While You Were Away . . .

Mitchell had the good fortune to be invited to spend the week in Spokane at the LaVines' house. He got to have lots of cousin time, as well as attend VBS (or PBS, as he calls it) at their church.
More on that later. 

This is not a photo of a boy who thinks he has good fortune. Mitch knew that when he left, he was saying good-bye to his bedroom. Bryan and I decided to try and have the kids share a room while we live here. So, as soon as Mitch left Sunday afternoon, I got to work.

After 3 days of working on it, I managed to get the rooms switched around. Mitchell and Shannon are now wholly moved into what was our room. The pictures of this transformation are included here. It fits well and the best part is - I think they like it!

Shannon was a big helper during this process. She would say, "I hep" and then try to push furniture with me, including the mattresses, dressers and more. Big help. Bryan would come home from work and be asked to do a bit of lifting, too.

I managed to weed their toys, too, without the watchful eyes of MBJ. Bryan and I moved into what was Mitchell's room, and Shannon's old room has returned to being the office/guest room. We are very pleased with the results so far!

Shannon enjoyed being a single child for the week, but she really missed her brother. There was lots of talk about "Itchie Bwyan" and she was delighted to go up to Spokane on Thursday to get him!

So, while the moving was taking place in Hermiston, Mitch was enjoying himself in Spokane. Aunt Kim was the teacher for his class so he and Haylee got to spend the morning with her. The VBS theme was Kingdom Rock complete with knights, castles and princesses. Mitch was very taken with the princesses and announced on the drive home that when he was older, he would like to help them sing.

We have been listening to the songs and enjoying hearing little tidbits of stories that he chooses to share from his time away. While we were productive in his absence, it's great to have the Mitch-ster home again! Special thanks to Kim and Chad for giving him the opportunity.