Blueberry picking

The second week we were here (it's now week 3!) we were invited to go blueberry picking with someone from the church.  I love berry picking, and we didn't get to go in St. Louis before we left, so I jumped at the opportunity.  

The kids and I have never been blueberry picking before (unless picking berries off the bushes at Covenant School during the summer counts) so it was fun to give it a try.

There were tons of berries, and we brought home a great harvest - blueberry pancakes, blueberries for snacks, and future blueberry muffins, etc., since I froze some of them right away.

The blueberry patch was in Blacksburg, just down the road from where my brother, Todd, lives, so after we picked we went over to his house for lunch.  I'm still amazed that we live close enough to family to do that!

Our living spaces

Here are a few pictures of our living spaces.  This is the upstairs living room, which flows into the kitchen and eating area.

We ended up getting a new TV cabinet - our last one was so big.

We're thankful for a nice open floor plan - this is something we'd like in our next house, too, if possible.

Our kitchen is smaller, but our landlord got us this great island, which helps with storage and counter space.

To the left of the island are sliding glass doors that lead out onto our back patio.  The patio is two-leveled, and it goes down to our back yard.

This is the downstairs living room, a.k.a. the playroom.  It is also the door closest to the driveway, so we mostly use this door for our comings and goings.

We are very thankful for our house this year.  And we're praying for God to provide the right house for us to live in long term when the time is right.

Where we sleep

Our house is almost settled.  There's a few things here and there that we're still working on, but otherwise we've got it to a place that we're happy with, at least for this year.

The house is a split-level, so we put all the kids on the top floor, and our room is downstairs.  It is wall-to-wall with furniture, but it's cozy and comfortable.

Mead is in the master bedroom upstairs - she's got ample space and her own bathroom!

Cole is excited about his room - appropriately filled with baseball paraphernalia and Legos.

Laine has the smallest room in the house, but she has built in shelves that help hold all her knick knacks.  And she just got these stick on butterflies that she decorated with - it looks great!

And here is our "guest room," which is really a room with a lot of boxes, the guest dresser, Penny's dresser (which didn't fit in our room), and a bed.  The plan is to let our guests use Cole's room (with a queen size bed) and let Cole sleep down here when needed.  That will give our guests some privacy.

We will obviously not be using the fireplace this year, but I'm glad for a little space for my desk, and the door is for the downstairs bathroom that Penny and I use.  Our bedroom is just on the other side of this room.

I'll take pictures of our living spaces soon.  Hope you enjoy the tour!

Moving week

Last week was a blur - finishing the packing and loading the truck was accomplished all in one day.  

The kids loved exploring the truck and seeing all the stuff the movers were using.

Along the way we stayed with and visited friends and family - a fun way to cross the country!

It was good to see my mom, brief though it was.

We also spent time at a park one afternoon, where I was able to snap a few pictures.

I hope to post some pictures of our new house soon - we're slowly getting things settled!

City Museum

Another activity of the week included going to the City Museum for the first time.  We invited a couple other families to join us, so the kids each had some playmates.

The City Museum is made of recycled metals, stones, and other items found in the city, which artists turned into a giant playground.  It's really amazing!

The kids especially loved the ball pits for big and little kids.

We did lots of climbing, inside and outside, that day.

We also explored all around the museum and found many unusual things - including this dungeon jail!

Cole and his buddies climbed to the top of a castle tower.

Laine climbed just about everywhere she could - it's hard to tell from these pictures, but she (and we) were up really high at points!

Cole, of course, adored the ball pit.

It didn't take him long to create a game of kicking the balls and trying to get them through various holes up top - he even succeeded a few times!

Museum of Transportation

The next day Laine picked the museum of transportation as our destination.

First the kids rode the hand-powered train engines.

Then we all rode a miniature train around the museum grounds.

And we looked at and climbed on and in lots of real trains - both engines and other cars.

A fun morning - looking forward to visiting the museum of transportation in Roanoke too!

Grant's Farm

We had one week together after school finished and before we moved.  During that week we packed boxes and did activities around St. Louis.  Each kid got to pick an outing.  Cole picked Grant's Farm - a fun choice for our last week!

The kids pet the goats.

We watched a bird show.

And Laine, especially, enjoyed looking at the birds of prey - she absolutely adores eagles and owls!

We also saw the elephant show.

And we rode the tram back and forth both ways from the parking lot.  Mead wanted me to get the cannon balls in the picture - they are remnants from the Civil War.

Finally we went to the stable and looked at the clydesdales - they are such big and beautiful horses (we saw real ones, not just this statue!)