PETERSEN: Vermont Chapter

CONTINUING OUR EPIC TALE. . . 

We sold the house on June 30th but left it on the 26th.  We didn’t have a new house to move into yet, so we needed a place to stay in the mean time.  It just so happens the Granger, Indiana is about 2/3rds of the way to Madison, Wisconsin.  It also just so happens that our very best friends the Smiths live in Granger, Indiana.  Due to their overwhelming hospitality and eager coaxing we accepted their very kind offer to have us stay with them while in “transition.”  This arrangement was appealing for several reasons. (1) We could take weekend trips to Madison and look at houses or apartments.  (2) Enoch would have three great friends to play with while we were homeless.  (3)  Team Smithersen!!!

We loaded up our 26′ moving truck as full as we could and set out on the road. Enoch rode with Chase in the truck and was in heaven.  I had Tessa in the car with me.  Every time we’d stop Chase would relay the conversations the two of them had along the drive.  The kiddo didn’t watch a single movie, talking to his Daddy in the front seat of the truck was all he needed.

We got to the Smith’s house and they made us feel right at home.  Thanks guys, looking back I realize what a stressful thing this moving business is and you made it feel a lot more natural.

Clayton was finishing up his last few weeks of school while we were there so it was mostly the little boys and Josie who played together during the day.  But one day Clayton’s class went on a field trip to the zoo, so we thought we’d tag along.  We went to the South Bend, Indiana Zoo where we found out how tall flamingos really are.  Notice Enoch’s pouty face?  Take careful note of it, you may find it becomes a recurring theme over the next few entries.

Enoch (4 yrs), Noah(4 yrs) & Josie (2 yrs)

One of the things the boys loved to do was ride their bikes, Big Wheels, scooters, etc. on the Dead End street.  Chase and I had been talking about it for a while and decided that because Enoch’s birthday is in November just as it’s starting to get cold, that we would splurge a little now and get him his first bicycle when the summer began.  He needed training wheels for the first several weeks, but soon discovered he could go quite a bit faster without them.  

The boy is still too short for this little bike and he can’t sit on the seat and touch the ground.  This makes stopping an interesting endeavor.  He’s learned to perform a controlled crash; he brakes to a stop then jumps off the bike before it falls down.  Seems to work for him.

So, a lot of bike riding and a lot of imagination play.  Here are the kids on one sunny afternoon:

. . . a lot of bike riding, imagination play, and a lot of “wrestling.”  At least, as much wrestling as four-year-olds can do:

I confess I didn’t take many pictures during this phase in our existence.  I did a lot of chatting with Ariane; collecting advice from her “wise-beyond-her-years” words.  I attempted, several times, to make dinner for the Smith’s as a sort of exchange of thanks to them.  However, they were rarely done on time and the children were made to eat left-overs while the adults ate dinner after the children went to bed.  Oops, my bad guys, sorry.  It was truly wonderful staying with them.  The children played with one another as if they’d never been apart.  We miss you and anxiously await your visit to us with Baby Quatro. (not-so-subtle nudge)