Moving Uncle C and Aunt K

Well, it's big news when family moves to town! And while they've been here a minute, it took them a few more to find the right home for their new family of three. So, when the sun is shining and the muscles are needed, away we go to move the stuff :) My brother is a very organized mover, so mostly we just put clear-sided plastic tubs in designated locations and played with their new appliances. Our first meal in their house was the planet's best gas station pizza and we found out Mr. M has a new little cousin on the way! (K's brother and oldest son were also at the pizza/moving party; the announcement belonged to their family, just thought I should clarify ;).

Pretty amazing views, right?! So, the next day, we returned with supper--homemade chicken and dumplings--to see if there was anything else we could do to help. My brother had plugged in the Christmas tree, set up the TV, and put a coat rack full of winter clothes (which amazingly we haven't needed yet this winter) in the entryway. I'd say it is starting to feel like a home! K was on a girls' trip to celebrate her cousin's 40th birthday, so that's why she's not in any of my pictures :) Crazy how that timing worked out, it's hard to be in two places at once!

After dinner, my kids discovered the pool table that "came with" the house. They don't know much about the game of pool, so my impromptu rules with some reminders from my mom, were all they had to go on. Goodness, how they laughed and laughed! Mr. M said, "They are SO silly!" Graysen and Brennen came up with bouncy little distraction dance when the girls were taking their turn at the stripes and solids (it didn't bother Caelan, she was cracking those balls in like nobody's business!). But when I turned and saw M doing the same little wiggle dance, oh my goodness!! I wish I could have caught it on camera.

Also, Graysen could use some coaching on his form ;) But he's an excellent table sweeper (think Curling on the Olympic ice) and I'm sure that attention to detail helped Brennen's ball reach the intended destination much more effectively, ha!

One unexpected benefit to my brother and K combining households--Caelan got a new mattress! It's a *little* thicker than the futon mattress she's been sleeping on :) In fact, we put the pillow topper that my brother sent with the mattress on the bed in the classroom (now I bump my head when I sit at my "desk" :). Caelan originally tried both mattress and topper on the futon frame, but she was so close to the bottom of Gabby's bunk, she was afraid of knocking herself out when she got up in the morning. What was really funny was watching Muriel try to figure out if she could still jump up on the giant bed (naughty, naughty!); we were laughing about Muri forgetting the new height and face-planting into the side (which would never happen, and with her jumping skills, she could probably get into Gabby's bunk with ease if she really wanted to :)

So that one mattress set off "the great shift" where I pulled everything out of the top bunk in the classroom (our only storage for blankets, amps, musical instruments, and at this time of year--Christmas gifts) to store the futon. We ended up gifting the bass guitar set up (that was gifted to us, but unused because Gabby had other options) to our neighbors and moved some stuff into a closet and etc. etc. But it all worked out, Caelan will hopefully sleep better and be less achy, some neighborhood kids' cousin will become a famous musician, and when we're not in school and a guest happens by, they can snuggle into the squishier mattress and pretend our basement isn't just slightly above the freezing point while they sleep. Ha!

And finally, I don't normally pirate and post other people's photos, but this one is pretty WOW! God certainly blessed this dear little family with spectacular views and unhindered sunsets in their new home. Amazingly beautiful!!