What do Octonauts, Tacos, and Deer have in common?

Nothing.
But they're all making an appearance in this post.

We are making slow but steady progress in getting settled in Monterey. I can't believe I haven't taken any pictures of the area yet! It's beautiful here, and I promise I will fix that, hopefully soon.
Right now, Josh is checking in with his unit here, and maybe doing some in-processing. 

We made a decision on a house and we're just waiting on the owner to run background/credit checks before we can get a lease signed.
The house is in a great location-- walking distance to Cannery Row and the Monterey Bay Aquarium. And it's an old Victorian style with a lot of fun nooks and crannies for hide and seek.

Speaking of the aquarium, since most of the business we could accomplish was on hold for the day, we took the kids there yesterday. We bought family passes for the year, since if you go more than once, it's cheaper to just get the pass. It is a really nice aquarium, and the kids loved it.
Especially Derek, as there were many things to point out that were "just like on Octonauts!"
He ran through the whole place, yelling excitedly at each new exhibit. I predict lots of trips there over the next year. 

When we were finished at the aquarium, we wandered down Cannery Row, checking out the restaurants and shops. There was a little beach access area at the end, and while I had my hood pulled up and my hands in my pockets, Alex was up to her knees in the Pacific. Crazy girl.

You'll never guess what was right next to the beach access.
Go ahead.
Guess.

It was Taco Tuesday.

For realz.

And yes, yes we did hop over for some tacos. And even better, it's also walking distance from the house we're trying to rent.
So you know where you can find me on Tuesday evenings.

And on Wednesdays, we'll be walking the kids over to Awanas at the church that is literally within sight of the front yard of the house. Then Josh (who will be HOME FOR DINNER this YEAR!!) and I will saunter down to Cannery Row and enjoy Wednesday date night at a grown-up restaurant.

So you know where you can find me on Wednesday evenings.

And look at that, two days in a row that I don't have to cook!
Sweet.

Assuming we get the lease signed in the next day or two, we'll be booking a hotel room at Disneyland and heading south. Yippie skippie!

Lest you think everything is all sunshine and roses, I feel the need to point out that our van is still parked at our friends' home in North Carolina waiting for a car shipper to hopefully pick it up soon.
We make daily phone calls to the company, and are reassured that it shouldn't be more than a week or so.
We are not easily reassured.
Keep your fingers crossed.
(Thanks Stephen & Ashley for letting us leave you with a lawn ornament!)

Also, this new lodging room leaves a little to be desired. The kids are sharing a bed for the first time, which is actually going surprisingly well.
But they have the queen bed in the room that actually has a door to shut, which leaves Josh and I on the pull out.
Lovely.

Here's our home sweet home, for now.

At least the continental breakfast is decent.

And here's the view from the front door of our room.
Yes, that's a deer just hanging out on the hill.

The kids like to see how close they can get to the deer before they run away.
The answer: very.

Lastly, and some of you are going to have a hard time believing this, we are buying real, actual cell phones.
The kind that work. And can text.

I'm going to let you recover from that one. Deep breaths.