Movin' on up...North

We've had a busy couple of months around here. After recovering from vacation and getting back into a somewhat normal routine, we decided it was time to focus on our search for a new home. As much as we love the West Seattle area for the summer fun, beautiful beaches, and great eateries, it's just not practical for us anymore. Also, as most of you have heard, our neighbors and the landlord company for our current building are seriously in need of some etiquette lessons and common sense education.

When we were thinking about where to begin our search, we decided on the city of Everett, about 30 minutes north of Seattle. Everett has a lot of small town feel and neighborhood niceties even with it's growing economy and lively entertainment/event participation, and we have always liked the area. Not to mention we knew we could find something just right within our budget and get more for our renters dollar,
and it's quite central to most of our friends and family.

Well, success has finally come! We found a lovely duplex managed and owned by a wonderful couple and it's in a good location. The 2 bedroom home has great amenities such as ample storage space, laminate flooring throughout most rooms, washer/dryer, lots of big windows with nice new blinds, a pretty little front yard, and the owner has agreed to paint the living area for us so we aren't stuck with white walls. Instead, the color will be a soft shade of green called Monet Moonrise. A great big park is right down the block from the new place, as well as a corner convenience store and fantastic local produce market. We are really looking forward to getting moved in at months end with the help of our amazing friends and families, and exploring our new neighborhood!

Once our move is complete, Christian will be transferring to the Alderwood Mall Apple store in Lynnwood, WA (just south of Everett) and will be there in his current capacity as a Creative. As for me, I will be leaving Williams Sonoma after nearly 11 years. I'll be looking for a job with evening hours so we can have family time and some full days off together.

In other news, we took part in the annual Multi-Family Memorial weekend yard sale at the home of dear friends Davi and Asa. We had excellent luck this year with some great weather, making a little money and best of all, we enjoyed quality time with friends. It's always so fun to catch up and see the kids playing together, how they're growing up so fast.

We've been trying to enjoy the little bit of summer weather we've had by going to the beach, taking walks and just being outdoors when it's not pouring rain, and we have time off together. It's a hard thing to come by, as everyone knows, and we certainly cherish every moment of it.

In Westley's world, he is walking everywhere, even running when he decides the occasion calls for it! He's talking more, dancing constantly, and smiling almost all the time.

Lately, he's very into trying new things, which is great since he's often been put off by certain things most little ones enjoy. When we went to the beach he actually sat in the sand and rocks playing after lots of patience and easing him into the experience. We're also trying to get him over his dislike of grass so we can take advantage of our new neighborhood park when the weather permits.

He's eating just about anything, loves sandwiches just like his daddy and Italian food like mom, and most importantly always enjoys his fruits and veggies! He's great at playing catch and loves to roll his favorite bouncy ball to and fro, he can show you where his belly, head, nose and eyes are, and will gladly show you where your belly, head, eyes and nose are, and he's still oozing sweetness and charm, always in public, and most of the time at home.