The Olsen's Big Move!

After 5 years at our first home on the corner of 2nd and Union, we are excited to announce we are making a big move! Yep, 3 whole blocks!  We looked at an adorable 1935 Bungalow on a total whim one Sunday afternoon right around Thanksgiving, and less than a month later we have rented our current home to a nice couple and will be in our new home by Christmas! It has happened very quickly and has been a bit overwhelming, but we are thrilled about our new home.

Here is our new home on 5th street:

The home lacks a garage, and the bedrooms are smaller than we are used to, but we are willing to sacrifice those things for about twice as much space overall, thanks to a nice finished basement.

Here are some of our very favorite things about our new home:

Original hardwood floors!

Nothing says cozy like a wood stove!! And a nice big mantle for my Pinterest decorating ideas!

We love how this exposed brick adds so much character to the kitchen and dining room.

We love the built in shelves in the living room:

There's also an amazing Christmas tree window in the living room, you know, you have to have the perfect window to place your Christmas tree in front of:

Mike is probably most excited about his man cave/workshop:

And for me, it's the little things, like this glass doorknob:

We are anxious and excited to move into our new home! We are also very thankful for the amazing people we have met on the crazy whirlwind of a ride, including the people moving into our home, and the current owners of the home we are moving into.  Working with such wonderful people will make moving around the holidays a bit more bearable!

We invite you to come visit us at our new home very soon!

Wishing you a wonderful holiday season!

Fall with The Olsen's!

Oh how I love the fall season!! The crisp air, the beautiful colors, football, and the holidays make me happy, happy, happy!  I found this fall bucket list online somewhere and printed it immediately because it was adorable and it seemed like a good way to guide our family memory making.  After printing the list, I just put it in a simple picture frame to display on the kitchen counter as a reminder of some fun ideas.  Here's the list: 

Here's a little recap of our fall fun:

1. Picking apples! We are lucky enough to live within walking distance of a small apple orchard where u-pick apples are about 25 cents per pound.  Not a bad deal, and it's fun for the whole family! We went 2 or 3 times this fall until there were hardly any apples left!

2. Drink hot apple cider! Not only did we drink the cider, we made the cider! The same u-pick orchard also has a few cider presses where we crushed and juiced apples for some delicious cider.  It smells amazing while making it, and again, fun for the whole family.  My dad was hooked on making cider after our first time last fall, so they came back to do it again.  My sister was also lucky enough to visit during cider weekend so she joined the festivities also. 

First, we pick the apples out if the bins. That was Emmalyn and Mimi's job:

 Then into the press they go!

 

Here is the fruit of our labor:

Fun was had by all!

3. Trick or Treat! Miss Emmalyn was old enough this year to understand the whole trick or treating thing, except the part that its only one night a year!  Halloween has come and gone, but my little lady bug continues to ask to go trick or treating.  Next year, sweet girl!  

4. Carve a pumpkin! It's just not Halloween without a couple of carved pumpkins on the porch, which made this one a must do on our list.  Emmalyn just dug right in for the pumpkin guts and seeds, and also enjoyed eating the seeds!  She's not quite old enough to carve her own yet, but still a good time!

5.  Make fall cookies! Emmalyn loves to bake and help in the kitchen.  This time she got to make some snickerdoodles while visiting Mimi and Papa (my parents) for the weekend.  

Of course she had to try a little of the dough first...

We still have a few things to check off our list before the snow hits. Oh wait, it already has!  It doesn't look like we will get around to everything this fall, but I am going to keep this fall bucket list handy for many autumn seasons to come!  Happy fall, y'all! 

New Chapter

The Olsen's are gearing up for a new chapter in our book of life! After over 5 years of employment at Washington State University, I have put in my resignation notice and am excited (and slightly terrified) that effective April 23 I will the Director of Seedlings Child Care Center in Garfield, Washington. You are probably stumped because you have no idea where Garfield is.

It's right here:

 

Mike and I love living in super small town Garfield (population approx. 600), but the 35 minute commute to work in Pullman has gotten old. I would rather spend more time with my family than in the car. I am thrilled that my new job requires no driving at all, as the child care center is located directly accross the street from our house!

Now for my all time favorite part about this position: I get to see my beautiful daughter any time I want!  I have been struggling with the whole working mom thing every since returning to work, and being a stay at home mom is just not in the cards for us.  Luckily, the opportunity to become the Director of Seedlings has just fallen into place.  I'm so thankful that I will be able to spend more time with my sweet Emmalyn, who has been attending the child care center for about 9 months. 

This new position will be bring lots of changes as I will be taking on the resposibility of the day to day operations of the child care center, as well as enforcing laws and state codes to keep the center eligible to remain licensed (YIKES!).   Since earning my degree and teaching certificate 7 years ago, I haven't had many opportunities to work with kids.  I'm excited to get back into what I was so passionate about all those years ago, and my mind is already going crazy with art project ideas, bulletin boards, field trips, etc...  I'm not a huge fan of change, or making decisions that lead to change, and I have had to face both in the last few weeks.  I feel so blessed to have the support of my amazing family and friends as I embark on a new journey! Wish me luck!

P.S.  WSU is not going to let me keep my email address I've had since I was a student.  So, if you email my WSU address and do not hear back from me, it is because the account has been deactivated.  Find another way to contact me!