the hotel, of course!

I promptly lost Justin to the third floor and Tyler and Allie to the first floor...we have a magical elevator, I tell ya! That or a slow Momma trying to get a picture of the kids in the elevator. Which picture I never even got!

Luckily I'm not too worried about Justin finding his way back and Ty and Allie stayed on the elevator and returned to the second floor with a new lady friend.
We just kept going up and down the elevator until we found Justin. "Where we're you?" He gasped. "Playing on the elevator, of course!"

But the best part of exploring was to run down the long, long hallways. If anyone was taking a nap, they are loving us right about now!

Now on to a late nap for Allie and computer games for the boys. Ah, hotels...they do have some redeeming qualities!

Escape to O.M.S.I.

Do you notice a theme creeping up into my posts this week? You are right if you guessed things are getting crowded in our hotel room stacked with Uhaul boxes.

This morning we jumped ship and spent the day exploring at the science museum in Portland. I bought a Living Social discount voucher last year and this was the perfect time to activate our new membership.

Needless to say, the kids all had a super time!

I am an aunt...for the 21st time!

Meet Connar McMullin! Tawnya and Dan's baby boy. He was born on Presidents Day.

I think I can see lots of basketball in his future! He was 10 pounds 8 ounces and 22 1/2 inches long. Look at all that dark hair! He is such a cute baby and I can't wait to kiss those chubby cheeks!

The Final Countdown

The last weekend, the last movie night, the last Sunday in our ward at church, the last dinner with our sweet neighbors, last night to rock Allie to sleep in her room, the last load of laundry, the last song played on the piano, the last school bus ride, the last of the boxes, the last-minute hugs goodbye from my best friends, the last goodbyes from the boys to their bedrooms, and my last glance in the rear-view mirror at our wonderful home as we drove away that dark, rainy night.

...each brought tears marking the beginning of our whole new life. But, man will we miss our first home and neighborhood!

Oh What A Week!

We found a house we love! More details to come...

Lego Robotics

For the past 9 months, Justin has been a member of a local Lego Robotics League team made up of a group of his friends from school. They meet weekly/bi-weekly throughout the year to practice as a team programming their Lego robot to complete certain tasks. All of this is done in anticipation of an area and then state competitions in December and January.

The theme of the 2011 competition was "Food Safety". They completed a project that addressed a perceived food safety need for our local grocery store, New Seasons Market. They figured out how adding RFID tags in the freezer & refrigerated sections could help to regulate the temperature as customers open and close the doors to remove food.

The boys wrote and practiced a fun skit to introduce their idea to the store manager. The boys did a great job!

In December, the boys presented their skit and research findings to the judges as part of the big Lego Robotics Competition. After a full day of competing against other local teams, Justin's team won an award and a trophy! We are so proud of these boys! It was hard work and they did such a great job for their first year since these 9 year olds were competing against jr. high and high schoolers. Way to go Justin!

Now they are back together as a team getting ready for the 2012 competition and their next attempt at qualifying trot the state tournament.

Tyler had the opportunity to join his own Lego Robotics team through his school. It is a relaxed time for them to learn about robotics and computer programming. Plus, Legos! Need I say more? They practice with partners each Tuesday after school for 6 weeks. He is having so much fun!