First day of Preschool

After being on "summer break" for over 3 months, the girls are finally going back to school. They had an awesome summer, spending all of June and July with Daddy before he went back to work, and then the month of August with Grandma and Papa. Their last week of vacation was filled with fun, with a week long visit from cousins Ella and Dylan. They had a blast swimming, going to Fairyland, and hitting up several local parks.

We've been driving by their preschool several times a week in preparation for this day, and every time we did, they excitedly pointed out the window and exclaimed "Oh, my Firehouse School." We were able to visit the school last week and the kids got to explore their "Castle Room" and meet some new friends while we hung out in the yard with the other parents. Their teacher, Stephanie, made a "home visit" on the Monday before they started school, so the girls had a chance to get to know her a little better before they actually started. They played in their room with her, set up the train tracks, and introduced Stephanie to "Bobbie" and "Bobbie," their lambie ("yammy") pillows.

Today Mattea and I woke up early to get ready. She asked for me to braid her hair into two braids with purple pony tail holders, and then she picked out her outfit for the day and gathered up her stuff. I had to wake up Arianna, who was still sleeping (usually she's the first one up, but not today). She had her monkey "Paya" brush her hair with the purple brush, and she picked out a bunny dress to wear. After breakfast, we gathered our stuff (blankets, lambie pillows, stuffed turtles, and monkey lunch bags) and headed out to school.

The girls were super excited to walk in, and we were greeted by Spot, the stuffed Firehouse baby Dog and his mommy dog at the front. The girls were the 2nd and 3rd kids to arrive and they greeted Stephanie with a big smile. They washed their hands as I unpacked their things into their cubbies, and Dave stowed their lunches away. They immediately gravitated toward the train set and the play kitchen, and Daddy and I prepared to say our goodbyes. We both got lots of kisses and "boo to your noses" and after some hugs, we asked if it was okay for us to leave. They both smiled and said yes, and then Stephanie asked if they were ready to play, and they both excitedly said "yes!"

And off Daddy and I went to work... I couldn't imagine a better first day. 

It's moving day

After 15+ years in Southern California (15 for me, and 10 for Dave), we are officially moving. I came to LA as a young pharmacy resident, and leave full of knowledge and experience, and most importantly with my husband and two children.

We have cherished our first home (the "Acacia house") for nearly 9 years. When I first moved in, I was a single girl, but since then, the house has grown to be full of love. The room that used to house the turtles, Skip and Steve, was taken over after the birth of our girls, and with that came laughter, love, and a new sense of amazement.

We hosted many backyard BBQs, filling our home with friends and family, welcomed visitors from out of state, and some even from other countries. The girls have had their 1st, 2nd, and 3rd birthdays in our backyard, and last year we had my 40th birthday party here as well. It feels strange to leave a home where we made so many memories, but we have a lot of new memories to make and a whole new world to discover in Northern California.

We've been reading the "Berenstain Bears' Moving Day" (Dave has read it nearly 30 times over the past month), and the girls have a very deep understanding of what this entails, as evidenced by their curious questions. "How we get bed through door?" asked Mattea. "Can I bring green (her blanket)?" asked Arianna.

They watched with curious eyes as our "moving bears" packed up nearly everything in our house. The last night in our home, we all slept together in the family room "camping" in our sleeping bags, as the beds had all been taken away. Even though the house was empty and I didn't have a pillow because the movers accidentally took it already, I still felt a sense of comfort.

Today we leave Southern California and embark on a new journey -- a new town, a new place to live, new friends, a new school for the girls, and new jobs for Dave and myself. We leave with hearts full of wonderful memories we will cherish forever.