New pastures...

A big announcement today!

It's one I've been putting off for a while as I'm kind of in denial, but with the Summer almost here and thing about to get extra crazy I can't pretend it's not happening anymore. So here goes...

The Masons are leaving California!

Do you know how hard it was to write those words? Putting it in writing and sending it out for you all to read makes it feel so much more real, which makes me sad because I'll terribly miss this place that we've called home for almost eight years and the wonderful friends we've made here.

Eight years! that's the longest I've lived in one place in my adult life. Can you believe it?  Our life here in Berkeley is pretty much all the kids have ever known. Ava was four and a half when we moved here from Australia so she still remembers a little of life back "home", but for the most part all of her memories have been formed here in Berkeley through preschool, elementary school and middle school. Lola had only just turned one when we left Australia (we waited to celebrate her first birthday with family and friends before our move) so life in Berkeley really is all she's ever known. And Mathilde? Well, she's our local girl born here in Berkeley and living in the one apartment for all of her five years.

So, I hear you ask... Just where are the Masons going? Back to Australia? Nope. To my dream city (and hopefully one day home) New York? Nope.

We're moving to...

(pause for suspense)

... Colorado!

If you're following along on Instagram you may remember that we spent our Christmas break chilling (quite literally) in the snow in Colorado. Well, that trip was kind of a scouting trip to see what we thought of Denver and Boulder. The girls loved the snow (the cold not so much!) and the idea of having their own bedrooms and a yard for a dog. While I would love to stay in the Bay Area, being able to buy a home here is becoming less and less of a possibility. Especially here in Berkeley. Buying a house big enough for the girls to have their own space would mean moving further east, and the commute to the peninsula for Kim is already pretty extreme.

Kim's work happen to have an office in Boulder where commuting is not an issue and where houses are much more affordable (although still rather expensive compared to most other US cities). A transfer was organized, and for the last month and a half Kim has been working in Boulder while the girls finish up the school year here in Berkeley. It's been kind of crazy, but hey, it's always crazy here!

Oh, and speaking of houses big enough for own rooms and a dog... we just bought one! A house that is. The dog will have to wait until we're settled in. After almost eight years in a 950sf two bedroom apartment, we'll be finding ourselves just a little overwhelmed by space in our new 3,300sf four bedroom house! So much space! I have no idea what we're going to fill it with.

We still have a few more weeks here in the Bay Area before we pack up and move so I'm trying to fit in every last thing that we planned to see/do in San Francisco but never got around to. The list is long so it'll be looking like California here on the blog for quite some time! It'll also be looking like Austin, New York, Boston, New England and Copenhagen too as I still need to share those travels here. Oh, and Australia as we're heading there for a quick trip before our move. I said it was going to be crazy, right?

If you live in Colorado hit me up with all your favorite places for us to visit once we get there!

Maker Faire 2019

A few weekends back we braved the (unseasonable) stormy weather and headed to San Mateo for my favorite event of the year - Maker Faire!

Maker Faire is always such a fun event - even in the rain! If you've never been before, it's a showcase of the latest innovations in the STEM world with a heavy mix of creativity and imagination thrown in. Cute robots and wacky vehicles, illuminated light shows and science experiments, crafting and upcycling scrap material... there's a little bit of everything at Maker Faire.

While Maker Faire runs for the full weekend (Friday afternoon through Sunday) we were only able to make it on the Sunday. We still managed to cram in a day full of STEM based fun. Here's a look at our day...