Adventures in our new yards

Not long after we moved in, Amanda declared a game of Duck, Duck, Goose. Curtis loved "ducking," but he liked "goosing" and catching people even more, as in the case with Amanda here.

Lydia thought the whole thing looked like fun . . .

. . . so she was very happy when Dad stepped in and gave her a lift so she could play, too.

Despite a distinct lack of cardinals in our new yards, we did nevertheless spy this interesting bird out the back window:

We're also fresh out of squirrels and chipmunks here, but the kids seem to like these large mammals just as well or better (especially when they get to throw them scraps of food):

And, yes, the dogs are big. VERY big. Keep in mind that the fence is taller than Curtis. These dogs can look Mom and Dad in the eye if they feel like it. Since they seem to like us, Mom is glad to have them on duty by Amanda's bus stop.

We've also been visited by a chicken or two, residents of another adjoining yard (NOT the big dogs' yard).

As ever, the kids are fascinated by creepy crawlies. Here's a fine worm Jared found. Keep in mind that it really looked much better before being re-homed multiple times in various dirt containers.

We saw a few slugs in our old yard, but here we have snails. Since we have no garden plot here, they're actually quite interesting. The chickens next door also seem to keep them in check.

Jared collected a whole family of snails today, with big "mommy and daddy" snails and little baby snails, too. Here he is with a couple of his snail friends.

The yard with the chickens is also home to a smaller dog (shown in an earlier post), a couple of rabbits, and, most fun of all, a multitude of cats. There are several colors of cats there, but for some reason the orange ones are the friendliest. Here are Curtis and Jared with Rowdy, the patient cat who endured Curtis "carrying" him home to our yard before he escaped back to his own yard again.

One of the nicest things about our yard is our tree collection. There aren't as many as were in our old yard, by any means, but there are enough to cover the bases (one in front, one in back), and they're both very nice. Interestingly enough, the back yard tree is a maple, just like the one we lost in our old yard and mourned in a post last year (click here if you missed it and are curious). Our front yard tree is a big old apricot tree. We missed its fruit season, but the kids have had fun "planting" old pits they've found near the tree. The best thing about the yards, though, is just the same as in our old place: it's a good place for the Muffins to have fun together.

The dino in the green glass

This is what Mom found the other day, courtesy of a little boy. Captions, anyone?

First Official New House Picture 2011

Ta da! Behold, the beauty of the rug-bedecked basement bathroom! This is significant for a number of reasons: 1) We actually have a bathroom in the basement; 2) we have more than one bathroom; and 3) there's one room done, nice and pretty. Still have a few more to go . . .

Amanda's New School

Today is Amanda's first day of second grade*. Perfect time to share some pictures from back to school night at her school! First off, we have Amanda sitting not just on a bus, but on the very same bus that will be taking her to and from her new school. (Don't be fooled by her expression; she is actually VERY excited about school and has had a very long past few days waiting for it.)

Here's Amanda in the computer corner of her new classroom. Mom gets a kick out of how this school, Amanda's old school, and our old library are all filled with Macs just like Mom's. The rest of Amanda's classroom is filled with clusters of desks, each one well-stocked with school supplies. There's also a bit of a Snoopy theme going on.

The school playground is much like other playgrounds, aside from being situated in sight of a church building on either side (same denomination) and having this unique play structure:

Here's Amanda victorious, conqueror of the whatever-it-is. Today the playground, tomorrow the world!

*For those of you who may not have been following Amanda's school saga, Amanda is skipping a grade. She loved kindergarten last year, but as one of our Ohio library's top 100 summer readers and an Ohio-certified math whiz, her first grade experience consisted of testing first in Ohio and then again here in Utah. Both evaluators concluded she has no business being in first grade; she'd "be bored out of her mind."

Life in Utah (relatively speaking)

One of the biggest differences for us now is being close to family, especially on Dad's side. For starters, it was almost exclusively Dad's family that helped us unload our truck once we got here. A day or two later, Grandpa came to caulk our tubs (notice the plural "s" there!) while Grandma played with the Muffins so Mom and Dad could do some more unpacking. We didn't make it to our own church our first Sunday here because we went to listen to our nephew speak at his church instead (he's off on his mission now). Then we all got to go to Aunt Karen's place for lunch! Here's Lydia smiling at family there:

Here are Curtis and Jared the very next night playing at Grandma and Grandpa's house. They had us over for a yummy picnic dinner and family home evening.

This weekend we went to Aunt Sandy's house for another family get together. She even had bubbles for the kids!

By far, though, the best part of being here for the Muffins is cousins. Amanda, Jared, and Curtis each have a same-age cousin here.

All that family visiting in less than a fortnight! My, how times have changed from living hundreds of miles from everyone.