I know you guys want to hear about the new house, and see pictures, and all that good stuff. But because of all the moving-day craziness (being locked out, the previous tenants leaving stuff here including their very sweet cat, etc.) I didn’t get to take the photos I’d envisioned taking. [Edited to add: Yes, the previous tenants did come get their stuff and their cat that same day. It all ended about as well as that situation possibly could have.] The photos I got aren’t inspiring me very much. Honestly, you might not get to see many photos till after Brenda has the house whipped into shape in a couple of weeks.

The good news is, you’ll get to see photos in a couple of weeks instead of in six to eight months. Usually when we move our goal is to be completely unpacked by the following Christmas, but next week Brenda (and Bug) are coming to visit and help us unpack! I’m very excited about it, which is a first for me. I hate unpacking. I get overwhelmed trying to think of where I want everything to go, so I do nothing. Well, not nothing. I unpack and organize the kitchen right away, and then I stall on the rest of the house.

Given all that, you can see why it was SO COMPLETELY AWESOME when Brenda house-sat for us a couple of years ago and asked if we minded if she unpacked a few boxes while she was there, and then went and unpacked and organized the entire house for us. I told her that I would fly her to all our future homes if she wanted to help us unpack them all, and she enthusiastically accepted. That is why she gets free birthday cakes for life, people. Well, that and being one of my best friends. You know what I mean.

I’m sorry you won’t be seeing pictures of the house just yet. I’m sure I’ll get some of the “before” photos up on Flickr eventually, so keep an eye on my Flickr stream. Meanwhile, here’s a conversation that took place this morning as we were driving around trying to find a McD’s with a PlayLand:

“I guess there’s an election tomorrow.”

“On a Wednesday? Where did you hear that?”

I pointed at the election signs clustered on the median. “It says ‘Vote March 2nd’ on those signs right there.”

“That’s today. Which makes sense, because it’s Tuesday.”

“Oh. Oh! In that case, happy anniversary!”

Troy laughed. “Uh, happy anniversary to you too!”

Annalie piped up from the backseat. “What anniversary? What are you talking about?” I explained that it was the fourteenth anniversary of the day we got married. “Oh. Uh, Mom?”

“What, sweetie?”

“I’m sorry, but I didn’t get to buy you and Daddy an anniversary present.”

“Aw, thanks, but that’s okay. It’s been kinda crazy with all the moving and stuff, hasn’t it?” Annalie agreed. I winked at Troy and said, “Besides, I’m sure Daddy has a fabulous anniversary surprise for me. I can’t wait to see what it is.”

Without missing a beat, Troy said, “What do you mean? Isn’t the 14th anniversary the McDonald’s anniversary?”

Happy anniversary, Troy! Fourteen years, eight moves, six states, one Canadian province, two years of grad school, three cats, six years of parenthood, and countless remote controls…and you’re still the one who makes me laugh. Thank God for that!

p.s. New banner! What do you think?

What is your name?

Annalie.

How old are you?

Five. And a half.

Where do you live?

In San Diego.

Do you have any pets?

Yep.

Do you want to tell me about them?

Yep. You see, there’s two of them and they’re cats, and their names are Katy and Lily. Katy has blue eyes and Lily has green eyes.

Who do you like to play with?

Bug.

What’s your favorite cereal?

The yogurt one. [Strawberry Yogurt Trader Joe O's]

What’s your favorite vegetable?

Strawberries and blueberries.

But those are fruits.

I know, but those are the ones I like. I guess I like carrots…actually, corn.

What’s your favorite drink?

Sprite.

What’s your favorite snack?

Peanut butter and jelly sandwich. And popcorn with butter and sometimes salt.

What’s your favorite toy?

Dolly, my dolphin.

What’s your favorite TV Show?

Fairly OddParents.

What’s your favorite movie?

Hmm…pause! [She was asking me to pause the interview because she needed to think about it.] My favorite movie is…a TV one: the Phineas & Ferb Christmas special!

What’s your favorite game?

I like to play catch a lot, with my Gramaw.

What’s your favorite book?

The one about a long time ago, the one I got for Christmas.

You mean the Little House on the Prairie books?

No. It was about the stories a long, long time ago, like Jesus and the flaming bush…

Oh, the Bible? Your Bible storybook?

Yes! That’s it.

What’s your favorite restaurant?

The place in Maryland that has hot dogs.

You mean Five Guys?

Yeah! Five Guys.

What’s your favorite holiday?

Christmas, because we give, and it’s really fun, and we get new stuff and we give some stuff up for other people who don’t have very much money.

What’s your favorite animal?

Horses.

If you could change your name, what name would you choose?

You know which one, Mommy. [in unison with me] Sarah!

What do you love about each person in our family?

I love that Daddy is really really funny, and he goes to work every day so I don’t get to play with him much. That makes it even more fun, ‘cuz I don’t usually get to play with him.

While I’m boring, because you see me all the time, right?

[A diplomatic silence is maintained, as Annalie scrunches up her nose and smiles at me.]

So what do you love about me?

What I love most about you is that you care about me a lot, and you are glad that I like going in the water now, so that way you can go in the water now, and go in the stepping area, and I can go in the water about up to my knees, or my feet. So we’re both happy!

What do you love most about yourself?

That I like cooking and painting, and I think a lot of things are funny.

Where would you like to go on vacation this year?

I would like to go on vacation to…Hawaii.

Really? Why do you want to go to Hawaii?

Because it sounds like a fun place to go to.

Where did you hear about Hawaii, do you know?

Um, it was actually in the movie Ice Age. You know, where that squirrel falls in the ice and he floats all the way to Hawaii.

What are we doing that’s a big change this year?

It’s a big change that we’re going back to…it’s a big change… [Annalie picks up a toy guitar and begins singing.] It’s a big change where we’re going back, we’re going back to Washington Dee Seee-eee-EEE! We’re moo-oo-oo-oo-OO-oo-oo-oo-VING!

Why are we doing that? Did we just decide, “Eh, we’re tired of California, we’re gonna go now”?

[Still singing] Because my fa-ther’s in the Na-a-a-a-vy!

What are some of your wishes for this year?

My wish is to help people and clean up the world. And I wish that Daddy would come home very very soon.

Good news, Daddy is coming home soon, in just a couple of weeks!

Oh, all right!

Thanks for the interview, Annalie!

Annalie’s self-portrait, age 5y8m

Inspiration for this interview originally came from New Year’s Interview for Kids at Blissfully Domestic (via The Crafty Crow). I don’t scrapbook, but I have a blog, and I’m not afraid to use it!

I did this interview in 2009 too. When I compared Annalie’s answers a couple of them were exactly the same. I guess she is my kid, so it’s not too surprising that she knows her own mind.

I was thinking of Joe’s awesome self-portrait with his nephew in the last 7 Days run when I took my self-portrait today with my niece. I had a hard time getting as good a shot as he did, but it was fun trying.

Ben, Angie and AK came over today for an early family Christmas celebration. We ate and opened presents and passed the mostly-awake baby around. I finally got to see her with her eyes open! She even smiled for me a few times. I didn’t get a picture of her smiling, but I do quite like this one:

She looks like she’s saying, “Eh? Whazzat?”

Annalie was so super-duper hyper-excited to open presents that she got a little overwhelmed a couple of times. Once she thought she’d run out of presents to open and was upset. Another time she exuberantly hugged my mom in thanks for a present she’d just opened, and when I said to her, “Hey, that was from me!” and we all laughed a bit, she fled the room in tears because she thought we were all laughing at her. Poor kid. All the anticipation and activity at Christmas makes me feel like crying sometimes too, and I’m 29 years older than she is. She calmed down quickly both times, though, and was fine.

My friend Rachel built this dollhouse and a bunch of little dollhouse furniture. Annalie was happy when she opened the dollhouse, thanked Rachel, and cheerfully said, “Maybe when we get home we can get some furniture for it!” Then she opened the box with the furniture and hollered, “FURNITURE!!! This looks like it’s gonna be the BEST CHRISTMAS EVER!”