We made it

Just want to let everyone know that we made it to IL safe and sound. My parents, sisters, and grandparents were all at the airport to greet us and it was so nice to see everyone and give them a big hug. Mia hasn't stopped playing since we got here. She just passed out next to me and I hope she sleeps for about 12 hours. She needs it! We went boating today and of course ran into a bunch of people we knew. We are definitely back in IL. Everywhere I go, I bump into someone familiar. We close on our house this wednesday and the moving truck will be here thursday. I finally got to see our new house yesterday, we drove by it but couldn't go in since the other people are still in it. But I really liked the neighborhood and can't wait to see the inside.

Everyone back in Liberty Lake, we miss you!
Everyone in IL, we can't wait to bump into you!

Up, Up, & Away

Mia wanted to hold Dane when he woke up from his nap. Then she instructed me to get the camera, told me it was in the closet, and told Dane to smile at the camera. (It's one of the best pics I have of both of them, thanks Mia!)

We had a nice last weekend here in Liberty Lake. We went to a few of our favorite places one last time. The movers are coming tomorrow and it's all starting to sink in that we are leaving. I am trying to get the house in order so the packers have an easy time and things are organized when we get to the new house. So I better get back to it. Here are a couple pics from the last couple of weekends. It has been beautiful outside!

Pet day @ the park. Mia found the puppy she wants!

Using chopsticks with rice is hard work

Flying high with Daddy

The boys!

Thing I will miss

Just a few things I am going to miss when we leave WA.

- My wonderful, helpful friends!! They are our family out here. I will think of you every time I drink some wine or sit in the driveway and have a cold one
- The weather -No bugs & No humidity
- The view - I look out my backyard and see Mt. Spokane
- The clean, clear water - that one is going to take some getting used to back in IL
- My bunco girls - I officially request that any future ghosts be referred to as Megan
- Stilos & Azteca & Wolf Lodge
-Greenbluff in the fall- picking apples, Hansen's cider, walking out into the field to find the right pumpkin
- Spokane Discount
- Being able to look across the valley and watch the weather roll by. It can be snowing over there and sunny at our house.
- Seeing Mt. Spokane with the 1st snow Liberty Lake has been our home for the last 3 years.

They have been great and we have made some wonderful friends, some very recently. Our kids were born here, we put a lot of work into this house and it is going to be a big change for us. I already miss you!~Love, Megan

Circus pics

The smell of animals is in the air

Want to ride an elephant or a camel

It's hot under the Big Top!

Here are a few pics from the circus. We are hot and sweaty but had a good time.

not pictured

Sometimes what is not pictured tells the real story of the picture. I wish you could capture the feeling in the room and the laughing that is going on too. How often is the person holding the camera, or someone standing behind them, making all sorts of crazy faces or saying silly things? Well here are a couple pics that fit that category.

Mia decided that she wanted to get into Dane's crib yesterday with him after his nap. She informed me that she was bigger now so she could get into the crib. She is a little mixed up with bigger and smaller. It all started when she saw a boy climbing a tree. She wanted to climb it too. I told her that when she was bigger she could. Every day now she tells me she's bigger. She has a couple pairs of shoes that are too small now and each day she tells me "I wear them now, I bigger!" Anyways back on track... So I put her in the crib and she was having a blast making Dane laugh. She is getting ready to tickle him and he is already laughing away.

Here is a pic of the kids that went to the circus with us. Not pictured...Mia. She wanted no part of it. She was attached to my leg at this point.

Circus in town

So the other day we were killing time before taking Matt to work. We had dropped the Jeep off for an oil change. We were driving by the mall and there were elephants in the parking lot. Needless to say, I looked twice. There were a bunch of trailers and it looked like they were setting something up. As soon as we dropped Matt off I headed straight home to investigate what was going on. I read the paper everyday and I had not heard anything. So I figure out that there is a circus in town for 2 days, in the mall parking lot.
This afternoon we went with a couple neighbors and their kids. There was a petting zoo, elephant rides, camel rides, and pony rides. The actual circus performance was about 2 hours. The other families we were with left before intermission. Their kids had had enough and it was pretty warm under the big top. Mia just kept asking when the animals were coming out again. They did a little parade of all the animals and they were less then 6 ft away from us. Elephants and camels are BIG! When it was all over, Mia was thirsty, Dane was tired and I was ready for a little fresh air. I would sum up the trip as successful and interesting. So you just never know what you might find in a mall parking lot.

long weekend

Well we have had a great long weekend. Matt took Friday and Monday off and it was so nice to have him around those days. I actually feel like we had a weekend. We ran errands, went to a birthday party, hung out at the house and a bunch of other stuff. Mia had her 1st hair cut on Friday and did a very nice job of sitting still. No she didn't get bangs and it was only a trim but we all survived. I had bangs when i was a kid and it apparently left its mark on me b/c I am pretty sure I will never give my child them unless she wants them really bad. (No pics of the actual hair cutting. I am trying hard to enjoy moment and not feel the need to enjoy it thru a camera lens. )

Today we went out to lunch @ Eddies and let the kids play at the beach. There are not a lot of beaches around here even with all the lakes the Inland Northwest has to offer. So we took a nice drive over and of course Mia fell asleep as we were pulling into the restaurant. Dane slept most of the drive over. As we were driving over I was trying to really enjoy the view, they just don't make them like that in IL.

Funny quote: "Mommy, you want to make babies with me?" Mia was making wet piles of sand at the beach and calling them her babies. Matt and I got a good chuckle out of that one.

The old soul

Mia is just one of those kids with an old soul. My friends up here are always commenting that she is just like a 80 year old lady most of the time. She's just very content and relaxed but don't get me wrong she is stubborn and loves to laugh. But here are a couple of her old soul moments I thought I would share.

- Only Mia would walk up to this and think it was a camera.

- Today she was playing tea party. She walked out to the family room and offered me "a sample." Of course she had the tea cup, spoon to gently stir it, and the saucer. All of which I was required to hold while I tried the "sample." There aren't a ton of grocery stores that still offer free samples and the only place I can think that does around here is Costco on the weekends. But i don't think that we call them samples. We usually just say, "Oh look, there is ____. Want to try it?" So who knows where she came up with it. Just another old soul moment.