WHEW!

Just a few moments here to update readers.

Bella's last day of school is this Thursday, then she and her mom are driving up to NYC in the family truckster. They'll spread the trip out over three days, staying with family along the way. Bella's dad has hired helpers to help him load a U-Haul truck on Thursday, does final inspection of the rental house on Friday, and then drives up to NYC all day on Saturday with Bella's Uncle Steve as his co-pilot. Move in day in the new apartment is this Sunday, May 2! Crazy.

We've been super busy packing, yard selling, throwing things away, sorting, etc. Also, we've been trying to see as many friends as possible before we leave. Bella had a blast yesterday evening at Leapin' Lizards - home of the "big slide" - with her boyfriends Greyson and Holden and their parents. Then we all went to Fellini's for pizza (and beers). Bella's parents are spending the last three days doing nothing but packing, have a crew coming to clean the house Wednesday night, and steam cleaner in on Thursday afternoon.

Bella has been taking the impending move in stride. She is excited about moving to the "big city," but unhappy that her house is in such disarray. Boxes everywhere, and some of her things are missing - either boxed or sold (since we can't fit everything into the apartment). She spent last weekend with her Izzy & Bud in Dalton and had a great time there as usual. She even helped us load her cats, Squeak and Fatty Nacho, into Izzy & Bud's minivan for the drive up to their new home (for a year) in Dalton.

We're so proud of her for soldiering through all of this, and still finding time and ways to make her parents crack up. More later... maybe from a new headquarters!

TRUCKS & FLAGS

WARNING: ADULT THEMES CONTAINED IN THIS POST!

So, this is pretty funny - for now.

Bella, of course, loves trucks. We sometimes call her the Truck Monster (modeled after the Cookie Monster) because she will pretend to gobble up trucks we pass on the road. And she likes to point them out and talk about the ones she's seen. Here's the thing though: she has trouble saying the word "truck." The "tr" sound comes out more like "fw." So you can imagine her parents' giggles when, during dinner last night, she started talking about the "big, big fwuck" that was coming to help us move. There's actually some video of it we may post sometime.

Then today on the way to school, Bella pointed out the American flag on a pole along "Doggie Road." She always notes if it is blowing in the wind or not. If it's not, she assumes the flag must be wet, which her father explained to her. But today, her dad realized that Bella doesn't quite have the word "flag" mastered. She drops the "L" sound out of the word. And today, when she asked if it was blowing or not, I had to chuckle quietly.

PLAY DATE WITH MIA!

Totally forgot to put some photos up from the wonderful play date Bella had last month with her good friend Mia. They met at McCoy Park in Oakhurst, and Bella brought along two homemade yogurt/orange juice pops to share with Mia. After pops were consumed, there was sliding and swinging and running around and climbing and sliding and swinging and singing. Mia is about a year older than Bella, but they both speak the same language - fun!