The last three months have whirled by as we successfully moved from Arlington to a bigger house in Lexington. Step 1, finding a new house, turned out to be the easy part. A house came on the market on a Wednesday in late February that looked fantastic and three days later it was ours. We've spent more time pondering where to buy diapers, much less the most important investment of our lives. At least we are decisive.
Step 2, selling the old house, was a process about as much fun as a root canal. With the packing, the cleaning, the staging, the evacuations, and the demoralizing inspections it was not an enjoyable month of March. We had one offer fall through and then the second buyer found termites(!), but in the end it all worked out. On April 15th we handed over the keys and said goodbye to Longfellow.
We closed on March 31st and that very same day Heather learned that she had been "deselected" from her job at Pfizer. It was a mixed blessing because ever since Wyeth was taken over, her job had been deteriorating as the Pfizer way was imposed on her group. The past 6 months were truly miserable and she was ready to leave. Pfizer lived up to their reputation as being the worst pharmaceutical company in the world.
Spring finally arrived as we settled into the new house. The girls were moved into the same bedroom, and quickly adapted to a new routine. We love the bigger kitchen and bathrooms, where we no longer have to dance around each other. And Heather found that post-Pfizer there are numerous job opportunities, and she accepted an offer to join Alkermes, a mid-size biotech company, starting in June. We are looking forward to some stability in our lives, at least for a few months!
A photo just after our offer was accepted, on a rare night out at Little Q Hot Pot
Packing a storage pod to declutter was a necessity
The kids were good sports the whole time as their toys disappeared and their rooms emptied. Caroline stayed entertained while we cleaned up the attic.
We took a weekend off to visit Lyla, Charlie, & Katy in NY
Charlie wasn't sure what to make of Erin
We will miss certain things from our old house, like the secluded backyard,
the flower beds,
and the blueberries, raspberries, and bean plots.
And there are things that we won't miss, like the ground-level deck
and the barely one-car garage.
The kitties will miss their big-screen TV outside the kitchen doors
and the kids will miss their snacks in the sun on the front steps
Hello Lexington!
There is a TV set up downstairs where the girls watch their movies during "quiet time"
On our way to Atlanta we had a five hour delay, but thankfully we were in the terminal with the Kidport play area
Grandma Lu loved to see the girls
Back in chilly Boston for Easter, where the new yard held lots of Easter eggs
The backyard before the hosta grew in. Under the tree is a fish(?) pond that may have to be filled in.
Cousin Doug and his family came to Boston for the Marathon, which Doug finished in a very respectable 3:26
Our new house is very close to the bike trail and on Mothers Day we took the kids for a ride in our new trailer. Erin loved the Pirate's Booty that we got for a snack.
Afternoon light in the backyard
At the Enka fair in Winchester Caroline got to ride her first roller coaster (and meet her first carny)
Erin was brave enough to ride her first carousel
Memorial display on the Common
All the girls
