We're Still Kicking Part II

We decided that we needed to do something fun again, so we drove about 2 hours north and hit up the national zoo in Washington DC on Saturday. Raivis loved it, he got to see zebras, elephants, pandas, lions, and gorillas, but his favorite was the meercats. We can't wait to get up to DC and do some more exploring.

Raivis had his pointing finger out the whole time

By the end, he was so tired, he just couldn't sit up anymore!

On Sunday we put the finishing touches on the house... as you can see, three weeks later we have settled in. I think that our time in Richmond is going to be fun and busy, there are a lot of fun things to do, see, and explore. Nik's first week of lectures started Monday and we are back to the grind. Now that we are pretty much settled I promise I will get back to posting all of our adventures. If you need our new address and phone number, shoot me an email! (jessica.sirs@gmail.com) Give me a bit to reply though, I am slow at getting to it these days :)

Our door is the 2nd one

When you walk in the kitchen is on the left and you see this

Raivis' stash of toys

The living room

I LOVE the floor to ceiling windows

The kitchen

Looking down from upstairs, yes the bulldog is usually right where he is

The stairwell

The little guys room

Our room

And the bathroomThat is the grand tour!!! We are liking it a lot so far, I don't know why this is typing unerlined and blue... I think it means I should go to bed :)

We're still kicking!!

It has been waaaay to long since I have posted. Life just got the better of me I guess. Sooo, here is a run down of the last almost two months.

At the beginning of July we sent my oldest nephew, Jared, off to boot camp for the Army. Raivis loves his biggest cousin and we miss him already.

The Cousins!

I am not sure when I got so short :) It seems like Jared has been taller then my for about 7 years

I had not packed anything the first week of July, which wasn't a huge deal EXCEPT we were about to go on vacation for a week then move across the country.... that, my friends, is world class procrastinating :).

We had a great time in Oregon with my sister's family and my mom. It had been a long time since were there all together and I think that we all had a blast. Raivis loved the ocean, once again eating sand as fast as he could much to my dismay. We did some tidepooling, hiking, beach walking, and just had some fun. Raivis LOVED the airplane rides, he was plastered to the window through both take off and landings. It was so funny, I think that he actually understood that we were leaving the ground... who knows though. He did such a good job on the flights, sleeping and playing the whole way.

Raivis got up really really really early the whole time we were there, so we bundled up and hit the tidepools!
Mmm, Oregon beach sand!

Once we were back in Colorado we went to a good bye party thrown for us by Nik's great friends at the Greeley hospital. It was so fun to see everybody, we have made such great friends in Greeley, we miss them all already.

Then it was the packing marathon, Nik got to help for two days, then he had to work a long stretch of nights. So Raivis and I packed and packed and packed. Grandpa Brad drove down with my mom's stuff and got to help move stuff around, we were so lucky to have the help! Five days later we had packed up the house. We got the truck loaded, with the help of some great friends and we were ready for the first part of the move. By that point I was ready to be done with all of the moving nonsense and so was Raivis, but we were only half done. Nik and Tom (our friend) struck out on the road across the country while Raivis and I got to hang out in Fort Collins with our favorite Fort Collins family. We had fun, we got ice cream, went swimming, and tried to forget about all of those dang boxes that were waiting for us in Virginia.

Riese and Raivis swimming, I remember doing that with her!

Please ignore the extra white skin, I got a nice sunburn from 30 minutes in the pool... geez. So worth it though, Raivis loved swimming in the pool with Riese :)

Then Grandma Carol met up with us and we were back on the airplane but to Virginia this time. Again, Raivis was so good, he played and slept... he was a little bit of a hand full (I think because of all of the craziness we had been through in a week and a half) but we made it safe and sound to see Daddy. Daddy was happy to have us with him. Then the cleaning and unpacking began. After just three days, Nik had to fly back to Colorado to work a pay period, so Grandma, Raivis, and I hit the unpacking thing hard before I had to start my new job. We did it though!

I started my new job, which is at a skilled nursing facility in Colonial Heights, VA (about 25 minutes south of us). I miss my old job a lot but I am getting used to the new one. Meanwhile, Nik was back in Colorado working his rear-end off. He and his sister Kaira drove out our 2nd car and my mom's car. So finally about a week ago all of us and all of our stuff was in the same state.... WHEW!

After all of that we all needed a break so we went to the beach! Raivis got to go to both oceans within a month! He LOVED it, this time he ate the sand with twice the speed! He also loved the water. It was such a nice break.

The Atlantic ocean was so much warmer then the Pacific ocean!
He LOVED the water

SANDMONSTER!!!
Atlantic ocean sand... pretty tasty
Digging with his Aunti Kai, so fun!

Nik started medical school orientation last Monday and he had a white coat ceremony last Friday. Nik's mom, Grandma Rachael, flew out last Wednesday for Nik's white coat ceremony, it was fun to show off our new digs. A white coat ceremony is like a graduation but before you start school. It was an interesting ceremony, Ravis made it through the whole thing without being too disruptive... it was dicey for a minute though :).Look how handsome Daddy is in his white coat! We are so proud of him!

To Be Continued....