the last days in texas

we had a busy last few days in texas.  ryan was nice enough to do one last little backyard campfire with the kids.  they love it every time.

all our rooms started to look like this with boxes everywhere.  luckily isaac was good at entertaining bonnie with basket rides since we started to not have too many toys.  people kept asking if i needed help with watching the kids while i packed, but i got tons done while bonnie took her morning nap everyday.  the boys just played nicely or helped me with the boxes.   

we had movers pick our stuff up.  they picked it all up on monday (we left the house thursday).  it looked pretty empty for several days.   

it was awesome having someone load and move our stuff.  i was happy to pack to make sure things were where i wanted them, but not having to worry about any of our big stuff being damaged after they wrapped everything up so well was nice.

after the moving truck drove away, we headed to the park for a intro to a soccer program that's offered.  the boys loved it.  i would definitely think about doing it if we weren't moving. 

bonnie got a little bored, but liked playing with the extra balls 

and kept putting the goal markers on her head. 

tuesday night we let lesley watch the kids one last time (she is so sad we're leaving!) and went to see a john williams tribute concert by the houston symphony in the woodlands.  we met the blackhurst's for dinner at black walnut and then headed to the pavilion.  it was so fun to see them again (we haven't seen them since the wards split) and hang out one last time!

we borrowed a card table and chairs from the fords, plus used one of our outdoor chairs for a few days.  i had meals prepped in the freezer and paper plates, so we lived pretty simply for several days.  i kept one basket of toys to play with at home and in the car. 

the drawer boxes doubled as drawers for clothes for a few days so we didn't all have to live out of suitcases the whole week. we borrowed a pack n play, the boys slept in sleeping bags, and we used an air mattress.  we had one little couch that i ended up posting for free online and someone picked it up just before we needed to check out.  it was sure nice to have a real place to sit until we left though.

this morning we spent as long as we could at the park with the haymond's.  we actually have had a bunch of flooding in the area which caused power outages for several days for the haymond's, so they brought over food people brought to them for the baby and we potlucked it up a few nights in a row.  then we let the kids play way to late while we played games.  it was so fun and so worth it.  i just wish we could have done it more!

anyway, the littlest haymond already seems not quite so little.  i miss him already.

four out of five faces in the general direction of the camera isn't half bad. 

bonnie has just started loving slide, so the boys love to take her down with them.  we almost got the whole group for a train. 

almost... 

there were about a million squirrels around the park, so this is what most of the morning looked like for bonnie.  pointing out each and every one. 

we went home for lunch and naps and then the kids went over to the white's house for a while (michelle offered to watch them for weeks while i packed and i finally took her up on it).  with the kids out, i finally buckled down to throw things away and load up the van after i got checked out.  i couldn't quite believe how much i packed in the van.   

driving away from our little texas home for the last time was definitely bittersweet.  we have loved our friends and ward and will miss so many people dearly.  

michelle was nice enough to feed us before we got on the road and now we're at david's house (his family is in utah) sleeping on real beds for our last night in houston.  we have loved living so close to david and his family for these three years.  we will miss having those little girls come over to play and seeing sam grow up and join in the fun.  having cousins close by really is about the best thing ever.  tomorrow morning we're off.  hopefully all the way to our new home!