Sweet 16 here we come!

While putting the finishing touches on a refinished piece of furniture recently, I needed a few extra minutes and Claire needed something to do. I was in the driveway, Claire was in the driveway and so was the car. Hence...

Put the key in the ignition...

... find some tunes...

... shift...

... talk on cell phone...

... Drive, baby, drive.*

Next time I'll have to make sure to have a bicycle nearby.

*I do not actually support this statement. I would prefer her to walk, ride a bike or take public transportation.

Swiss Valley hike

Last week on a beautiful morning Claire and Will took a hike in Swiss Valley Park, just outside Dubuque. Here are a few pictures.

It's surprisingly difficult to take a picture of yourself while giving your daughter a ride on your shoulders. Here's my attempt.

Here Claire contemplates the importance of water.

Claire found this hidden in the recesses of our car on the way there and decided that she needed to come on the hike with us.

Claire gets down to the business of throwing rocks in the water.

Tea party and new friends

Nana and Claire take a break from their tea party to wave from the Claire-sized table and chairs that Nana brought up for us.

Claire, Margie, Kyle and Mason

Margie, Claire and Scott

Claire has been adjusting to her new house and has been enjoying having kids in the neighborhood to play with. Margie and Scott live directly next door to the west and Kyle and Mason live next door to the east. Margie, 10, is a great "big sister" and likes taking Claire for walks. Kyle is 5 and was holding Claire's hand within minutes of meeting her. Claire has also been playing with the 3-year-old daughter, Izzy, of the (former) owner of our house. Today she went to storytime at the library and liked playing with all the other kids there. I think she has been starved for time with other kids.

Claire's parents are still looking to meet all their new friends...

486 Clarke

The day that we sometimes wondered if would ever come finally arrived this past weekend. We are now moved in to our new home!



The weekend began by loading up the Uhaul truck in Madison on Saturday morning. If you've never experienced the joy that is renting a Uhaul, all I can say is if you ever do get to experience said joy I hope it goes as smoothly as ours did this time. Part of the joy of Uhaul is that reservations, while required, mean nothing. As of mid-afternoon on Friday we didn't know where or when we would be getting our truck on Saturday which hinders planning considerably. We were told it would be on Saturday and that we would be able to pick it up somewhere in southern Wisconsin. Well, as it turns out the movers we hired wanted to be able to plan their Saturday, too. As luck would have it, the owner of the moving company happened to be the brother of one of the Wisconsin Uhaul schedulers. He called her up, told her he wanted us to have a truck at a certain time and place, and made it happen. We were even able to pick up the truck ahead of schedule and it was a brand new truck. Seventy minutes after the movers, who were two of the most energetic and upbeat (highly caffeinated, perhaps?) people we've ever met, arrived the truck was fully loaded and ready to roll.



Sunday morning came and it was time to unpack. We also hired two guys to unload the truck for us in Dubuque. They showed up 30 minutes early and 90 minutes later, the truck was empty and we were in our new house!

The timing of the move could have been better, certainly; it could have happened two months ago so we could have been unpacked before Kate started work. But because we got two full-fledged offers on house in Madison and two other verbal offers last week, and accepted one of them Friday afternoon, the stress of the move was reduced considerably. We've managed to unpack most of our stuff, and will slowly wade our way through the rest as time allows. Claire made the adjustment very well and seems totally at home in her new house. I don't know that it seems like "home" yet to me, but it is pretty fabulous and I still can't really believe that we live here.

Claire is a friendly kid and gives a wave to all those who drive by. Some day soon she'd like to wave to you!