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We Moved...AGAIN!

Yes, we moved....AGAIN. Our lease was up on our apartment. We were readdressing some financial issues and wanted to pay down our debt. We wanted to move closer to Boise. Nampa was not feeling like home. We needed a cheaper rental, so we could pay down the debt and save for a down payment on a house. We looked all around this valley and the cheapest, homiest place we could find was the upstairs at Levi's Parents house in Meridian. I know...we are the WORST kind of boomerang children.

It is not so bad... really, it's actually quite nice. We all get along swimmingly. Levi is gone so much it's nice to have some other people around. Levi's parents get to spoil their grandchildren and they don't even have to leave the house to do it. I am helping to remodel the upstairs...free slave labor... Two rooms down, a bathroom, and one more popcorn ceiling to go! (I actually love doing it, it's fun. )We all like each other...so why not?

So there are a lot of mixed emotions that go into moving back in with the parents. I am hesitant to tell people because most reactions are negative,"Oh, you poor thing.". " You should NEVER live with family!.", "I could never do it." My in-laws are fortunately very awesome and kind people and really easy going like my husband and very generous to share half their home with us for a while...these are all great blessings.I can see how it could go badly for some people, but I really don't see that happening in this situation.

I was wondering if others have had positive experiences with Multigenerational living situations. Seems my initial search brought up lots of negative information targeted at irresponsible boomerang children, but after a little digging I found others willing to share the positive side. I know my Grandmother grew up living with her Grandparents for a few years and had such fond memories of sitting with her Grandmother as she sewed. Most of my own life we lived with my Grandmother, since my Mom was a single mom with 4 kids. I have some amazing memories and a very close relationship with my Grandmother because of it. I grew up in Florida were is is not uncommon for families to all live together either in the same home or on the same property. While a great deal of it's success does depend on the people and their relationship, it can work in the real world, and bring families closer together in the end.

Here is a fun post about the positive aspects of Multigenerational living:

Top 10 List – Living with the In-Laws, Moments that Make It by Gwen Woods

Here is a great article on the Come Back of Multi-Generation living and some thoughts on why:

Multi-Generation Living Makes a Comeback

Someone ever wrote a book about it:

Living Together Again by by Sharon Graham Niederhaus and John L. Graham

There was a great segment on ABC about it.

Well it certainly isn't the answer for everyone, but it is a huge blessing for us right now. Anyone else out there bunking with the in-laws?

August 2010

Hello, my long neglected blog.
I have missed you.
I am so far behind on posts. I'm going to be marathon blogging just to get through August and September.

August was a crazy month for us; a family reunion, a funeral, a move, and a birthday all in one month.

The family reunion was for Levi's immediate family. It's a new family tradition we are starting. We'll have one a year in the summertime. Everyone was able to attend. Here we all are, plus Savannah's boyfriend. I am sure years from now we will think...who was that boy? I hosted the reunion this year, it was a Luau theme as you can see from the Hawaiian shirts and leis. This picture is really funny...got some strange expressions going on. At the reunion we had talent acts, the limbo, a hula contest, and hula hooping. Here are a few more photos, if you are wondering about our hula skills...we are pros! We had so much fun!!! Birney (aka Greatest Uncle Ever) is hosting the one next year in Seattle, we are all looking forward to it.

Levi's Grandpa Kidd died a few days before the reunion, so it was all very bittersweet. He would have loved the reunion.We drove over to Ashton, ID for the funeral. It was such a lovely service, and so very many of his family and friends attended. He was always very kind and loving to me, you always just felt like one of his grandchildren. He loved the boys and it was so nice for them to get to know their Great Grandfather while he was alive.

Yes, we moved AGAIN, but hopefully it will be the 2nd to the last time...I hope.We are living in the upstairs of Levi's parents house, paying off some debt and saving for a home. Wish us luck!!

We are helping to remodeling the upstairs. It has been fun and also hard work. Check out this cool paint job my friend helped me with. Yes, that is all paint...can you believe it? She has these awesome patterned rollers from the 70's. I think it turned out beautiful! The color is a little off in the photo, but it is a Sage Green.

Last, but just one day before the last day of the month. Ian turned 10!! Double Digits. Isn't he a cutie?! Happy Birthday, buddy.

"I don't know what the future may hold, but I know who holds the future."

~Ralph Abernathy

Owl Moon

I am using Evan Moors Literature Pockets Caldecott Winners, Grades 1-3

with Ian (3rd) and Kaleb (1st).

Here are some of our projects from Owl Moon by Jane Yolen.

Ian loved this book. It has beautiful illustrations and the story is very poetic and descriptive.

To extend the book a bit we did look up some owl photos and sounds on the internet, but did not take it any further than that. You could do a whole Owl unit branching out from this book. I try not to get carried away sometimes.

We focused on the story elements and the art of the illustrations. This book contains a great deal of simile, which we had a discussion on. My favorite was "...and the snow below it was whiter than the milk in a cereal bowl." The illustrations are amazing, you feel like you are there in the cold woods with them. My favorite illustration was when the Dad shines the flashlight on the owl they have found.