august 30

first thing this morning that big blue moving van pulled up just like it did 2 years ago, and somehow it makes our time here seem so short and so long all at the same time.  brooke and gavin were excited to see the big truck and meet the movers - juan and americo.  kevin and i are both a little shocked at how quickly everything is moving around here!  our move from cincinnati seemed to be a slow progression over 3 days, but this time around almost everything is packed up at the end of day 1.  we have our beds to sleep in and our bathroom intact, but we're surrounded by boxes.  seeing our house all packed up reminds me that it's the people and the things those people love that make a house a home, not the house itself.  we were pretty ambivalent about this house when we bought it.  there are certainly things about the house that we would never choose for ourselves, but we have come to love this house, and it most definitely feels like home.

brooke and i went into the city this afternoon to donate some clothes and pick up a few things before we leave.  it was a gorgeous day to be in the city, and i was grateful for some time out of the house with my girl.

tonight we had our last uncle si's pizza at the baker's house.  the very first friday we lived in this house we had our first uncle si's pizza, and since then there have been very few fridays that we haven't had uncle si's for dinner.  it's our place.  it's been our tradition.  tonight i was happy to be sharing it with our friends in the comfort of their home, which has come to feel like our 2nd home.  after dinner, we went home and brooke stayed.  it was her first sleepover.  anastasia and i wanted the girls to each have a turn sleeping over at each other's house before we moved.  we planned for tonight to be brooke's night.  we gave her a big hug and kiss and left her with ryan reading the girls stories in hanna's bed.  i wasn't sure she was going to make it.  i thought she might change her mind, but she didn't.  we got a call from ryan for giraffe, and all has been silent since then.  our girl's first sleepover.  it's a milestone.