Perspective

Today the contractors should have finished putting the new carpet in our old house. Anne took some pictures for us and it all seems very backwards. Here are the before and after shots.

Before the refrigerator flooded the entire first floor.After the flood, lots of phone calls with insurance people, and several contractors later. I'm sure with the new carpet it looks lovely, but it's just different. It makes me sad to remember all the hard work that went into painting those rooms not to mention all the friends who helped do touch-up paint and clean carpets and cupboards just before we moved out. I have to keep reminding myself that it's not our house anymore and maybe the plain white walls will help sell it quickly.

It's been a hassle to deal with all of this, but then I see all these shots of the thousands in Haiti who have lost what little they had to start with. It really puts into perspective my trials - how minimal they are compared to so many. Because I have been given much I too must give . . .

Beagle Mama

Shortly after finding out we'd be moving, Matt and I decided we needed to ship off the beagles asap. With Matt commuting back and forth between Seattle and me trying to fix up the house we decided it would be too hard with two beagles. Especially because most of the fixing up that needed to be done was originally caused by the hounds and would likely get undone quickly if they stuck around.

Matt's sister Mindy generously agreed to take them for over 2 months while we got our house in shape and made the move to Washington. She already had Dozer's parents, Peanut and Charlie, so Mindy knew what she was getting herself into with beagles. But 4 beagles?? With every phone call Mindy assured us that things with the beagle pack were going fine, but I still think she's a saint. And Lance too for going along with the craziness and allowing the newly remodeled kitchen to become a hound hotel.

Kaya made sure that Daisy and Dozer felt right at home. I don't think Danny has given the beagles half as much love in his lifetime as Kaya gave them the two months they stayed with her. Perhaps he was traumatized by his first Halloween costume or something.
After our Christmas and New Year's festivities, the beagles made their way across the mountains to their new home here in Washington. Thank you G-Pops, Mindy, and Kaya for driving them out!
Daisy and Dozer have had fun exploring the larger, woodsy yard. Daisy has managed to dig under the fence 5 or 6 times to chase squirrels, so we've had to invest in an in-ground electric fence. Yes. Really. They've also had a great time getting reaquainted with Kaylee, who has recently started splashing in their dog water and trying to eat their food.

On the Move

Hooray for finally feeling settled. The last 4 months have been a whirlwind and its wonderful to finally feel some sense of normalcy in our lives again. Here are a few highlights of our family being on the move . . .
This was an AWESOME first house. The For Sale sign is still there . . . any buyers? It is actually off the market at the moment due to some unexpected fridge malfunction and flooding. 4 inches of standing water! Hopefully now when it is advertised with new carpet and paint throughout the first floor it will sell very quickly. It is absolutely shocking to see how much stuff you actually own when it is piled up in boxes. We thought we'd done a good job thinning down . . . but WOW! This picture was taken early in the packing process - by the time the packers were done the whole house was full of boxes.
Danny and Brenna were pretty excited about the moving truck on Moving Day 1. There were a few complications that delayed the actual truck loading and stretched out the process longer than we anticipated. In the end all our furniture arrived unscathed though and the company gave us $500 back for the headaches they caused.

Our new house is GREAT! The neighbors are friendly, the woods are beautiful, and the location couldn't be better. We are in walking distance to a community center and library, about 5 minutes to the temple, and nearly everything else within a 10 minute drive. Matt has the shortest commute he's had in 5 years and we are loving it. My only complaints - the nearest Wal-Mart is now a staggering 20 minute drive away (probably better for the wallet) and no Chic-Fil-A. I'll try to take some interior pictures of the house soon.

Since Kaylee got RSV right before the move, we decided to ship her in the truck. Luckily she arrived all smiles.
Actually, the kids and I ended up flying to Seattle while my dad drove our car up solo. THANKS DAD!

Although the unpacking has been quite a chore, Danny has found lots of ways to entertain himself with all the boxes and paper. Thanks to Mom Couch for coming to help with all the unpacking. We are LOVING Seattle!
The whole process of moving seemed to really inspire 6-month-old Kaylee who is really on the move herself.

More posts to come soon!