We’ve closed on a new house, only a block and a few steps away from where we’ve been living since before either kid was around.

We are so excited! I’m especially looking forward to the deck and beautiful private yard and all the wildlife we spot out there. So far we’ve seen a woodpecker, some deer and a squirrel.

We’ve been up to our ears in packing, various repairs and the like. We also found time to hang a swing though as it seemed a very important part of the new space.

The kids each chose paint for their bedrooms and we painted them! They made great choices and are very pleased by the results.

We’ll paint the rest of the house later. We need to move in and get some electrical and floor work done in the new house, then clean up and paint and get the old place ready to put on the market. Two mortgage payments are just not very comfortable!

The kids have been helping me take things between houses, set stuff up, make a trip to the store for lamps and bookshelves for their rooms and other things like that.

We had a little birthday party up at the new house to celebrate Lilah turning 9! She had two good friends and their families over and the kids played in the house, picked apples, ate brownies, used the swing and the adults chatted and got tours of the house. It was lovely.

We spotted three deer in the backyard today, munching apples and the resident squirrel seems to be very well-established, helping itself to pears, apples, grapes and today it tried to drag our soccer bag under the shed. I suspect this is the beginning of a long stretch of fascinating squirrel and deer encounters!