One Year

Last Sunday marked the one year anniversary of moving into our "new blue house."  I can't believe it's been a whole year...but the Moose Mountain house (our "old red house" in Emily's terms) feels like another lifetime.  We still talk regularly about how much we love this house and this location, how we haven't seen another house in the last year we'd have rather bought.  We feel so lucky!  I still love that I can vacuum the whole house (except the finished basement) from one outlet.  It's very manageable for this housework-averse girl who likes to be in a clean house!  Even the yard doesn't take too long to mow, but has lots of space for little girls to run, and woods to tromp in.  I could go on.. the deck!  The swingset!   The short flat driveway that can park 9 cars.  We do laugh that after I was so keen on buying a house with a two-car garage, we've since become a one-car family.  More room for storage and painting projects. :)  We hope to call this place home for a long time.

The house was move-in ready a year ago, but we've still done a lot of work making it our own.  We hired someone to do the big stuff: a major kitchen face-lift, finishing the partially finished basement playroom & guest room (so thankful to have all that space when our wonderful church community group including sixteen children under the age of 5 descends every two weeks!) and building a mudroom in the back of the garage.

Since then it's been all DIY. I've been working on painting just about every surface in the house, and making no-sew curtains (thank you pinterest).  I am one room away from having all bright white doors & trim!  Yippee!  Just the girls' room left to go.   Right now I'm in the middle of staining our dining room set, and Alasdair is building a path from the driveway to the mudroom door.  I'm hoping in the next year we will (do fewer house projects!) finish decorating some rooms, re-do my office, and tackle the neglected flower beds. Our neighbor's house is going on the market soon, so it might be time to up the curb appeal.:)

You can see an album of house pictures here.

Rock

 I love that Emily has gravitated towards the exact spot that I would have as a kid.  There's a little strip of woods along the side of our yard that is technically common to the neighborhood, but it feels like ours.  This rock is right on the corner, looking out at the street but sort of hidden.

Visitors

My cousin Rob and his fiancee Katy (Alasdair will be helping perform their wedding in a few months) came up to visit us a few Saturday's ago.  We went on a hike around Boston Lot Lake and played with the kids.  Fun. :)

The same night, we got a super short visit from Andy, who was in the (general) area touring colleges with Collin.  

Spring in MA

Alasdair spoke at a church in MA this week, so the girls and I tagged along to play at Mimi & Papa's.  Alasdair & I also got to visit Becky & Brian in Boston all alone. :)  Yummy dinner, fun conversation, and a drive by the castle where they are getting married in the fall!

The next day when I got Adara up from her nap, she immediately said, "Papa.  Mimi.  Home...  Seat."  I asked her if she meant that she wanted to go in her [car]seat and go to Mimi & Papa's house... "Yes!"

April odds & ends

playing with friends on the swingset

snuggling in Emily's bed

picnic with friends at the Montshire

smelling the flowers on Main Street in Hanover

(after a Boloco picnic on the Green with with the Powlisons)

trying on sunglasses

(More pictures & video - click on the links to the right.)

Montshire

During one of our last cold mornings last week, we took a trip to one of our favorite places, the Montshire museum. 

Engineer working on the gears.  (Video here)

Crazy girl jumping off the exhibits.