Baby Micah!!

Baby Micah is here! Well, he's been here for a little while now but I am kind of behind in my blogging life.  I got to meet this sweet little bundle when we went to Spokane for Labor Day and let me just say that I am in love. He is SO cute and precious and looks just like Marek did almost 5 years ago this week.  I can't wait to see him again in November when they make the trek to Boise.  

During our visit I got the chance to take some family pics with the newest addition.  I am always looking for a chance to practice my photography so this was a perfect opportunity! 

the new family of five- crazy! 

sweet brothers 

siblings

sweet McKenna

toes!!

well, you can't get them all to smile- at least I can't!

Mama and her baby boy 

the mens

We've already facetimed (is that a verb?) a few times since Labor Day and little Micah is quite a bit bigger- so sad! I'm excited that we're closer to him and the rest of his family now though. No more long flights- now it's just a long drive (which is exponentially better)!

-Stacie

Spirt of Boise Ballon Festival

As part of embracing a new city, we always try to participate in whatever festivities are going on locally.  The Spirit of Boise Ballon Festival was going on a few weeks ago so we decided to check it out. It was difficult to make the commitment- we had to be downtown, parked and ready by 6:45 am which meant waking up the kids and throwing them in the car.  I was hesitant but we had heard it was awesome so we decided to go for it. It did not disappoint!  The kids especially loved seeing all the balloons. We had a great, if not early, morning and will definitely be making this an annual family tradition! 

the balloons blowing up

Isla was very excited!

pretty cool!

looking a little haggard

there they go!

-Stacie

Our Virginia visitor...

After Kyle's mom left, I had 2 days with just the kiddos and then my mom arrived to help out. It was nice to have a small break in between but I was so ready for her to be here so I could start unpacking again and I was just excited to see her! 

Her flight landed at 4:00 and by 6:00 Kyle & I were out the door for a date night- thank you free babysitting!!

date night!

 My mom was able to stay for two whole weeks and basically I spent the entire first week of her visit unpacking and setting up the house and then the second week of her visit we did some exploring of Boise.

Knox & Isla at the Boise Zoo

Mana & her grandkids

posing on a T-Rex

riding the Carousel

Knox checking out the prairie dogs!

 The Boise Zoo was actually really great! I was pleasantly surprised and will be excited to go back soon. In addition to the zoo we also checked out the Western Idaho State Fair.

Kyle trying to lasso a "horse"

Knox riding a ride

Knox doing his 'Hook Em Horns' in front of the Texas Longhorn

sweet Isla

On morning we decided to check out a local "beach".  It was about a twenty minute drive and was beautiful.  Knox & Isla had fun playing in the sand and water for sure!

Sandy Point Beach 

isn't she the cutest? 

We also got to celebrate my mom's b'day while she was here.  The kids had fun singing her happy birthday and eating her cake, ha!

 On afternoon we took a "hike" at Camelsbak Park. The park is about 5 minutes from our house and it's not really a hike but it sure is pretty!

A few other highlights from her trip were visiting Chick-fil-A (a favorite from Austin), taking a scenic drive to the Boise National Forest and watching Knox & Isla dance downtown to some live music. We had a great time exploring Boise with my mom. It was nice to have someone here with me while everything was still so new.

the Boise National Forest 

Knox & Isla tearing up the dance floor 

they were entertaining everyone

 And for the grand finale of my mother's visit- Halloween costumes! As you may now, if you know me at all, I LOVE Halloween. So, a lot of planning goes into the Halloween costumes each year. This year, since Knox is obsessed with superheroes, they are going as Batman & Robin.  Seriously, can it get any cuter?

the costumes my mom made

Well, my mom has left and it is just our family now.  We are all unpacked and just getting settled.  We're planning a camping trip soon so more pics to come!

-Stacie

Arriving in Boise...

While the kids & I were hanging out in Spokane, Kyle & Mercedes were driving to Boise.  It took them three long days and they arrived on a Sunday. Kyle put Mercedes in a kennel and he checked himself into a hotel because we decided it would be a good idea to have our floors redone before we moved in. Technically this was a good idea it just created a lot of difficulties for us in timing with the floors being finished and our stuff arriving from Austin. Kyle spent the week in a hotel while our stuff (only part of it, the rest was delivered 10 days 2 weeks later!) was delivered to our garage because the floors weren't done. Then local movers came and moved it from the garage to  the house on Friday which is the same day that Sally, the kiddos and I trekked the seven and a half hours from Boise to Spokane.  The trip went surprisingly well considering that Isla hates being in the car.  Let's just say that Dramamine and Doc McStuffins played a role in my sanity that day. 

the many faces of Isla in the car

this is the moment I realized that I was actually moving to Idaho

1 week after leaving Austin- we finally arrived in Boise!

chaos in the house!

Sally hard at work

 I was so fortunate that Sally came and stayed with us for a week. She hung out with the kids and helped unpacked boxes.  She also helped us with the mass amounts of wasps and yellow jackets that were infesting our backyard. It took us about 2 weeks to be rid of them, yikes!

Isla is obsessed with Doc McStuffins

Although mostly all we did during Sally's visit was unpack, I did try to find a few fun things to do. And what's better than an epic candy store?

look at all that candy!

Knox had a blast

playing in a local fountain

icecream at the local shop 'Fanci Freeze'

our morning walk with Mercedes 

swinging at the playground by our house

helping daddy!

learning how far Texas is from Idaho

 We had a great visit with Sally and were sad to see her go. She left on a Thursday morning and my mom showed up on Saturday to start the next shift of helpers!!

-Stacie