Secret, secret...

...I've got a secret.

Okay, so it's not much of a secret anymore. Word is out, and it's true - we are MOVING!

Finally, after at least seven years (I'm not kidding) of looking, we have found a different house and are moving. None of us have really come to grips with it yet. We've been looking for so long, that it doesn't seem real. It is all going to sink in about two weeks from now, when we will be knee deep in boxes and trucks. (Not really looking forward to that part.)

We are totally PSYCHED! Finally, each kid gets their own room, and we will have a basement to "shove" the kids down to when they have friends over. I get to go furniture shopping, and TV shopping, and decor shopping! We are kind of in the process of packing, but that seems to be going slow. Could it be softball games every night? Hmmmmm.....

At the same time, we are a little (stress little) sad. There are a few things we will miss about our current home:

• My kitchen - Jeff and I designed our kitchen when we decided to completely remodel the dining/kitchen area. Jeff built the bar with glass blocks himself. Plus, I love my cabinets.


• Our porch - It is a really nice, old-fashioned porch for sitting and watching people.


• Neighbors - We actually felt a little guilty when we told our close neighbors about our upcoming move. I feel like we are abandoning them. :(


• Walking to the football games. Sure, now that I have double the games to go to, I have to wrestle with a parking spot.


• Walking to Rocky Top for ice cream, or the movie store for videos.


• Halloween - Our neighborhood totally rocks at Halloween. For some reason, people flock here. We may just have to come back for that occasion.

I won't get in to the things I won't miss about the house, but there are a few. Obviously, or we wouldn't have started looking. It has been a nice "starter home" and we have made a lot of upgrades to it over the years. It is the house we brought two of our babies home to - the only home they have known up to this point. That makes me a little melancholy. It will be fun to see them adapt to the new house. Whitney is my sentimental one, and I have a feeling she will spend quite a bit of time "missing" the old house. I keep telling everyone - we are taking the memories with us - we will never leave those behind. All of the kids have friends in the new neighborhood, so I think the transition will go smoothly overall.

I've promised softball photos, so here are a few. We've been a little preoccupied, so there aren't as many as there have been in the past.

Whitney plays for Convoy. Occasionally, she gets to pitch, which she really likes.

Cassidy plays for Ohio City. Don't ask how I managed to have two kids play for two different towns. Long story. She is trying her hand at catching this year. (She has also started to pitch.)

Oh, Whitney also got to ride a float in the Peony Parade, for Flip Tuck Gymnastics.

Our summer is shaping up to be quite an adventure!