It's June Already?? Look out world we are headed to California!

Final 9900 OWR Garden Harvest

I had been awaiting & dreading June 2017 for months and months. So much on the horizon that I was excited about and yet I couldn't even think about leaving all the things I love about Saint Louis behind. Why cant you take the people you love with you when you move? Its so hard! We decided to schedule lots of play dates, just like we do before we travel in the summer time. Pretending is the key, you see. 

The #smithladies gave us tons of hugs & donuts (of course)

Jane and I ate Tutti Frutti (back to our original playdate spot from JK)

Celia and I made cupcakes with TONS of sprinkles and we went to a Soccer match

Everyone closed their eyes and helped us pretend we were all going to be ok - even if our hearts were aching.

Morty's T-Ball Season came to a close

He and Caleb laughed so hard that season

We even had a "sleepover" at the new apartment to give the new bunk beds a test run. Our favorite past time is to sit in the windows and count red cars that pass by.

On the bright side, June meant that I was going to AWAY camp with Maeve for two whole weeks, I didn't have to pack up the house, see the empty rooms or say a final goodbye. With Maeve and I going off to camp I could just say, See you later and not have to deal with the finality of it all. It was time to take flight and I was so excited to take that leap with Maeve that I could scarcely think about the fact the house I had pretty much grown up in was about to be a place of the past. Good think we just went for it!

and here is where we will grow wings...

Maeve's face pretty much sums up how I felt

But we took the leap and I held onto her the best that I could manage... she's an eager one!

You might ask why I was off to away camp when all the BIG changes were going on? Well, you see Mrs. F went to the very same camp when she was growing up and we have been talking about it for years! All the songs they sang, the awesome brownies they scarfed, the lifelong friends that she made along the way. It all sounded dreamy so Maeve and I decided to demand that this would be our summer rendezvous too. So the arrangements were made and the 4 of us made it to camp by plane and car. That in itself was quite a treat - no stinky boys!

June 14, 2017: After a night at the hotel and a couple hours in the car we made it to camp!!

We went straight to our cabin to set up my bed, put away clothes and meet my counselors. To say I was nervous was an understatement but I knew it was going to be fun too... or at least I hoped it would. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Mrs. F had the good sense to keep us moving, lead us to the water and meet up with other kids. 

It was then that they gave us slip. They told us it would happen like that - just a sudden hug and then we would "cut the cord" and that's exactly how it happened. This is where they left us. 

 

The next couple weeks were full of awesome adventures - we laughed, sang, cheered, griped and learned new skills. 

I made new friends

Found out I was decent at Knee boarding

froze in the icy waters while paddle boarding

made peeper and cupcake shaped candles

and finally got to work on my archery skills. 

I wrote sweet letters to Mrs. F

....and cried my heart out to Mom, which in hind sight maybe wasn't the best thing to  do to a Mom who was in the middle of moving her family all the way to the west coast. Poor Mom was stressed!!

 

You can see that I was having a terrible time. 

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While I was living La Vida Loca, Mom and Dad were packing the house, moving stuff to the apartment and double brushing Morty's teeth. Sadly they cam across what they thought was Chocolate ... but was not actually chocolate. It was a new gnarly decaying tooth that popped through the gums and came up deformed. It was an unwlecome shock for everyone and of course meant emergency dental treatment, exactly what everyone needed while moving. 

Shockingly yucko

Dr. Chris Wolken had Morty in the chair ASAP and within 2 visits had him right as rain. It was pretty intense but we are so glad that everything has been good ever since. Morty was able to get back to him normal only child activities...

Fort building

City Scooting

St. Louis Cake Hopping

 

Saying goodbye to the old homestead was hard from what I hear. The moving company did an epicly awful job (leaving piles of things behind, leaving valuables unattended, piles on the driveway unattended) and actually left quite a few large items back in St. Louis all together (washer & dryer, dining room table, safe, workout machines... you know, just tiny insignificant things!)

Mom's car was the last  to go and that was the moment it all sunk in

Our house in STL took years to plan, build and fill with memories. We lived there for 4 years and it was such a special place. Everywhere you looked you could see Nono's touch or hear his voice and know what rooms he liked best. The airplane room (not a single airplane to be seen) was light and bright with gorgeous views of the backyard - that was his favorite space, the room he sat in when the old 9900 was being torn down (man, that must have been hard for him) and the room where he did his best Frederick impersonation. It was really hard to know someone else's family would call it their own but it was nice to know that we had created something someone else was excited to make their own. 

 

Morty had one more dentist appointment before leaving town which fixed his brown tooth and helped loosen a wiggly one. The tooth fairy would be flying to St. Louis yet again!!

Sadly, Morty had a reaction to the numbing "juice" and he ended up with a ginormous fat lip for the trip out west. 

 

June 20th, 2017: One fat lip, two dogs and a Mom made it to California the very next day. Macho & Muppet had their first whiff of sea air and view of the glorious Golden Gate bridge. Can you imagine what they must have thought of their journey that day? Whoa!

 

If I were to guess, Mom was exhausted, happy, nervous, eager and stressed but this photo shows none of it. How can it be that all those things are going on inside someone but their face doesn't show it?!! well, maybe it because she had her eyebrows microbladed on?

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June 27, 2017:  Reunited and it feels sooooo good!

It was time to go home!!!!! Mom and Mrs. F came to get us and boy was I ready. I had mostly lost my voice, was fighting a cold but was all smiles and full of stories. 

I was in ONE piece!

We both still had on our necklaces we made each other!!

 

 

  

We wanted to go home but couldn't leave without showing the Moms around and playing them a tune on the camp piano in the dining hall. 

Best of all: Maeve and I were still best buds - thanks Cod!! It was awesome - Cant wait for next year ... What? Me - homesick?? Nahhhhh!!

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Once we got to to SF I just wanted to sleep and be a zombie while the cold took over. We were staying in a hotel so it was hard to get really good sleep but at least I could turn the sound machines back on!!

Then it was time to unpack - ughhhhhhh I hate unpacking. Nothing has a place and I have to organize everything, plus Mom is always on my case to get rid of things I "don't use" - what does she know? I love allllllll my things. Yes, I know Im a hoarder and I like it that way!!!

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It was almost the end of June and we already had a visitor!! Yippeee

Dr Fuh, Dr. Lin and their adorable baby Zander came all the way from St. Louis and stopped in to say hello. Zander is the cutest and I loved the distraction, plus we were there when he had his first sprinkle doughnut!!

Playing on the floor is the best!!

Sprinkle donuts for everyone!!

June FLEW by and I have to say that was probably for the best. None of us do well when we are given time to reconsider. I am happy for our new Cali Adventure but first ... we are off to the east coast!! Don't forget - July is the best Month of the year!