Quick update: Malvern life

We just got a trail gator so that Alma and I can ride our bikes in tandem.  It's awesome.  This morning the kids and I went 4 miles on the Chester Valley Rail Trail, visiting two big parks.  James is great about riding alongside Alma and me on his Strider bike so that we can go zipping along as a unit.  What fun!  And the encouragement from the other riders and runners on the trail (big smiles, "way to go!") is so motivating for the children.

The Marsh Creek Lake, which is just a 20 minute drive from our house, has a friendly and generous sailing club which races Lasers every Sunday afternoon.  I've gone two weeks in a row now and have had such fun using the loaner boat.  It is so nice to get back out on the water.  The last time I sailed was six years ago and I have never been on a Laser.  I was happy that it has been easy to pick up as it is such a responsive little boat.

School:

The kids and Joshua had meet the teacher day on Friday and seem excited about school starting.  Alma was told by one sweet little girl that she was going to introduce her to all her friends, become her new best friend and show her everything about the classroom.  James was excited about his male assistant teacher and the fish in the classroom.  Joshua is totally going to thrive at this school -- the other teachers already speak so positively about him.  So neat to see him back in a classroom.  This school has a great vibe which makes me so happy.

House:
The house is still working out well.  I planted some bushes and flowers in the front to spruce it up a little. 

 

Last few days of summer vacation

James spent a lot of time in this box.  He was a robot who distributed berries that you could squish and drink. 

Ice cream truck joy!

Malvern train station before our first ride on the commuter train

Happy Birthday Simon!

 Simon is approximately 8 years old.  He gets so much more attention now that we have to walk him so consistently.  The children adore him and incorporate him into many of their games.  He is a lovely, tolerant, soft darling.

Alma crafted a "birthday cake" for the pup: bones, peanut butter and cheese.  Of course, he ate it out of some fine china.

Uncle Scott does it again

Scott is, once again, the first non-local visitor to our new house.  Great to see him, as usual.  The kids loved his newest gadget: slow motion video on his iPhone. 

Last year at this time....

We were in Oregon celebrating Scott and Josh's wedding and visiting with family.

Happy anniversary, Scott and Josh!

The New Place

We are renting a house that is quickly winning my heart over again and again.  Not only did we get a screaming good deal on the rental -- not being charged extra for the pets saved us a bundle each month -- but the house is the right size (three bedrooms, two bathrooms, huge basement for storage + my craft area + most importantly, Joshua's workout space), walking distance to an amazing rail trail and tons of parks, has a great big back patio for Simon, is 10 minutes from the Montessori school and has all the other little amenities we could have lived without (central air, new carpeting, etc.).  

For the last few months, we have been aggressive about getting rid of things (10+ trips with a packed car to Goodwill plus tons of comically huge free piles at our house).  We were thinking that we got rid of 1/3 of our belongings.  However, moving day proved us wrong.  It was quite a process with two days and two packed trips with the largest UHaul they rent (26 feet) demonstrating that we have far more than we imagined hiding in the basement of the house.  

The following day, we all ventured up to the Lehigh Valley to retrieve our second car (unfortunately for the kids and Joshua, they drove all the way to the rental before realizing that I had the keys with me at work).  On Friday, we had an odd closing with the buyer's father continuing to ask for more money for such silly things as a kitchen cabinet door not staying shut properly (what?!).  Luckily, the kids had a blast spending the day with my terrific parents.  God bless them and all the work they did to make our move as successful as it was.  We spent the last week un-boxing and rebuilding all of the Ikea furniture Joshua had spent the last few months dismantling and labeling.  On Monday, we have our first visitor, Uncle Scott.  

Joshua enjoyed his first day of work -- setting up his classroom with his co-teacher, Ms. Jen.  He will start full time this coming week and the kids begin school the week after. This summer was dominated by this move.  I'm feeling grateful to finally have it done.

Last Picture on Greenwich Street

(Note: James was pausing his bike ride to join us in this picture -- the helmet was non-negotiable)

SOLD

Hooray, our lovely house sold in 20 days.  Joshua was (of course) the champ of cleaning while also managing the children while I worked.  And now he has become the champ of packing while also managing the children while I work.  (You may start sensing a theme here.)  We move out next week and close the following week.  I'll be commuting to work and probably staying in the empty the house the week in between.

Joshua and I are on the same get-rid-of-stuff team so more than 1/3 of our things are being shipped (through multiple full carloads) to the local Goodwill donation center or put on the sidewalk with a free sign.  It feels good to purge and it is also interesting to see what each of us puts in our must-keep pile:

me = super old, well-loved dolls from my youth;
Joshua = certain music tapes;
Alma = everything she has ever come in contact with, including the generic plastic Halloween pumpkin that has her name written on it which she "rescued" from the recycling bin;
James = his 50+ Matchbox cars and trains (and nearly nothing else -- he happily put his own plastic Halloween pumpkin in the recycling bin).

We will rent in Malvern for a year so that we can learn about the area, find a good house (nothing was quite fitting when we looked this summer) and make sure that Joshua and the children adore the school before doubling-down by purchasing a home.  The school sounds so amazing; I would be shocked if it was not.

Beyond the never-ending packing, school preparations have begun: Alma's uniforms have been ordered, James got a haircut and we are planning on a school supplies trip in the coming week.  Alma is very excited about the prospect of the new school.  I am still shocked by this from my normally slow to adjust child.  James is still a little oblivious.  For example, the other day we walked a block to a friend's house to get a key so that we could look in on their cat while they vacationed.  As we were knocking on their door, James turned to me to ask if this was our new house.  Um, no, buddy, this is not the new house. 

We have loved this house and will miss the sunny dining room, the perfect-sized backyard (perfect for playing, projects, gardening, and perfect for not overwhelming us with  yard work), the nice woodwork, the ridiculous amount of storage space, my person retreat (the extra bedroom and the craft room, both in the quiet finished attic space), Joshua's retreat (the detached garage which acted as his gym) and the long living room with hardwood floors where both children learned to walk, dance, play and hang out as a family.  It has been such a great house for us -- chosen a bit on a whim -- but loved with time.  I'm excited for the next adventure but I'll miss the daily reminders of the good times we had in this space. 

Some official listing photos: