Moving Day

This weekend we moved.  Well, our first phase of the move is done.  We moved from our house to an apartment where we will stay until our new house is ready.

It was a rough day which started with a call from the moving van rental company telling us that, despite our reservation, they did not have a truck for us. Needless to say, Josh and I were not too thrilled as we had friends and family scheduled to arrive any minute to help with the move. After many calls and one not-so-nice conversation with a manager, they were able to locate a truck for us. Adding to the craziness of the day was the temperature. It was extremely hot - I think Seattle hit a record with temperatures hitting the mid-90s. Definitely not ideal moving weather. We were all a hot, sweaty mess by the time we had loaded the van. Unfortunately our day didn't get any easier once the truck was loaded because our apartment is on the third floor which meant we had to take most of our belongings up 3 staircases.

We used the garage as our storage unit and before long, it was packed with boxes.

Our {Huge} Moving Truck

It was much bigger than the one we had originally reserved.  Josh had to drive farther than we had planned for to pick up this truck so we were all patiently waiting outside when he pulled into the neighborhood. We all nearly fell over with laughter when we saw him driving down our little neighborhood street in what appeared to be a semi-truck. He did take out a few trees but managed not to hit any cars or houses which was an accomplishment in itself.  

We are so blessed to have awesome family and friends that helped us moved. It definitely would not have happened without them. I do need to include one huge, special thank you to Oregon Grandma who took all three kids camping for a week in order to keep them busy and out of the way while we packed and moved. Anyone with kids can understand how invaluable this help was and I can not say thank you enough! They stopped by on moving day to say one last goodbye to the house, their rooms and friends in the neighborhood.

In between unpacking boxes, we took a trip to see our new house. Happy to see the foundation has been poured.  Fingers crossed it will be ready in November!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to my awesome hubby who is always striving to be the best Dad he can.  I admire his strength, determination, work ethic, and constant need to do better for our family. He is my rock and a great teacher. I can only hope that our kids soak up a sliver of that intelligent, crazy, creative mind he has.

Here are some of the homemade gifts and cards that the kids made for Dad -

(I narrated for Nattie)

We celebrated Father's Day this year by having brunch with all the Drevniaks. 

 Cousins

Happy Father's Day to my Dad. You have always been a constant in my life - giving me encouragement when needed, tough love when required and knowledge when sought. And of course, opinions are provided with or without asking. I can always depend on you for a honest thought and I value your opinion more than I'm willing to admit. We are more alike than different which can be frustrating at times but I will always admire you and be proud to call you my Dad.

Star Wars Night at the Mariners

When I saw that there was a Star Wars Fireworks Night at the Mariners game, I had to get tickets for Brady and I.  Two of his favorites ... it was the perfect combination. 

Me and my boy.  Love this kid!

We had to take some time out from the game to visit the Star Wars characters and take some pictures. A definite highlight for Brady.

After the fireworks, we headed for the bus. Unfortunately Mom got turned around and we missed the last bus out of town.  Thankfully, the night was saved by Uber - Brady was excited as it was his first ride in a "taxi" and he didn't have to sit in a car seat!

Goodbye Third Grade and Kindergarten!

First Day of 3rd Grade                           Last Day of 3rd Grade

First Day of Kindergarten                       Last Day of Kindergarten

The transformation that is evident in these pictures is shocking to me. Guess it's easy to miss when you see the kids every day. 

3rd grade was great for Abi - she met some new friends and kept some old, became increasingly independent, got a new haircut and bangs (inspired by Taylor Swift), continued her love for drama and choir and got lots of new teeth.  Brady's transition to elementary school was also great - he met lots of new friends, discovered a love for recess, got to ride the bus all by himself and had his first teacher crush. 

 Brady's last day of school (and last bus ride)

 LOVE this picture!

Final Game of the Season

Some fun snapshots of Brady's last game...

Although I won't miss the hectic schedule which comes along with baseball, I will miss going out to the ball park every weekend and watching Brady's games. So fun to watch the kids improve from week to week and gain confidence as they become better ball players.

Here's to a good, fun season (and many more to come!)

Bubble Beards

Performance Day

Nattie and I had a busy day attending school performances.  First we attended the performances of Abi's third grade class. As part of their Drama class, they were required to create a dance and perform it either solo or with a group. They were responsible for choosing the style and song, as well as choreographing the dance. Abi joined a group of 2 other girls and one boy and their style was jazz.

Later on, we attended Brady's Spring Choir Performance. I had a hard time deciding which videos to post as they were all so cute!

     I think Brady temporarily forgot his right from his left :)
He is in the front row in case you don't see him.

Apparently he felt the need to tuck in his shirt in the middle of this song - at least he didn't put his hand in his pants as he did during his preschool performance.

We love Mrs. Dean and her great choir program.  

She is retiring at the end of this year and will be missed!

Ladder Toss

We all got a kick out of Nattie practicing her ladder toss skills this weekend.  

She kept herself and everyone watching entertained for quite some time.  

Gotta applaud her perseverance!