Unpacking Shenanigans and Pool Roller Coasting

This is what happened any time I actually tried to get any unpacking done in our new house…

I walked in after stepping out for ONE MINUTE and was like, “WHAT IS GOING ON???” I tried to be mad, but was stifling laughs and I took a picture. As a housewarming gift, a friend gave me some new bubble bath after seeing this picture since she figured we could use some!

Another day of unpacking, another set of unsupervised twins and an unlocked baking cabinet…

Clearly, no remorse.

This was their creation. Every preschooler’s dream snack!

The girls came home from preschool the day of our move to much confusion!

Welcome!

Channeling the vines…

It was the girls’ idea to do yoga poses for the photo. They wanted to be seeds and asked me to water them as they sprouted up…

Hello? Any growing going on down there?

One of the most highly anticipated events of our move for the twins was the promise of getting bunk beds! After several heated arguments between the girls about who was going to get to sleep in the top bunk before we purchased them, we quickly realized bunk beds were not going to work! We opted for loft beds instead so they could both sleep on the top, and the space underneath gives them just as much room to play.

As excited as they were about their new beds, they were too scared to sleep in them for a week! It didn’t seem to be the height that bothered them so much as just being in a different bed and room, not to mention the “scary lights” they were seeing? No clue what that’s about! We kept their old toddler beds underneath the loft beds until they got used it and now they are sleeping soundly. They do love to “visit” each other’s lofts and there’s been a few missed naps/delayed bedtimes because of too much excitement and playing when they should be sleeping, but I guess I can’t blame them. Bunk beds are exciting! They also have their own bathroom in their room now, which has been awesome since they can just go without walking into the hall or waking anyone up if they have to go at night!

Unfortunately, Meredith quickly learned to climb the ladder. She almost gave me a heart attack the first time I found her up there with the girls! We’ve now added “Meredith on the bunk bed” to our list of Emergency Situations for which the girls can interrupt me if I’m on the phone or out of the room.

Meredith’s room is on the entire other side of the house and she felt so far away at first, but it’s been working out with her sleeping in now that she’s not right across from the girls’ room. Meredith also has her own bathroom in her room and has already started asking to go potty on her new toilet (she usually wants to sit on the potty when she’s already gone in her diaper, but at least she’s showing interest).

The girls have spent a lot of time in their craft room the past month.

So many things to dump out!

No one has really been playing much upstairs in the toy room, except for Meredith who has free reign!

Meredith is always happy to eat anywhere, of course.

But the one thing everyone has used the most has undoubtedly been the pool! Through all the stress, chaos and boxes, this one thing has made it ALL worth it!

This is what happens when Daddy is home while I’m getting things done…

Day One of moving in included having a self-closing gate installed around the pool. Before:

After:

Bandit goes crazy when the kids are in the pool and runs around the perimeter being obnoxious and barking like mad. He’s fallen in a few times and is usually too shaken up to want to go near the pool for a while.

We’ve taken a crash course in pool maintenance… the first day the pool guy who comes every week explained all the equipment to us, our heads were spinning. We are a little more used to it now, but it’s a lot to learn about. One day, we were swimming and to my horror, I saw a rodent lying sprawled face down in the water, just floating! I was screaming and getting everyone out of the pool while Jake grabbed the pool stick and fetched it out. Fortunately, the pool guy, Tony, is awesome and reassured us the chlorine already in the pool would take care of it, but he came out anyway to check on the levels. Apparently, rodents, rabbits, and birds are really common animals he finds in the pools he’s cleaning! Disgusting. At least I didn’t see it swimming…

Especially as the weather has heated up, it’s been a total lifesaver to be able to go out and take a quick dip without packing up or going anywhere. Not hauling any kids or gear and driving to the pool? Best. Ever.

Other fun moving photos from June:

We have more than a few empty rooms and an ENDLESS supply of projects to be done. The living room is our first project, but in the mean time, we are actually loving the empty space. This room has become the girls’ unofficial gymnastics, ballet, and duck duck goose room. Their friends that come over end up always playing in this room too, despite there being a craft and playroom!

Meredith fell down the entire flight of stairs a few weeks ago, and I watched in slow-motion horror as she tucked and rolled… and rolled… and rolled before I could stop her. Amazingly, she got up and looked a little dizzy, but walked away without a peep. We had a contractor there at the time giving us an estimate and he couldn’t believe she just walked away! Good thing we hadn’t ripped out the carpet yet!

Building forts.

Exploring cabinets.

It’s the Wild, Wild West around here and Meredith has been taking full advantage!

When we decided on this house, the one factor that was an unknown was what the neighborhood would be like. Obviously, coming from our previous awesome neighborhood with tons of kids, we were nervous about this one, but now we’ve realized we had nothing to be worried about.

The very first weekend we moved in, our neighbors hosted a movie night at the pocket park across the street from us, complete with a popcorn machine and treats, and they’ve done the same thing about every two weeks this summer. The girls have been in heaven, obviously. We’ve joked that the Hodgsons are the new Abbotts (the Abbotts in our old neighborhood were our next-door neighbors who were always hosting outdoor movie nights and block barbecues).

We have tons of kids in our new neighborhood, including a next-door neighbor who’s a 4-year-old girl (the girls have loved jumping on her trampoline) and dozens of other babies, toddlers, preschoolers and older elementary kids. I’d say it’s more of a mix of elementary school kids than the younger set, but everyone has been really welcoming and the girls have been very excited to go out and play every day with their “new friends.” It’s not the same as our old neighborhood, but I’m sure we will make new memories in this one.

One afternoon during the first full week of being in the house, I went outside to go biking with the girls around the cul de sac for the first time and the Hodgsons were out. They must have texted everyone else in the neighborhood to meet the new neighbors, because minutes later, a swarm of kids and parents came bursting out to bike too and to introduce themselves. Every afternoon, there’s a bunch of kids biking and scootering around the cul de sac, and our previously slow-to-warm-up twins, have been biking with them regularly! Meredith, as per the usual, has been loving all the new, exciting kids.