July 2018 Highlights

July was an eventful and exciting month in the Evans household!
To keep track of everything going on, we made a countdown paper chain calendar and decorated each strip with the days' events.

On the 4th of July we walked down the street to enjoy the parade and festivities!

This was our one and only 4th of July in DuPont (as was every holiday since we were only there for a year!) and it was just so much fun. I loved the small-town feeling and sense of community.

At night time we drove over to a golf course to watch fireworks. The kids' clothing of choice may have been a bit out of place for the holiday haha.

Our family on Independence Day 2018.

July 6th was Chris's last day in the Army! It was bittersweet. The Army has been such a great thing for our family and given us so many opportunities, our favorite being living in Germany for 4 years and traveling all over Europe.

The next day the movers came and packed up our stuff. It was very abrupt and I didn't really get a chance to say goodbye to our house. But it's okay. We packed up and headed to my parent's house to spend the next few weeks. I took the kids to Blazing Bagels almost every day. Best bagels ever!

Chris left the next day to go start his job at Old Town Dental! I had a couple weeks left in Redmond because I was teaching a class at the end of the month. Time to soak in every last minute with my family! I always love going into Ben Franklin Crafts and seeing my Pink Paislee collections live and in the flesh.

We went to Google where my dad works to eat lunch.

Pretty girl.

I took the kids to Yogurtland at something like 8pm (still so bright from all that summer sunshine!), which never happens. I live by my routines and usually we're in for the night by 6pm. But sometimes being spontaneous makes for the best memories!

My temporary scrap space. I only brought the essentials with me during the transition, which is still a lot lol.

We made the most of our last few weeks with my brother and his cute family and hung out a lot.

The kids swam in the pool every single day, sometimes multiple times a day.

Google had their work party at the Woodland Park Zoo. They rented out the entire zoo for employees. My dad would only go if I promised to drive (he hates traffic more than I can describe). Luckily it wasn't too bad of a drive until the last few blocks because of all the people trying to get into the zoo parking lots. I can't believe how many Google employees there are in the Seattle area!

The kids had a total blast.

And can we just talk about all the food? It was free! We must have eaten $70 worth of food, EACH. Flingamingos! (That's what Jane calls pink flamingos).

Penguin eyeballing Fox & Jane.

Riding the zoo carousel. Even my dad had tons of fun and that's sayin' somethin'! :) Love you dad!

Shenanigans at the party store.

Riding Grandpa's "train".

I got the kids this ginormous flamingo pool floatie and they LOVED it.

We went to Idylwood Park with Eric, Tanya, Zoe & Wes. The most perfect day.

Cute cousins.

Getting their craft on.

We love McDonalds.

We babysat Zoe & Wes while Eric & Tanya celebrated their anniversary.

Jane's birthday was on July 28th! Guess where she requested to go to dinner? Taco Bell! I'm so glad everyone was up for it.

That morning I drove all the way back to Lakewood to teach a class and beforehand I swung by our old house and neighborhood. It was really good for my soul and I felt a sense of closure saying goodbye to this chapter of my life.

The next morning we packed up and my dad drove us in our car for 14 hours to Provo, Utah. We stayed the night at my grandparent's house. The drive was so easy and uneventful and the kids were so good. I had been mentally preparing them for months about how we were going to be in the car all.day.long and they were absolute troupers. My dad and I watched/listened to about five movies the whole day which made the time go by so fast. After all our road trips in Europe the kids have pit stops down pat - in and out in less than 5 minutes. I'm proud of them :)

The next morning my dad stayed in Utah and I drove the rest of the way (about 9 hours) to Denver.

Once we got to Colorado we pulled over to take a pictures of us in our new home state. It was still so surreal!

First thing we did when we got to Nana & Papa's house? Ride Nana's horses!

The next morning Chris carried me over the threshold of our very first home. Buying a home is no easy task and we had so many obstacles, tests, and trials along the way. I'm so glad everything worked out the way it did and we now live in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. Hopefully never to move again, or at least for another 15 years or so until the kids graduate!