Pictures, but not of the house

So, the weekend... Saturday, the day before Moving Day, we spent the day at a nearby fair with Matt, Kristin and Nick (they got a sitter for the twins). We had these plans in place long before the house situation came up, and since they went to all the trouble of getting a babysitter, we didn't want to break the plans. It was nice, though--a fun, relaxing day before all the chaos of moving.

We spent most of the day letting the kiddos enjoy the rides. First was the train ride. (No, I don't know that guy... but you can see Ari and Kristin.)



I made a couple attempts to get the kids to pose together for a picture. Never could get them both to smile and/or look at me at the same time.



Then they got to ride in the belly of a dragon...



I couldn't get a good picture of them while they were on this ride, but I had to get a picture of the size of this ferris wheel. Tony took them, and neither Nick nor Ari was scared at all.



Thoughtful Ari...



Fake-smile Ari...



Waiting in line for our baked potatoes.



I think she was giving me a cheesy smile here... who knows...



I took them on the flying bee ride...



There were a few rides they could do alone, though... like this one...



And this one. (Before the ride even started, they were fighting over something... I think they kept wanting to grab the other one's steering wheel or something. That might be the reason for the expression on Ari's face.)



Since Daddy is a sucker, Ari got to play a couple of the carnival games--luckily, he chose those "everyone wins a prize" games.



Ari and Nick fishing...



Ari loved all the animals... like this sheep.



There was a place where you could watch baby chicks hatch. Then beside it was this incubator for some of the "older" chicks. Ari liked this section better--probably because she could get closer.



And the animal highlights of the day... Ari got to milk a goat...



...and ride an elehpant.



It was a great day--perfect weather, great company, and a couple of really well-behaved 3-year-olds. And I didn't once fret about packing or moving.

And yes, Sunday was the big moving day, and it rained all day, which made for some messy moving. But despite our lack of preparation and organization, things went much more smoothly than I thought they would. We had more people helping than I expected, and several of them jumped right in, grabbing boxes and packing up all the things that were still unpacked. We got all the furniture moved on Sunday, and then some, so it was definitely a productive day. On Monday, my mom and our friend Wayne spent the day with us, helping us unpack and get the remaining items from the apartment. (And then Mom treated us all to Cracker Barrel--yum.) There are still a few things at the apartment that we couldn't fit yesterday, so Tony will be taking care of that today.

The house is coming along. We have all the furniture situated where we want it, so now it's just a matter of unpacking all the boxes and bags. I'm having a hard time finding things, since other people helped pack--for example, I couldn't find my alarm clock last night (I used Tony's instead). But everything will turn up. In spite of all the boxes and the general mess, I am absolutely loving this house. I think Ari loves it, too. She has spent a lot of time just playing quietly in her room (and making quite a mess, of course)--I think she really digs having a huge room all to herself. In a flash of genius, on the first night I told her that her new room has a new rule--the door has to be shut at bedtime. She protested a bit, but didn't put up a fight when I actually did it. And the fact that she's slept perfectly must mean she's OK with it. I am so glad. Leaving her door open worked in the apartment because of the layout, but there's no way that would work in the house.

Anyway, that's enough rambling for today. And yes, pictures will be coming, as soon as we're unpacked. Which may not actually be "soon," but that's no surprise, right?

Oh, one more thing... on Sunday, Ari spent the afternoon with Pastor and Dawn while we moved, and they took her along with them to a political fundraiser, where she got to meet the mayor. Yep, first day in a new town and my kid meets the mayor (he's the one on the right; Pastor is the one on the left). I'm expecting her to get the keys to the city any day now.