Whirlwind

Can it really have been 2 months? The time has just disappeared, and now we find ourselves with a whole new life. Dan has a new job and our family has relocated to the Minneapolis area. Yes, that's Minnesota, people. As in Minne-soh-tah! Our house in Omaha is probably going under contract in the next couple of days (yay!) and this afternoon was our third trip out with our realtor here to house hunt. In the meantime, we are renting a nice little townhouse. I, personally, am just trying to keep my brains from imploding. In between leaving Omaha and arriving in MN, Gregory and I visited CA for two and a half weeks. It was a great trip, but just added to the chaos of this time. So without further ado, I present May and June in pictures (and a few videos). I will do my best to break it down into digestible bits and explain a little context.

This was early May, including Mother's Day. We went to the same great brunch as last year. We learned that Gregory loves coffee.


Grandpa Mike and Grandma Coralie came down for a long weekend. We hadn't seen them in a LONG time, I think since November! We had a great time exploring the zoo, reading books, and dancing to music.


A little Gregory cuteness as we began the packing process:

My captions aren't working, but the one with the phone should say "Auntie Kayla, I'm calling to let you know I found your cell phone that you lost 4 years ago!"





Having a little fun with our friends before saying goodbye! We'll miss you Omaha!


Then while Dan organized the move, Gregory and I were off to California! The first day we arrived was Audrey's confirmation, and the next day was a big party to celebrate Claire's graduation from high school and Audrey's Sweet 16. We all had a great time, as you can see...we especially had a good laugh over Audrey's relighting candles - she had never heard of them, I guess!


We went on a nice nature hike with Uncle Benny and Auntie Kayla. There was a very friendly duck that we played with for a long time.




We played at the playground whenever we got the chance, and one of Gregory's favorite things was when Uncle Benny would wear him in the wrap and go for a walk. He was out like a light almost instantly!


Tita (Auntie) Liz was able to get us all tickets to see Sesame Street Live, Gregory's first stage show! At first he didn't really know what was going on, and wasn't real excited about having to sit still, but once he saw Big Bird, Elmo, and Abby Cadabby dancing and singing on stage, he was hooked! We all went out for a nice lunch afterwards, and when Mommy and the Aunties went out to the movies in the evening, Grandma Mary and Gregory hung out together.


The Bowers Museum and Kidseum in Orange County had a day for free attendance during their Pacific Rim Cultural Festival. Uncle Benny learned some Tahitian Hula, and Tita Liz won the cake walk! At the Kidseum they had a lot of fun masks, drums, and a puppet theater. Gregory got a big kick out of the way Tita Liz's hair was blowing in the breeze!


One day we went to Mother's Beach. We hoped it would be a little warmer, but it was pretty darn chilly. Gregory, Auntie Hannah and Auntie Audrey braved the water, though they didn't stay in for long. We got dressed again and chased seagulls and played on the playground.




When we were hanging out at Grandma and Grandpa's house, Greg's favorite place to be was the backyard. He showed the Aunties how to play broom ball, and we all laughed at Maggie frolicking around - she's almost 15, you know!


We also had a fun time at the La Habra Children's Museum! They had some cool trains, a carousel, and lots of other neat stuff...




We continued our enjoyment of the Long Beach Marina with a visit to the Aquarium of the Pacific, and a boat ride with Uncle Brian and Aunt Vicky. Gregory took being the First Mate very seriously!


We were proud to be there to celebrate Claire's high school graduation. She graduated with honors, and won the Jacqueline Vail Memorial Award for excellence in the arts - all four of our sisters who have graduated from Connelly so far have won that honor! It was a little emotional seeing (and hearing) Claire and Audrey sing "May the Lord Bless You and Keep You" in the Advanced Women's Ensemble for the last time together. It was a beautiful ceremony, but Gregory had a hard time appreciating it until he found some other boys to hang out with! We finished off the evening with a dinner at P.F. Chang's, making Uncle Benny-style moustaches from our wax sticks. The food was good too!


For me, the absolute pinnacle of the trip was taking Gregory to Disneyland for the first time. Grandma Mary treated us all to the special day. The only thing that was not 100% perfect was that Dan and Grandpa Nick weren't there to share it with us! I think Disneyland blew Greg's mind! The Tiki Room was the first thing we did, and it was fun but the drums were a little startling for him. He loved the Tea Cups even though he was so dizzy. He got to try Cotton Candy for the first time, and is now officially addicted. After the Winnie the Pooh ride he said "really really scary!" He adored the train, the carousel, Dumbo, and Autopia. We were so busy having fun, we didn't really take all that many pictures, and I think there are a lot of shots on other people's cameras (hint, hint, send them to me!) Some people think almost-2 is too young to take kids, but he is still talking about it, especially when he wears his new "My First Trip to Disneyland" shirt! I think it was totally awesome and I can't wait to go again at Christmas!


The day after we returned to MN was Gregory's 2nd birthday! Grandpa Mike and Grandma Coralie were in town so we had a little party. He blew his candles out all by himself and sang the Happy Birthday song for days afterwards! He got really into opening the presents too! I can't believe my little baby is already 2!




Since then we have been trying to get over our jet lag, learning our way around, unpacking a little bit, and house hunting. We've also gone to a few playgroups and started to meet some new friends. Its all very overwhelming, but all in all, its shaping up to be a positive change. I will start getting the camera out again now that I have all of these downloaded and I can erase my memory card! I'll do my best to post more often to keep you all updated on Gregory's adventures in Minnesota!