Here we are.

Aaron flew in from California on Friday afternoon and on Saturday the 15th we drove out of Caldwell. It was weird when I realized we wouldn't be making a return trip this time. The trip to Reno went alright- could've been better, could've been worse. We spent the night then drove the rest of the way to Modesto on Sunday without any weather or traffic issues. We'd stuffed the Mazda full of the things we wanted to bring, as well as the car top carrier that my parents gave us, so we spent the rest of Sunday unloading and unpacking. That evening I decided it was about time I finally let myself be sad about moving, so I had a good cry and a perfectly timed Facebook chat with a terrific friend that made me feel better. Hopefully I won't need to do that many more times before I start to feel okay about being here.

Anyway, I thought I'd give you a look around the apartment we're staying in for the next 6 weeks or so.

Walking through the front door you enter the living room.

We actually used the fireplace the other night, but I didn't notice that it did much besides add some ambience to the room.

The dining room...

...and the kitchen with a twitchy flourescent light that I can't stand to turn on.

Down the hall off the living room is the laundry closet and a coat closet, a bathroom, both bedrooms and some cupboards for extra storage.

The kids' room is at the end of the hall. Each bedroom also has a TV in it which we're not used to, but it has come in handy already.

The closet in the kids' room is a good size, so it has become Finnley's bedroom as well.

And here's the other bedroom.

Why they laid out the furniture so you have to squeeze past the dresser and can't even open most of the drawers all the way, I'll never know.



Our bedroom has a decent closet and a tiny little bathroom attached.

We also have a small patio off the back door and a storage closet out there as well. That's been handy for keeping our car topper and luggage stowed away while we're here.

And that's the grand tour! It's small, but it's better than a hotel room. Being on the second floor makes me really anxious about how noisy the kids are, but I try not to nag too much.

I'm going to set myself up in a corner somewhere with a folding table and a thrift store chair so I can start crafting again. I'm sooo bored! Also Finnley got sick the first night we were here (we suspect it's croup) so we haven't been able to do any visiting yet. Hopefully he'll get over it soon so we can go see some of the family we now live so close to. The kids have been begging since we got here to go see someone.

Pyper started school on Tuesday and seemed to have a really good day. She was super scared at first but actually wanted to ride the bus to school today (didn't happen- long story), so I guess she's gotten over it.

Anyway, we're still settling in and trying to figure things out, but we'll get it eventually. Mostly I'm just glad we're all back together again.