Big Dog 5K

And this Big Dog 5K was certainly bigger than last year! Should we call it the Bigger Dog 5K? With our whole family participating, more friends running, and all of the young women from our church there as well we had quite the fun crowd. The weather was perfect. I distinctly remember this being the most horrible run of my life when I was unprepared for it last fall, but it made all the difference in my new found love for New England. What could be better than a fabulous view of the Charles River and Boston while pounding the pavement?

Before the race...

I'm pretty sure William was already into one of his scream-like-there-is-no-tomorrow episodes. Fell asleep in the car on the way there, spent too much time in the stroller beforehand=disaster.

A shot of our entire group pre-race. Look carefully at how many baby strollers there are! Most of these kids were pushed and proudly finish their first 5K too.

All of the Young Women and some of our favorite leader friends!

Oh snap. I finished--but really kudos to Brad.

He beat me by a lot while pushing two boys, one SCREAMING for at least 2/3 of the time. I don't know how he got through the crowd at the beginning and kept up such a pace with little to no practice. He got in under 30 minutes. Perhaps this former cross country and track guy ought to be the one training for races?

A post-race congratulations from the Big Dog Northeastern Alumni, Becky. Thanks for sharing this fun race and your kindness with our family.

More happy conversation between Brad and Tim.

I guess it wasn't that bad Will!

Maybe next year I'll be able to keep up with the rest of my family?!

A post race photo with the wonderful river, bridge, and skyline in the background.

We love you Big Dog 5K, friends, and fabulous New England Fall.

The Butterfly Place

I'm sharing the four following pictures not because I think you want to see every photo out-take but because the friend who so kindly took these photos and sent them (of course I temporarily misplaced our camera--we'll blame things being jumbled from the move) said she thought it was fun to see the ones that didn't turn out. I think she was right, especially since someone or the other is never looking!

Here we are pausing to pose as we watched several butterflies eat bananas:

If I had to pick one I'd say #1 or #3...

The room was a warm tropical habitat and one or two particularly beautiful butterflies landed on a Grandma from our group. It was interesting to observe so many in such a small space.

The boys enjoyed the butterflies almost as much as they enjoyed running around the paths of the indoor habitat and playing peek-a-boo with the outdoor tent that covered the picnic tables where we ate lunch. Sigh.

I'm always tempted to be discouraged after little outings with my boys but after we got home David kept asking if we were going to see butterflies. He is getting to the point where he remembers a lot!

Labor Day Apples

I didn't want to face the reality of our barley livable home on Labor Day. Brad had to study for an exam. I was glad to get out of the way and take the boys on an outing. Our first stop was at the mall for 18 month pictures. William would have nothing to do with it. I think the only reason we got a few is because when we came back we were able to play in the studio for a few minutes while the photographer was finishing with another customer. I'm glad it worked out because I never considered the possibility we just wouldn't get any photos! David was hard and wiggly at the same age but never upset about having his picture taken.

Then it was onto the main event...apple picking at Parlee Farms.

We started with some donuts. Yum.

Then it was feeding the goats. This is always a favorite!

After that we headed out to the orchard in a tractor. Although, upon reflection, the kids might have been happy with the donuts and animals and tractor watching! Dave and Will had a good time and only half of the apples they picked were from the ground instead of a tree. I was so happy that no one ran away or threw a fit. It was a nice time on a truly beautiful day.

Eating some of the bounty!

David always seems to be eating something...

And William loves his apples.

Will turned 18 months yesterday!

We've been baffled by his screaming and pleasantly surprised by the slight red tint to his hair. William is a cuddly soul that also has a fierce love for his Dad. He calls his Mom Daddy most of the time. Will is a mover and often almost climbs out of his crib (even dangles over the other side) but he's a little more cautious than his brother and won't make the final jump. Thank goodness, we're hoping we have a few more moths of crib sleeping left! Will often makes loud demands when he wants something and protests when David wrong him. He is going through some separation anxiety and has formed an interesting attachment to his soft blue blankie that he calls his "baby." We love the muddled but cute and often very precise phrases and words that he says. "I got it, go find it, I don't know, help please, thank you, and CUUUP!," among many, many others. William, we'll keep you, especially if you keep giving such sweet kisses.

Unexpected Birthday

Maybe a post on my own birthday is a little awkward? Whatever. I just want to remember!

I fully expected to turn 26 the day after our move, but I mentally prepared to have my birthday be not a big deal...after all I'm an adult and we just moved yesterday. I don't every really expect things like presents, but I am partial to celebrating by enjoying time with family and friends.

Special yummy cake made by a friend Sarah. Notice signs of having just moved in.

It all started at church with a few unexpected treats and cards from friends along with many kind words and well wishes. I filled in as the piano player for the primary and the kids sang to me. My e-mail contained more than one kind message. It snowballed into a birthday month of kindness. I felt so loved.

I'm appreciative and touched, but I can't help but feeling a little embarrassed by this fabulous list:

1) Sarah made an amazing cake and dropped it by along with several notes she'd collected from other friends. I'm a "kill me with your rhetoric" kind of girl and this was incredibly touching, I'll look back on this during days when I'm feeling down on myself.

2) The Christensens had us for a post move dinner and made sure my favorite dessert of brownies and vanilla ice cream were there to surprise me...complete with candles of course.

3) A special family birthday dinner planned and made by Janelle and Melanie.

4) Girl's night in. It almost felt like we were in a tent again! Thanks Jenna & co. One thing is for sure, the rain didn't spoil our fun.

5) Mom's package. A little birthday in a box.

Moving Muscle

I have a few vivid memories from moving day and want to record them before I forget! Fall seemed to roll in just in time for Labor Day weekend. The morning air was a bit cooler. It seemed like all that gross humidity had melted away overnight. Being from Arizona season changes always come as a shock but I'm beginning to enjoy them...at least ones that don't have anything to do with winter.

I dropped Dave and Will off with Melanie and their beloved little friend Jackson then headed into Dunkin Donuts. I wanted to provide our kind mover friends with a little breakfast. I saw an older guy that dressed in a professional Red Sox polo with an official looking name tag. I figured he worked for Fenway or the team and threw a "nice day for a double header" comment his way knowing that last nights game had been cancelled and rescheduled for the afternoon. He smiled and said "It'll be a long day" and asked if I was coming. I told him I wasn't but I just felt so darn New Englandly standing in line at Dunking Donuts talking about the Red Sox...I was so excited about my little conversation that I almost missed the cashier saying "next." I ordered two dozen donuts and a nice young employee put both boxes in my car! It seems that chivalry, or at least good business practice, still exists.

I ran to the Shaw's supermarket to pick up milk and orange juice. "Please Come to Boston" (the Dave Loggins version) was playing over the loudspeaker perhaps just to add to my happiness. I was totally euphoric over my perfect little New England morning. Great day for a move.

I pulled up to our house and found the moving truck half loaded and got inside just as our piano was being taken out. These Weston II Ward movers mean business. When I left for errands no was there yet and a half hour later they were almost done!

Up and over the first hurdle!

Thanks guys!!

We only lost two cheap Target bookshelves, totally worth it in my opinion. Our neighbors were SO IMPRESSED with all the help we received from our church.

Getting the piano into the new place wasn't so easy and I'm really glad that I wasn't there to see it go up the stairs and around the corner...

Ouch.

This problem has since been resolved by our friend Becky who just 'happened' to have some spackle in her lying around in her kitchen. Granted, she was in the middle of a remodel project. She stopped by and slapped it on the wall like a pro while all four of our combined children helped. It was amazing.

Roumer has it that our Elder Quorum president single handedly lifted the piano up the stairs. While I don't quite believe that I know there was only room for one or two other guys in that tight entryway staircase.

After the movers left our friends the Christensen's came over and set up our beds and our table while we returned the moving truck. They helped us rearrange boxes and at least create a few paths. When I think back on the outpouring of love and service we were given I'm very humbled. Many friends watched David and Will for a morning or afternoon here and there while I packed. Another friend watched them during the move and later when I was cleaning out the apartment. A neighbor babysat on moving day too. We had babysitters, movers, furniture assemblers, wall fixers, and even dinner. We are feeling overwhelmed with gratitude...and a mess of boxes!

What to do with ALL that STUFF?

We got the rest of summer fun out of our system and began the packing process. It helped that we'd been renting the new apartment for three weeks before move out day, and that we didn't have to be out of our old place until two weeks later than that. Our friend who happened to be out of town at this exact juncture gave us the keys to her Escape. We were able to take TONS of stuff over beforehand. Basically everything that was storage (aka stuff cramed into our closets because there was no storage!!) got moved into the garage.

We took a full load over about every other night. Fragile items, things hanging on the walls, seasonal things we don't use all the time. It was all gone. I was even able to take clothing over on hangers to put in closets days before.

Brad and I spent the night before moving day wrapping up large furniture with pads and blankets. I normally pack every last thing, and I'm honestly kind of particular about it but this time we didn't have to do that. I guess it's the blessing and curse of an in town move. William's crib was all packed up so he was in the playpen on our last night in Windsor VIllage. His dinner didn't agree with him and he threw up in the middle of the night (try getting that out of the mesh!!) so I wouldn't say we went to bed very early....

Moving to Save Money

When we moved to Boston Brad and I had NO CLUE how to find a place to live. David was six months old and crawling all over what turned out to be an average extended stay with gross carpet. I was unexpectedly expecting Will and exhausted. Brad was trying to finish an online class. We were both so depressed we didn't take advantage of three weeks without work or school to sightsee. We watched our money deplete and could not seem to settle. We'd look somewhere that Brad would be ok with but I couldn't stand. I'd find something I felt good about and Brad wasn't sure. It seemed to be a downward spiral between issues with Brad's funding at BU and looking for a place to call home.

Being from Phoenix where everything is crisp and new we were very unimpressed by old (100+ years) dingy homes that were awkwardly converted into apartments. We finally settled at a very large but expensive place called Windsor Village. A lovely town home was well worth the wait. It might sound strange but we made it a matter of honest prayer and got the overwhelming feeling this was the place for us. Upon reflection I don't think we were there for the extra bathrooms, the crown molding, or the faux nice feel, though I wasn't complaining about that! I know we were there for the neighbors.

During our first year there I had so much love and support from three special friends. They were more or less across the parking lot. I think you need that in a new place, during a long winter, and especially as you add another member to your family! During the second year we really got to know our neighbors, in addition to these friends from church...some moved others came but all remained or became great friends.

We said we'd never move unless we could find something that was cheaper and better in every single way. It had to be closer to Brad's school, bigger, and better for us to even consider it. Oh, and we weren't looking too hard either!

We were already inside our 60 days notice when we vacationed in Manie. We almost resigned a lease on our place. I was holding out to sign to see if I couldn't get the management company to fix a few things I didn't like. Before we left we checked out one apartment that reassured us we weren't moving.

While on vacation I got the following e-mail:

Hi Everyone,

I wanted to let you know that the apartment above our duplex is vacant and available starting August 1st.

It has 3 bedrooms, 1 1/2 bathrooms, NEW carpet, NEW cabinets and NEW paint. It also has CENTRAL AIR, natural gas heat and parking spaces for 2 cars one is in the garage. She is asking $1400/month which does not include utilities.

We are located in Watertown about 1 mile east of Watertown Square on Gilbert Street. Our land lady gave us a key and we can show anyone that is interested. We would love to be neighbors to a great family.

Thanks,

Heather Brown

I think before I read the last sentence I knew that this place was for us.

I called every good friend I had and tried to get them to tell me why I shouldn't move. But they told me I should. I had a good day of crying and mourning the loss (ok not loss...but close proximity, good times, whatever) of a place we really loved. We certainly made a few compromises. The new place is older, oddly designed, and a little smaller. We lost a bathroom, but we did gain a garage! We even were able to keep the original move out date instead of having to pay for a few extra weeks.

What would you do with $600 extra dollars each month?!