I'mmmmm bbbaaaaccckkkkk!

Okay, at least I have internet access again.  It has been a crazy month.  Delay after delay has delayed our closing.  We will finally be closing this Thursday and I'm so excited!!

The owners of this house are truly wonderful Christians.  They had already moved to KY last year and the house has been vacant.  They graciously offered for us to move into the house while Kevin was still there so that he could help us get settled and some things ready for winter before he had to leave to head back to CA.  It was about five days before we actually spent the night here.  Our bed is against the wall and looks out french doors into the back pasture.  The sun rises there and it is truly beautiful to see in the morning.

We were able to take care of some much needed maintenance before the winter months arrive on us.  And unpack a good portion of the house before he left.

I didnt have to transfer over the water because we have a well system and only the electric had to be transferred.  We did that immediately, not wanting to impose on the sellers.  I held off on phone and internet though until we had a definite clear to close from the bank.  The many hold ups were definitely because of the fact we were using our VA loan.  I don't know that we'd ever go through that experience again.  It was definitely challenging!  Our phone and internet were not supposed to be hooked up until Monday but we live in a small town......and that has its advantages.  The gentleman called today and asked if he could come and install it..........oh yeah!!  internet!!1

My inlaws came into town last night and we did some exploring today.  The next nearest town, with 700 residents, has a world class meat smoker and we bought some great meat.  Apple cinnamon bacon.....yum!!  Then we ventured into Hope, which has a creamery.  Bought a pound of butter, its supposed to be fabulous.  Also spent $10 on local honey....two pounds!!  Its like $7 for a pound in the supermarket.

The kids and I are enjoying the small town living.  We're starting to get our activities in place.  Found a fabulous homeschool co-op at a church that we were looking to attend.  Tomorrow is our first day there and we're excited.  The kids really enjoyed meeting new friends there.  Monday, TL will check out a taekwondo studio and boy scouts.  The girls are heading to American Heritage Girls on Tuesday.  Awana is on Wednesday.  Things are falling into place.  We really miss having daddy nearby but are consoled that with his schedule the next two years, he won't be home much anyway.  He'll be lucky to be home six months out of the next 24.  Thankfully, he'll be making several trips home to see us and we're very excited to get our little farm up and running.  We went over plans while he was here and it looks like we're on the same page on a lot of things.  We can't wait!

With all of the upheavel and unpacking, we finally started school this week.  Our first week went well however, there are a few things that I still need to get for school for the kids.  I hope to place that order this week.

Have a wonderful week everyone!!  Enjoy the beauty of the fall, the colors here are fabulous!

and waiting and waiting and waiting

Well, we got word from the bank (ten days before closing) that we couldn't buy all of the land.  Its seperated into two different parcels, the front four includes the house and barns.  They wouldn't let us add on the back parcel of about eight acres.  After several days of back and forth, the sellers are going through the county to get it resurveyed to make it all one parcel.  Seriously?

Delaying our closing until how long?  Thankfully, its a small town and their real estate agent knows the surveyor so it will be filed this week.  We're shooting for the 7th!

Hubby is on his way here now.  Not all of our stuff fit in the truck (that's a shocker).  We have a small room of stuff left.  Not sure how or when we'll get it here.  Kevin also told me that they unpacked boxes and through stuff into all kinds of drawers, anywhere they could fit stuff.  Oh, the fun of unpacking it will be!! 

So, please pray for hubby's safe travels and also for our closing to now take place on the 7th.  We plan on taking a trip up on Wednesday so he can see the house and we're unloading our stuff into his cousin's garage.

Have a wonderful week everyone!!

Here's a few more pictures of the house:

The side yard looking into the front yard.  The three apple and one crabapple tree are right by those pines.

The front pasture.  We need to take out that dead pine.
 

The back of the horse barn.  We need to do a little TLC to it.



The kitchen

 

The front yard

 

Have a wonderful week!!!!

We're in IA

We arrived in Iowa last Wednesday.  We drove the two and a half hours up into Minnesota to see our new home on Friday.  Here's some photos that I took of it:

This is the north barn that also sits along the side of the road.  There are three stalls in ther, but we will probably put the chickens in it

The main horse barn with nine stalls in it.  Also the garage. 

The barn with the corn crib and also the smokehouse.  They had friends pasturing their horses in the back acreage

The front of the horse barn

The back 8 acres.  Fencing goes all the way around our land

The back of the house with the deck

The side of the house

Leaving the house.  Kevin's navy friend retired ten years ago and lives 20  miles away.  He met me up there.

I was excited to find out that the property has three apple and one crabapple tree on it.  I was planning on planting some next year, now instead, I need to just prune and spray.  They were in need of some TLC.

We close the 31st.  So every excited.  Lots and lots of work to do, but very  happy to do it!!

Have a wonderful week!

Washington

Washington was our most favorite duty station.  We loved the people, the island, and the beautiful scenery and animals.  Here's some photos of our week so far!

I pick up TL from boy scout camp tomorrow.  We leave Monday morning to head to IA.  It should take three days of hard driving, but we'll get there and relax before we close on the house on the 31st.  Can't wait to see the hubby again!

Diarrhea

So we left CA this past Thursday.  A very long day of driving....850 miles to Washougal, WA to visit our friends.  The kids were champs and did really well with the traveling.

The day before we left, the littles gave the dog and entire bag of his dog treats that have medicine in them to help with his joints and stuff.

Six hours into the trip, on a three lane highway in the mountains, the kids started screaming that the dog was pooping.

Everywhere.  Dog diarrhea.  Thankfully, he had a pillow and sheet and it landed on that, only a few drops everywhere else. 

The smell was awful.  I got him out and cleaned it all up.  I wrapped the sheets up and told the kids we'd stop at the next place to throw it all out.  I rolled down the windows.

Got back into the driver's seat to see smoke ahead.  I went around the bend and the entire road was covered with smoke.  Flames were going on both sides of the highway.  It looked like it was burning itself out, there was a large blackened area already.   Little Miss Trouble was crying and upset, but the big girls calmed her down....they were fantastic the entire trip.

The good news is that the smoke killed the diarrhea smell. 

Right now, we're back in Oak Harbor, WA enjoying some slightly cooler weather.  ITs in the 80s, which is warm for here.  I'll be honest, I was looking forward to some 70s.  I can't complain though, because the entire nation is so hot right now.

I dropped TL off at camp.  It was so nice to be welcomed back to a great troop.  TL will have a great time.

The girls and I will be doing some visiting and sight seeing this week. 

Have a great week everyone!

So much to do.......

and I'm sitting here doing nothing.  I need to finish up some lesson plans but I've got piles of stuff to pack in the car and I don't feel like digging through it.

I have to go through all of our clothes and get some sweatshirts out.....much cooler in WA than here.  The 30 degree temperature drop is gonna be huge!!

I need to finish sorting through my clothes and get rid of those things I haven't worn in forever.  We need to to find some space in the truck.  The dog, me, five kids and lots of stuff.....its gonna be crowded!

change in plans

All year we promised TL that he could go to Boy Scout camp up in WA with his old troop.  Yes, the new troop was that bad.  Bad leadership, awful boys, and bullying.....I've never been so glad to be outta somewhere in my life.  We paid for camp and then the brilliant idea of buying a house and all the came about.  We thought of flying him up there.  Tickets are ridiculous.  It costs less for us to drive him up there.  So that's what we're going to do.  From there we head to IA to stay with some family until we close on the house.

This means we leave next Wednesday!!!  arrrghhh!!  Lots to do, little time.  I'll be hit and miss until then!

I forgot

I apologize to many of you!!  I forget that many of you aren't military.  You're probably shaking your head to our decision to move away from my hubby.  This decision was not done lightly.  A lot of discussion and prayer went into this.  To be honest, we never would have considered it before......until we got orders here. 

Many spouses choose not to come to this duty station and stay where they are at or move home.  Yes, its that bad here.

Another thing that you need to know, is that my hubby has been gone about half of our married life.  We have done nine deployments, three of which were four months, five were six months and one was eight months.  To prepare for these deployments, the squadrons do work ups.  They leave for a month, come home for two weeks, leave for two weeks, come home for three, etc.  Its a roller coaster of in and out.  The schedule is very fluid and changes quite often.  Its difficult on everyone.

Next year, hubby starts doing the workups.  Depending on the schedule, he'll be gone 5-6 months out of the year.  The year after he leaves for a nine month deployment.  Even if we had chosen to stay, he wouldn't have been around much anyway.  He works over 12 hours a day and doesn't arrive home until generally after dinner. 

Being a military spouse, you become "used" to your spouse being gone.  I'm very independent and take care of things while he is gone.  That's just the way it is. 

I remember one of my friends years ago, couldn't wrap her head around it.  She couldnt imagine her hubby being gone so much.  It is difficult, don't get me wrong.  Things break, kids get sick, everything seems to pile on all at once.  For the last ten years, we've been thousands of miles from family.  I've been totally alone on this venture.  I do get help from other wives who go through the same experiences and help each other out, but its different than having family help out. 

With our move, it puts the kids and I closer to family.  It also will allow us to set up a working farm by the time hubby retires in three years. 

Hopefully, I've explained this well, so you all don't think I'm crazy!!  lol