September

September was a fun and really busy month.  We heard on September 2nd that our visas had come in and we committed in earnest to our move to Saudi Arabia.  From there we started making check lists of things we needed to buy that we want to have shipped with our shipment that we were told are nice to have and are either way more expensive, or really difficult to find over there, lists of things to do around the house to get it ready to put on the market,  scheduling last visits to doctors, and then there was all the every day stuff like making sure Tate got his homework done and I had YW meetings and activities planned.  It's been a very expensive and stressful month.  Lots of big decisions to make and SO much to do.  Glenn told his work that he was leaving on the 8th and they only made him stay one week but payed him for two so he spent the last three weeks doing tons of house projects.  He was really sad to leave Newfield.  They have been so good to him and to our family in the last four years and there are many people he will miss.  It was a sad day when he decided to talk to his boss and they were very sad to see him go.
I have felt so spoiled having him around to take care of everything.  He takes over any time I need a break or don't feel well and I'm sure I'll feel really handicapped once we get to Saudi and go back to our normal lives again.  

We visited our Science museum a couple more times in September.  Once with Nanna, while Tate was in school.  It was fun to have some company and to watch Finn explore on his own.

He played the mind games game with Nanna.  The person who is able to best relax their mind wins.  Finny won.  Even though he was being silly the whole time.

His current favorite part of the museum may be the penny ramp at the exit.  We always have to bring coins and make a stop on our way out.

The first week that Glenn had off of work we spent a day that Tate had off of school and went to the zoo one more time.  It was hot and we spent 3 hours there, and the boys were in heaven.

We fed the Lorikeets for the first time.  Tate was a little giggly nervous and every time they would get their beaks on his cup he'd just let it go and they'd go hopping off with his cup.

It was a fun little adventure and SO nice to have Glenn around all day every day to play with us.

The next week we went back to the science museum again with both kiddos.  It is such a fun place.  I'll really miss having such amazing museums and zoos just a short drive away.  It has been amazing the past few years to be able to just jump in the car and spend a morning at the zoo or museum.

Finny loves wearing hats lately but he insists on wearing them really low on his forehead.  It usually gets to this point before we have to sit down with him and explain that he can't see if he wears his hat that way.  He lets us fix it and then a few minutes later, it's right back where he likes it.

At one of our last YW meetings we met at Emily LeMaster's house and on our way out I accidentally locked Finn in the car with the keys.  Luckily, Alisa knew to call the fire department and they were there to rescue us within 15 minutes.  Poor kid.  I felt so awful but he was just fine.

He even got to sit in the firetruck once he was rescued so all in all, it was a positive experience for Finn.

We spent most of our weekends and some week nights in September going out with families or couples in the ward on date nights to spend some time with some of our dear friends in the ward before we move away.  It has been so nice to have an excuse to catch up and spend time with everyone.  One of our YW advisors threw me a baby shower and so many dear friends came to wish us luck and bring us darling tiny baby girl clothes.  It's been hard to really focus on the little ladies with so much else going on and it was so fun to have a reason to celebrate them and get excited for them to arrive.
I was released from my calling on the 21st.  It was a bittersweet day.  I'll really miss the YW and the leaders I was able to serve with this year.  It's been tumultuous and overwhelming at times but I know that the things I've learned from the YW and their leaders have helped prepare me for this next big adventure and I'm so grateful to have had the chance to work with them and to be strengthened by them.  We have a huge group of YW and they are all wonderful girls.  I feel like kind of a dummy for moving away from these incredible girls who would love to help me love my little babies.
Tate has been dealing really well with the move and is always saying how excited he is to move and how he wants to go right now.  He has some sensitive days where we can tell it's hitting him hard and he's a little worried about what it's going to be like and about saying goodbye to his friends.  We've tried to prepare him as best we could.  We made him a little countdown calendar so he could cross off days to our Disneyland trip and then to our move.  We got him some books on Saudi Arabia and moving from the library.  We watched videos online about the compounds where we'll be living and tried to help him know what to expect.  I know it will be a really rough transition, but all we can do is try to prepare him and hope for the best and then deal with the not so best as it comes along.  Tate wanted to share about his move with his Kindergarten class so we helped him make a poster and taught him some new words and his wonderful teacher let us come in one morning to share.  He was so excited and did a great job.  His teacher said we could even skype with the class once in a while so they can keep in touch.  We got really lucky with Mrs. Watkins. She is so perfect for Tate.
On the 28th, our friends the Garlocks threw us a little going away party.  So many ward members showed up to say goodbye.  It was a teary night of saying goodbye to such incredible friends.  I love this ward.  It feels more like family than anywhere else I have lived.  There are so many kind, loving, giving people here and I will really miss being a part of this ward where I have felt so much support and been so taken care of.
The last week of September we put our beautiful house on the market and within a week we had two offers.  It seems like everything is falling into place and going fairly smoothly thus far.  I hope that continues throughout our transition!