And then it was April...

Though we would have loved to remain on the Disney ship, our cruise did come to an end and we had to once again face 'the real world.'  After a great visit with some dear friends in South Carolina, we returned to Ohio and the countdown to move day began.   Billy had accumulated quite a few 'use or lose' days during his deployment, so his last day in the office was April 15th.  My parents arrived in town the day before, and on Sunday April 17th, Billy and I headed to Syracuse to scope out housing options while our kiddos enjoyed being spoiled by the grandparents for a few days!

Our first stop on our trip was at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, OH! (GO COWBOYS!)  ;) 

We made it into Syracuse that evening and the whirlwind of house hunting began.  It was surprisingly difficult to find a rental in Syracuse, but in the end, we decided on a 3 bedroom apartment in a nice community with plenty of walking trails, ponds, and playgrounds to enjoy.

 
We got back home in time to attend the Good Friday services at our church.  The children's director had an amazing curriculum for the kids that allowed them to literally 'walk through' Jesus' days on earth and we had worked together earlier in the month to paint a Jerusalem mural to hang in the children's wing!  It was fun to 'dust off' those scenic painting skills from college...

Though it rained almost the ENTIRE month of April, we did take advantage of the few sunny days to visit our favorite parks one more time (which the kids AND Penny enjoyed!).