Here are a few pictures of the kids hanging out in the new house.

This area of the house is "Baylee's corner". A baby friendly area for her to roam around. It's in front of the big living room window, so it also gets some nice sunlight for Baylee's enjoyment! :) It's also in front of the desk, where I keep my laptop & sewing machine... So, I'm able to do some things while being right next to her! :)

Up the stairs are Aubree & Preston's bedrooms. The stairs are pretty steep, but the kids have been careful going up & down them. The rule has been to hold on to the railing & they've obeyed! Once Baylee discovers these stairs, we'll need to put up a gate.

(By the way, Baylee has been crawling since the beginning of May & she is now a super speedy crawler... She's loving being mobile... But, of course she had to figure it out just as we were moving, packing, etc. Which made moving a bit difficult.)

In the front yard....

Here's our little 4-bedroom, 2-bath house... When we first moved to North NJ, I don't know if I would have thought this neighborhood was all that great... Well, because it's so Northeastern & different from what we're used to. As we have had time to get to know the area, I'm like "wow! this is a pretty cute little neighborhood" - it's funny how things start to feel more familiar.

This is our street from right, and then to left.

The kids have been enjoying all the nature. Our neighborhood backs up to a forest, so deer, raccoons, possums, bears, chipmunks, squirrels, gofers & dozens of birds are not uncommon here. We've already encountered problems with a raccoon digging through our trash can (& making a huge mess!) & a family of possums who made their way onto our roof (and even lost a baby possum from a fall off our power line... so sad, RIP little baby possum... That was very interesting for the kids to see a possum up close - he was right on our driveway). With all the animals + the lush climate, there is also a plethora of bugs. The kids have been enjoying all the bugs, worms & critters. Personally, I'd say this world would be close to perfect without them... But, hey! It comes with the territory. We've been seeing all sorts of beetles & different types of ants, spiders & exotic looking creatures outside. Despite my fear of bugs... I've been trying to put on my 'brave face' for the kids - telling them that that hideous black & orange striped flying (beetle-looking) thing, is "cool".

On another note, Garrick & I have gone "green" & have been embracing a more eco-friendly lifestyle in the last year, or so - so instead of using chemicals to ward of the bugs, we're embracing some of them to help out with our organic garden - so, I have now been studying the bugs... But, I have to admit, they mostly all look the same to me. I guess I'm ok with them as long as they stay where they belong... outside. I'll respect them, if they respect me! :) 

This weekend we've been doing lots of work in the backyard! The backyard needed some TLC ("tender loving care" - American translation for my Aunt Ann) - seriously! Trees were overgrown & weeds had taken over. So, my handsome husband turned gardener this weekend & cleaned off low hanging tree limbs, he pulled weeds, plowed dirt, fertilized & laid grass seed. He did a good job! Now we just need to wait to see some grass action! He also designated a small area (5x10 feet) for me to start my organic vegetable garden. I'm not sure how it'll do though, our backyard is very shady & my garden needs at least 6 hours of sunlight a day. I told Garrick I'd start out slow, just in case it doesn't work. If it does work, I'll be growing tomatoes, cucumbers (to make pickles!), peppers, zucchini, squash & herbs.

Garrick hard at work...