Looks like I left off at the end of June. July was the last month we spent living with Jake's parents. It was wonderful to have extra hands, way less chores and plenty of good food. We celebrated the 4th of July on the lake as usual. It wasn't sunny but it was warm enough to hang out on the patio. Jameson went to his first fireworks out on Geist Res, which he very much enjoyed until he decided he was ready for bed, about 10 minutes in to the show, but he did wonderful. It was amazing to see such awe and surprise on his face and in his expressions.
The last few weeks of July were filled with moving and moving preparations. Jake and I made a day trip to Ikea, while Jameson hung out on my aunt and uncle's farm. Our new house needed a lot of window coverings and we got the whole first floor covered with our trip and could easily use a second trip soon. We are so blessed to live near family and friends who made our move very easy. We closed on a Tuesday and our POD was completely unloaded that night, beds set up and pizza and beer brought over so we could spend our first night in our new home, albeit with out a refrigerator. While we have everything moved in, it isn't necessarily organized or put away in a way I would call "done" but we are starting to get settled and every day it feels a little bit more like home. I do love all our new space, but as I expected it does take a bit more time to keep clean.
We have also had a couple of trips in July and August. At the end of July, Jameson, my mom and I flew to Boston just days after we closed on the house for a baby shower. My oldest friend Kaily is expecting a baby any day now and I knew I could not miss that shower or rubbing that belly. It was a quick weekend trip with early flights, but Jameson did great and I just love the comfort of being around Kaily. We were perfectly content to catch up on the couch, watch J "baby proof" the apartment and not do much more than enjoy each other's company. It makes me truly cherish our friendship, it is easy in a way that old friends are and we can always pick up right where we left off.
Next we were off to Colorado about 2 weeks later for our annual family vacation. I got to catch up with my other true friend Megan (I'm such a lucky girl!), the girl who straightened me out and with whom I share many many fond memories. We actually got lost in the rockies once about 15 years before on a church trip, so it was fun to relive some of those old memories. We had a cabin in Estes Park. Colorado and also spent some time in Denver and Boulder. It has been a long time since our family has been out west and you remember the scenery, but the beauty of it still surprises you. We took a drive on the Alpine Ridge Trail that was very memorable, spent a day at Grand Lake, and finished off the trip with an overnight backpacking trip with my dad, brothers and Jake to Lawn Lake (and Crystal Lake for the more adventurous). I know Jameson won't remember much about the trip, but hope it leaves a lasting impression on him about God's creation and how incredible the world (and America) truly is.
Now back home we have had a solid couple of weeks in our place and though we have been here for about 6 weeks this weekend will be the first weekend Jake and I have both been around to work on finishing up moving in. We have a few more lights to install, some more window treatments to buy, and plenty of other things on our list of things to do. This was quite a long post, with not nearly enough details on our trips and new home, but for now this will suffice and I hope to be more consistent with posting, but life doensn't appear to be slowing down any time soon :)
Spoiled with a cupcake
Our new place before landscaping and grass
