our new digs

So...
we moved.
See?

And there were a lot more boxes that I didn't take pictures of. I did feel bad for the movers, having to drag everything down two flights of stairs and across a field, but at the same time I was SO glad we weren't doing it ourselves. (Aaaah! This was our first time using movers instead of doing everything ourselves and roping friends and ward members to help and it was sooo nice! I was trying to play it cool here, like movers are a totally normal thing for us, but really, I was ecstatic to have these guys doing all the hard work.)

So, we've been in corporate housing for the last couple of weeks, and it's been fine, but I'll be very glad to move into a more permanent house that's all on one floor soon. You ready for the grand tour?

Okay. Be prepared: each floor is teeny tiny and the pictures are bad because I'm a bad photographer and took these at night. This picture was taken from the front door. The laundry room is on the left through that vented door (We have a laundry room!!!). Straight ahead is the room that Joseph and I sleep in, and on the right are stairs up and stairs down.

This is from the base of the stairs that go down. The closer portion of this room is the kitchen. Not much counter space, but we've got a nice gas stove and a dishwasher. (Alright, I'm trying to play it cool again there. We have a DISHWASHER!!!!) Further in is the living room with a nice tv and not enough seating for our family. But still nice. And there's a door to the outside leading to what the kids call "the skinny balcony" and which is strictly off-limits at all times.

This is the base of the stairs that go to the third floor. It is directly inside the front door and Emily's favorite place to plonk everything down and read.

The third floor is just two bedrooms and two bathrooms. This is the boys' room with Caleb's head peeking out of his blankets there.

This is the girls' room which has a bathroom on one side and a flight of stairs leading up to the roof on the other side. Those are strictly off-limits also.

So, our apartment is sub-optimal, but is fine for a temporary living space. Remind me to never, ever paint our family home in a matte finish. There are grubby fingerprints all over our walls (mostly from the previous tenants, but we have contributed our share.) One thing we have enjoyed about this place is the pool.

It's a great pool for us because it only goes to 5 feet and both ends are 3 feet. Jake's becoming a little too comfortable in the water - he happily climbs in at 5 feet and thinks everything is good.

Emily and Caleb have progressed so much in their swimming. They can pick diving toys up off the bottom of the pool from anywhere I throw them. Emily is like six shades darker than she was when we moved here... which is a totally arbitrary measure of tan-ness, but she's really dark.

Jake is a grumpy boy lately. My other kids had terrible threes, but he might be moving into his terrible twos.

Bel is always happy to pose for a cheesy picture comfort her baby brother. As you can see, the poolside area is pretty posh. There are always hipsters out barbequing or tanning or hanging out in the hot tub. 

We also have a nice exercise room which I end up using way more than I want to (I really hate treadmills), and a fancy community room which we've never been to besides when we first toured the place.

So, there you have it. It's been a good place to stay, but we'll be moving to Sunnyvale in a couple of weeks which I am so excited about! We're still transitioning into this new area and this new life, but we're happy and doing well!