We Moved!!

June 16th ended up being our moving date. We packed our two U-boxes and our car full to the brim. We left two bikes locked up (we knew we could get them later since we had plans for returning to OKC already) and some cleaning supplies in the apartment.

Before pulling out of Stillwater, we made a quick stop to say goodbye to our good friends Gargeyi and Sagar. It was sad saying goodbye. We hope our paths cross again someday. I'm sure we'll see them sometime. Allie absolutely loves Gargeyi, so don't be surprised by the picture below. Both girls were tired and needing naps at this time. It was actually approaching dinner time. We left later than planned.

It's just about a three-hour or less drive to Springdale from Stillwater. But since we left late, it was getting dark when we arrived. We were exhausted, too, but since the driver's window wouldn't roll up (it stopped working earlier that day), we had to bring everything inside the apartment. Jared's company is paying for us to be in a fully furnished apartment (an "executive suite") for up to 4 months while we look for a house to buy. Before too much of our own stuff was brought in, I took some pictures of our place. It is pretty nice and is a MAJOR upgrade from our last apartment.

The Living Room

The Kitchen and Dining Room

The master bedroom, which we actually use for the girls.

The walk-in closet, which has become Rachel's room for sleeping.

She sleeps better when it is darker, and the closet doesn't

have any windows, though we do leave the door cracked.

The second bedroom, which is our bedroom

 

 Our Balcony

The view from our balcony

Another view of our balcony, with a super excited Allie

The had a little welcoming gift for us. So sweet!

Our laundry closet - with shelves!

A pantry!

The bathrooms are pretty standard (there are 2)

I actually thought it was funny how quickly Rachel found the

toilet paper to tear up. 

We have been really enjoying our apartment. I've especially loved not getting bitten by bugs every night. It's fantastic! We're so grateful for Rockline paying for us to be in these apartments. There is a little playground across the parking lot from us, and there is also a pool that we have frequented.

Jared has also been enjoying his job, which is wonderful! I'm so happy for him to be in a job he enjoys and working for a company that treats him well.

Allie turned 3!

Allie turned three in June. Due to our moving date and the fact that it kept changing, we didn't have an official party, but we did celebrate a few times.

The first celebration was with Maria, Jon, and their kids at Eskimo Joe's. We actually went just because Maria hadn't ever gone and we were about to leave Stillwater, but we did tell the waiter that both Allie and Jared had birthdays. They each enjoyed some yummy ice cream, and we all enjoyed each other's company.

While waiting for seats, we took advantage of the photo opp with the

cut-out with Eskimo Joe and Buffy (the dog).

Allie loving her ice cream. She ate the whole thing by herself!

A funny one. Breya is the best at making crazy faces

for the camera. We love her!

The kids played around outside after eating. Bella, who is 8 years old, loves to hold Rachel. It makes us giggle because Bella is so small. But she does great with her, and Rachel loves her, too.

Allie monkeying around



Allie, Breya, and Taylyn dancing and posing. (Allie looks

a little sleepy-eyed.)

Bella still keeping a watch on Rachel.

Nathen (14), Bella (8), Taylyn (5), and Breya (5)

Because we wanted to pack our kitchen and baking supplies, we made some cupcakes for Allie a few days early. She loves birthdays and cupcakes. So she was thrilled that we had some for her. She was a little excited to blow out the candle, so she made her wish after.

On her actual birthday, we gave her a little gift and sang to her again. When we had gone to the Museum of Osteology, she found a little crocodile stuffed animal. "It's my favorite!!" she exclaimed when she found it. She kept looking at others but kept coming back to the crocodile. We told her we couldn't get it, but since it was only $5 (which we didn't think was too bad for a stuffed animal from a touristy place), we got it without her knowing so that we could give it to her on her birthday. She was pretty happy with it.





Allie has asked several times if we can have her birthday again. We're trying to help her understand that she only has it once a year.

Jared also had a birthday and turned 28. I made him a cheesecake, that we all really enjoyed. I somehow didn't get any pictures. It probably had something to do with packing and getting ready to move. I felt bad we didn't get to do more for their birthdays, but I think they both felt loved.

The Museum of Osteology

We got a good Groupon deal for the Museum of Osteology in Oklahoma City. Having purchased it almost a year ago, we needed to use it before it expired and before we moved to Arkansas.

Maria, Jon, and their kids joined in on the fun, too. Jon's daughter is Taylyn and is an absolute doll. It was really neat seeing all of the skeletons of animals.





Taylyn and Breya

Taylyn loved pushing Rachel in the stroller.

Jared and Allie looking at some skeletons (walrus?).

The Buffalo

The Giraffe

Nathen

 A beaver chewing on wood.

Rachel checking out the hedgehog.

Allie observing horses.

In front of snakes

Allie pointing out some birds (not seen in pic) to Daddy.

Our Family

The cousins

Nathen
Taylyn, Breya, Allie
Rachel, Bella



The beginning of June 2012

Rachel loves putting clothes over her head. She does a pretty good job. And if there are items that she can't put over her head, she'll walk around holding it on her neck. Such a silly girl.

In Mommy's Phi Sigma shirt.

Sporting Mommy's swimsuit

As we mentioned before, Allie does pretty well at dressing herself. But sometimes she has some struggles.

Perhaps 6 shirts are too many. Maybe.

Allie being silly with her mouse. (The tail is stretched around her head.)

We started preparing for our move in May. We originally thought that we would be moving around June 4th, though we didn't end up moving until the 16th. We were going to be using U-Boxes (Storage boxes by U-Haul), so we needed to pack for short term until our boxes got to Arkansas and we could get more clothes out. So while getting ready to pack for the girls, Rachel wanted to make sure I didn't forget her. How could I ever forget, Rachel?

Absolutely adorable!

With more walks, Rachel had more chances to hang out on the stroller.

We got a package that had lots of packaging paper. The girls had a blast with it. These two videos are fairly similar, but I absolutely love Rachel's laugh in both. These girls crack me up.



Allie and Rachel in May 2012

Here are some somewhat random pictures from May that we think are cute and want to share.

Rachel loves food. We've said it before, and I'm sure we'll say it again. Food makes her happy.

Look at this smile

Last Halloween, Allie got a little soft plastic, real-looking mouse from a friend at church. Allie loves it, and Rachel decided that she does, too.

Who needs a cat?

We went for a walk to the park, where the girls played and had lots of fun. I love taking pictures at the park because it's fairly easy to get real smiles and there is usually pretty good lighting.

I love this one of Allie!

Rachel loved carrying this stick around.

Rachel loves it when we go for walks. She gets so excited if we even touch a stroller. When we got home from the park, she wasn't ready to get out of the stroller.

Allie has been doing great with getting herself dressed. One night she put her pajamas on backwards. She convinced us to zip it up for her. Silly girl.



Allie pretended to feed her baby a few times after Rachel was born, but overall she hasn't done it very often. I didn't expect it when she took her shirt off and started to "nurse" her baby in May. But I love this picture. I think it is so sweet.

We went for another walk to Theta Pond. Allie started pushing Rachel in her stroller around the time Grandma and Grandpa Carpenter were here. She thinks it is so great. Rachel just loves it if anyone will push her.

Here we go!

We saw a fuzzy turtle.

Allie is a big fan of us taking her picture. Here's a shot taken on her command that turned out pretty cute.

Another quirk that Allie has is wanting to sleep in tight spaces. For a month or two before moving, Allie insisted on sleeping under Rachel's crib. When we would let her, she would normally go to sleep more quickly, so it became the norm. We would kneel by her bed for prayers, then let her crawl under the crib, and then sing to her. She makes us smile and laugh a lot.

 Allie finally let me paint her nails. I only paint my toe nails, and I had tried getting her to let me a few times before in the last year or more, but she wouldn't let me. This time, it was actually her idea. I started with her toes and then she wanted her fingers done, too. She kept saying how pretty they were and how she was going to have pretty nails just like her cousin. I didn't get a good picture with her face and the nails, so here is one of her putting her painted nails out for me.