Super (gymnastics) man

At the Dr's office today we found a superman toy that I am guessing a previous patient left behind. The girls played with it only for a few seconds before they lost interest. And what did they do with it, you may ask? Well, poor superman did some gymnastics.

Starting with the garage

Given that the new house is still off limits, because the hardwood floors are still drying, this weekend we focused on the garage. We hung the stuff we needed to organize it, and moved most of the contents of our current garage. We also moved most of the stuff from the laundry room, so once we can get into the house we can quickly move it where it belongs. So much to pack. So much to move!

Flying pig

In honor of me training for the flying pig half marathon once again, Bella drew me a flying pig. She also made me the other drawing, where she continued to get carried away exchanging letters - even in Sofia's name. In case her writing is not clear, the second note says "Mami and I love each other. Mami and I love Sofia".

Coloring by Sofia

Daddy Love Note

This morning I found this note on the couch. With Lionel being a guy, and not the most emotional around, I wonder if he realizes just how cool it is to get notes like these from the girls. 

Mixed feelings

At this time next week our house of 10+ years will be getting dismantled. Saying that makes my stomach turn. We are excited for the new house, and I know we will make great memories there as well, but it is hard to say goodbye. After all, this is the only home the girls have ever known, where they took their first steps, and where they have grown up to be such happy kids. I definitely have mixed feelings about this.

Work in progress

The hardwood floors were installed this week in the new house and they look good, much better than the carpet that was there before. Besides, we are really excited about it because that was a wish list item we just never got to in our current house. They are now putting the stain on, and whatever polish they put on the floors to protect them, which means the house will be off limits for the next few days. But it will definitely be ready by the 27th, which is the day of the big move.

Love Notes

Now that she can write, Bella enjoys writing me love notes. These are two she wrote for me earlier this week.  The second one is not very clear, but she basically wrote she loves me on the side of my dirty car.

Bathroom flowers

Bella's bathroom was looking quite plain, so even though originally I wasn't planning on it, I also ended up painting some flowers in it. I also asked Sofia if she wanted some designs in her room, other than painting it lilac, but she said no. She said that even though the really liked the designs in Bella's room, she thought it would be "weird" to have them in her room once she is a teenager.

The tree

And here is how the tree in Bella's new room came to life throughout the day today.

2015 Heart Mini

This morning I ran the heart mini 15k, at a much faster pace than I anticipated. At at average pace of 9' 34", I finished it in 1hr and 30 minutes. A personal record for me, especially in a course of rolling hills.

Painting day

Today I took the day off to paint the girls' rooms at the new house. I also ended up picking Sofia up early because she had a headache.  I was really just dropping off some Tylenol, but once she saw me she asked to leave early because she dealt with the headache all morning and she had already completed her work for the day. So I took her home.

Sofia ended up helping me paint her room, which was good because I like painting but it is really hard work. Then, at the end of the day, Lionel and Bella also stopped by. Bella didn't help though. The closest she came to helping was getting in her closet to play on the Kindle.

It was a really long and tiring day, but the effort paid off. We finished painting both rooms, so tomorrow I can move on to the dining room. I also still have to paint the designs in Bella's room, which will be fun. Hard work as well, but fun!

Our new house!

After 10 and a half years in our current house, and a lot of thinking over an extended period of time, we finally decided to buy a new house. And after a few weeks of negotiation and waiting, we finally got the keys earlier today. The big move will happen in two weeks, but in the meantime we will be busy getting the house ready, starting to pack, and planning for the long list of things that will have to get done before, during, and after the move. It will keep us busy for sure!

42

Today was my parents 42nd wedding anniversary. That is right! 4-2. In their usual manner they didn't really do anything to celebrate, but I know that deep inside they were happy to celebrate another year together.

Rainy Tuesday

Yesterday it was a rainy day, but Bella didn't mind it. She was happy to be able to use her Frozen umbrella when we went to the dentist.

Ice skating

Yesterday Bella brought this home, and I thought her drawing was quite cute. I like how the little boy is lifting his leg, as if he was ice skating indeed.

Warm

On Monday it warmed up enough that Bella was able to stand outside next to their snow man without a sweater, right before the other neighborhood girls arrived and together destroyed the already melting thing.

A blur

The last few weeks have been a total blur. Too much happening, in too little time, to even try to recap. The next few weeks will be equally full. We all need to hang in there, and just push through them.

One last snow man

Today the girls built a snowman with the leftover snow, and painted it with crushed chalk - which was Sofia's idea. Let's hope this is their last snow man of this year. We are sick of the snow, and we are sick of the cold. 

Full Saturday

Yesterday we had a full day. French got canceled for a random reason, but Sofia did have her tennis class. After that we had lunch, I went with my parents to a Dr appointment, and then met Lionel and the girls at Lowes to buy paint. The girls played by the riding mowers for a little while, while we waited for our paint to be mixed, and asked me to take a picture of them. Then, to close out the day, we had dinner at my sister's house. It actually had been a while since we got together, since we left for skiing, so it was about time.

Super Lego Girl

Last weekend the girls dragged me to the Lego store for a quick visit. They had some cute key chains, and I decided to get myself the super Lego girl one. I thought it would pump me up!