Thursday, October 2nd- Our buyers agent, Sandy (who also happened to be our rental property manager) brought over the keys to our new house! We were so excited! The kids & I actually packed up the car with as much stuff as we could and took a load over that afternoon! That evening my mother-in-law Pat was so great to come by with her vehicle as well and help load up lots of the rubbermaid boxes from our garage. It was exciting to actually have "stuff" in our new place!
It quickly became the norm that anytime we were running over to the other house we would fill up our vehicle and slowly, but surely get stuff moved in!
Saturday, October 4th- Mom & Dad came down early that morning. They were so great to jump right in and help us pack up their van and take a load over to the house. It was also the first time they got to see the house. We enjoyed the sessions of General Conference and packing/moving in between and afterwards. :) That evening we got a bit of a scare from Dad as he called and said he had been in an accident (he was driving my car)- turns out a pedestrian had stepped out into the middle of the road, very intoxicated and had not seen Dad coming- luckily he was going slowly and she was alright, but what a scary thing to have happen!
Sunday, October 5th- More packing, moving & Conference! Thanks for coming down M&D- it's always fun to spend conference weekend with family and your help was AMAZING!
Friday, October 10th- Mom & Dad came down that morning while I was still at work. They took a bunch of stuff over to the new house and did some measurements for us. The goal was to get shelving done for our large 19 foot closet in the master bedroom. It didn't have any rods or shelving in it, so we made a plan and Dad & I spent a LONG time over at Home Depot trying to figure out how to make it all work! We got the parts and started working while mom watched the kids and kept us fed. That night we heard fire trucks not too far from our house and as we looked out our bedroom window we could see a VERY large fire (high enough to see the flames above the trees) about 2 blocks over!
The fire through our very wet windows:
Saturday, October 11th- It was an early morning back over at the new house trying to get all the shelves finished. We got our closet done and also put in a lower shelf in the kids closet- Corrine LOVES that she can hang up her own clothes! And I love it too- one less thing I have to do! :) Mom & Dad had to head back up to Maple Valley that afternoon as they had other commitments, but THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for helping us with this huge project! It made it go quickly having so much help!
Mom & Dad working hard on our closet:
Our Closet- The Final Result:
The Kids Closet:
Chris & Allen take a break later that afternoon
Sunday, October 12th- Chris had gone over to the new house and I was home playing with the kids after church when someone came knocking on our door saying that the house next door was on fire and that we had to get out immediately! So I told Corrine to get some shoes on, grabbed my own shoes & a blanket to wrap around the kids and handed them out the door to a neighbor. Then I grabbed the diaper bag, my laptop & car keys and got the dogs out of the house. Emergency services asked me to move our cars that were parked in front of our house, so I moved cars while good people held on to our pets & kids. I put the dogs in the car and held the kids until Chris got there. Our house is very close to this neighbor (probably less than 10 feet) and our bedroom window was right across from the room the fire started in. It was all very surreal and a little frightening to have it happen so close! Luckily everyone in the neighbors home was safe as well. We definitely had a talk about fire safety with Corrine as she had LOTS of questions after that!
The Fire- our house is the green one on the left
Later in the week the kids played at the new house while I got things organized & moved in- don't you love Allen's Cinderella apron?
Thursday, October 16th- HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to my wonderful husband! I love you! I'm not even sure we did anything besides more moving! But at least we both remembered!
Playing in the garden at the old house: 
Friday, October 17th- Chris spent the morning & early afternoon over at the new house as we had several people coming to set up cable, phone, etc. That afternoon as he headed into work he met up with Mom in Olympia. They took the kids for the weekend so we could get packing & moving done. We missed them lots, but it sure made the process easier!
After work Chris came down with the large delivery truck from his work that they were generous enough to let us use. It's a great truck- it even has a lift on the back which makes loading & unloading so easy! Chris & I took a load over to the house that night and were surprised when we opened the truck at the new house and Thomas, one of our cats, came darting out! He had decided he was going to take a little ride with us! We filled up the truck one more time that night to take over in the morning.
Saturday, October 18th- Our morning started pretty early as we took the first load over to the new house and our brother-in-law, Steve, came over to help us unload and pack up some more stuff. He was such a HUGE help in every way! Thanks Steve! We got back over to the house and people started arriving to help us get loaded- the missionaries, Carmen (Chris' sister & Steve's wife), and about 14 other adults & YM/YW from the ward. It only took 2 loads to get it all over there and we were done by about 1pm. We fed everyone pizza for all their help and then Chris had to return the truck to Olympia as another co-worker was helping move someone that weekend.
That evening we started arranging furniture and unpacking boxes. It was fun to be "officially" in our new house!
The next few days were spent unpacking and organizing at the new house and cleaning at the old one! The dogs didn't seem to believe that we lived there- every time we took them outside they would head straight for the car- it was like they thought we were just visiting and were ready to go home!
Tuesday, October 21st- Mom braved the traffic again to meet Chris in Olympia and he brought the kids home. It was fun to have them back and excited to see their "new" room!
Saturday, October 25th- We had our fence started! Yay! I came up with a pretty ingenious idea (if I do say so myself) for our fence. The door we use the most is on the side, so we wanted a side yard that was useable, but we also wanted access to the backyard w/out having to go through the garage. So I asked them to put gates in front of our driveway that when opened close off 2 separate yards- the side yard & backyard. But when they are closed- it allows the kids to play in both yards & ride their bikes in the driveway while still being inside the fence! We are very excited to get to really "try it out" in the summer!
Tuesday, October 28th- I was determined to get some of the zucchini used up that I had brought over from our garden at our old house- so early that morning I made a few loaves of bread, and then that afternoon made muffins for the little Halloween party Corrine had at her dance class. I was rather sick of zucchini bread by the time the day was over!
Corrine was so excited to wear her princess costume to dance (thanks Mom for such a fantastic Goodwill find!) and was very particular that her hair had to be in a bun with a headband (just like Cinderella)- so we called her "Corrinederella". :) It was fun as we parents also got to see how much they have learned for their dances and got a sneak peek at the recital costumes.
It was also Carmen's birthday that night, so we went and had pie & ice cream at Mom & Dad Priamos' and enjoyed spending time with everyone that evening. I also ran over to JCPenney with Pat that evening to pick out some blinds & curtains for our front window. Decorating decisions are HARD!
Wednesday, October 29th- We got all dressed up again and headed to the church "Fall Festival"- Corrine was a princess, Allen was Superman & I was a nerd. We were adorable. They had lots of games & activities for the kids and of course the highlight, the "Trunk-or-Treat"! I am always grateful for the Young Women that offer to take Corrine around to the cars so I can hand out candy! It was also fun to visit with lots of the other parents that I don't get to just sit and visit with at church.
Friday, October 31st- After work the kids & I carved our pumpkin into a Jack-O-Lantern. I am definitely never going to win any prizes for pumpkin carving! But it was fun as the kids dug out the guts and Corrine told me what shapes to make on the pumpkin face.
My Halloween Tights: 
Corrine took a picture of Dave, my boss 
Allen's favorite "toy" at work- a giant stick
Carving Pumpkins:
As we got ready for trick-or-treating that night, Corrine LOVED handing out candy to everyone that came to the door. Chris & I decided to split up on Halloween duties- he stayed home to hand out candy and try to keep the dogs calm (they go crazy every time the doorbell rings) and I wrangled the kids. It was a good deal for both of us.
We decided to go trick-or-treating in Cosmopolis as Chris' parents & relatives wanted to see the kids as well as lots of friends in the neighborhood. We stopped by Mom & Dad Priamos' and said hi to Carmen & Katie (Carmen & Steve's daughter), who was visiting for the weekend from California where she is attending college. It was so fun to see them and of course Corrine was thrilled to show off her princess costume some more! We finally got out into the neighborhoods and the kids were SPOILED! Everyone gave them extra saying "oh aren't you cute, have another one". Like we need more candy at our house! But it was a fun night.
Katie & Tomo*
Katie & Pat being silly*
The kids getting ready to go trick-or-treating*
*The above pictures were stolen from Katie's facebook- thanks Katie! :)
Chris also learned that we live in a VERY high traffic neighborhood. We went through about 10 bags of candy in 2 1/2 hours and people were still out! He had put on "scary" music and of course people commented over and over how nice it was to see people living in the house again. We agree- we're glad people are living in the house- and especially glad it's us! :)
