OK...so we have been in Kentucky for a couple of weeks now and I really like it. I mean, I miss my home...a lot, but if I can't be there, this is not such a bad place to be. The girls seem to really like it. We have made it a daily ritual to walk down to the "Big Playground" at the elementary school about 1/2 mile away and play for an hour or two. They think that is the coolest thing and it gets me and Allie a little bit of exercise (I know what you're thinking...don't over do it:)). I think it has been good for Allie, she seems to be losing weight! YEAH!
On other notes, I am preparing for the upcoming homeschooling season and the closer it gets, the more scared I get. I know that I can do it, Abbi is so smart, there should be no issues. The biggest thing is, this is the REAL deal, no practice, this is her education and I just want to make sure she gets all that she needs. I have a ton of curriculum...more than I will ever use, and I have found some great websites for "practice". My next project is signing her up for some classes of extra curricular things. I have found a great gymnastics class here on base that I think she will really like and Eric thinks that I need to find Karate (I'm still not too sure about this one). I know that I need her in a minimum of two activities and I think that one needs to be music lessons of some sort...she wants to learn to play the drums...YEAH!!! (note the sarcasm). Her Pappy is turning over in his grave! :) We will see what happens.
Really not much else is going on. Eric and I had to make a short trip to NC last weekend (really short...got there 4 pm Saturday, left 11 am Monday) to get some paper work and things for him and for me to pick up the cats and get the grass mowed, and just check on things. Mom kept the girls so we could get done what we needed to without any interruption...thank goodness. We worked non stop. When we got there, all I wanted to do was get my grass mowed and then take a cool dip in the pool...yeah, that didn't happen. My pool was completely GREEN!!! It's all I thought about on the 10 hour trip...you can imagine my dismay. Evidently it rained every day for 10 days and rain grows algae...major bummer. I used 5 different chemicals to get it cleaned up and just as we were leaving it started to look clean again! I never did get to swim, and now, by the time I get back it will be green again...yeah! At least I know how to get it clean again:).
And then there was the grass issue...
Oh, the grass...oh my goodness. It was 2 1/2 feet tall, in the shortest places. My flower bed in the corner of the lot had weeds in it 5 feet tall...no joke 5 feet tall, plus a sumac plant (yeah). A big thank you to my wonderful husband for spending two hours pulling those out:). There was a squash growing in front of the front porch steps...I have NO idea how that happened...my garden is out back. And, the driveway had random weeds growing all over it. The place looked abandoned. It was really embarrassing. I started mowing right away, I could not stand to look at it for a second. It took us forever to get it all done, but when we left, it looked beautiful! I really hated to leave it. I did make Eric call his friend Scott and set up mowing service for the rest of the time I will be gone. I could not bear to think of the house looking like that again.
OK, well I have yapped long enough.
Next time, I will discuss the "insert your name here Day" (Mine is the "SaraBeth Early Day"). A day, besides your birthday, where YOU celebrate YOU. Take a day off of work, spend a day away from the kids, don't pay bills, don't do laundry, don't cook...you get the point. I am planning mine right now. I'll give details later...
Friday, July 18, 2008
Friday, July 11, 2008
The trip
We Made It!!!
After the vomiting episode, I decided it was best to wait a day and see how things turned out. I really was not willing to take that big of a chance on such a long trip. I never found out what made her sick, she was fine by the afternoon, but you never know when we may have a repeat appearance.
Anyway, we made it on the road on Saturday morning and have a very uneventful trip to H-town. Mom was out of town, so we stayed with Keri and Ryan. The kids were thrilled to have a slumber party with Evan and it was so nice to actually get to spend some time with them. We grilled out and Mamaw and Papaw came to visit. Aunt Kay (Keri) made homemade hot fudge sundae's (including homemade ice cream) and we pigged out. One mental note...don't feed a 3year old, 4 year old, and 5 year old hot fudge within 3 hours of bedtime. They were PSYCHO crazy. When they finally calmed down, we set up the good ol' air mattress in the living room floor and they finally got the slumber party they have been waiting for. They were all so cute. They were too excited to sleep, so they just laid there and giggled for about an hour. I finally went in and laid down with them to keep it quiet and they were out in SECONDS...literally, Kati was snoring in less than 20 seconds. They were so tired.
On Sunday morning, Keri made breakfast rings (not sure if this is the real name, but what our mom always called them) and we, once again, pigged out, then the girls and I got on the road when the Harbison's left for church.
I know...we skipped church...I think the Lord will forgive us this time:)
I used mom's Garmin (which I am in LOVE with, by the way) on the trip to Knox and so getting here was a breeze. I didn't even have to think about what way to go! About 10 minutes out from the base, though, my car decided to go into fits.
Every bell and whistle on the darn thing started to go off and lights were flashing, the power stopped working (windows, air conditioning, etc) and the engine started to lose power. I freaked out! What the heck!!! I called Eric in a panic and he calmed me down and walked me through the rest of the trip.
Side note--when using a garmin to get onto a military installation, you may need alternate directions. In my case, it wanted to take me in a gate that was closed, but would not re-route me to an open gate, so it kept telling me to turn around and go back to the closed gate. A little annoying to hear...U-turn, U-turn, U-turn, U-turn...over and over again:).
Back on track. I made it to Eric's apartment without any problems, but the engine would not allow me to go faster than 45 mph...not a problem once I got on base, the max speed limit is 35:). I turned the car off and prayed that it was just a fluke and that all the recent driving was sending it into fits. After an hour, we turned it back on and went for a drive. At first, everything was fine...YEAH, it was just a fluke. WRONG, 5 minutes into our drive, once again, bells and whistles, loss of power, etc. We read the manual cover to cover, googled the issues, but came up with "Take it to the dealer"...so that is what we did. To our luck, it is still under warranty, so we weren't out much, also to our luck, the Mercury dealer is 10 minutes away.
To make what is already a long story, short...the dealer was able to fix the car, but due to the holiday (4th of July) it took them a week to do it. We got a rental, which is always cool...admit it, it is fun to drive a new car, and drove that to H-town for the 4th weekend.
Eric got a pass for the 4th, so we were all able to go home. We had a super fun 4th, we spent Friday with my fam, at Mamaw and Papaws, had a cookout and let off fireworks (which poor little Evan had fits over) then the 5th we went to Eric's mom and dads and had a cookout and just hung out with family all day. Sunday after church, it was back on the road.
I was supposed to go back to NC when Eric came back to Knox, but since the car was in the shop and we had the rental, that did not work. I ended up coming back with Eric and waiting for my car. Not that I am complaining:)
So now, it is two weeks here at Knox (almost) and I still have not been home:). I am leaving today, though and Eric is coming with me...what? Yes, he has to, though, official business. The base is a bunch of motorcycle natzi's and won't give him a OK to ride until he gets some type of change on his NC license. It's very complicated and I'm not sure I even understand it all, but anyway, he has to go to NC to the DMV and get this card and then he is OK, so that is what we are doing. It is evidently important enough that his bosses have okayed him to do this, so...whatever:).
So, we are all heading to NC today. This means a super short trip for me...we will stay in H-town tonight and finish the trip tomorrow (Saturday) and then we will leave for Knox as soon as he finishes at the DMV on Monday morning. UGHHH. Oh well, at least I can get my grass mowed, get my kitty's, get the mail and some stuff for the girls and then back on the road. What more do I need to do? Sleep, rest, relax in the pool...nah, not me!
After the vomiting episode, I decided it was best to wait a day and see how things turned out. I really was not willing to take that big of a chance on such a long trip. I never found out what made her sick, she was fine by the afternoon, but you never know when we may have a repeat appearance.
Anyway, we made it on the road on Saturday morning and have a very uneventful trip to H-town. Mom was out of town, so we stayed with Keri and Ryan. The kids were thrilled to have a slumber party with Evan and it was so nice to actually get to spend some time with them. We grilled out and Mamaw and Papaw came to visit. Aunt Kay (Keri) made homemade hot fudge sundae's (including homemade ice cream) and we pigged out. One mental note...don't feed a 3year old, 4 year old, and 5 year old hot fudge within 3 hours of bedtime. They were PSYCHO crazy. When they finally calmed down, we set up the good ol' air mattress in the living room floor and they finally got the slumber party they have been waiting for. They were all so cute. They were too excited to sleep, so they just laid there and giggled for about an hour. I finally went in and laid down with them to keep it quiet and they were out in SECONDS...literally, Kati was snoring in less than 20 seconds. They were so tired.
On Sunday morning, Keri made breakfast rings (not sure if this is the real name, but what our mom always called them) and we, once again, pigged out, then the girls and I got on the road when the Harbison's left for church.
I know...we skipped church...I think the Lord will forgive us this time:)
I used mom's Garmin (which I am in LOVE with, by the way) on the trip to Knox and so getting here was a breeze. I didn't even have to think about what way to go! About 10 minutes out from the base, though, my car decided to go into fits.
Every bell and whistle on the darn thing started to go off and lights were flashing, the power stopped working (windows, air conditioning, etc) and the engine started to lose power. I freaked out! What the heck!!! I called Eric in a panic and he calmed me down and walked me through the rest of the trip.
Side note--when using a garmin to get onto a military installation, you may need alternate directions. In my case, it wanted to take me in a gate that was closed, but would not re-route me to an open gate, so it kept telling me to turn around and go back to the closed gate. A little annoying to hear...U-turn, U-turn, U-turn, U-turn...over and over again:).
Back on track. I made it to Eric's apartment without any problems, but the engine would not allow me to go faster than 45 mph...not a problem once I got on base, the max speed limit is 35:). I turned the car off and prayed that it was just a fluke and that all the recent driving was sending it into fits. After an hour, we turned it back on and went for a drive. At first, everything was fine...YEAH, it was just a fluke. WRONG, 5 minutes into our drive, once again, bells and whistles, loss of power, etc. We read the manual cover to cover, googled the issues, but came up with "Take it to the dealer"...so that is what we did. To our luck, it is still under warranty, so we weren't out much, also to our luck, the Mercury dealer is 10 minutes away.
To make what is already a long story, short...the dealer was able to fix the car, but due to the holiday (4th of July) it took them a week to do it. We got a rental, which is always cool...admit it, it is fun to drive a new car, and drove that to H-town for the 4th weekend.
Eric got a pass for the 4th, so we were all able to go home. We had a super fun 4th, we spent Friday with my fam, at Mamaw and Papaws, had a cookout and let off fireworks (which poor little Evan had fits over) then the 5th we went to Eric's mom and dads and had a cookout and just hung out with family all day. Sunday after church, it was back on the road.
I was supposed to go back to NC when Eric came back to Knox, but since the car was in the shop and we had the rental, that did not work. I ended up coming back with Eric and waiting for my car. Not that I am complaining:)
So now, it is two weeks here at Knox (almost) and I still have not been home:). I am leaving today, though and Eric is coming with me...what? Yes, he has to, though, official business. The base is a bunch of motorcycle natzi's and won't give him a OK to ride until he gets some type of change on his NC license. It's very complicated and I'm not sure I even understand it all, but anyway, he has to go to NC to the DMV and get this card and then he is OK, so that is what we are doing. It is evidently important enough that his bosses have okayed him to do this, so...whatever:).
So, we are all heading to NC today. This means a super short trip for me...we will stay in H-town tonight and finish the trip tomorrow (Saturday) and then we will leave for Knox as soon as he finishes at the DMV on Monday morning. UGHHH. Oh well, at least I can get my grass mowed, get my kitty's, get the mail and some stuff for the girls and then back on the road. What more do I need to do? Sleep, rest, relax in the pool...nah, not me!
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