Moving day is today.

These pictures were taken five years ago when we first moved here.  We found this great spot just minutes from our house.  We were trying to come up with a good photo for our first ever Christmas card.  I think we decided on the top one.

Well, today is the big day. It's amazing that you can feel so many emotions at one time... Excited, nervous, happy, and sad.

I've been extremely reflective this last little while as I've been reviewing all the things-events-people met-experiences that have happened here in our little brick house.

This was the first real time we'd ever really been on our own.
This was the place I learned what it was like to rely completely on Aaron.
This is the place I realized how important cell phones were and how important it was for me to have support/love from our families back home.
This was the place that I started a blog to keep my old friends and family in the loop.  
This was the place I learned how to be a full-time working member of society... Where I realized how wonderful it was to be in a great work environment. I loved the girls/women I worked with at the stationery store.
This was the place where it was acceptable and normal to use the word "y'all" in my everyday jargon.  You know I capitalized on that. (I could do a whole post about how great that word is.)
This was the place where I learned how much I love the internet.
This is the place where I learned how to earn an income from home and started to figure out a work/life balance.
This is the place where I met so many great friends who have turned into family members.
This is the place where I learned how to comfortable, truly, in my own skin.

This is the place where I became a mom.  twice.

This is the place where my life changed in so many ways, and this has been my home for 5 long/short/crazy happy/good years.  

Am I weird for feeling so incredibly sad but excited at the same time?  Am I lame that I want to take pictures of things like the bathtub to remember how many times I washed those little bodies in it?  Am I silly for wanting to go over to every person that has been in our lives and give them a good hug and say "thank you"?  Am I crazy that I want to push pause and stay right here for a little big longer in the place I have grown to love?  Is it wrong to want to stay comfortable?

Maybe it is wrong.  Maybe I am crazy.  Actually, I am crazy.  And schizophrenic too, apparently.


Basically, I just want to say thanks.  Thanks to all of you who have made these past five years happy for me and my family.

San Antonio, you've been good to us.  Real good.

"I like to move it, move it..." not really.

In case you were wondering, I'm finally coming to grips that we are moving in 7 days.
Maybe it's because I've called to cancel our internet/phone, electricity, water, home owners insurance, etc.
Maybe it's because we took our last trip to SeaWorld as residents living only 6 minutes away (now that's a REALLY sad thought).
Maybe it's because I've been collecting a billion boxes and tips for packing from friends and neighbors.
Maybe it's because I've taken stock of the contents left in our freezer and figuring out how to eek out dinners without running to the grocery store (the recommended 3 months minimum of food storage our church recommends having on hand, we totally had! who knew?!)
Maybe it's because we took a trip downtown to the Riverwalk and acted like tourists, bought San Antonio t-shirts, and did the boat tour.
And, maybe it's because the movers are coming to load us up on the 13th.

Yeah, I think the last one is the kicker.  I think THAT is the reason I'm coming to grips.  Ready or not, they're coming to take me away ("haa haa, hee hee, ho ho, to the funny farm..." do you hate that song as much as I do?).

So, I've decided packing is good and bad.  Good, because it forces you to go through things that you've been avoiding---or in my case, transferring from one pile (rubbermaid bin) to the next.  It's one of my best talents that my mother loathes.  (love you, mom---and remember, you still love me.)  Call me crazy, but it's kind of fun discovering little papers we wrote our "Goals" on a few years ago.  It's fun to go through printed photos and file folders that represent certain chapters in our lives.  It kind of reminds me of this post I did a few years ago.

The part that isn't so good or fun---finding random Target, Costco, Walmart receipts from 2008.  Were they important purchases?  No.  Seriously, I found a HUGE stack of dorky receipts I'd kept.  So weird.  Another part that is not so fun is convincing 3.5 year old Tillie and 20 month old Calvin to stay away from my boxes.  They love to help and enjoy seeing all the crazy things I'm pulling out from under our bathroom sinks.  But let's be honest, Cal playing with toilet bowl cleaner isn't the best of ideas.


crickets chirping.



I've decided this is a really boring post.  I'm even bored typing it, you must be REALLY bored reading it.  But, honestly, this is better than packing up my bulk shampoo and conditioner---I really hate having to squeeze & twist down the top to seal it up.  Such a waste.  And, I hope that darn pump doesn't come untwisted in the move and coat the rest of the box in conditioner.  And, while we're on the topic of bulk bathroom products, why on earth was I convinced that I needed to buy 4 gallons worth of hand soap from Costco?  I'm so sick of using that soap, it's killing me.  Yet, I'm packing the remaining gallon to McKinney to use it there.  Perfect.  Can't wait.

See?  Boring topic.  But, hello, this is what I've been doing for the last few days.  Boring.  Melissa.

Let's reward everyone for making it through tonight's post.  Let's post some pictures.
First off, let's take a look at our last big hurrah downtown at the Riverwalk:

Aaron's tall, but not tall enough to put Calvin with the stone men above.  I advised him to put Cal back down to a safe level---and STAT!

ahh, much better.  

somewhere on our computer I have a shot of Aaron and I when we first moved here five years ago.  I thought it would be cool to have a side by side comparison of the photos---but alas, I'm not finding that old photo.  When I DO find it, (and trust me, I'm now on a mission!) I'll show you the two.  Pretty amazing what 5 years can do to your life.

hanging out on the river.

super sweaty, sorry.  but that glass sculpture is so cool!

Yes, both children would have jumped into the water, had we let them.

very cute.

and another "Very cute"

Sorry children that you inherited your mother's RED HOT FACE if you are even remotely warm.  I apologize.  Really, I do.  It was approx 104 degrees this day, if you must know.  Thank you, Texas.

love that they scalloped the ivy.  So cool.  It's all about the details, people.

We went to a super lovely restaurant for lunch.  Aaron had heard from a friend at work that this place was a favorite.  We thought we'd give it a try.  Let me just say this---not really kid friendly (really? Tillie didn't like the heart of palm? weird.), but super delicious.  We used my birthday money and it was SO good.  Aaron and I keep dreaming about the cheese bread that Cal is shown stuffing his face with.  I think, if Cal could communicate better, he'd mention that he TOO has been dreaming of it since.  Fogo De Chao is the name, in case you were curious.  Oh, and found out it's not just a San Antonio restaurant---they have a few places all over---including Dallas.  HA!  That's funny.

Taunting poor pigeons with Cheerios.  Lovely. 

"Cowabunga!" or is he saying, "ALLL right!"  Not quite sure.  But, either way, he looks rad.  And, hello, he's larger than life.  Look how tiny the Alamo is.  It really is that small in person.  Seriously.  Don't say I didn't warn you.  It seems like whenever we took visitors to see it, they'd say, "Really?  It's that small?"  Yes.  Sad, but true.

 This is Cal trying to sleep in the car.  I wanted to record the memory of his bright red and tired face.  He was SUPER sleepy, but when he saw I was taking a picture, he flashed this smile.  This kid kills me.

:::  In other news, (wow, this post is suddenly getting less and less boring!!) I don't think I ever mentioned that the house we were building SOLD just days after it went back on the market.  And, funny story, the new home owners hated the tiled floor, the glass tile backsplash, and the granite countertops we chose.  So, they replaced them ALL!  Amazing!?!  I know!  You wanna see?  Of course you do.  Here's what we saw:

landscaped front yard.

 

added wood flooring in the master bedroom and master closet (of all places).  kind of funny. sorry for the blurry pic.

new tile work in the master bath.

Not jiving on the combo with the mini tiles... 

Crazy, right?  I wonder what it cost for them to make all those changes?  Oh well.  Not my problem anymore.  I'm surprised at the combinations they chose.  And, really, I'm not a fan of the granite/backsplash combo in the kitchen, although I'm surprised at how much I liked the brightness of the lighter tile in the main family room area and kitchen.  In the end "it's different strokes for different folks," as my mom says.
Honestly, it was kind of nice seeing all the changes, b/c is just solidified the fact that this wasn't our home anymore.

So, all is well.

Oh, and before I sign off, please know that I appreciate all the kind words about the house situation.  Honestly, I cried reading them.  Oh great, now I'm boring AND lame.  Sorry.  But, y'all were so nice and made me feel so much better about the quick decision we made.  Thank you.  Seriously, thank you.

Alright, signing off now.

Or, as we used to say back in the day, "Wellllllp, gotta go work out!"