Mason's Family Birthday Party

We moved to Idaho at the end of June, so we decided to get both of our families together for the weekend to celebrate Mason's birthday even though it was a month late. Mason got stackable rings, play food, and a popcorn popper for his birthday from Grammie. Mason loved everything and still plays with all of it a lot. Grandma Buckner actually got him the same thing (they both know Mason well) so she took it back and got Mason a ride on bouncy horse instead. He is warming up to it but I'm sure will love it soon. Aunt Lauren and Uncle Andrew got him cute clothes and a fun penguin bubble blower for the bath which he also loves. We had so much fun hanging out with family and our good friends Matt, Juleen, and Tyler. Mason had chocolate cake for his birthday and loved that too. He did much better at eating it this time and letting everyone sing him happy birthday without getting scared. After Mason's little birthday party we all went swimming at the lake. Mason loves the lake. He just runs right into the water on his own (only up to his knees) and loves to play with the sand and stick his toes under it.

We also took the four wheeler to the lake

Juleen and Tyler shared their little boat. Mason loved it!

Thanks everyone for coming and making Mason's birthday and the whole weekend so fun!

County Fair

My parents, Chad, and I took Mason to the County Fair last weekend. The first thing we went to see was the sheep.  I carried Mason over to one of the sheep cages where one was sticking its head out and set him down next to it. He freaked out, screamed and ran away and jumped into my arms very quickly. I didn't expect it to scare him because he loves dogs so much and I thought that would make him like sheep too. We carried him around to look at them for a few minutes and let him feed one out of his hand and then he started liking them. We also saw alpaca which he really liked, cows, pigs, and rabbits. He wasn't too interested in the rabbits and just pointed for us to move on. 

"Camping" for the Day

One of the great things about living in Idaho now is that we are only half hour from the lake and the mountains. My family really likes camping and we wanted to go, but decided camping over night was going to be too hard on Mason so we decided to just go up to the mountains for the day. We brought the four wheeler and Mason LOVED it! Grandpa took him on a ride and then when grandpa stopped the four wheeler Mason pointed to where you start it and said "eh eh" meaning turn it back on and let's go again. This was repeated about 5 times until Mason had to get off despite his telling Grandpa to turn it back on. We also played in the stream. Grandpa was throwing rocks in and Mason started copying him. Chad went on a bike ride while we played in the stream.  We also built a campfire and had hotdogs and made dutch oven peach cobbler. Yummy! We brought Ginger and Mason loved Ginger too. Mason kept sitting down next to Ginger, wrapping his arm around her, and then laying his head on her back. Then Ginger would move and Mason would fall and laugh. He loved it.  Mason fell asleep on the way back so we stopped at the lake and Chad and my Dad practiced swimming while I rowed in the raft next to them so that boats could see them. My mom stayed at the car with Mason so he could keep sleeping. He was exhausted after our fun day.

Mason Helps Move to Idaho

Chad was taking the bed apart to sell and when he put the screwdriver down Mason picked it up and started poking the screws with it. We were very proud that he knew what it was for and where to put it. He was very upset when he had to put the screwdriver away.

Mason loved getting inside all of the boxes and suitcases we were packing.

Mason "helping" Chad move the dresser. Mason was so proud of himself.

This was our "couch" for a few days. Since we were selling a lot of our furniture, Mason woke up on lots of mornings to find furniture missing. I think he was getting pretty confused and nervous. He wasn't sure about this "couch" at first, but he warmed up to it and spent some time sitting on it reading his books on his own.

Mason loved when Chad would make sounds into this wrapping paper roll and every time Chad would stop Mason would bring it back to Chad and make sounds to ask him to do it again.

Mason is really getting attached to this rabbit. :)

Mason and Grammie. Grammie was a great help with our move.

A New Chapter

My little family has embarked on an adventure, an adventure that marks the beginning of a new chapter in our lives.  I think that I would call this new chapter "back out west," or "settling down where we want to be."  To summarize all of this a little bit more bluntly, we have moved back west where we are originally from. We are currently living with my wife's family in mountain home, ID and we are looking for a home to buy in the Mountain Home area.  In other words: we are starting a new life out west.  This is a decision we have been mulling over for about two years and have been seriously planning for for nearly the entire past school year.

The chapter of our lives that would probably have been titled "Washington D.C." has officially ended: we terminated our contract at the apartment complex where we lived for four years; we sold all of our furniture on craigslist and through a variety of list serves; we managed to pack everything else we own into one PODS and into our small car and we drove from Alexandria, VA to Mountain Home, ID.  Well, I should clarify that, my mom and I made the 2400 mile drive and Michelle and Mason flew.  

I have been greatly blessed in that I have found employment here in Idaho.  I was hired to work as a social studies teacher in the Mountain Home school district, which works well because we will have lots of family support living here.  We know life throws curve balls at you from time to time, but as we see it now, we would love to settle down here, plant our roots, and be here long term.  

Michelle truly deserves all the credit for me getting a teaching job in Idaho - and I'm not just saying that. Michelle sort of acted as my personal manager keeping all my teaching application materials organized, filling out applications for me, and reminding me as often as necessary to find the time to answer the short answer questions required for the various applications. The application for the school that ended up offering me a position was one that Michelle worked on very diligently to get submitted before the deadline.  If it weren't for her, I never even would have known about the position I got hired for, much less applied for it before the deadline. Michelle has always been able to make great things happen.

I feel that we really spent the entire past school year preparing for this transition.  We spent a lot of time and energy planning how we would make the transition, and then even more time and energy making it happen. The job search, flying out for interviews, figuring out the logistics of and then actually performing the move out west were just a few of the variables we have been juggling for several months.  Plane tickets were purchased, changed, and cancelled as well. We had to walk a very fine line between maintaining frugality and being willing to take risks where necessary to make all of this happen.  

We are excited to be somewhere where we will be able to buy a house and hopefully have a backyard for Mason to play in and grow up with.  We are excited for the endless hiking, camping, swimming, four-wheeling, and other outdoor activities that will be all around us out here. The thing we are most excited for though is that we are now close to our families.  My family lives in Seattle (well within a day's drive and totally doable for a weekend trip) and Michelle's family is of course right here in Idaho.  It wasnt until we spent a few years away from our families and had Mason that we realized living close to our families was something we consider a top priority.  We can't envision a life, especially one for Mason, without spending lots of time with his grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, and his other family members.  Michelle and i both grew up with all of our cousins and family members around us for fun get-togethers, vacations, and holidays, and we know this will likewise be a blessing in Mason's life.

So a chapter in our lives has closed, and we have just started a new one.  Who knows what surprises, twists and turns, trials, and blessings await us on this new path we've chosen.  We are excited to be here; it is something we planned and worked very hard for. 

Natural History Museum

Chad and I took Mason to the Smithsonian Natural History Museum last month. We walked through the dinosaur/animal fossil section, the mammals section with all the mammals throughout history stuffed and one display, the ocean section, and the gem section. Mason had a lot of fun. He was running around from display to display and pointing at things.  It was very cute!

In front of the Capitol

On the mall in front of the Washington Monument

Mason kept trying to get these balls and couldn't figure out why he couldn't grab them.

Mason loved the "please touch" displays

DC National Zoo

Mason and I went to the zoo with our good friends Sam and William a little while ago. Mason loved it - especially the petting zoo with the cows, horses, and donkeys. One of the trainers was walking a donkey and Mason got to follow it around and pet it a few times. The Amazon House was another cool part of the zoo. There weren't any animals in cages so monkeys were swinging in the tress above us and there was this big pink bird walking along the path with us. It was a lot of fun!

Mason and William aren't just best friends at the zoo - they love to play together all the time!

Mason's First Birthday

For Mason's first birthday we had a party at the park with his friends and our friends. Mason loves balls so Chad and I made him cupcakes that looked like footballs, basketballs, and baseballs, and made him a cake that looked like a soccer ball. Luckily we got a picture of the cake at home because it was so hot outside the day of his party that the cake melted pretty quickly and looks pretty bad.  Mason wasn't the happiest at the beginning of his party.  Everyone kept telling him that it was his party and he could cry if he wanted to. :) When it was time to sing happy birthday I think Mason got scared. There were quite a few people there and everyone was singing to him, staring at him, and flashing cameras.  He just stared at everyone and didn't try to eat any of his cake. I tried to give him a bite but he didn't want it and he cried. After a little while though when people began visiting with each other again and no one was looking at him, Mason tasted the frosting and then started playing in the cake. He still didn't really eat much, but he grabbed some handfuls and then tried to stand up on the table and stomp on it.  After cake he played on the grass with his friends and played on the swings. He loves the swings and often cries when it is time to get off.

Here are lots of pictures. Sorry they are out of order.

He's not too happy about this.

This was probably his favorite part of the day. He laughs and smiles so big.

Amber and Henson and Mike and Hamilton

Andrew and Erin

Courtney and Hamilton

Mason loves watermelon and was very upset when it fell in the dirt and Chad had to take it to clean it off.

James and Morgan

William and Mason

Morgan and the Wootens got Mason a soccer ball which he loves!

Bath tub paint/soap from the Rasmussens. This was a lot of fun!

Mom, what am I supposed to do with this?