yet another busy week

At the end of each day I keep saying to myself "okay, THAT was the busiest day ever, surely tomorrow will be better"...and yet the next ends up being filled up as well.  There will still be large to do lists once we move next week, but at least there is a light at the end of the tunnel.  The kids miss Jeff and are excited to see him soon.  I've been talking to both of the schools for the kids and things are looking good, we have Kyle's schedule and he is excited to start at his new school.

This week I've had a chance to spend some time with my cousin who has just moved here from Northern Ireland.   The kids and I have had some great time with friends in the past week.  I've been overwhelmed with how nice everyone has been about working around my crazy schedule and making so much effort to spend time with the kids and me, we are feeling very loved.

Leah had a great week, her friend Keira slept over (the giggling went on well past bedtime), and she lost her second tooth.

And we ended the week with a run at the zoo. Months ago I signed up for the 5K zoo run, and I did consider using this move as an excuse not to run ("we are moving in a few days" "I haven't had time to train").  But I decided I would just go for it and try my best...goal was to finish in under 40 minutes.  And I did it.  It was rainy the whole time, there were lots of hills and I was passed by countless children, people pushing strollers and a couple who stopped mid-race to pose for pictures with the giraffes (I kid you not).  I finished with a time of 39:05.  I had signed Jillian & Leah up for the 550m cub run, but Leah's legs were tired and she just wasn't up for any running.  Jillian's friend had slept over the night before and had joined us at the zoo so she took Leah's place and the girls ran together.  Jillian did a great job, I loved seeing a big smile on her face as she ran.  I told her the next goal is for her and I to do a 5K together and she is on board!

Go Jillian Go!

Jillian and one of her very best friends, what a great way to end their sleepover with a shared run

Giant Pandas!

It was great having my Mom at the zoo with us, she watched all 5 kids while I ran, they walked around and saw quite a few animals.  After the races we went to see the Panda exhibit.  The pandas like to sleep a lot (that's what we saw them doing), but I love the whole exhibit with lots of fun info about pandas.  After the pandas we were all so wet we decided to just call it a day, a quick stop at mcds to feed my animals and we were on our way home to warm our toes.

I kind of feel like how this guy looks...

Next up is saying goodbye to our church family, a fun gymnastics farewell party for the girls, a quick visit from my sister and yes, still more paperwork to complete.  The packers arrive on Monday to get started, which makes it all seem even more real.  Only 5 days left.