Moving... again

Merry Christmas, family!

This is the first time Easton and Layla have seen snow fall from the sky at their residence!  And the twins had their first (and probably only) snow day.  It's been an epic season of firsts for all 4 Webbs, but even more so for the twins who haven't experienced the kinds of weather and locations Kendra and I have.  They woke up to a tiny amount of snow on the ground and it continued to fall all morning long.  We went out to the corridor between the apartment buildings at Evan's Creek and played with the neighbor kids.  One family built a snow man early, but by the time we arrived, the precipitation turned to rain so the snow had already started to melt.  We at least had the chance to throw some snow balls and catch snow flakes on our tongues.

We have enjoyed lots of indoor time together as a result of the cold and rain.  I sat on the couch in my Christmas tree pajamas while Easton laid on one side and Max on the other.  They sniffed each other and I found the moment to be picture worthy.  We did absolutely nothing for a few brief moments and it was as memorable as any Disneyland ride I've been on.

Easton earned his Bobcat badge in Cub Scouts.  He and I were called to the front during the pack meeting where about 40 kids watched as he received his badge.  I got a Bobcat pin as a token gift for being the one who brings him every week.  Christy is the den mother (or pack leader or something else?)  I'm still learning the hierarchy, but anyway she was the one who gave him the award.  I hugged him with a big bear hug and told him how proud I am of him as they clapped and cheered.  It was a great moment for him because I'm continually looking for ways to for him to experience success and wins and completion.

During the last day of Easton and Layla's school before Christmas break, Kendra and Max and I went for a walk at the Marymoor dog park.  It's our favorite outdoor activity lately.  It's close, free, and the most social environment we could hope for Max to experience.  We posed for this shot by sitting on the bench that overlooks one of the entrances to the river where dogs swim.  Not Max, but other dogs that aren't afraid of the water.  We held hands and walked through the paths greeting other dog owners.  We love being around the twins, but I love the occasional date times where it's just Kendra and I.

My boss recommended I get a wake up light so that I get sunlight early enough to wake me up for work.  It slowly gets brighter on an alarm clock timer so that by the time my eyes pop open our room is fully lit.  Seems bizarre to need something like this, but it gets dark at 4:00pm and doesn't get light again until 8:00am.

There are many aspects of our Redmond apartment dwelling that am thrilled to have experienced.  One is the diversity of people.  I don't even remember this girl's name, but as we were packing, her family drove by in their minivan and she yelled hello to Layla out the window.  Layla waved and yelled back.  A few minutes later, Layla's friend came strolling down the sidewalk to visit us.  Layla told her we were leaving for good at that very moment.  They hugged and talked about how much fun it was to be friends at Alcott elementary.  She is from India and her culture is a vastly different than ours.  I like that so much.  Layla asked many questions about their holidays, beliefs, traditions, and language.  I was able to have some open conversations, explaining how we love others who are different than us.  It is possible and even mandated that we love every person regardless of culture.  Layla understands that she can hold tightly to her beliefs and thoughts while being interested enough in others to get into their world.  That is where love happens. in their world.  Not when they get into Layla's world.

Our tiny tree is all we have, but i am completely grateful!  The twins added their ornaments and play with the lights every day.  They flash and twinkle and shine at varying rates, which makes Easton a thousand times more interested in them.  our presents are still wrapped in Amazon and UPS box labels because we are too busy to wrap gifts.  Once we get the flooring done we'll have time to wrap gifts, but for now we are taking thing OUT of boxes.  723 boxes, to be exact.  We are through about 39 of them...  so guess what we'll be doing for the rest of the year?

On day two of our stuff being delivered from storage, the twins were using candy cane decorations as Star wars light sabers.  They have been such great troopers as Kendra and I manage the dump of all our stuff into the garage.

The was still a little afternoon sunlight left so we walked down the street to our neighborhood playground.  They weren't super excited about it, but at least the equipment was age-appropriate for them.  I was happy to be out of the house and feel the setting sun on my face for a few brief moments.

and here is a picture of our first meal in our new house.  hamburgers on a cardboard box.  Completely boring and not fancy, but I am the most excited person to be in the new house.

Maybe Easton is equally excited.  He grabbed the ream of printer paper and made a ton of paper airplanes.  Here is a picture of his fleet set up on the second story ledge.  He loves having a two story house because his airplanes fly much further and longer than in our one story home in Phoenix.  See, there is goodness about every aspect of life...  even two story homes.

Our kitchen flooring is in demolition mode so we are forced to eat out for every meal.  Layla asked if she could go in her pajamas.  I said, "why not?" like I always do and she happily went to dinner like this.

I really dislike construction, remodeling, and DIY projects.  but I like how happy these things make Kendra so here we are deciding at the last minute to remodel our guest bathroom.  We are replacing the flooring throughout with vinyl tile flooring.  Every square inch will look like dark wood. It is turning out very well and Kendra is happy with it.  The vanity is gone so this is the last picture of that flooring with that vanity in our guest bathroom.

This is what our font door entrance looks like.  The contractor is tearing up the hardwood entry way while the other contractor is demolishing the coat closet in the entry way.  I'm very grateful for the improvements and how we are able to pay cash for them instead of going into debt.  it is truly an investment because it will add value to our house.

There is a downside to having your items packed and shipped...  This unique vase was given to Layla by Alaysha, who has had it for many years. it was broken in the box during shipping and Layla was sad to see that in her box of treasures.  It's hard to put a price on gifts like this that have such sentimental value!

Welcome to our dining room, living room, bed room and guest room. We had to move our bed and Alaysha's bed out to the main living space while the flooring guys did their magic in demo and install.  Kendra almost shed a tear of joy when the movers unloaded our mattress off the truck.  We've been sleeping on terribly uncomfortable queen beds for three months.  Our awesomely comfortable king sized bed was a site for sore eyes.

Christmas is just around the corner!  i'll be so grateful for the vacation days off since I haven't taken one since I started work at my new company three months ago.  Every night we are exhausted and sleepy, but i stayed up an extra few hours to write out my thoughts and post some pics because this is a very memorable season in the Webb house.

See you soon!