The last of Katy.

 Ana did Isabel's hair one Sunday. It looked really pretty.

 And another day Isabel made herself a wreath from the pieces of a wreath I threw away.

 Sebastian climbing in the Magnolia tree.

Okay, so here's the rundown of October and the our final days in Katy. Sniff.  I  went on a Craigslist shopping spree, I went and looked at 3 pianos before buying one, which I love.  I bought an armoire for dress up clothes, a wardrobe for Ana's room since it doesn't have a closet, shelves, and a train table, among a few other little things for future presents. Craigslist takes a lot of time--looking and driving, but I knew I'd have a lot more options for less in Texas than I would in Wyoming.  Then we spent Sunday of conference weekend at my cousin Kandi's house in College Station which was fun as always.  I love my family. The second week of October Leo had a break between finishing his old job and starting his new job.  He went to lunch with the kids at school, Sebastian got sick with laryngitis, Leo was kept incredibly busy with my to-do list I had for him, stuff like fixing the back door of our van so it would open, and patching nail holes in the wall and painting them, etc.  Then that weekend Jubal and Nicolas came down with a nasty, nasty croupy illness that left Leo and I with very little sleep.  Then Leo left for Wyoming.  And the little boys were both still sick.  Then they got better and Sebastian got strep.  I madly sewed to finish the little girls Halloween costumes.  I was still teaching sewing lessons and desperately trying to finish a few projects up with my five sewing students, which led to extra lessons and time consumed, but I was so happy that they finished them all.  Yay.  I joined my friend and sold a bunch of stuff at a garage sale. My friends gave me their pouf/bean bag and I sewed a new cover for it, since it was covered in dog hair.  And I scanned pictures like mad before handing over our ward's scanner back to the RS president.  My wrists (carpal tunnel) were killing me.  I also helped at a Family History Fair one Saturday.  I was trying to get house-buying stuff coordinated, and house moving stuff done, and I spent a ridiculous amount of time at Once Upon a Child trying to outfit all my kids in winter gear.  I was mostly successful at that, although I did buy Elena's and Isabel's coats on eBay and the gloves and some other stuff new from Land's End (40% off). All black boots and snow pants so they can all be passed down.  Crazy.   And then there was the Trunk-o-Treat, and Activity Days, and you know the usual stuff.  And did I mention I was husbandless for 2 and half weeks during which at least one kid was sick the entire time???  I was kind of a wreck by the end of the month and during September and October I gained back all the weight I had lost this spring. Sigh.  Leo came back a day before we left, so he was able to help clean and then drive to Wyoming with us.  Luckily our move was all nicely paid for and everything was packed by the movers, although I did sort through my sewing room beforehand because that was a beast and I wanted it more organized before moving it all.

This is kind of a rant paragraph so skip on to the next if you want, but I am so angry about our landlord. We scrubbed that house spotless.  Like my mom's white-glove spotless.  Walls, baseboards, every single cupboard and floor, etc.  And our landlord was ANGRY with us because of how we left the house.  Basically that we hadn't shampooed the carpets (cheap junk that needed replaced anyway--cheap junk doesn't shampoo well either) and nail holes in the walls (which we had asked him for the paint colors but we were only able to match one out of the pictures of the can lids he sent us, because the numbers were obscured by paint--so the one matched we did fill and paint over the nail holes.)  But there was a ton of nail holes already in that house when we moved in--which I did point out to him that I had noted that on my walk-through sheet when we moved in) and a lot of them had been filled with putty and not painted over by them.  And all the fixing up they had done on the house was done crappy to begin with (one coat of paint everywhere which was extremely obvious, painting over wallpaper, painting oil over latex so it was all peeling off, etc).  ARGHHH!!!  I was so angry.  The house had normal wear and tear, and sorry crappy carpet only lasts 3-5 years anyway, and we had lived there 3.  So that's $1250 of our deposit down the drain.  I think it's because we were his first renters and he's from France and from what Kayli told me that in Switzerland they're crazy picky about how you leave a rental property.  Ruff.  We're trying to be Christ-like and NOT secretly wishing on him awful renters next time.  Trying.

 Ana with the girls from church.

 Pictures Karen sent me from one of the many times she watched my kids (and once Alyssa our next-door neighbor tagged along too.)

Chase and Sebastian

 Isabel, Audrey and Elena

Hunting a turtle.

 Ana and Beth

 Ana and Alyssa

But I had wonderful friends in my ward that were so kind and helpful the whole month too.  Nicolas and Jubal were babysat for me on  several occasions--mostly by my friend Kathy and her daughters Elena and Megan, although with sick kids I couldn't send them away as much as I would have liked.  We had a fun dinner at the Smith's house where they fed us shark (cooked 4 ways) which Dan had caught the day before in the Gulf.  There was an unofficial goodbye party that the entire ward was invited too at the Siebert's house (kind of a ward tradition when people move out.) Elena and Isabel and Sebastian basically lived at the Gillett's house the last week.  Karen cried when she dropped them off at school the last time, and then gave us a bag for each kid of stuff to keep them busy on the trip with a framed picture of Chase and Sebastian and a framed picture of Isabel, Elena, and Audrey.  I think that was the nicest thing ever!  It was so thoughtful.  And my friend Chelsey, who's been my visiting teacher for the entire time I lived in Texas, came over to say goodbye and she was crying, and oh, I hate goodbyes.  So sad.  Even the neighbor kids, Austin and Alyssa were so sad that we were moving and Austin gave Sebastian a Snoopy stuffed animal, and they were both pretty upset that they didn't have a chance to say a final goodbye to Elena and Isabel and Nicolas (they were all at the Bodine's while we did our walk-through in our house with the landlord.)  And then of course we spent our last meal in Katy at the Bodine's house.  Sob.  And after dinner we drove to Waco.