So this is home...

We've been having fun getting to know our new city and making this place feel like home. The kids seem to be adjusting and have not asked once when we are going "home" (referring to our Canada house) like I thought they would. It feels like so long ago we lived there. A new family has already moved in to our old house which seems strange. It still feels a bit like we're on vacation to me. The kids seem to be finding enough to do in the summer house and are happy with the small amount of toys they have and find ways to stay entertained. The other day I put Tate on the floor of the kids' bedroom and went to grab something from the other room. When I came back, he was gone! I panicked and raced around looking for him. I heard giggling coming from the kids room and went back in and found him in the circus tent with Hadley, just laughing and playing. I can't imagine how she got him in there! They seem to be doing ok sharing a bedroom. Initially there was a lot of talking and chatting going on, but that seems to have died down. Now they really enjoy it and I'm sure they'll be complaining when we move into our new house and they have their own rooms again.

Hadley sleeps with blankets over her face, just like me!

We've been out exploring the area and checking things out. We vowed to go on a new adventure each week while we don't have the distraction of unpacking and house projects. There are some great parks nearby and the kids love it when I pack a picnic lunch and we head out to play on a new one we haven't been to. The area where we're renting is about a 40 minute drive from where we're building, which is going to be a real bummer to drive each day when taking the kids to school, but hopefully it won't be long. The neighborhood has a great community pool and playground that the kids are enjoying. They can't get enough swimming and beg to go every day. I'm not comfortable with all three alone so we generally only go on weekends and they look forward to it all week. We've been taking bike rides around the neighborhood after dinner, although it's VERY hilly here so we have to strategically plan our route so Dayven and I are not stuck carrying the bikes home. I have been running a bit, although the hills and humidity are brutal. My lungs are tired before my legs are.

We found an amazing grocery store that is HUGE and has everything imaginable. I am in LOVE! I have to try very hard not to turn into a crazed food hoarder, buying everything in sight. It's just so good - huge meat and seafood counter, charcuterie, delectable cheeses, coffee roasting station, candy shoppe where you can order gelato milkshakes, bakery, sushi bar... oh, I could go on and on. The smells are divine! There's a delicious cafe where you can go from station to station loading up your plate and they charge you at the end. It's one of our favorite lunch spots. They sell beer and wine by the glass and you can sit on their outdoor patio and enjoy live music on the weekends. They offer curbside service so you can either shop online and they'll bring the groceries out to your car at the set pick up time or else you can pay and just leave your groceries there and pull your car right up front and they load them up. So handy when you're shopping with kids. They even have a daycare with toys, crafts and video games and you can drop your kids off for free while you shop. Genius! The kids loved it and didn't want to leave. Now they're asking to go to the grocery all the time.

Last weekend we took the kids down "The strip" as it's known around these parts, a fun foodie district downtown with all things delicious and edible. And some things not edible. There turned out to be a lot of street vendors selling jewelry, bootleg CDs, chotchkes and Steelers garb too, but it's all part of the experience. Anyhoo, on to the food...  We stopped in the famous (around these parts) Wholly's fish Market and picked out some scallops and red snapper for dinner. We strolled around, people watching and picked up a few things at the Farmer's Market. There's a huge Public Market too with meats, coffee roasters, cheeses, you name it. There were a lot of ethnic stores there as well - an Italian Market, Asian and Mexican and a bunch of fun shops, including Penzey's spices, that  I'll maybe some day make it to if I ever find myself down there without the kids. We followed our noses to the delectable smells wafting out of Pittsburgh Popcorn Company. There was a line to the door so we figured it must be good. They had a ton of yummy flavors (Dayven and I got ours drizzled in Nutella) but the kids went for the basics - Hadley got kettle korn and Wyatt picked good old "Movie theatre", his fav. We'll definitely be back. It will be a fun spot to take foodie friends who visit.

The house is coming along nicely and we're excited to see the progress each week. We're getting progress updates from the next door neighbor since we only get down there about once a week. Her kids watched the roofers putting shingles on the other day during a fierce storm. They used ropes to tie themselves off and would swing in the upstairs window and wait for the rain to pass, then swing back up and put some more on. Just like watching Spiderman! We have now made all the design selections, which was no easy feat with three kids and no babysitter. We were at the tile and flooring place for almost 3 hours the other day pouring over ideas and samples. Dayven took the kids out to lunch while I stayed and kept chugging along, but they were there for a lot of it. They were troopers considering how boring that place really is for kids. By the end they were rolling around in the carpet samples and pretending it was their fort. Now we're working on ideas for the yard. I underestimated how hard it is to do all this stuff in an unfamiliar town with kids in tow. There are just too many things to decide. It will be so nice when it's done though!

At least once a week we end up down in the township where we're building so we have a chance to see more of the area and check things out. We took the kids to the library and they loved it. It has a really cute kids area, and we loaded up on books and movies. We took a tour of Wyatt's school and Hadley's school. Wyatt got to see his classroom and had fun checking out some of the legos and things the teacher had out. The kids had fun playing on the playground too. Hadley was excited to see her school has a little playhouse and kitchen area set up. I know she's going to love school. The kids are both looking forward to school and so am I!

Next week, my brother Josh arrives for a visit. We're really excited to see him!