What exactly is normal?

Things are returning to normal here. Brandon flew out Saturday afternoon- I already miss him. It was nice to be able to run out while the girls were napping or at night and not have to drag them along. He's welcome to stay at our house whenever he wants!

Kaylon has figured out the bus routes, which are better here than Montgomery County. So much better, in fact, that I don't have to drive him anywhere- he takes a bus to the metro and then walks about 10 minutes to work. The commute is still about the same time as before (1 hour). Makes my life easier and saves on gas money!

The girls have settled into life here. I think the playground 50ft in front of our house helps with that. They love sleeping in the same bed, and riding their big wheelers on the deck. Grace mentions her old friends every once in a while- and I agree with her that they are missed. On a slightly funnier/embarrassing note- one thing we told Grace to help her accept the move is that she would make new friends in Reston and that there would be a little girl that would be her special friend. I noticed this getting out of hand too late, and realized that Grace thought that there was a specific girl waiting for her. So on Sunday at church, even after explaining that she shouldn't, Grace asked a girl in her primary if she was her special friend that was waiting for her. Sadly the little girl said no. So Grace told us on the way home that she wasn't the one. Oy.

I genuinely like this house. It might be slightly smaller, but the space is more efficient. I don't mind not having a dining room, cuz I have a bigger living room. I love the deck. The bedrooms are smaller, but we just sleep there, really. The house is nicer in most ways, and the neighborhood is amazing. The people are friendly and look out for each other. There is a path that leads to Safeway and I'm pretty sure another one that goes to Grace's school. I feel blessed that we found it, and at such a great price.

I'm trying out our ward's playgroup tomorrow. I was surprised that the primary wasn't bigger than it was. The ward was nice- more quiet (and affluent) than we're used to. Grace liked her teacher. Liliana adjusted to the new nursery well enough. Moira was loud- guess she wanted to be noticed.

Virginia has a more laid back feeling that we fit in with better. Kaylon is in love with the area and is excited about the running paths. And there are a lot of benefits- lower taxes, better transportation, cheaper rent, etc. It was a good move for our family... it's just hard doing it all over again. But I won't whine more than that. :)