Our Phoenix house is sold and we are officially homeless! I am happy to see the equity in our bank. Kendra is sad to see her dream house sold. We're working through it and looking forward to stability and a more permanent residence by the end of this year.
We had a 2 bedroom apartment in downtown Bellevue, but we just moved into a 3 bedroom apartment in Redmond. From the big city to the suburbs in one afternoon! Because our household belongings are still in storage we only had a few carloads of our personal stuff to move from one furnished space into another furnished space. We moved twice in 30 days! that's a record I don't wish to break ever again in my life.
I'm also still car-less, which means i get to ride the bus each day for an hour each way to work. It's an odd feeling to have our equity sitting in our bank account as I live in an apartment and ride a bus to work. It's temporary though so I'm perfectly content in the transition.
The twins are adjusting very well and I'm really proud of them for the way they are going with the flow. We've been on so many adventures since we moved to Seattle that I gave up on trying to recapture the details in the blog. I'll hit a few highlights though and start fresh.
The Marymoor dog park is becoming a regular destination for the Webbs and Max. It's a massive dog park where Max sniffs and average of 50 butts per trip. no kidding. They even have a pet cemetery! (creepy)
Our trip to the Twin Falls turned out to be a 3 mile each-way hike through a single track trail in the forest. The scenery was outstanding and the falls were grand.
Easton and Layla pointed out every mushroom and slug along the path. Their boots were covered in mud along with Max's entire body. Us Arizonans didn't think to bring trash bags or blankets or all weather floor mats for the car. Lessons learned!
Our housemate Alaysha joins us for most of our adventures since she is between jobs and open to almost every kind of crazy idea we come up with.
Life in Bellevue was a 30 day sample of big city life. We walked everywhere, including Chick-Fil-A across the bridge. It was a short time there, but I know the twins will never forget it.
Easton is still a momma's boy just like always. Seeing the two of them rest and cuddle is one of the most heart-warming things I've ever seen. I never get tired of it.
This is a typical scene where Easton is watching the construction crew across the street. His paper airplane in hand as he observes and asks a hundred question that I can't answer. The 15 story crane was given the name "Cranky the Crane" because he remembers that from his Thomas the Train days. It's amazing what memories exist in the mind of an eight year old.
One special night, the construction crew outside was hammering, sawing, drilling, and pouring... at 11:00pm. The bright lights and loud noises were so extreme that the twins were wide awake until the crew shut it down around midnight. Luckily there weren't too many late nights of construction, but I won't miss this aspect of downtown living.
The fall colors all over town are amazing. every car ride, every hike, every lunch date... The piles of leaves and colorful trees and misty rain are seasonal queues that winter is coming. When I walk out of my office door I look outside and see this scene. It's a pleasant peaceful scene in the midst of crazy corporate life.
Nothing says "fall is here" like a trip to the pumpkin patch. We went with Jason and April's family to Bob's pumpkin patch outside of town. They had a corn maze with a story along the way.
Easton asked if they could wonder through the corn rows away from the maze path. I said, "why not?" and away they went. The giggles and excitement of running through a corn field are reminders of how simple life and happiness can be.
and then there is the apple cannon... This massive steel contraption is a hydraulic launcher of apples. Easton and Layla both shot five apples each into a huge field. I've never seen one of these, but it was the highlight of my trip.
Kendra and I went out a few times in the evening after the twins went to bed. Our light saber umbrella and warm coats allowed for lots of hugs and closeness as we walked the city streets. Everything we needed was within walking distance for the first time in our married life. Just like every city and area, there are good and bad aspects. The close proximity of church, grocery, restaurants, and stores was a great benefit of being downtown.
Our friends are only about 30 minutes away, but we don't get to see them as much as we hoped. We didn't have expectations, but there was certainly a desire to get together regularly with them since they are our only friends. I'm not sure how things will change when we move closer to them, but for now we are grateful for every connection of friendship. We went out for dinner and hang out one evening as a couple date. We always have a good time together and you can tell Kendra is like a happy puppy.
One of the unintended consequences of our move is that the twins will have FOUR Third grade classrooms. They started at their school in Phoenix, then we moved to Seattle. They homeschooled at the classroom of Kendra for a month. Now they are at the Redmond school as we camp out in corporate housing. In eight weeks we'll be moving again, hopefully into a more permanent housing situation and that'll be the fourth third grade classroom for them. It's been a rough transition, but i'm really proud of them and Kendra for working through things little by little. It's coming together, but the transition is difficult.
Never a dull moment with this crew around! Christmas is our goal to be settled and take a breather by just focusing on finding our groove.
See you soon!
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