Whew... I'm living in a tornado

So after two weeks traveling, visiting and having fun on vacation, we came back to KY for only four days before loading everybody BACK into the car -- this time on a 'business' trip to MO.

The kids were in AWE when we crossed into St Louis.


We only stayed for two and half days. The purpose of the trip was to see our next house. We always like to have that look about a week or two out from our official move, if it's possible to go. It helps us shift through our stuff and decide what we really need and what needs to be passed along (like the boxes and boxes and boxes of little girl clothes that we kept because we didn't know Sam's gender before he was born).


After an initial frustration and a little bit of a let down, we were pleasantly surprised at the monstrosity of a house that awaits our family. It was initially two 3-bedroom duplexes. Well, they've torn down the adjoining walls and made it into a four bedroom with a bonus {giant} room. Definitely the biggest house we've ever had on-post. We're all a bit more excited now that we've see it in person. PLUS... we ate dinner with friends on Friday night and breakfast with more friends Saturday morning. I love moving somewhere and already having some friends there!

So... the house... Here it is!!

*The front from the sidewalk/street level. You can see on the right side where the other door was when it was a duplex. I don't like the steps/platform there, but everybody on the street has it, so we've got some ideas to make it look better.

*The front from one carport. Since it was a duplex, there is another carport on the other side, which Rob is thrilled with!

*A view from just inside the door -- towards the staircase and family room.

*View of the stairs from up top. Kind of odd... and we'll definitely have to work out a system with Sam, but it's what we got. The wall to the left is what is left of the third bedroom in each duplex. It is now the giant bonus... and you can get to it from either side of the stairs. I guess it could be used as a fifth bedroom, but I don't think we will. It will probably be the kids' {and our} game room... complete with Wii and XBox :-)

*This is a view of the bonus. You can tell where they knocked out the adjoining wall here, but that's okay!

*Itty-Bitty kitchen, which will cause issues, but it will work... because we will make it work!

*There are two of these storage rooms -- they are identical and we have oh so many ideas for what to do in there!

*Remember, this was a duplex. So... what do you do with the second kitchen? You make it into a mudroom. This is also the room with the washer/dryer hook ups. Kind of a bit of wasted space, but it'll work!

*And the excitement of the day?!? Trees. There are trees in the backyard. And what comes with trees? Shade, that's what! SO excited!!

*And here's the back... from the other side as taken before (obviously). On the far left you can see one corner of Rob's carport and the corner of a storage shed. There are two of these outside storage buildings too!


So that's it. That's our house... well, technically the Army's house that we will be renting for the next two years.

Now to get us out of here and into there... the tornado of things to do is picking up speed. Rob found our fish a new home, which caused lots of drama at our house this morning. He has taken the big three to Louisville to drop the fish off with their new owner while Bones and I recoup from a rough night/morning.

There are SO many things still to do before the packers come on Wednesday!!

Vacation

What is it about vacation that makes me want to disconnect all email and TV connections and just curl up with a book? I really don't want to do anything. I get the kids outside early at my mom's house -- a nice shady backyard with plenty of room to run and hit ball after ball off of a tee and yell and go crazy. I get a book -- or an audio book plugged into my ears -- and I could sit there all day. Just letting the kids have a free for all. It has been great - and I still have a bit longer!

Bubba has had a blast. He is destined for a career in the major leagues, if his t-ball skills are any indication. {PS... Bub loves Phineas and Ferb. He just got this "Perry the Platypus" tshirt and didn't want to wear it for fear that he would get it dirty. He just wanted to look at it. We had to reassure him that he could wear it -- that it could be washed. Such a funny kid!}


These two have a love-hate relationship, to say the least. I can, honestly, not tell whether they like to play with each other or not. They have moments of laughter and peace. Then one or the other (usually Bones, if I'm being completely honest) will reach over and steal the other's toy... and run with it.


It doesn't matter how many outfits we pack each kid, we always end up buying a new one while here. For Bones, it is usually because he pees through the outfit he's wearing and we have, almost always, forgotten to replace the LAST outfit we needed in the diaper bag. So, a new outfit is purchased. Kohl's was having such a great sale on kids stuff, that Bones also scored a couple of pair of shoes, too!


G loves being the biggest. When we get to NC, she's got two more 'littles' under her! And she eats it up. She has become such a wonderful and willing helper -- not that we don't still have issues with her throwing 2 year old fits on occasion, but they have gotten fewer and farther between. Not knowing how we are going to get everybody somewhere, she is the first to grab a little hand and take off walking. And, though this is sometimes met with a frustration nearing a rage from her siblings, her cousins don't seem to mind in the slightest. And she eats that up, too. I think back on when I was a little cousin. I ate up any attention I got from an older cousin. I don't know if I have ever thought about this dynamic from their perspective, but I hope that I gave at least one older cousin the feeling of being a hero that G's little cousins give her.


Another thing we do when we are on vacation is sleep. Though we also live and function (for a little while longer) within the eastern time zone, we are accustomed to the western most edge. My parents are on the eastern most edge. It really does make a difference. At home, I struggle to get my kids interested in going to bed before 9:00, because it is still light outside. But here -- oh, here, it gets dark about 8:30. So... the yawns start coming around 8. I won't lie and say we actually get into bed that early, but things start to slow down. Kids get clean, cuddling starts... early on vacation. And I will take all the extra cuddle time I can get!


I bought a cheap ol' $20 pool from Target the other day. You would have thought I had bought ponies for all of the kids. So excited. We have started each day in the water... well, the kids in the water. I sit, not too far away, with a cup of coffee, a book and my camera. Though not the camera that I have inside right now... so those pictures will be coming when I bring that camera in from the car. The only way I could keep Bones in the pool on the first day (it was a tad bit cold) was to put a ball in for him to throw around. By the end of today, every ball in the backyard was in there! And a butterfly had stopped to rest. I wish we had a big, shady backyard, but the Army hasn't given us one of those in about 3 years! Maybe next month...{she types with fingers crossed and a sigh of hope...}


You would think that our children never saw any wildlife, either. This little lizard was on the tree outside of my mom's kitchen window and the kids went crazy! F started telling us all about lizards... how some can lose their tail if it helps them get away from something trying to get them... how those lizards will grow a new tail... this is something I didn't know she knew. I was actually going to tell them today, when we saw the lizard, but she beat me to it! No matter how many times I ask the standard "What did you learn in school today" questions, you really have to sit, talk and experience life with your kids to really comprehend what they know. Because they know more that I thought... and I love it.


So... we're here for a little bit longer. My baby sister is getting married on Saturday and we are super excited about it. More pictures will be coming... but not on any kind of schedule. I'm on vacation. And I'm going to soak it up -- because on the other end of this vacation is a fast and furious three weeks before we pack up house and move to our next family/Army adventure.

But for now...I'm settling in for some serious reading time... for some serious snuggling with my babies time... for some serious family time... for some serious no-TV days. I sure do love vacation.