House Is Sold and Kids Are Here

It's been a few weeks since I've written, and two major things have happened.

House
Our house sold on June 12th.  I'm so glad we have a little extra money in our bank account now and that we no longer have any financial obligations in Arizona.  I miss our house, but with two little kids the house was too big for me to upkeep; everything is so much more manageable now.

Kids
The kids have been back with us since the day before Father's Day.  My parents drove them up to us; it was nice to have the kids back for Father's Day and to see my parents, and everyone was happy to see each other.

That Monday morning we all took the ferry from Seattle to Bainbridge Island so we could check out the Kids Discovery Museum.  The kids had a blast; there's so much to do there for kids their age.

Water coloring with markers on paper towels.

Tree house with a slide at the other end.

Downstairs has little separated areas for different activities.  This is the construction site.

Little grocery store.

Upstairs was a more open area with lots of ball activities to do.  This was Baby Girl's favorite thing, the light sticks.

Little One liked watching the balls roll down.

Another ball activity.  Drop it from high up...

... and watch it roll down and over a couple hills and into a box below.

A magnetic wall where you arrange pipes to make the ball go through and into a bucket.

That evening at the playground near our apartment unit, the kids had fun.  This thing here is wobbly, and Baby Girl is tall enough to hold onto the hand rail to go across.

Little One has incredible balance and he's excited when he makes it across, but that wobbly thing is the only way to get to the big slide that he likes and he's fallen off of this thing twice since we've been here, so we're not going to this playground anymore.

Instead, we're going to this playground!

Little One is on the silver spiral-- he can climb up and slide down that thing for half an hour straight-- and Baby Girl is sliding down the edge of the mini rock wall.  The playground has climbing areas for young kids and older kids.  We've been going here since a few days after the kids got here, and it's been great!

 There is a dog park across the parking lot from the playground, and she loves it!  She loves dogs and wants to ask every owner if their dog likes little kids and if she can pet it.  It's cute how happy she gets when she's around dogs and cats.

The weather is nice enough that I'm able to take the kids to the park twice a day.  It gets us out of the house and it gives me a chance to read books while they expend their energy and make friends.  I'm surprised at how quickly and easily I've slipped back into the mother role.  I've learned how to manage my stress better, and I have less stress overall.  I'm a better wife, a better mother, and I feel more fulfilled and satisfied with life.  Mc, the kids, and I are all doing very well.