shopping

The Lego store was a much needed activity one day. The kids were on the mend and we needed shoes for Matix and swim suits for everyone. We went to the mall in the Woodlands, near Dale and Vanessa's house and spent all afternoon there. It was nice.

The kids had a blast at the Lego store, and of course never wanted to leave.  There is one even closer to our house, and I can hardly wait to take them for the free monthly build!

swim meet

Gavin is on a swim team and a week ago on Saturday, he had a swim meet. It was so fun to watch him and his other tiny teammates at the races.  Before leaving the house, we colored a great job Gavin sign on the driveway for him.

At first, Hawken was a little disappointed that he couldn't be in the race, not that he really knows how to swim or anything... :)  Gavin was in three races that day, but with Matix still getting sick every few hours, so we stayed for only 2 races.

Gavin did a great job.  He always prepped for each jump as if he were going to dive in, and then he belly flopped. I love it!

Grandma Stacy took the morning off from working on the house to come to the race and bought the kids snow cones. Matix really wanted one, so he got one too, despite being sick still. Surprisingly, he was able to keep it down for a while. It turned his teeth and lips and tongue blue, which he loved.

summer

Chalk coloring and popsicles on a hot summer day, only made better because we were with cousins!

Notice Matix's puke bucket next to him? Poor little guy.  He threw up that popsicle only minutes later.

Sakina

Gavin and Linnaea both LOVE Sakina. They were always laying on her and snuggling with her and giving her big bear hugs. Sakina loved it too. She is such a patient dog. 

Dale and Vanessa recently got a puppy who is still very much a puppy. He chews on EVERYTHING, pees on the floor and makes Vanessa a thousand times busier each day. I didn't get any pictures of him pestering Sakina, but that's what he would do. All day, everyday. Poor Kina was getting really fed up with him and even started growling at him. She never growls. 

the bus

Gavin is a big school boy this year and even gets to ride the bus sometimes. The kids LOVED watching him on the corner waiting for the bus. Matix especially was excited for when he gets to go to school.  We waved like crazy as he got on the bus, but only the bus driver waved back. I guess Gavin was already busy with his friends. :)

It will be another year of preschool for Matix before he goes to Kindergarten though because of that weird September birthday. But hopefully we can get him and Hawken in somewhere this year. Hawken is beyond ready for school.

progress

The first week here in Texas was long. I had a sick kid everyday and night. Doing much of anything was a challenge and made at least one kid miserable. We watched as Paul, his brother and parents loaded up the car each morning with the flooring, and drove away.

Each night I got the report of what had been done that day.  It was killing me not to be able to help, but I'm not sure how helpful I would have been anyway, and the kids really needed me.  The one day that Hawken only had a fever, we snuck down to Houston to get a peek at the house progress.  This was Lullaby's room after the carpet was pulled up, but before the wood flooring was put down.

Paul and his brother working hard to chip up the world's ugliest tile... 

Oh, here is a good before picture of the nasty carpet. Seriously. The grossest carpet I have ever seen.

Grandma Stacy and Grandpa Lee were the main floorers the first few days and they sure worked hard. There are NO mistakes. It's absolutely perfect. For example, it took Lee 3 hours to do a linen closet because he made the cuts and angles so precise.  Here they are in process...

Then the kids and I left and got them all lunch/dinner and we went back up to Spring.  Hawken got better the next day, but then Matix started the throwing up phase... So fun.

drive to Texas

Okay, catch up in progress... Here is our trip from Arizona to Spring Texas.  Right before we left, we got a package from my mom.  The kids were so excited to open it up and see what was in it. The boys got some transformers, which they are completely obsessed with.

Lulli got this adorable dress. When she sits down in it she looks like a cupcake. I couldn't get a very good picture though because she was twirling a lot.

Now, onto the actual drive... Paul and Lee took off early in the morning, like 3am-ish on Monday the 20th with the tools and truck and trailer. They drove ALL day/night and arrived in Spring at 11pm (Houston time).  Stacy and I drove with the kids and pup later on that same morning. We, however, only lasted until 6pm, when the kids were ready to get OUT.  Pics from the drive, Lulli loves her babies and even fell asleep holding it's hands. So sweet.

She is the only person who can turn any snack into a HUGE mess. Really. She's impressive.

Our hotel sleeping situation was laughable. The kids were wired and loopy from being cooped up in a car all day. They were jumping on the beds and running around and when it came time to sleep, Matix snuggled up with Grandma Stacy (of course) and I attempted to sleep with Hawken and Lullaby. Hawken was being a stinker and Lullaby was worse. They were all up past their bedtimes and getting pretty naughty. This was right before sleeping...

Eventually, Hawk was on the right, then a pillow, then Lulli on the left, then a chair in case she rolled out. I slept at the foot of the bed. Being 6 months preggo sleeping at the foot of a bed is not comfortable. But it was only for one night. The next morning we stuffed ourselves with all the free breakfast we could and finished our drive to Spring, where Dale and Vanessa live. We stayed there while Paul and his brother and parents worked on the house. What a wonderful family we have, huh?

Rim to rim to.... almost rim

Paul and his dad Lee, and family friends Shawn, and his two boys Matt (Paul's friend) and Aaron decided to hike the grand canyon. From the south rim to the north rim and back to the south rim again, in less than 24 hours. They are crazy people I tell you. Lee and Shawn have done it several times before, but it had been a few years since their last time. Paul had been training for this hike while we were in Utah and was SO excited about it. Here they are starting:

They left at 4am in the pitch dark night. They were about 30 minutes in before Shawn started throwing up.  So he turned around alone and headed back for the hotel.  The views from this hike were amazing and I was only jealous that I couldn't see them in person.  Too beautiful. Thank you to Matt for taking pictures.

Look at the trail they were walking on. It's a SHEER cliff! So scary!! 

By the time they got to the bottom of the north rim, Lee's knees started clicking and hurting him really badly. He even got dizzy.  He had knee replacement surgery a few years back. This was his first time trying the rim to rim to rim afterward.  Lee got up the north rim after a few breaks. He took a shuttle down to the south rim, where their hotel was.  He and Shawn, the two seasoned professionals, were now out. Yikes!  Paul and Matt and Aaron continued back down the north rim on their way to the south rim, when about three miles down, Paul muscles started to cramp up.  He decided to turn around and hike BACK up the north rim (the taller of the two sides) for the second time.

By the time he got to the top, he was DONE. He didn't have his wallet or a way to get down to the south rim, so he called his mom. I was in the room as he was talking to her and could only hear half of the conversation, but it was scary. We were really worried about everyone. Shawn had gone back alone. Lee had left on a shuttle alone, and no one could get ahold of him. Paul was now alone and the two guys who had never done the hike, were now attempting the last stretch alone.  Wow. Stacy paid for Paul's hotel room and he crashed hard.  The next morning, he was able to catch a shuttle to the south rim and meet up with Shawn, his dad, and the two victorious hikers! Matt and Aaron beasted the hike. They finished just before 10pm.  Yay!  Then they all drove back down to Phoenix and slept and slept and slept. Then, the next morning, we decided to move to Texas. Good timing... :)

HERE!

We have officially MOVED INTO OUR HOUSE!! Actually, we got here yesterday. We ran around doing little last minute things and un-packing and finally, relaxing!  There is still much to do, but we worked hard again today and sure enough, it's beginning to feel like HOME. Sadly, there was a casualty during the moving process. My favorite serving platter. This big plate was a treasure from a very memorable trip that Paul and I took to Mexico when our little Berg family was just the two of us. So sad that it broke!

Also, this is the only really good picture of Paul's protest beard. When we got here to Texas, he said he wasn't going to shave until we were in our own house.  Well, that three day project turned into a week and a half, and he started looking a lot shaggier. :)  The floors look amazing, and the kids are in love with their new rooms, toys, house, neighborhood, everything. They have been pretty good to let us work to unpack while they keep themselves busy in the playroom or watching movies... The couches were another casualty, but that happened while still in storage. There was a hole in our storage unit in Georgia and apparently MICE let themselves in and made a new home in our couches... So, for now, the only living room furniture we have is the dog bed and the cushion from the futon.

Each kid has their own room now and they are doing WONDERFULLY well with bedtimes, which had been getting pretty bad. Hawken is the only one who is still asking to share (some of the time), but I want to wait a long time before we think about that again.  Paul is getting everything finished for his new JOB, which starts with an orientation period in a couple weeks.  He is also planning on taking his STEP 3 exam before residency begins, so he won't have to worry about that while he is working those crazy hours we keep hearing about :)  Grocery shopping was yesterday too and I was actually pretty excited to get to cook in my own kitchen again. Weird, I know. I made broccoli parmesan pasta.

There was supposed to be chicken in it too, but after starting dinner, I realized I had nothing to cook it in. No grape seed, olive, or any other yummy cooking oil. I didn't even have any butter... So we went vegetarian, and everyone gobbled it up.  To end this post, I show you this cute baby of mine, (who is officially in a big girl bed now!!) who LOVES to cheese for the camera. She is adorable even with a messy face. Ooooh, I could just eat her up!

Now it's catch up time again! Check back soon! :)