the perfect distraction

I feel like our impending move is hanging over our heads like a black cloud. I am often asked if I am looking forward to moving and my usual answer is, "NO". That is the truth too. Although I am looking forward to starting a new chapter in our beautiful new house I am definitely not looking forward to moving. I have been doing a little more packing of my own lately but it still feels like we have a TON to do. Yuck...I can think of a million other things I would rather do. Luckily we had some great distractions this weekend, to help lift our stress.

On Saturday we attended the Fall Family Picnic. at Olivia's new school, Three Rivers Montessori. It was the first official event of the new school year and we were really looking forward to it since it was our first event at the school since Olivia started. I took on the responsibility of being on the planning committee. I told myself when we signed Olivia up at the school that I wanted to be an involved parent. I signed up for the picnic committee because I thought it would be a good way to meet some of the other parents and it probably would not be a huge commitment. Aside from helping to organize the food area and set up the night before there was not much involved. It turned out to be a great event!

The picnic started with tons of great homemade food. People brought so many interesting and yummy things. After lunch Olivia ventured out to the playground to tackle the slide. Our brave girl did not waste any time climbing to the top of the highest play set on the playground. She was anxious to go down the slide but realized that she had to wait her turn. Surprisingly she patiently waited until it was her turn, something she has no doubt learned since starting school. I love seeing her take the things she is learning and put them into action. Just another way in which our little girl is growing up. Once it was her turn she would announce loudly, "MY TURN", I guess making sure that everyone was aware that it was in fact, her turn. It cracks me up how Olivia announces every little thing she does. It is like having a sports commentator in your life...very funny!

After she was done with the playground we headed down to the barn to decorate Olivia's wagon for the Parade of Wheels. Each child brought a bike, wagon or something on wheels to use in the parade. There was a great decorating station that allowed the kids to personalize their transportation. I helped Olivia spruce up her wagon with stickers, streamers and balloons. It was quite spiffy! To conclude the picnic the parade of wheels paraded around the school's campus.

Parents and teachers lined the parade route so the kids could wave and show off their fancy wheels. It was a sea of colorful bikes and wagons and it was a fun way to end the picnic. Olivia was winding down at this point. It was way past nap time so by the time the parade started she was content to just relax in her wagon while I pulled her along.

We had a great time at the picnic and we look forward to lots of other fun events at the school. I spent the rest of the weekend freaking out about how I was going to get this house packed up in time. By Sunday afternoon I realized that I had to get out of the house for awhile and forget about all things related to moving. We decided to take Olivia to the zoo. We have been to the zoo a million times this year already, but this trip was really fun. We decided to let Olivia walk the zoo by herself without the stroller. She did great! She listened very well and stayed close to us. It was nice for her to be able to explore the zoo at her own pace. As usual we rode the carousel. We just can't take a trip to the zoo without riding the carousel anymore. Because it was quite warm that day we took a break and shared an ice cream cone. Needless to say Olivia really enjoyed that! Before leaving she found the train and had to explore it for awhile. It was a really fun afternoon.

It was a great weekend (when I was not thinking about moving). I cannot believe that we will be leaving this house in less than three weeks. There is still so much to do, but everyone assures me that it will get done. Until then we are so grateful to have Olivia in our lives. She truly is the perfect distraction.