Memorial Day Weekend 2016

Yesterday was Memorial Day, a holiday where we remember those who courageously gave their lives and those who bravely fight today so that we can be free. Thank you to all service men!

While we didn't had any plans for this 3-day weekend, except to unpack more and get the house organized, we also made time for some fun stuff. On Saturday, we signed up at the YMCA and then did some outlet shopping before heading to explore a park near our house. 

Elliot loves to pretend to ride the lawn mower; just swinging

For lunch we tried a restaurant at the marina, that was recommended to us by our landlord. The kids loved feeding the ducks (the restaurant provides unlimited duck food) while Derrick and I enjoyed a cold beer on the porch. The food was delicious too and we will be back for sure. 

I had ordered a movable kitchen island as the kitchen in this new house does not provide enough counter space, so my hubby was putting that together over the weekend. I love the finished product:

Of course, our little helpers where right there to help with their tools. 

No, the lamps were disconnected and the hair always looks that wild after his nap

Washing cars, eating ice-cream and going to the pool were great ways to cool us off on this hot holiday weekend:

The YMCA has 3 pools: an indoor lane pool, an indoor kiddie pool with slide and a great outdoor pool area with water fountains and 2 slides. We will be spending many hours at these pools over the next year. 

Between organizing, unpacking, putting things together and playing, we all had a great long weekend. We hope you did too. And we hope you remembered what this holiday is truly about and that people gave their lives for our freedom.

Now I'm off to organize some more stuff and unpack the last couple of boxes so that I can start packing our suitcases for our trip to Germany on Sunday. The kids and I are excited to be spending all summer long with family and friends there. 

Here we are, Nashville!

After we handed over our house keys to the property manager, we left Mooresville with teary eyes on Wednesday morning. The 7 hour drive over the Smoky Mountains did go well and the kids as well as the cat behaved great. Late afternoon we arrived in Hendersonville (part of Nashville), TN at our new rental house:

The big moving truck wasn't far behind us and already the next morning all our stuff got delivered.

It took 3 men only 5.5 hours to empty the truck and leave us with plenty of moving boxes to unpack. This meant all hands on deck, children too:

Except the cat was too scared and rather hid in the bathroom:

And the boat was delivered separately on Saturday:

So for the past few days, we have unpacked at least 50 boxes and are still not done yet. But we are making progress and the house is coming together. This is what our house looked like for the first few days:

And when you have so many empty boxes (luckily a company will come next week to pick them up) and two bored children, you let them color all the boxes they want:

Since we all needed a break from the chaos, we went to explore a nearby park, the boat launch (only 2 miles from the house) and the playgrounds at an elementary school near our house over the weekend.

The park we go to almost daily features an awesome playground. You know you are in Nashville when the playground is funded by Taylor Swift and carries her name as flags (she grew up here and her parents still live in Hendersonville). 

The part of Hendersonville we live at is a peninsula, surrounded by Old Hickory Lake and thus, we are only a mile away from the water on either side. There are geese and ducks everywhere. The town's motto is called: "The City by the Lake"...lol. Here is a map of our location (we are the black spot on the peninsula)

While we still have to shop for some furniture (our dresser broke and I just ordered a kitchen island for more counter space), the kids and I got some good ideas at nearby stores. But my best find was this high-end leather armchair for $35 at Goodwill. It is super comfortable and will be used for additional seating in the living room.

Since Derrick will be able to work from home a few days a week, we needed an office space for him. So one bedroom was converted into an office while the kids are now sharing a bedroom. We bought this used loft bed and both kids are loving their new sleeping quarters (canopy is from IKEA): 

 

We also have a huge bonus room, which serves as the kids' playroom and my office/ craft area. More pictures of the house will come once we have everything unpacked, decorated some and painted a couple of walls. Since the children and I will be leaving for Germany in a week and Derrick will work on the house in the meanwhile, it will be August by the time this will happen. But here is one last pictures of my little ones having fun in the our new backyard:

So here we are, Nashville and hopefully we will stay for while!

Saying our Goodbyes

Once again it is time to say our goodbyes to all the people who impacted our lives this past year and made us feel welcome here in Mooresville. One would think that after moving so often (10 times in the past 15 years), saying goodbye gets easier but it doesn't. The more I mature and open up to others, the more meaningful the friendships are becoming and it makes moving so much harder.

Last week, Elliot had a final playdate with his little girlfriend Dori. These two are getting along so well and like each other. He gave her a goodbye kiss. What a little gentleman:

On Thursday morning I had my last MOPS meeting and the fabulous mommies signed a lovely card of well-wishes for me, which brought tears to my eyes. I will miss this group of women so much as it made my transition to move here so much easier. One last group shot:

I was also part of the MOPS planning committee and even though it may have been extra work, it was worth the friends I made there. I will truly miss these women. MOPS has been such a great way to get to know other mommies, share support for each, explore new things and also enjoy mom's night out together and play dates with the kids. Most members of the planning committee:

That same night, I hosted a last get-together at my house. Just some wine, food and friends hanging out and enjoying themselves. I also said goodbye to my 2 German friends, Nina and Sabine, this week. Having found friends here from your home country is always great as it let's you share the things you miss most about home with people who totally understand what you mean. Also, it's nice to speak some German once in a while. Auf Wiedersehen, meine Freunde!

Nina, Sabine and Fran

Our kids minus Amelia and the youngest one Heidi (2 weeks old)

On Saturday, Mooresville hosted it's annual Race City Festival and since we had to pick up Derrick early from the airport, we decided to stop by downtown on our way home. There were hardly any people there yet as it was not even 10am by the time we got there. The kids didn't mind as they had the bounce houses all to themselves. Amelia also got her face painted (a little rainbow) and there were plenty of balloons, candies and all kinds of other giveaways. 

While Amelia and Daddy rode the choo choo train, Elliot and I went fishing for phones.

We completed our festival visit with a free hot dog and some homemade lemonade before heading home to take a good nap. I loved living here in the small town of Mooresville. The people here are really friendly and the city hosted so many fun community events and getting around was always quick and easy.

For the evening we invited our neighbors, Mike and Megan, over for a last BBQ. These guys were great neighbors, always there to help and easy to get along with. I hope we get that lucky in Nashville too. 

The guys: Mike and Derrick

The girls and their baby boys (Elliot couldn't fall asleep so he enjoyed some extra cuddle time)

Baby Michael is such a cutie and always smiling:

On Sunday, we went one last time to our church on Sunday. The community at Fairview UMC was so welcoming and people are genuine nice that we felt right at home when we first came to church there. They took such good care of us, not just spiritually but also teaching Amelia, taking care of Elliot and feeding us lots of good foods. Amelia and her Sunday day school teacher, Ms. Katherine:

Elliot and his nursery workers, Ms. Christal and Ms. Cindy. Often times he was the only one in the nursery and loved getting all their attention and love.

While the movers were busy packing up the house, the kids and I went a last time to the library to say goodbye to our favorite librarian, Ms. Sandra, and then to the park to meet my friend Kim. On the way there I even had the chance for a last hug for baby Jenson, who has grown so much over the past year and I enjoyed cuddling during our MOPS meetings. 

Enjoying our last meal at the house. While most of the kitchen and furniture were already packed and loaded onto the moving truck, we decided to make it a dinner-and-movie kind of night. 

When I visited my dear friend, Jessica, Tuesday morning for a last goodbye hug and a cuddle from her adorable baby boy Kaden, she gave me a card and I love what it says in there: "Time for friends to say good luck but never say goodbye." 

 

One last picture and goodbye hug from Ms Susan on Tuesday after Amelia's last day of preschool.  She will miss her class and favorite teacher a lot. That's for sure! 

We spent our last night in Mooresville with Amelia classmate Vera and her family as all our belongings were already loaded on the truck. I'm so thankful for friends who opened up their house for us and took us all in, gave us food and made our last night special.  The kids loved having a sleep over:

Lindsay and I

Quinn and Elliot

Vera and Amelia

And now we are off to Nashville!

So instead of saying goodbye, let's just say see you later Mooresville! Thank you for the good time and we will miss you all!