New House :)

We are officially moved in to our house.  :)  We've been living there for over a week now- the commute is not glamorous- but the yard and neighborhood sure are.  :)  Abby loves her new home- she loved it immediately.  Orion needed a couple of days to settle in but he's happy now too.  ;)  Abby's still in her daycare in Woburn right now- we didn't want to change too many things for her at once- but she's starting with her new daycare June 12th.  She'll visit the center a week before then to meet her teachers and play with her new classmates- this was a suggestion from the director- and it's brilliant and also our first concrete example of why my cousin Jen just loves the place so much- she recommended the center to us.  We already feel a sense of community and family radiating from them.

We've been exploring Westford some too- Mandy and I brought Abby to the Apple Blossom festival parade Saturday morning- it was adorable and warm and we felt like members of the community.  Abby loved the parade- waved and clapped for everyone in it- and cites the free candy and firetrucks as her favorite parts.  Leif and I took Abby to the bird sanctuary down the street from us later in the day and we had a good hike along what used to be a railroad track that ran from Acton, MA (where Mandy now lives) all the way to Nashua, NH.  There is a beautiful stone arch that we particularly enjoyed and though the sound of our barreling wagon scared most of the birds away, we saw a couple flint from here to there as we walked.  Abby's favorite was the duck we spied in the stream.  :)

We are learning a lot about time management and how to keep up with everything.  We spend 3-4 hours a day commuting now and on top of working full days, it's been an adjustment.  But we manage to sit down to dinner together every night, keep the house looking somewhat presentable, and we're slowly picking away at the boxes that need unpacking.  We're tired but we're so happy.  :)

This weekend we're going away to our family's cottage in Western, MA.  We're looking forward to unwinding, relaxing, and spending some time unscheduled.

We love you all!!!  :)  and here are some pics of the new house! :)

 Our refinished hardwood floors- Leif and I pulled up the old carpeting ourselves.

 another shot of the floor and our new wall color, "Toast"

 The former color of our family room walls.

 The purple accent walls that we repainted "toast"

 What our floors looked like when we pulled up the carpeting

 our house

 Abby's new playhouse and one of her favorite playmates- Auntie :)

 The new color of the family room- "bread basket" and our family plaque given to us by friend Nikki & Francis as a wedding gift

 The new color in the family room

 This beam was purple- now it's bread basket brown ;)

 My tiny strawberry patch

 our lilac bush we planted

 We have TONS of lily of the valley growing in the yard

 our fireplace. :)  It still needs to be stripped of paint but we can use duraflames in it currently ;)

another picture of the walls painted "Toast"