Still have boxes. Haven't done much there this week. Too busy getting ready for DISNEYLAND! Gabby's birthday is Thurs so we are going. So excited - I love it! Will return to many boxes and pictures and lots to share.
"It's fun to have fun, but you have to know how."
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Wonderful story, please read
For those of you who aren't getting the Truth Project e-mails, this is a good read. For all the football crazy friends and those who aren't that might understand. Get the tissues, this is what it's all about...
http://deltackett.com/2009/01/08/cheering-for-the-underdog/#more-682
http://deltackett.com/2009/01/08/cheering-for-the-underdog/#more-682
Getting settled
We're getting settled in here. Our stuff came on Monday, Gabby started school on Wednesday and our internet is hooked up. So far so good. Now I can work on catching up on my posts from Christmas and the other fun stuff we have done lately.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Moving on
Our first three days at Lewis have been eventful and busy. We were so happy to be out of the car! Now the hotel is starting to wear on us a bit.
Bright and early Tuesday morning Robert ran to the housing office to check the block so we could get started on our house hunt. We had been told that while we couldn't be put on the housing list until we got here, it would be a 6-9 month wait since they were renovating the few houses available to us. So we have been exploring the off post options. So, of course, he walked in there Tues morning and they offered us a house, newly renovated. That threw a wrench in our plans. We went ahead and looked at some other places before looking at the housing.
Bottom line is that while we usually jump at the chance to live on post, the quarters were simply too small - under 1500 square feet. They did a very nice job renovating them - new floors, redone bathrooms, redone kitchen (and not just painted cabinets) that is now opened up to the living room, new light fixtures, new paint. It was almost all the way. The things I saw that could have been better: add an over the stove microwave to the kitchen. The kitchen was TINY, with no pantry and very small counter space (for the Leavenworth folks - think smaller). A microwave would have helped. So would a pantry but I guess there was no where for it. They put in popcorn ceilings, which I could not figure out in these older buildings. Not good. And I am not a fan of tile kitchen counters. Hard to keep clean and easy to break things. But in the end, it was the long, rectangular room that had to serve as LR, DR and office that did us in. Just like Leavenworth but a tiny bit bigger. I just wasn't sure I could do that again. And there was no yard. Not even a little. There was a playground behind but no little space that could just be Jordan's. And with Robert being gone a lot, I need a small green space for Jordan that is easy. I tried to figure out how it would work but the bottom line is that I just don't think it would.
So we kept looking at houses until yesterday afternoon when we found the right one. It is pretty much what I was looking for. Right amount of space arranged well without being too big. Tiny yard but I think we can squeeze the swing-set in. Close to post without having to get on the interstate.
We get the keys tomorrow and move out of the hotel. We get to pick up Jordan from the kennel and all be back together in a house again. Our stuff comes on Monday.
I was going to enroll Gabby in school tomorrow once we have the lease but after checking the website, the enrollment office is closed on Friday. So it will be Tues before I can get over there and Wed before she can start. That stinks!
Even worse, we called Comcast today to set up internet, cable and phone and they can't come until the 25th! 10 days is ridiculous. So is planning to come on a Sunday morning. So when we leave here in the morning we will not have internet or phone for ten days. I will be in withdrawals!! I won't have anything to distract me from unpacking boxes-bummer.
I will update when we finally get everything up and running. Have a great holiday weekend.
Bright and early Tuesday morning Robert ran to the housing office to check the block so we could get started on our house hunt. We had been told that while we couldn't be put on the housing list until we got here, it would be a 6-9 month wait since they were renovating the few houses available to us. So we have been exploring the off post options. So, of course, he walked in there Tues morning and they offered us a house, newly renovated. That threw a wrench in our plans. We went ahead and looked at some other places before looking at the housing.
Bottom line is that while we usually jump at the chance to live on post, the quarters were simply too small - under 1500 square feet. They did a very nice job renovating them - new floors, redone bathrooms, redone kitchen (and not just painted cabinets) that is now opened up to the living room, new light fixtures, new paint. It was almost all the way. The things I saw that could have been better: add an over the stove microwave to the kitchen. The kitchen was TINY, with no pantry and very small counter space (for the Leavenworth folks - think smaller). A microwave would have helped. So would a pantry but I guess there was no where for it. They put in popcorn ceilings, which I could not figure out in these older buildings. Not good. And I am not a fan of tile kitchen counters. Hard to keep clean and easy to break things. But in the end, it was the long, rectangular room that had to serve as LR, DR and office that did us in. Just like Leavenworth but a tiny bit bigger. I just wasn't sure I could do that again. And there was no yard. Not even a little. There was a playground behind but no little space that could just be Jordan's. And with Robert being gone a lot, I need a small green space for Jordan that is easy. I tried to figure out how it would work but the bottom line is that I just don't think it would.
So we kept looking at houses until yesterday afternoon when we found the right one. It is pretty much what I was looking for. Right amount of space arranged well without being too big. Tiny yard but I think we can squeeze the swing-set in. Close to post without having to get on the interstate.
We get the keys tomorrow and move out of the hotel. We get to pick up Jordan from the kennel and all be back together in a house again. Our stuff comes on Monday.
I was going to enroll Gabby in school tomorrow once we have the lease but after checking the website, the enrollment office is closed on Friday. So it will be Tues before I can get over there and Wed before she can start. That stinks!
Even worse, we called Comcast today to set up internet, cable and phone and they can't come until the 25th! 10 days is ridiculous. So is planning to come on a Sunday morning. So when we leave here in the morning we will not have internet or phone for ten days. I will be in withdrawals!! I won't have anything to distract me from unpacking boxes-bummer.
I will update when we finally get everything up and running. Have a great holiday weekend.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Big Trip West - A Summary
2400 miles, 9 days, 7 hotels, 10 states, 3 time zones
We saw the Mississippi, Missouri, North Platte, Snake and Columbia Rivers. We crossed the Continental Divide three times. We drove through rain, snow, wind, and fog. We saw cows, elk, antelope, deer, sheep, llamas, and horses. We followed Lewis and Clark, the Pony Express, the California Trail, the Santa Fe Trail and the Oregon Trail at many various times, right from where we lived on the Santa Fe and Oregon Trail at Leavenworth.
We did get to see Mount Hood but no luck on Mt. St. Helens or Ranier. I have been close to Mt. St. Helens a twice now and have never seen it. I WILL see it one day before we leave here!
I cannot even count how many times we watched Cars or Nemo. We all can recite the words if that tells you anything. Gabby learned a lot about her states and rivers and all sorts of things that drove past us or that we drove past.
Would I do it voluntarily at this moment just for fun?? Probably not unless we had three weeks in the summer with a nice RV. Did we survive and come out better for it?? Probably. Always an adventure....
We saw the Mississippi, Missouri, North Platte, Snake and Columbia Rivers. We crossed the Continental Divide three times. We drove through rain, snow, wind, and fog. We saw cows, elk, antelope, deer, sheep, llamas, and horses. We followed Lewis and Clark, the Pony Express, the California Trail, the Santa Fe Trail and the Oregon Trail at many various times, right from where we lived on the Santa Fe and Oregon Trail at Leavenworth.
We did get to see Mount Hood but no luck on Mt. St. Helens or Ranier. I have been close to Mt. St. Helens a twice now and have never seen it. I WILL see it one day before we leave here!
I cannot even count how many times we watched Cars or Nemo. We all can recite the words if that tells you anything. Gabby learned a lot about her states and rivers and all sorts of things that drove past us or that we drove past.
Would I do it voluntarily at this moment just for fun?? Probably not unless we had three weeks in the summer with a nice RV. Did we survive and come out better for it?? Probably. Always an adventure....
Monday, January 12, 2009
Big Trip West - We Made It!
Finally. We are here. We went the last 400 miles today from La Grande, OR to Fort Lewis. We had a small but tricky mountain section this morning. The temp went up overnight so there was no more ice on the road. That was good. Then we followed the Columbia River Gorge to Portland and came up I-5. The gorge is beautiful but the road is narrow. The traffic wasn't bad, though. For a while we had a great view of Mount Hood but the clouds rolled in after lunch and that was it. No more Hood, no Mt. St. Helens, no Ranier. I have been here twice now and still have not see Mt. St. Helens. I'd better see it before we leave.
The kids were troopers in a big way. About 50 miles out, Sam started to lose it. We stopped and got some junk food (Doritos) and he managed to make it the rest of the way. 2500 miles and the last 50 was almost more than he could take. Not too bad for a 20 month old that can't really entertain himself. Gabby, of course, does great but she can craft and play and do while we ride. I got a scrapbooking set with a tote for Christmas and I let her borrow the tote for her crafty stuff while we drove. It fit on a box right next to her seat and was a great thing. That, together with her cookie sheet she uses for a tray, kept her occupied a lot of the way.
The kids were troopers in a big way. About 50 miles out, Sam started to lose it. We stopped and got some junk food (Doritos) and he managed to make it the rest of the way. 2500 miles and the last 50 was almost more than he could take. Not too bad for a 20 month old that can't really entertain himself. Gabby, of course, does great but she can craft and play and do while we ride. I got a scrapbooking set with a tote for Christmas and I let her borrow the tote for her crafty stuff while we drove. It fit on a box right next to her seat and was a great thing. That, together with her cookie sheet she uses for a tray, kept her occupied a lot of the way.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Big Trip West - Day Eight
Are we ever going to get there??? It is starting to look like we might. I wasn't so sure yesterday. We made it to La Grande, Oregon today and are only about 400 miles from Fort Lewis. We didn't make it too far today but we stopped in Mountain Home, Idaho to visit the Cruser family that we knew at Fort Riley. It was great to get out of the car for a few hours. The kids got to play with other kids. Sam took a good nap on the couch instead of in the car seat. They made us a good brunch that hit the spot after so much restaurant eating. It was a nice visit and we are so glad we stopped. Thanks Pat and Sally!! After that, we headed up through the mountains and snow one more time, but not on the road this time. We have one little stretch of mountain left for the morning and then we will hit the Columbia River Gorge to Portland. Then north to Fort Lewis. Finally. I rebelled today against the movie selections and after Cars and Thomas in the morning, the kids watched Baby Van Gogh and Jonah this afternoon. The Cedarmont Kids brought us in. I had to have some variety!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
