Our trip to Utah ~ Part II

The other two days in Utah were spent being together with the Allens. We went to a parade,
played in the yard,visited and laughed. In addition to Allen family time, we were also
grateful to spend one morning with my sister, Megan, and her kids. She took her oldest out
of school for a couple of hours and we all went to a place called Kangaroo Zoo. Doesn't the
name just scream fun? It was a huge room filled with jumping apparel of all shapes
and sizes. It was awesome! The kids had the best time and were exhausted by the
end of the two hours. They absolutely loved hanging out with their cousin, Noah.

All four of the big kids playing around.

Ben having a great time in his own little play place.

My cute sister and her darling little girl, Lucy.

Jumping on the tramp in Grandpa and Nana's yard.

Ben and Caleb are only a month and a half apart. Such darling boys!

Jacob, Grandpa and Cam playing volleyball.

A traditional Allen family soccer game.

These cousins played on the tramp for hours. They loved being together!

What I needed to finish the living room

To my cousin, Noah

Thank you for the suit you gave to me when I visited you in Utah. I have been
so excited to wear it and my mom finally bought me a shirt and some shoes
so I could wear it to church today. I told everyone I saw that I had a
new suit from my cousin, Noah. I can't wait to see you soon.

Love,
Matt

We start'em young

Going for the ball.

Practicing his game face.

Enjoying Cam's birthday gift

My stay-at-home buddies

And then there were six

No, that is not an announcement. No, there are not twins coming our way. I'm talking
about teeth. Ben's teeth to be exact. Our sweet little boy just broke his sixth tooth.
In just over four weeks. Unfortunately, now he sounds a lot like this guy.

It seems that four straight weeks of major teething has caught up with him. He sounds lovely.
And I won't even go into his poor runny nose. If he is anything like our other three, he should
still have two more to go this round. We'll see how long those take to come. There are positives
to this though. He is super talented at eating a huge variety of solids. And I absolutely love when
he smiles and all of those funny teeth, coming in at different stages, show. What a darling baby boy!

I heart the DMV

Okay, I really never imagined that thought would enter my head. Or appear on our blog. Jacob went yesterday to register our cars so we could feel cool driving around with MA plates. And he said it was the easiest time he has ever had with the DMV. But that is not the reason I am happy with the Department of Motor Vehicles today.

It is because those kind and considerate people issued us license plates that are identical, except for one numeral. And that number is only one off. Maybe we have never registered our cars as the same time, maybe other states do not issue similar plates to one customer, or maybe the DMV in this lovely state just wanted me to be happy. I think it is the latter. I mean, what is better for OCD than to have license plates that go together and make you happy each time you see both cars together? Or separate for that matter. Because even when I do not see them at the same time, my heart knows that they match.

Blast, I just realized we have a problem. Our van has been sickly of late and we need to replace it with one that is healthy and well. Errr, no more matching plates. Oh well, the post is already written and I'm too lazy to get rid of it. Besides, how will you all make fun of me without ammunition? There you go. Have at it. I'll be outside admiring our matching license plates.

NINE

Dear Campbell,

Happy Birthday darling boy! You are amazing and wonderful and dad and I
are so grateful you are a part of our family. You are so kind and good and you
always try to do what is right. You are handsome and funny and are growing up
so very much. We hope your day was as happy as you imagined. I love you Cam!

Love,
Mom

How I got dinner on the table tonight

Soccer season

Today was the first day of the soccer season. Happy day at our house. Annie started playing this year and is so fun to watch. She runs crazy fast and was more aggressive than I imagined she would be the first time. A little hesitant to push her way into the middle, but she did great. She was just so happy to be a part of a soccer team

Cam is an old pro and played amazingly well today. He kept going up against a boy that was at least three times bigger than he was and Cam didn't seem intimidated at all. He's never been one to be extremely aggressive, so we were pleasantly surprised. With just a few seconds left, he took to the ball down the field and scored. Gooooooal!

The first day of preschool

Seriously, how cute is this boy? We found an absolutely wonderful preschool for Matt. It is only
two days a week and is exactly what we were looking for and more. He LOVES it and the
teachers were so kind about him. He is one sweet boy. I do not even know how to put
into words how funny and darling and just good this boy of ours is—we sure love him.
A happy beginning to what we know will be a wonderful year. We love you Matthew!

Included

Last night Jacob and I sat on our front porch watching our children bike up and down
 the quietest street in America. And I thought my heart would burst. Because they rode up
 and down our street with friends. And they were all so happy. And while I know friends are
 not the most important thing in the world, I felt so grateful that these neighborhood kids were
 including ours. It not only made me happy to see them a part of a group of friends, but it made
me want to teach them. Every. Single. Day. To be kind. To include others. To stand up for those
that need it. To be a friend. Because all of those things are vitally important. But if for no
other reason, than to one day make some mother's heart burst with overwhelming gratitude.

A small climb

Hearses and donuts

Massachusetts is very different from California. In a lot of ways. Just tonight, Jacob and I were discussing two of them while driving back from a baptism at the church.

There are more funeral homes in this state than in any other place I have been. There are three between our home and the kids' school. The school is a mile away. And these are no ordinary funeral homes—they are absolutely beautiful. I find myself constantly having this conversation while driving.

This is a nice neighborhood. I really like these homes. Oh my goodness, look at that 
gorgeous home...(and then I see the sign out front)...where...dead...people...live.

And for those who have not visited this state. You will find more Dunkin' Donuts
shops than residential homes. Almost. It is unreal. They are on every corner.
As Annie put it, "This place is Dunkin' Donuts crazy." That about sums it up.
I guess I should venture inside one of them sometime soon.

And as we were talking about these ideas, the thought came to me. I’m pretty
sure these two things have got to be related. Mmm, kind of makes you think...

Chariots of Fire

The first day of school

The day is finally here. And these two were beyond excited. A little nervous, but mostly excited. I love how much they love school. Even when everything about it is brand new. I love how quickly they got ready this morning. I love that Jacob went to work late so he could be with them on their first day. I love that their teachers seemed so kind and happy. I love the happy/ anxious smile both kids had on their face. I love that they waved to me before I walked away. And I love that every second that goes by, brings them closer to coming home.

Because I cannot wait for this "first" to be over. I know they will be just fine. But my heart has been beating double-time since I drove away from their school. And I'm sure I've uttered no less than two dozen prayers on their behalf. I need to see them with my own eyes and hear with my own ears that this crazy idea we had to move will not have a negative impact on their year in school.

But I know these two better than any other person on earth. And I already know the answer to that question. Because they are just plain amazing. And I also know that this mom has a worrying problem. But a hug from each of these kids will quickly solve that. 181 minutes to go. I. Cannot. Wait.

Guess who is crawling...

And who now has four teeth? Our darling Ben, of course. He started crawling almost two weeks ago, but in the midst of the move, I have not written about it. He is getting quite fast and I realize how different my life has become with this new milestone. You can tell how cool he thinks he is from the picture below.

He also broke his first tooth recently and now just three weeks later, his fourth has come in. You can see one of his bottom teeth in the first picture below. That particular picture also shows how much he loves food. (What, not all babies hug their snack containers?) He has become an expert at picking up small pieces of food and feeding himself. He is one sweet boy. I can hardly believe he could be eight months old. But he is. And we wouldn't trade him for the world.

Labor Day

This afternoon we had some family and friends over for a Labor Day picnic. Jacob's cousin came
with her family, as well as their friends from their ward. It was fun to visit and eat and let the kids
play together in the yard. It was a fun way to spend our first Labor Day in Massachusetts.

Thanks for coming you guys. Come again soon!

Shhhh

Here is a picture of the quietest street in America. It is taken from in front of our house (our front lawn is on your left). We have been here nine days. And have literally seen four neighbors outside. Literally. Hours go by without any cars passing. What a crazy feeling after living in student housing for four years.

Finally on Friday, we met the neighbors across the street and the woman that lives next door to them. They were oh so nice. (They haven't come out again, but did I mention they were nice?) I honestly had started to think that the homes on our street were only for decoration. That people didn't actually live in them. Now I know they live in them, but I'm not sure they leave them.

We went on a walk after dinner tonight. It was quiet, quiet, quiet. We are really hoping it is because school does not start until Thursday and people are still on vacation. If not, we are in for a silent year. But hey, my personality is so calm and quiet that I'll fit right in. Just the neighborhood for me. A self-proclaimed wall flower. Just be sure that when you come to visit, you bring your inside voice.

Thanks. I appreciate it.

Mowing the lawn

Doesn't seem significant enough to blog about does it? But it is to us. Because
this is the first time in almost ten years that we have mowed our own lawn.
And what a beautiful yard. Can you believe those trees? Happy day.

I can drive to the grocery store and back

We are here. And happy. And almost completely unpacked. We have taken today off, with it being Sunday and all, so there are just a few things left to do tomorrow. But for the most part, we are good to go. The house is wonderful, the yard is even more wonderful and if we could catch up on our many hours of lost sleep, it would be the most wonderfulest. I'm sure that is a word.

We were able to attend our new ward today and really liked it a lot. The people were extremely kind and welcoming and we feel excited to be a part of their lives. The kids enjoyed their Primary classes and were super excited and talkative all the way home. And Jacob took Ben during the second and third hour of church for the first time since he was born. I could not believe what it felt like to just sit and listen.

The GPS has saved us many a time and we honestly do not know what we would do without it. Of all the places we have lived, the streets in this place are the most confusing and random. I'm sure they will make more sense soon, or at least I hope, but for now, power up the GPS for sure.

Tonight, Jacob's cousins, Heather and Matt, had us over for dinner. When we arrived, there was a sign on the door that read "Welcome fellow Allens!" Oh we loved it. They have three kids almost exactly the same ages as our kids and it was so fun to watch them all play together. The dinner was wonderful and being able to talk with Matt and Heather was just so relaxing and nice. Thanks Heather and Matt!

Well, definitely time for bed. Jacob starts his job in the morning and we definitely could use some sleep. Wish him luck. He will be amazing, no doubt about it. Okay now, enough from this tired blogger.

Good night from Boston everyone.