Eva's last day of Kindergarten was today. It was hard driving away from her school, knowing we would'nt be going back. I was pretty emotional. And, I asked Eva if she was sad, too. To which she responded:

"No way! I'm going to First Grade in Summerland. Wheeeee"

I just hope it's as good as she's hoping it will be. And, I also hope that her Grade 1 teacher is half as amazing as the ones she had this year.

She learned so much! She can read basic books, write her thoughts (phonetically), and can even do simple addition. We are so proud of her. Way to go, Eva!

I took a couple pictures of our Summerland neighbours when we were up looking at our new house.





They're pretty cute, and even came right up to our fence to say hello to the girls. Which, of course, thrilled them to no end.

When we told the owner that we liked the cows, he told us they were getting slaughtered at the end of summer, and then they were going to plant a vineyard there. Oh well, at least vineyards are incredibly pretty.

Anyhow, we're moving in five weeks!

It's amazing! A photo with us all in it!



I was setting up the camera for the next one, but I like this 'practice shot'. Kaitlyn is growing up so fast, but she still needs her 'Boo Boo Bunny' and puts her fingers in her mouth when she's tired. There's just a teensy bit of 'baby' left in her. So sweet.

I was planning on writing this big, long, intimate post about the goings-on of the Braam household. But, alas, that has not yet happened. I just never have a large amount of time to myself. It's 2 minutes here, 5 minutes there...you know in between feeding a baby, breaking up girl fights, doing laundry, attempting to make healthy meals, trying to get my baby to sleep in his own crib (and not just my arms! :) So, anyways, here's the plan. I'm going to keep this post open on my laptop all morning, and randomly write (in bullet-point form, of course) updates of our life down as they come to mind, and as I have a free moment. This I can do! So, here goes...

- We're moving!

-To Summerland!

-Nich has always wanted to move there (since good friends of ours moved there a few years ago) and he's been itching to get back to a small town. On one of our recent visits out there, he got offered a job (with a restoration company) and the (awesome, Christian) guy that offered Nich the job, also just happened to have a fantastic house for sale. It's on almost an acre, it's huge (lots of room for guests, come visit!!), and it's perfect for us. So, long story short, off we go on a new adventure!

- I secretly (not-so-secret anymore I guess) am going to have a really hard time leaving this place. When we were in the thinking/praying/negotiating phase of this big life change (before God made it blaringly obvious to me that this had his fingerprints all over it), Nich asked me honestly, if I wanted to move. To which I replied "Why would I? I don't want to leave my perfect, comfortable life in my perfect house, in my perfect neighbourhood, a perfect 3-minute walk to school and my parents house. That's just crazy!" Well, God has other ideas. I guess me being perfectly comfortable isn't as important as other things. So, as much as I am looking forward to living in a beautiful town, close to some fabulous people that already live there, well....many tears will be shed when I leave this place.

-Eva asks every day if we can move to Summerland yet. She's really excited to live close to her little friends. But, I think she's going to really miss her Kindergarten friends, and her great school here...I don't think she fully realizes we won't be coming back again.

-Speaking of Eva and Kindergarten, she 'graduates' in a little over a week!! I can't believe she's going to be a First-grader soon...sniff sniff. Time's a flyin'!

-A couple days ago I was at Tucker's last midwife appointment (he weighs 10lbs 12oz, by the way). Anyways, right in the middle of it, Kaitlyn announces she has to pee NOW. So, the midwife's assistant (a beautiful, Nigerian lady, wearing a turban, that just glowed with child-rearing wisdom and patience) offered to take her. I agreed, but knew since Kaitlyn didn't have her potty seat there was a very large, impending mess. I said a quick, silent prayer as they went off, and groaned as I realized I didn't pack a change of clothes. Boy oh boy, the poor assistant does not know what she signed up for!

Anyways, a few minutes later they nonchalantly wandered back in. Bug-eyed, I asked if she went pee, and she said "yes of course", like it was no big deal. And, ever since that time? She goes pee, by herself, without me having to remind her, on the big potty. My word, I never thought this day would come. Thank you, Midwife Assistant, what you did in 3 minutes, I have been trying to do for ONE YEAR. Now, let's just hope it sticks.

-My little guy is sporting blue jeans today. He's growing up so fast!

-This morning, I was determined to wear something other than my 'fat pants'. So, I sucked my belly in, and squeezed into my fave, old size 2 jeans. Sure, my muffin-top is spilling over, but hey, small victories! Six pounds to go...

-We are renovating the new house right when we move in- adding a master bedroom and ensuite. I half-heartedly sketched out a floor plan for it, adding fun things like a double shower and a water closet. Well, Nich saw my floor plan the next day (unbeknownst to me) and thought it was the final draft, and already started ordering things specific to that floor plan. Um, oops. Guess we're stuck with it now!

-I am thinking/planning/worried about a lot of things, like..

*Can we live in Summerland without a 4x4? Are the roads hard to drive in during winter? Am I going to be stuck? I am a horrible winter driver.

*I've never lived out in the boonies before. We really only have one neighbour, that we can't even see. We're surrounded by Crown Land and ALR (Agricultural Land Reserve)...we have cows for neighbours. What if the boogie man knocks at my door? Should I get a big dog to protect us?

*Should I put Kaitlyn in preschool? How is she going to make friends her age if I don't?

*What in heavens name are we going to do with our large backyard? This stresses me out to no end. Right now it is half grass, half gravel. There's a hot tub, a huge boat storage shed, a wood shed, and a toy shed. And, I don't know, it needs some organization. Some purpose. But, what should the purpose be? Make it all grass so the kids can run around? Grow a garden? Get chickens? Get a boat (haha)? Sigh, not having a plan gives me a headache.

*I'm going to miss Starbucks.

And, the list could go on and on, but I'll just leave it at that. I am going to try to go with the flow, and embrace the unknown. And, hey, the local cafe there, The Beanery, has the best coffee I've ever had. So, really? That's all I need.

-It seems like every time I tell someone we're moving to Summerland, they're like, "Oh, my parents live there" or "Oh, we vacation there every year" and, of course "Oh, you are so lucky! It's beautiful there!" And, Eva's best friend has Grandparents that live there, so we're planning on setting up playdates when they come to visit.

-Remember the playset that Nich made for the girls last year? I begged/pleaded/broke out the puppy eyes on Nich, and he'll be unassembling it, and moving it to Summerland. Yay SuperDad!

-Our house officially sold last night (around 9pm, talk about waiting 'till the final hour!) So, we'll be removing subjects on our Summerland house today.

A few random things: