We Have Arrived

After a short blog hiatus, we are back in action. Things are still in boxes and I still cannot find my toothbrush (don't worry, I got a replacement), but we are now officially residents of North Carolina. The past couple weeks have been filled with lots of memories, both good and bad. It was hard to leave Florida and all our friends and family there, but it was also exciting to move somewhere new that holds an abundance of opportunities for our family. Here are some good and bad highlights of the past week or so.

Good: Having the moving company do all of our packing!
Bad: Like I said ... still can't find my toothbrush.

Good: Matt leaving a few days before us to get a head start on the unpacking.
Bad: He got to drive the 8 hours with Wilson (our dog), I got to drive it with 3 toddlers and a baby.

Good: Finding a Chick-fil-a (with a  play area, I might add) to stop at for lunch on the drive to NC.
Bad: Having to change 4 diapers in the tiny restaurant bathroom while the line of onlookers gave commentary.

Good: Having a DVD player in the van.
Bad: Having a DVD player in the van. The kids now think it's something that should be on ALL the time, not just for trips.

Good: Moving into our great new Winston-Salem house!
Bad: Leaving everyone behind.

Here are some recent pictures of the kids too. Some of these are while we were still in Florida, but a few are from our new home. I promise to take pictures once everything is a little more settled and boxes are out of the way. I do not promise that this will be anytime soon!

Luke playing in a laundry basket (no, we aren't cruel, this is just an inventive way to help him keep all his toys from rolling away while he is playing with them).

Sam did a little light raking in preparation for his move to a state where the leaves actually fall from the trees.

A rare picture of all four together. Luke looks disproportionately large for some reason (though he is a big boy). Also, I am not sure if Peyton is laughing or crying from the weight of her brother on her lap. We'll say laughing in order to give this picture a happy vibe.

Peyton and Grandad listening to some talk radio after the Gator game.

Adah getting her first taste of the cold in NC. She wore these earmuffs all day and couldn't hear a word we said to her. She seemed to like it.

This is our life right now.

Peyton helping me out since we've been so busy lately. Hmmm ... if she can feed the baby, maybe she could tackle ironing as well??

Sam showcasing my not-too-hot job of wiping Oreos off of his face.

Modeling the new monkey "backpacks" (i.e. toddler leashes). If you have a problem with this, I'm sorry, but having a baby and three 2 year olds necessitates monkey backpacks/leashes sometimes! If it makes you feel any better, the kids love them!

That's about all from Winston! I'll hopefully have some pictures of the house up soon. Things may not be decorated, but they'll hopefully be devoid of boxes. Hope everyone had a great New Year!