Yesterday was our fourth anniversary and I was prepared to be maudlin or at least upset at some point about being "so far away" from each other. I had a fitting for my Maid of Honor Dress for A's wedding next month, and it was a perfect day to have been at a bridal shop and feeling nostalgic for four short years ago. Surrounded by all of the fluffy white dresses as I tried on my new pink dress that I will wear as my baby sister takes the same vows we did was the perfect way to spend some time on this day.
And about those four years; I cannot begin to fathom how differently our lives have progressed from that time to this. We've moved (twice) and changed jobs (uh, how many times?) and most importantly, we have two beautiful kiddos who are now running our lives in a manner we might never have imagined, and another who will be joining us soon.
We woke this morning to our first sunny day in OR, and that is just one more reason to be thankful.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Monday, May 26, 2008
Monotony can be good
Well, its been a quiet weekend here, which is nice. We did make an invasion, I mean trip, to IKEA which is one of my favorite places to window shop and explore. Of course the kids are like a herd of elephants in that place, and it is tough to keep them flowing in the direction of traffic and it was a busy day there so it was a bit crazier even than normal. We also went to Best Buy and got grandma a wireless router (meaning got me a wireless router) so now I can veg on the couch and write my blog and other "necessary" luxuries.
I also got some close toed shoes - not sure how I managed to leave the house without them in the first place, but somehow I did. We had planned on taking a trip on the local scenic railroad, but it really looked like rain and since it stops at a waterfall that is pretty nice to splash in, we decided to wait it out and see if we can make the trip on a sunny day. Next weekend is supposed to be pretty nice, and I think a trip to our zoo may be in the future. We've also decided to go ahead and do 'swim school' even though it will be 4 days a week, so starting June 2nd the kids will become more water mobile, I hope.
Aside from that, we are keeping busy with tons of toys, new, borrowed and brought with us, and the kids are having tons of fun. I've been able to nap almost every day, which is fantastic, and if I can ever get the kiddos back to napping at the same time, life will be about perfect!
I also got some close toed shoes - not sure how I managed to leave the house without them in the first place, but somehow I did. We had planned on taking a trip on the local scenic railroad, but it really looked like rain and since it stops at a waterfall that is pretty nice to splash in, we decided to wait it out and see if we can make the trip on a sunny day. Next weekend is supposed to be pretty nice, and I think a trip to our zoo may be in the future. We've also decided to go ahead and do 'swim school' even though it will be 4 days a week, so starting June 2nd the kids will become more water mobile, I hope.
Aside from that, we are keeping busy with tons of toys, new, borrowed and brought with us, and the kids are having tons of fun. I've been able to nap almost every day, which is fantastic, and if I can ever get the kiddos back to napping at the same time, life will be about perfect!
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Settling in
Well, we safely arrived and have been settling in. It's weird going back to a childhood home for a length of time, knowing that your children will be living where you once lived for a while. Of course H had taken to calling each friend's house or hotel room our "new house" so I don't know that he appreciates "home" as much as I had hoped. There are so many things I want to do while here in town, and places I want to go. Some of them are child friendly, but many are not, so I'll have to determine which are realistic to do in a six week time frame.
F finally got his much deserved promotion back to where he started in the Reserves, and he did so well on the test that he will (hopefully) get paid for it in the next month or so. He's not sure when he'll actually start "wearing" it, but I know that he's pretty excited to be back up with the "big kids" at the table, even if he's a relatively junior E6 now. (Pondering whether or not his previous time in rate as an E6 would count - surely not!)
We've been looking at swimming lessons for the kids while we were here, but the session that I swear I saw is no longer listed, and now they would have to do 4 mornings a week for 2 weeks, which might be okay, but I don't know if I want to commit to that frequency, if only for a short period. I really wish there was a different schedule, the one I swear that I saw originally, which was two mornings a week. (pout, pout, pout) Ah well, the kids have tons of toys to play with here, in addition to the ones that we brought from home, and I have a feeling they won't be "bored" even if we stay here the whole time and never set foot outside of the nearby vicinity.
F finally got his much deserved promotion back to where he started in the Reserves, and he did so well on the test that he will (hopefully) get paid for it in the next month or so. He's not sure when he'll actually start "wearing" it, but I know that he's pretty excited to be back up with the "big kids" at the table, even if he's a relatively junior E6 now. (Pondering whether or not his previous time in rate as an E6 would count - surely not!)
We've been looking at swimming lessons for the kids while we were here, but the session that I swear I saw is no longer listed, and now they would have to do 4 mornings a week for 2 weeks, which might be okay, but I don't know if I want to commit to that frequency, if only for a short period. I really wish there was a different schedule, the one I swear that I saw originally, which was two mornings a week. (pout, pout, pout) Ah well, the kids have tons of toys to play with here, in addition to the ones that we brought from home, and I have a feeling they won't be "bored" even if we stay here the whole time and never set foot outside of the nearby vicinity.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Almost there!
Well, Day 3 was a pretty good day; a boring drive, but a good day. We crossed from Kansas into Colorado and just after crossing the border, no joke, tumbleweed rolled across the highway in front of us - kind of an indication of the kind of drive we faced on the eastern side of the state. We pulled into J&L’s place in Aurora and enjoyed a nice family dinner with L’s extended family that had gotten together for his brother’s birthday (Happy Birthday, Chad!).
J&L opened their home to us and let us join their family for dinner, then their beautiful daughter continued to play with the kids and they had a fantastic time, the three of them. H & K taught that poor girl all kinds of bad habits (running like banshees in the restaurant, jumping in her bed, etc.), but she is such a well behaved little sweetheart that I’m sure she’ll be able to “unlearn” many of them in quick order.
The following morning, when it was time to leave, the kids wanted to stay, or take Miss B with them or in some fashion extend our time together and I can’t say that I blame them, we all had so much fun. The drive that followed was the hardest day thus far – through the Rockies and down through all of the ski towns and into Utah. The ski towns are all in out-of-season repair and disarray, and I had a heck of a time finding a place for H to use the restroom, and he ended up having to use the side of the road again for lack of better options, poor monkey.
Since I had mis-remembered or simply goofed up where our next stop was, and M&T lived in a different part of the greater Salt Lake City area, I had to kind of “wing it” and drive off of my carefully outlined and Trip-tik’d route. It ended up being much smaller highways which were very pretty, but a little scary thinking of the “what-ifs” of breakdowns, flat tires or animals running in front of the vehicle and wiping out the car. Entering Utah was interesting, it got very rainy, hard, blowing rain and it was pretty ugly. Then, heading into Salt Lake, the weather was poopy or more specifically, it was wicked hazy and just ugh!
But, when all was said and done, we arrived safely, and it was a nice visit, if again too short. I haven’t had a chance to catch up with them in forever, since we all left NH, but as with many things, life just gets in the way and you do what you can to keep in touch.
We left M&T's place bright and early, and headed toward Mountain Home AFB in Idaho, but since we arrived nearby super early, we kept going and ended up making it nearly to central OR. We holed up in a hotel that has an indoor pool and once I'm done updating here, we're heading to swim and wear ourselves out there.
We should be to my mom's early tomorrow afternoon (just 200+change miles to go), and this portion of our road trip over. It was a rough few days, and I probably should have broken it up more and seen the sights, but to be honest, the kids were traveling so well that I hated the thought of stopping for much of anything!
J&L opened their home to us and let us join their family for dinner, then their beautiful daughter continued to play with the kids and they had a fantastic time, the three of them. H & K taught that poor girl all kinds of bad habits (running like banshees in the restaurant, jumping in her bed, etc.), but she is such a well behaved little sweetheart that I’m sure she’ll be able to “unlearn” many of them in quick order.
The following morning, when it was time to leave, the kids wanted to stay, or take Miss B with them or in some fashion extend our time together and I can’t say that I blame them, we all had so much fun. The drive that followed was the hardest day thus far – through the Rockies and down through all of the ski towns and into Utah. The ski towns are all in out-of-season repair and disarray, and I had a heck of a time finding a place for H to use the restroom, and he ended up having to use the side of the road again for lack of better options, poor monkey.
Since I had mis-remembered or simply goofed up where our next stop was, and M&T lived in a different part of the greater Salt Lake City area, I had to kind of “wing it” and drive off of my carefully outlined and Trip-tik’d route. It ended up being much smaller highways which were very pretty, but a little scary thinking of the “what-ifs” of breakdowns, flat tires or animals running in front of the vehicle and wiping out the car. Entering Utah was interesting, it got very rainy, hard, blowing rain and it was pretty ugly. Then, heading into Salt Lake, the weather was poopy or more specifically, it was wicked hazy and just ugh!
But, when all was said and done, we arrived safely, and it was a nice visit, if again too short. I haven’t had a chance to catch up with them in forever, since we all left NH, but as with many things, life just gets in the way and you do what you can to keep in touch.
We left M&T's place bright and early, and headed toward Mountain Home AFB in Idaho, but since we arrived nearby super early, we kept going and ended up making it nearly to central OR. We holed up in a hotel that has an indoor pool and once I'm done updating here, we're heading to swim and wear ourselves out there.
We should be to my mom's early tomorrow afternoon (just 200+change miles to go), and this portion of our road trip over. It was a rough few days, and I probably should have broken it up more and seen the sights, but to be honest, the kids were traveling so well that I hated the thought of stopping for much of anything!
Sunday, May 18, 2008
2 weeks or 2 days?
Well, F has been gone for 2 weeks, and we have been gone for two days, sorry to worry anyone who looked yesterday to see where we were and saw... nothing. We were having so much fun at our friends' house that I didn't get on-line at all.
We left Saturday morning by 8:30, which was particularly good because my goal was 9. I had been up since about 5:30, restless and knowing there were still last-minute things to pack before heading out. I prepped almost everything that was left, then K woke up and started helping me unpack my handiwork, until H woke up and then it was just time to get going. Whatever I forgot (like our Power of Attorney), I hope I don't need while I'm gone! If I do need it, I left a key with our neighbor, and I'm sure she can overnight anything I need or whatever. Not too concerned at this point, I just wanted to hit the road.
The audio Backyardigan's CD we got just before leaving was a HUGE hit before we got the DVD player in Hattiesburg (good old reliable Target). After each song was ending, K would say "more songs, more songs, more Pablo, more Tynone, more Niqua." It makes me laugh when she says their names, because they are almost, but not quite right and its pretty adorable.
We made really good time, and H did a fantastic job letting me know when he needed to use the restroom and all. The only time we got caught short on Day 1, was just across the AR border from LA, and I pulled over on this backwoods highway and he peed out the passenger side slider of the van onto the shoulder and thought he was the coolest thing ever. (Day 2 we also did this twice and he thought it was hillarious to knock the feathery seeds from a dandilion with his urine; he laughed so hard he cried.)
But H's favorite part of Day 1, other than arriving at our friends' place, was this truck we saw driving in AR. It was a Fish & Game truck, pulling a trailer that had huge catfish in a tank on the back, so it was like a little mini-aquarium, and H thought it was the best. We actually saw it twice because K dropped her milk and had a meltdown, so I pulled over to grab it and the truck passed us, then we passed it again later and he thought it was another one. The rest of the day he kept asking for more fish trucks.
The lowlight of the day was probably almost hitting a snake in the road. It was HUGE to me, but my friend who is a native Arkansan (?) said what I was supposed to do was hit it, reverse and run over it again to make sure it was dead. Personally, I was more worried about hurting my car - it seemed enormous to me.
So, nine and a half hours after leaving home, we arrived at R&E's house, and were welcomed by a storm of pink toys that the kids had a blast playing with - from a huge Dora tent and Princess tunnel to a giggle vaccuum, the kids were in HEAVEN. We all had so much fun and it really was hard to leave, I felt so spoiled by their hospitality and they were so generous to open their home to us and feed us and let us relax and play for a while. H kept asking is we were going back to their house tonight.
Instead, we made it past our target stop of McConnel AFB (since there was no room at the inn) and on to a little crossroads town in KS that had plenty of hotels and places to stop. We found a nice place with a pool thanks to Grandma H's online shopping and stopped to get a little R&R and swim. I, of course, simply HAD to get online and share our trip thus far. Today was not as much fun, likely because yesterday we had the anticipation of R&E's place, and their kids and the fun I knew our kids would have there.
Today I knew it would be a hotel and strangers, but at least we did find an indoor pool, which we barely had time to extract ourselves from the car and the kids were chomping at the bit to get into. It was a great pool because it was only 4 1/2' deep, so I wasn't too overwhelmed with both monkeys. H had his floaties and he splashed and so forth in the 2 1/2' end while I'd take K swimming to the other end, then she sat on the steps while H got to make the rounds.
Its late, and tomorrow is another day driving, but I wanted to let those who are following us know that we are safe and sound for the night and all-in-all I am blessed that these kids are such resilient monkeys and great travellers. I know there is a ton of detail that I am forgetting that I had intended to include, but I guess it will have to wait for another day. Tomorrow we are hoping to make it to another set of friends, J&L, who also have a monkey H's age. It will be fun and I can't wait to see what happens next!
We left Saturday morning by 8:30, which was particularly good because my goal was 9. I had been up since about 5:30, restless and knowing there were still last-minute things to pack before heading out. I prepped almost everything that was left, then K woke up and started helping me unpack my handiwork, until H woke up and then it was just time to get going. Whatever I forgot (like our Power of Attorney), I hope I don't need while I'm gone! If I do need it, I left a key with our neighbor, and I'm sure she can overnight anything I need or whatever. Not too concerned at this point, I just wanted to hit the road.
The audio Backyardigan's CD we got just before leaving was a HUGE hit before we got the DVD player in Hattiesburg (good old reliable Target). After each song was ending, K would say "more songs, more songs, more Pablo, more Tynone, more Niqua." It makes me laugh when she says their names, because they are almost, but not quite right and its pretty adorable.
We made really good time, and H did a fantastic job letting me know when he needed to use the restroom and all. The only time we got caught short on Day 1, was just across the AR border from LA, and I pulled over on this backwoods highway and he peed out the passenger side slider of the van onto the shoulder and thought he was the coolest thing ever. (Day 2 we also did this twice and he thought it was hillarious to knock the feathery seeds from a dandilion with his urine; he laughed so hard he cried.)
But H's favorite part of Day 1, other than arriving at our friends' place, was this truck we saw driving in AR. It was a Fish & Game truck, pulling a trailer that had huge catfish in a tank on the back, so it was like a little mini-aquarium, and H thought it was the best. We actually saw it twice because K dropped her milk and had a meltdown, so I pulled over to grab it and the truck passed us, then we passed it again later and he thought it was another one. The rest of the day he kept asking for more fish trucks.
The lowlight of the day was probably almost hitting a snake in the road. It was HUGE to me, but my friend who is a native Arkansan (?) said what I was supposed to do was hit it, reverse and run over it again to make sure it was dead. Personally, I was more worried about hurting my car - it seemed enormous to me.
So, nine and a half hours after leaving home, we arrived at R&E's house, and were welcomed by a storm of pink toys that the kids had a blast playing with - from a huge Dora tent and Princess tunnel to a giggle vaccuum, the kids were in HEAVEN. We all had so much fun and it really was hard to leave, I felt so spoiled by their hospitality and they were so generous to open their home to us and feed us and let us relax and play for a while. H kept asking is we were going back to their house tonight.
Instead, we made it past our target stop of McConnel AFB (since there was no room at the inn) and on to a little crossroads town in KS that had plenty of hotels and places to stop. We found a nice place with a pool thanks to Grandma H's online shopping and stopped to get a little R&R and swim. I, of course, simply HAD to get online and share our trip thus far. Today was not as much fun, likely because yesterday we had the anticipation of R&E's place, and their kids and the fun I knew our kids would have there.
Today I knew it would be a hotel and strangers, but at least we did find an indoor pool, which we barely had time to extract ourselves from the car and the kids were chomping at the bit to get into. It was a great pool because it was only 4 1/2' deep, so I wasn't too overwhelmed with both monkeys. H had his floaties and he splashed and so forth in the 2 1/2' end while I'd take K swimming to the other end, then she sat on the steps while H got to make the rounds.
Its late, and tomorrow is another day driving, but I wanted to let those who are following us know that we are safe and sound for the night and all-in-all I am blessed that these kids are such resilient monkeys and great travellers. I know there is a ton of detail that I am forgetting that I had intended to include, but I guess it will have to wait for another day. Tomorrow we are hoping to make it to another set of friends, J&L, who also have a monkey H's age. It will be fun and I can't wait to see what happens next!
Friday, May 16, 2008
Best of intentions
So, I had planned to take photos of the car all loaded up and ready to travel, but instead I was feeling lucky to simply get it loaded down and ready for travel. I was also able to get rid of a ladder that we listed on Craigslist a few weeks ago. Someone finally asked for it, and unfortunately I had to strap it onto the top of the van and take it out there (Orange Grove for those who know the area). I am not quite as good at that as F is, and half way down the major road that you take to get there, the ladder about blew off of the van, just sideways, but scared the poop out of me.
Well, we have another $60 in travel money for my efforts, although the deductible if I had smashed anyone's car would have been far greater, I'm sure. And now we have further space in the garage for more crap. Or at least more space in the garage.
The van is packed, except for the cooler and snacks and a few last minute doodads that I'm sure I'll add. I need to get H's Leap Pad in the car, the potty and my meds and such. (Hopefully my body pillow and regular pillow - I love those!) There is actually still a little room left as a path from front seat to rear seat so I can work with car seat buckles and such. I also have a load of laundry in that I swear I will forget and leave soaking wet (ugh!) I stopped the cycle with it full because the kids had some spills on their clothes - go figure. I do still need to find a DVD player while we're on the road. Can't believe nobody in the whole town carries dual screen DVD players in their stores in this whole town.
I did remember to go to the housing office and sign out for our trip, but I didn't get in touch with the cable co. to turn off service or the post office to forward the mail - ugh! Oh well, one can only remember so many things at a time. Have to get the keys to the neighbor and that's about all I can do. I'll try to call the cable co. from the road, I guess since it seems silly to pay $120 a month for cable/internet/etc when we're not here. Grrrr can't believe I forgot that one!
So, the kids are wired, and I think we might be in for quite the night. I'd better start trying to get them down for the night so we can get up and hit the road bright and early. Wish us all luck!
Well, we have another $60 in travel money for my efforts, although the deductible if I had smashed anyone's car would have been far greater, I'm sure. And now we have further space in the garage for more crap. Or at least more space in the garage.
The van is packed, except for the cooler and snacks and a few last minute doodads that I'm sure I'll add. I need to get H's Leap Pad in the car, the potty and my meds and such. (Hopefully my body pillow and regular pillow - I love those!) There is actually still a little room left as a path from front seat to rear seat so I can work with car seat buckles and such. I also have a load of laundry in that I swear I will forget and leave soaking wet (ugh!) I stopped the cycle with it full because the kids had some spills on their clothes - go figure. I do still need to find a DVD player while we're on the road. Can't believe nobody in the whole town carries dual screen DVD players in their stores in this whole town.
I did remember to go to the housing office and sign out for our trip, but I didn't get in touch with the cable co. to turn off service or the post office to forward the mail - ugh! Oh well, one can only remember so many things at a time. Have to get the keys to the neighbor and that's about all I can do. I'll try to call the cable co. from the road, I guess since it seems silly to pay $120 a month for cable/internet/etc when we're not here. Grrrr can't believe I forgot that one!
So, the kids are wired, and I think we might be in for quite the night. I'd better start trying to get them down for the night so we can get up and hit the road bright and early. Wish us all luck!
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Anxious to get going
Well, today was a productive day - got the kids stuff packed and into the car and got my stuff packed and into the car. I also assembled the questionable seat for H and it seems to work for him, so I will keep it - there was a padded liner that I removed and it made a world of difference in how he fit. Also, the shoulders are padded rather than fitted, so he can rest on a pillow-like seat, rather than the harder shell I feared was squishing him. He absolutely loves it, and I think it was a good move, even though he did have about an inch of room left to grow in his torso in the old seat. But, this seat has a cup holder and that makes all the difference in the world!
I also got the garage cleaned out and parked Frank's beast in there. That was a nice task, but I'm proud to say I backed that thing in there "all by self" as Miss K would say, and I didn't run over anything or break anything or even hit anything. (Okay, confession, there is a rubber-like seal around the garage door and I whispered it with the mirror, but that doesn't count AND that mirror was already broken.)
We also managed a nice brunch at Laura's house, which was a break I surely needed, although I'm sure the kids would have rather been playing somewhere with other kids or something, but since it was a darn monsoon this morning, they'd have been cooped up at home anyway. Besides, this gave them an excuse to wear their new rain boots!
I'm chomping at the bit to leave, and have thought seriously about taking off tomorrow, but I do realize I still have more to do before I go, and the kids can use another trip to the playground before I shove them into a car for a week (even in a new car seat!). I still haven't found a DVD player that I am happy with, so I will have to see how far we get without one on Saturday. If nothing else, I can try and pick one up at Target in Hattiesburg, which is only an hour+ away.
Tomorrow, other than the playground, I will be packing up the last minute stuff, tossing perishable foods from the fridge and cabinets and generally doing some last minute organization. I'm surprised at how little space I have used in the van thus far. I'll have to take pictures when its all packed because you know you never get things back in as organized as you start, and there will always be more stuff you accumulate along the way.
I also got the garage cleaned out and parked Frank's beast in there. That was a nice task, but I'm proud to say I backed that thing in there "all by self" as Miss K would say, and I didn't run over anything or break anything or even hit anything. (Okay, confession, there is a rubber-like seal around the garage door and I whispered it with the mirror, but that doesn't count AND that mirror was already broken.)
We also managed a nice brunch at Laura's house, which was a break I surely needed, although I'm sure the kids would have rather been playing somewhere with other kids or something, but since it was a darn monsoon this morning, they'd have been cooped up at home anyway. Besides, this gave them an excuse to wear their new rain boots!
I'm chomping at the bit to leave, and have thought seriously about taking off tomorrow, but I do realize I still have more to do before I go, and the kids can use another trip to the playground before I shove them into a car for a week (even in a new car seat!). I still haven't found a DVD player that I am happy with, so I will have to see how far we get without one on Saturday. If nothing else, I can try and pick one up at Target in Hattiesburg, which is only an hour+ away.
Tomorrow, other than the playground, I will be packing up the last minute stuff, tossing perishable foods from the fridge and cabinets and generally doing some last minute organization. I'm surprised at how little space I have used in the van thus far. I'll have to take pictures when its all packed because you know you never get things back in as organized as you start, and there will always be more stuff you accumulate along the way.
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