Socializing in costume

New Jersey is strange in many ways... including our social calendar that is filling up quickly. Its not very like us... so they must be confusing us with Princess Merida and Spiderman. Our costumes were pretty cool at Lily's Halloween Bash.

 My hair even stayed on through the relays and other fun games.

After all of the running around and games, we got to eat some halloween themed cupcakes! Yum.

Hallow house

Getting the new house ready for spooky, scary and CANDY!!!

New

On Sept 3rd, Davin, Mommy and I all started at new schools. 

I started KINDERGARTEN!!

 Davin is a Jellybean at Rutgers Preschool.

Mommy started as a professor at Rutgers!  She has her own lab and office!  Now all she needs are things to fill up the space.  And of course... the things we like - sea urchins and sand dollars!

After a lot of to do, we finally got out of the hotel and have a new house!! By a lake!!

The lake has a club house, playground and lots of sand... and toys... 

Nomads

We were homeless for a good month and a half. Our good friends helped us out for a couple of days. We had a great time having sleepovers with the Sproats. 

 Watching toons with my birthday buddy.

The three year olds were ... well being three.

 

And the sweetest baby Ian ever.

 

 Unfortunately, we couldn't stay forever... we had to make the move to New Jersey. The hotel became our home. It was awesome for a while - swimming pool, fire pit, and newness fun. After a couple of weeks and the pool closed (post labor day), it wasn't as much fun.

Through it all we had fun and kept growing... 

My tooth finally fell out - the one that was loose in Switzerland!  The tooth fairy found me at the hotel and gave me a gold coin! My new big girl tooth is almost in already!

Firsts

I had a couple of big big firsts recently.

While munching on bread in Switzerland, there was a 'crack' and bam - I have my first loose tooth! We were going to have a contest to see what country it would fall out in... but it had a long way to go.  I've still got it now - so the question is Maryland or New Jersey.

My other big first is my first boyfriend... and latin lover.

Davin and I started at Bethesda Country Day School after we got back from Europe. That's where I met Thomas. Not Thomas the Train but Thomas from Colombia. 

He's an amazing artist and drew me pictures and love letters everyday for the week that we were together. He was also a gentleman and always got me a chair, next to him.

 But alas, our love was short lived. After just one week, Thomas had to go back to Colombia with his Mom.

 Our good-bye kiss.

 

Nomads - via everything but camels

We miss our house, but we've been so busy traveling around there's little time to be sad - though we drove by our first family home and the new owners painted the door a purple that just doesn't work. :-(

Anyways... so our travels... to EUROPE in honor of Auntie Petra's wedding! Instead of just checking out Croatia - mommy was afraid it would be too hot, and she'd overheat again - we took a road trip that covered a lot of the Alps and nearly every type of transportation... 

PLANES to and from Zurich, Switzerland

TRAINS, to almost the top of Europe, Jungfrau

and AUTOMOBILES, most of the time... 

We also WALKED, but usually ended up on Daddy's (and sometimes Mommy's) SHOULDERS.

by GONDALA - to the mountain side town of Murren and to the top of the Dolomites.

by BOAT... We skipped the other type of gondala in Venice and stuck to the valparettos

and finally... by ROLLER COASTER!!  Our first roller coaster ride - the Osttirodler in Austria. We said "Wee!" all the way down.

Going out with a BANG!

We didn't leave our house without cramming in a LOT of last minute fun and time with friends.

We got to say good bye to our friends by celebrating Anaya's birthday.

 There was even a train ride and couple carousel rides as part of the party!

We took advantage of the great local farms and picked us some berries!  Yum, yum. (The buckets also made fabulous hats!)

We also took our last few days to hang out with our neighbors. 

 who helped us celebrate Davin's birthday too...

 and Maddy and I just had fun with our FIRST sleepover. And yes, we actually slept too... by 11am.

Finally, we enjoyed the Kensington July4th festivities. One of the best 4th of Julys yet. The bike parade actually happened this year - last year it and the fireworks were cancelled.  And better yet, they gave out FREE POPSICLES!

 And if we hadn't had enough sugar... we had a pre-fireworks bonfire - complete with S'MORES!

 And of course, the fireworks to celebrate our first family home... oh yeah and America's independence.