Being Beard: June

Where May was super fun, June was super busy. We squeezed some fun in, too, but we didn't pause much for it. We sold our house, which is old news now, but was huge then! We were so relieved. It had gotten to the point that I'd quit watching HGTV altogether to save myself from the pain of seeing all of these beautiful renovations that I thought I'd never get to do in our dream fixer-upper. After the relief wore off, the reality of packing up our lives set in. Garrett and Scout joined in the effort and packed a huge box by themselves (G insists Scout didn't help much) of toys from their toybox. G was insistent that I tape it up, but being that we were several weeks away from the move, and their toybox was empty, I decided to leave the box full, but open. The kids seemed happy with that.

Picnic break when spending a day cleaning the new house before we moved in

Playdates with the church started, which were difficult for me to participate in, with all that I had to get done, but they were also a nice, forced timeout from the packing. My kids needed it, and so did I. We fed ducks, played on playscapes around the city, and even visited a farm.

We went on our annual trip to South Padre Island. This time, we were smart and rented a condo with the Howards, our friends who share this trip with us, now that Ryan and Jay work together. The whole experience was much more pleasant with separate bedrooms from our kids and a full kitchen and living room. Garrett and Cohen shared a room, which went better than I'd expected. We only made it to the beach once, which is plenty for me. I'm not much of a fan, but I feel obligated to give my children the experience while I'm there, even if Garrett doesn't want to go into the water, Scout wanders far off as she chases the gulls, and I feel like I've been through a couple rounds of P90X after hauling my children and all the necessary gear down to the water. The kids loved the pool - thankfully the boys were content to stay in the kiddie pool - and we enjoyed some good food together. We had one late dinner that was touch-and-go, but Jessica and I decided to give up on the notion of tasting our food, gobbled it up, and headed back to let the kids swim again. We also visited Pirate's Landing and the turtle rescue again, which were both even more fun this year. It was a good trip, and the driving wasn't half-bad, either.

Father's Day was fun, though I had to be prepared for it before we left for our trip. It will be obvious when looking back on this year's card, that Scout had nothing to do with it. Garrett chose a Transformers card, though he knows almost nothing about it. Optimus Prime gives a recorded greeting when you open it, and Garrett asked everyday after we bought it, if that day was Father's Day. He almost couldn't stand the wait. He made it, though, and Ryan loved it. We also got him a book and a toolbelt for all of the projects at our new house. In hindsight, I realize those gifts were incompatible. He's not going to have time to read with all of the work that has to be done, but maybe looking at the cover of it will force him to take a break and crack it open. Hasn't happened yet! Garrett also had a Daddy and Donuts day at his preschool to honor the dads for Father's Day. It obviously happened well before Father's Day, but it was really sweet. They made a card with a poem in it that looked like a suit and tie. We love you so much, Daddy! We can't get enough of you!

I joined the rest of the planet in starting the Twilight series, and, yes, I love it, too! It was a little hard for me to get into it, since I approached it as a vampire book, but once I started reading it from a teen love story perspective, I fell in love with the characters. I also had to get over the fact that a vampire was interested in a teenager. Anyone else think a hundred-year old man hitting on a 17-year old is a little creepy? I've never even understood what a 40-year old could possibly find interesting to discuss with a 20-year old, but I'm over it now. If you're having that problem, too, and maybe I'm unique in this issue, the movie helps when you see two people who look the same age. It's the first novel I've gotten into in awhile. I always seem to have other things I need to read and not enough time to get through those, but after several pushes from friends, who knew I'd love them, I gave in. So glad I did!

Anybody notice it got really hot, really fast in Texas this June? Playing outside in the sprinkler continued, and we added ice pops to the fun.

Moving day was the last Saturday of June. It was insane, and we couldn't have done it without my mom and sister. My mom played the role of Super Grandma, and my sister worked her hands to the bone helping us pull up carpet and linoleum, clean, move in furniture, and cut and lay shelf liner. The Greenes were also lifesavers, bringing us lunch, a little housewarming present, and a much-needed break from the work. We met a lot of really nice neighbors, who all breathed a sigh of relief when they heard we'd bought the place and weren't renting. I learned how to use a tile scraper, which was a heavy machine and super fun! If you need linoleum taken up in your place, rent me one of those, and I'll gladly do it for you. It makes me feel like a beast. The weekend wasn't easy, especially seeing our old, empty house before locking it up for the last time, but we're in!