We purchased

our first home!

And we couldn't be happier =)

We began packing the middle of April,

after we found our home and put an offer on it!

I have decided that packing is so much less stressful

than unpacking and putting it all away!

We moved in two stages;

first, we rented a truck the beginning of June

and brought MANY boxes and

most of the garage to our new home =)

Sheldon & his dad

We were grateful for all the help from both wards

loading & then unloading the truck!

Then we hired movers the end of June,
after school was out,
to move our furniture and the rest of the boxes.

The mover way underestimated the space and manpower needed

to move our household,

so in the middle of packing the truck,

we had to go rent an additional one =(

Instead of 3 men/1 truck/5-6 hours,

it was 2 trucks/10 hours, and

they REALLY needed 6 men!

How many boxes does it take to move the Nichols?

At least this many with more to unpack...

The little creature in our front yard who welcomed

us to our new house =)

 But with our house being pretty new, the only work it really needs is in the backyard!

The weeds and blackberry bushes were taller than the fence!

So sweet;

in the midst of it all, a bird had built a nest and there are four little eggs =)

(We left the little tree and nest alone =)

And a couple weeks later...

And then not even a week later,
the little birds were gone.
We imagine the mother bird carried them away.

And beautiful wild daisies in the middle of the overgrown weeds

In the middle of chaos or trials in life, there

is always a bright spot, or a tender mercy =)

The backyard seemed SO much bigger as I was cutting it all down!

Success!

Now for the mowing, rototilling and putting down sod!

 We love our new home,

View out the back windows!

and this peaceful, more rural area

of Arlington!
We feel so blessed!

Natalie & Evan

Kids enjoying the neighborhood park =)

Natalie & Aaron