okay, so now we're here!

after much anticipation, we've arrived in ithaca, new york! it is beautiful here. really, really gorgeous. so "woodsy". the campus is gorgeous, very ivy league. i feel so "east coast", for sure.

our apartment building abuts the sapsucker forest reserve (two words i now love: abuts and sapsucker.) i literally feel like we're camping. the forest is seriously 50 yards from our front door.

here are some pictures taken by our apartment building. there's a beautiful park just steps from where we live. i honestly can't stress enough how close we are to the forest! really!

this last picture is of our apartment building. there are six apartments in each building and there are three rows of five buildings with parking in between and forest surrounding the entire area. beautiful. did i mention we live in a forest? oh, and the entire complex is occupied by mormons! there's tons of us! it's like a commune. entire units are filled to the brim with little lds families. lots of kids. lots and lots of kids. so, don't worry about us! we won't be lonely.

moving has brought on many unique experiences. for one, trying to furnish the place. we got rid of most of our stuff, so we're starting kind of from scratch. i thought it would be easy. all i need is a couple of junky thrift stores and i'm set. apparently, ithaca has no junk. there is one measly salvation army and that's it. there's antiques, but that's not junky enough for me. however, in our aimless wanderings, looking for junky chairs and tables, we came across quite the place. some guy and his collection of stuff. off some rural highway there's a three-story structure that is literally jam-packed full of stuff. i can't even describe it. i needed a flashlight and a mask. but i didn't have one, so i braved it. i was afraid for my life as i ventured the creaky building, but i did it for the sake of junk! i loved it! here are my findings. an awesome green chair, a crate for an end table, and random empty frames for my upcoming project.

oh, and i'm definitely going back.

parker was so excited to finally make it to new york after talking about it for so long and the infamous "day in the airport" that she wanted to have a celebration. she was so excited about it too. it's all she could talk about until we actually had it. she had it all planned out in her head. we baked a cake for it even. we had presents (wrapped in paper towels), sang songs and put stuffed animals on our backs.

one last thought. . . if you ever wondered how to make your kids play for hours on end (and very nicely together, i might add), just pack away all their favorite toys and put them in storage for 11 months. then, bring them out! it's instant christmas! the girls have been having so much fun rediscovering all their favorite toys and books. and oliver is enjoying having baby toys for the first time. real, genuine baby toys.

pictures of the inside of our apartment are forthcoming. you've got to give me some time!