Continuing on with our busy June, here’s the recap of the last half of the month:
Aunt Melissa was a huge help coming over multiple times throughout the month to help us pack and get ready for the move. After we worked for several hours on Friday, June 16th, we went to get free smoothies at Tropical Smoothie Cafe for National Flip Flop Day :)
Check out Brooklyn’s letters! She is getting better and better at writing B, T, S, and M :)
Saturday, June 17th was completely exhausting. We worked for probably 10 hours off and on in the garage trying to get a bunch of boxes and stuff sorted and packed. It was pretty sad to see the garage in such disarray after all the effort we’d put into organizing it a few years back ;) But, it had to be done! Since we knew that we wouldn’t be able to take all of our stuff with us to the apartment, we tried to sort things into an “apartment” pile and a “storage” pile, We basically ended up splitting the garage in half with things on one side or the other. And, of course, there were color coded labels involved :) It was a ton of work, but I think it was worth it to make the actual moving day go much more smoothly than it would have if everything had been mixed together.
Savannah loves her youngest cousins!
Thankfully, they didn’t mind the invasion of personal space too much that Sunday :)
Monday, June 19th was the girls’ first day of swim lessons. I’d been wanting the girls to do swim lessons this summer to get them more comfortable in the water. Brooklyn has been terrified for a while of putting her face in the water, and I didn’t feel like the prior swim lessons we’d done at Dublin Park had really helped her that much. So, we explored new options for this summer. This was two weeks of 1-hour lessons (Monday-Friday) every morning at 8:30 AM. The lessons were with a private instructor (the “Swim Lady”) at her house off County Line Road. There were 7 kids total in the class, including cousin Carter! Day #1 was like an hour of torture. It was so bad that I didn’t take any videos or pictures (Alisha took the one above). All the kids in the class cried almost the entire time. Brooklyn even screamed and ran away from her teacher. The blue blob in the picture is Brooklyn hiding under her towel so she wouldn’t have to take her turn…haha. Savannah was pitiful crying like “How could you do this to me, Mom?” I was wondering how we were going to survive this for a whole 2 weeks (but, spoiler alert…it got much better!).
Day #2 was MUCH better! Savannah still cried some, but Brooklyn didn’t cry at all. Ms. Ashleigh wasn’t mean, but she didn’t let the kids get out of doing the activities just because they were scared. From Day 1, she had them putting their face in the water to swim…no doggy paddling!
“1…2…3…take a breath!” Ms. Ashleigh taught the kids to take a breath, tuck their chin, and kick, kick, kick to the steps. Brooklyn was a brave girl on day 2 and didn’t act scared at all!
They also practiced floating on their backs at the end of class :)
To celebrate a much better second day of swim lessons, we got a doughnut from Dunkin Donuts :)
Yum!!
I didn’t take any pictures from Day #3 of swim lessons (Wednesday, 6/21), but it went well like Tuesday did. There were less tears (still some) from Savannah. They practiced jumping into shallow and deep water and climbing up the ladder. Brooklyn was very brave! She came up to me in the middle of class though and announced, “This is not going very well. I’m swallowing A LOT of water.” :) She also called out to me from across the pool during the middle of class, “Are we having leftovers tonight???” That girl knows her priorities, I guess ;)
That night after church, I snapped this picture of my handsome husband. He is such a great girl dad rocking those hair bows on his hip :) They are usually either in the front pocket of his dress shirt or on his hip and rarely on the girls’ heads…haha. Not sure why we even bother with bows, but I keep trying anyway :)
Day #4 of swim lessons almost didn’t happen. It rained pretty much the whole hour, but thankfully there wasn’t any lightning or thunder. The kids were troopers, and swimming in the rain didn’t seem to bother them too much. All of the parents hung out on the screened porch and tried to stay dry :)
Rainy day movie time after swim lessons…
So sweet :)
Aunt Melissa came over and she and Brooklyn made brownies for our helpers to eat on Saturday—moving day!
Yes, this was the first week of swim lessons, but it was also the week leading up to our move! We technically didn’t close on our house until Friday, June 30th, but we went ahead and began our apartment lease on June 23rd and planned to move on June 24th. We decided it would be best to give ourselves a few days overlap just in case we couldn’t get everything moved out all in one day. Plus, it would give us time to get the house cleaned and all ready for its new owners…and moving on a Saturday would hopefully allow more people to help us. So, Thursday and Friday of that week were pretty insane just trying to get the last boxes packed and organized and do all the little things that needed to be done before our helpers showed up bright and early Saturday morning :)
Day #5 of swim lessons (Friday, June 23rd) – 3 little cousins all in a row :)
I think Ms. Ashleigh was trying to show them how far to jump out into the water. I thought it was cute that Carter was holding his arm out too :)
Waiting on their turn :)
Wheeee!
Over the week, they had built up their lungs enough to hold their breath from one side of the pool to the other. It was pretty impressive!
Brooklyn’s turn…
Travis took this Friday off so we could get ready for the move, so we were glad he could come see his little fish in action :) It started to rain toward the end of the lessons, so the daddies huddled under the umbrellas with all the kids :)
Floating was the last activity of the morning. Brooklyn enjoyed floating, and Savannah always hated it. This was actually the first day all week that Savannah didn’t cry at all…until it was her turn to float ;) It was progress, at least!
We spent the rest of the day on Friday getting ready for Saturday—picking up the keys to the apartment and signing the lease, doing last minute packing and organizing, picking up the U-Haul truck, grabbing things that we’d stored at Cici’s house while our house was on the market, etc. It was a long but productive day! Paw and Rae Rae came up for the afternoon/evening and helped us watch the girls/take electronics, hanging clothes, and some kitchen stuff over to the apartment. Cici helped us clean the apartment and do last minute packing as well. I was up until after midnight that night, but I can’t imagine how late it would have been without all the help we had.
Saturday, June 24th was moving day! I didn’t take any pictures, but overall things went really well. We had so much help from family and friends—our whole house was pretty much empty in an hour or so. The tricky part was figuring out how to load the moving truck since not everything was going to the same place. We were fortunate to be able to store our extra stuff at Uncle Allen and Aunt Debbie’s house (saving $ by not needing a storage unit!), and then the rest of our stuff needed to go to the apartment. It ended up being too much to pack into the truck all at once, so we had to make two trips over to Allen and Debbie’s, but that’s okay. I think by about 2 PM everything was either in one place or the other. It was a long morning, but it got done and we REALLY appreciated everyone who came out to help. The Hesters offered for the girls to come over for the morning, which was a huge help too not having to worry about them during the whole move. And Cici provided lunch for all of our helpers, and she and Alisha came back a few days later to clean our whole house before the closing. All of the help we received made things so much less stressful, and we will be forever grateful! :)
Our apartment complex is about 20 minutes south of where we used to live, so we are getting used to living on a whole different side of town. It is very convenient to shopping, restaurants, the interstate, etc. but not as close to church or family. Travis has a shorter commute to the Arsenal, which he has definitely appreciated so far. Our apartment itself is on the second floor—they didn’t have anything available on the first floor when we needed it—which has its pros and cons. It’s nice to not have anyone living above us, but we do have to climb a long flight of stairs when we come and go. The apartment is 1557 square feet and has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. It’s actually not that much smaller than our house was (at 1832 square feet)—the main thing we are missing is not having any garage or attic storage (which prompted the needed to store things at Allen and Debbie’s). Overall, we’ve had a good experience here so far after living here for about a month. I haven’t taken any pictures since we got everything unpacked, but I’ll try to do that sometime soon :)
On Monday after the move (June 26th), it was time for swim lessons again. This was Day #6 overall, and they started something new called fall-in practice. Ms. Ashleigh was trying to teach them what to do if they accidentally fell into the water while playing on the steps…how to turn around and kick their legs to get themselves back to the steps. I didn’t get any pictures that day, but Brooklyn did great! She was able to get herself back to the steps fairly easily. She also jumped off the diving board without holding Ms. Ashleigh’s hand (for the first time) and swam all the way to the ladder all by herself! Savannah was fairly traumatized by fall-in practice (as were several of the younger kids in the class), but she was able to get herself to the steps with only a little help from Ms. Ashleigh.
When we got back to the apartment, the girls asked to go play on the playground for a few minutes. We really lucked out with the building our apartment is in…there is a little playground literally right outside our building. The larger playground is over by the pool, but this one is just so convenient…almost like having our own swingset again! :)
We have a small balcony that the girls enjoy too. They’ve had fun with sidewalk chalk and bubbles out there, although we’ve only tried the bubbles once (if they spill, it makes the balcony really slippery!). They also enjoy yelling at anybody they see in the parking lot…haha
Tuesday morning (6/27) was Day #7 of swim lessons. I had to get a picture of Alisha looking like Super Mom watching Carter swim while taking care of Luke and Barrett too :) She’s amazing!
Starting fall-in practice made Savannah start crying again before most activities, but she would still do them willingly. She would walk to Mrs. Ashleigh for her turn even though she was crying…pitiful girl. If you asked her if she likes to swim, she would enthusiastically say “Yes!” Do you like jumping in to the pool? “Yes!” Are you going to be brave tomorrow at swim lessons? “Yes!” Are you going to cry? “Yes!” :)
Savannah took her turn jumping off the diving board and swimming to the ladder. Her “jump” off the diving board was more of a falling forward, but at least she was trying! :)
Brooklyn’s turn! She jumped off the diving board, swam to Ms. Ashleigh, and then swam by herself to the ladder. You would never believe this is the same child who was scared to put her face in the water on day #1!
Floating at the end of Tuesday’s lesson :)
That evening was our last meaningful time at our house. (Remember, even though we technically moved out on the 24th, we didn’t close until the 30th.) Travis needed to cut the grass one more time before the closing and drove straight to the house from work to get started. He packed a change of clothes, but forgot his tennis shoes. Whoops! So, rather than make him cut the grass in his dress shoes (or worse, barefoot!), we drove over to meet him and bring his shoes.
We walked through the house one last time after it had been cleaned and made sure we weren’t leaving anything behind accidentally. Then, we stuck around so the girls could play on the swingset for a little while before we headed back to the apartment.
I’m not gonna lie…I pretty much cried the whole time we were in the backyard. I hadn’t gotten emotional at all until that evening, but it just hit me all of a sudden that we weren’t going to make any more memories in that house. (Thankfully, my sunglasses hid the fact that I was crying pretty well…haha). We have so many good memories from the 6.5 years at that house—painting/upgrading the inside and outside, training for 5Ks, half marathons, and even a full marathon, hosting cookouts and parties, bringing home two cats AND two babies, watching those babies grow and learn, and anticipating another baby on the way. Lots of good times, challenges, and plenty of growth all around :)
Travis said he was glad that he forgot his shoes because his last memory of the house will be watching the girls play in the backyard while he was cutting the grass (instead of being there all alone). So I think it actually worked out for the best that we had a reason to come :)
We will always cherish the memories made at our house, including this last evening of fun!
Wednesday, June 28th – Day #8 of swim lessons; I enjoyed holding my littlest nephews during the two weeks of lessons. Barrett mostly preferred his mommy, but Luke usually didn’t mind sitting with me too much! :)
The kids also practiced jumping in from the side of the pool and getting themselves back to the wall. Brooklyn was able to pull herself up out of the pool without any help. Savannah did a good job of holding on to the wall and building up those arm muscles :)
Floating all by herself!! :)
Little cutie was ready for Bible class that night!
Of course, Big Sister wanted her picture made too…
Thursday, June 29th – Day #9 of swim lessons
Brave girl!
Brooklyn jumped off the diving board and swam to Ms. Ashleigh :)
Cutest cousins!
Fall-in practice with Brooklyn – basically Ms. Ashleigh just tossed her into the water away from the steps, and Brooklyn had to turn and swim back to the steps. She did a great job with it!
That evening after supper, we went to Sonic because they were offering medium Slushes for 79 cents! :) Our apartment is probably 3 minutes away from Sonic, so it’s pretty tempting to stop by there these days, especially for a cheap treat :)
We even saw a rainbow while we were sitting there!
June 30th – last day (day #10) of swim lessons! Travis was off that day, so he was able to come back and watch the girls again. Actually, all of the kids had both their parents there that day, which I thought was pretty impressive. I love to see involved daddies! We were lucky to get in a class with a good group of kids :)
Time to jump!
Splash!
Savannah’s turn :)
Floating even though she still didn’t like it :)
I was so glad we did swim lessons with Ms. Ashleigh! Even though the timing of the lessons turned out to be during a really busy two-week period, it actually worked out great to get the girls comfortable in the water right when we were moving into an apartment with access to a pool. I feel so much better about taking them swimming knowing that they learned some of the basics during these lessons first. 
It’s hard to get these kids to look and smile for a picture, so this was the best we got :) They all did great, and we were so proud of the progress they made!
That afternoon at 4 PM was the closing on our house. Thankfully, everything went smoothly! We also got to meet the new owner, Leslie. She and her husband have a 2 year old little girl who apparently fell in love with the swingset when they came to look at the house. I was happy to hear it would be getting some good use by another little girl :) Although it’s still a little sad that we don’t live there anymore, I’m thankful for all the fun times we had in the house. Our apartment is already feeling like home, and we’re having fun swimming and exploring a new side of town. More details to come!
Quotes and Notes from Late June:
- 6/18/17 – Brooklyn said, “I don’t always fall asleep at night. I just leave my eyes open until my ‘bod’ is ready to sleep.” Haha!
- 6/20/17 – Last day of Early Intervention for Savannah! She is doing great with her speech! She is saying tons of words now, her pronunciation is improving on a lot of words, and (as of late June) she is even starting to put two word phrases together (“get down”). We decided with the upcoming move and a new baby on the way, that Savannah was doing well enough to stop services. Kaci was very impressed with the progress she’s made in the last year, and so are we!
- 6/20/17 – In the last several days, Savannah has started calling Brooklyn “Book”. First time she has ever attempted to call her sister by her name!
- 6/21/17 – Brooklyn told Travis, “You’re the best daddy no one has seen before!”
- When asking Savannah a “yes or no” question, she loves to say, “Yes Mommy!” very emphatically.
- When Travis asked Savannah about what she’d done that day, she would say, “I smim! I fote!” (Translation: “I swim! I float!”)
- 6/29/17 – Brooklyn wanted to know about Daddy’s daddy. When Travis explained the situation to her, she asked, “Can I pray for God to help him obey?”
- Brooklyn was so sad when swim lessons were over. She wanted to keep doing lessons with Mrs. Ashleigh. Huge change from the first day of lessons!
Onto the month of July! Thanks for reading!
