What a week already

I had to take Dan to Little Rock and drop him off at the airport on Tuesday. 3 hours to get there. We stopped by the commissary since we were there, and its always nicer to pay less for groceries. Dan also stopped by the Law School, but only one of his professors was in. We were able to visit a friend from BYU, which was really nice. There are so few people I keep in touch with, and I've known Sylvia for 10 years now. It was neat to see her. The drive back home was not as great as I had hoped. The girls only napped the first hour and I managed to miss a crutial turn, and added an hour to the drive as I took the wrong road and ended up in Searcy. Oops. Anyway, here is a shot of what I spent too many hours looking at as I drove!

Lots of green. Lots of hills. LOTS of turns. Not so much fun.

There were ducks in front of the Law School, and Callie was so happy to see them. We fed them cereal and they followed us around till we ran out. Callie liked to eat the cereal as well. They had a very good time feeding and chasing the ducks.

Yesterday we had lunch at the park and the children had a blast. They enjoyed it more because my friend Wendy was there with her smallest children and they had fun playing while I had fun visiting with Wendy.

I had something I was going to write, but now I can't remember. My train of thought was totally derailed here- Marian was sleepwalking and then I have no idea what happened, but it involved lots of crying and screaming and pee on the bed. This is to cap off an evening where Delaney fell off a chair and then bashed her lip on the bath tub and bled everywhere. Its been a red-letter evening for me! I miss Dan!

Culture Shock

It was fun to go to church yesterday. And very wierd. I realized that I have had a pretty sheltered life with growing up in the military. My parents have now lived in Mountain Home for about 12 years. That's the longest they have been anywhere in my life. And since I have a bad habit of returning home to see them, I have gotten to know the ward and their friends fairly well. This is the first time I've seen people (that I'm not related to!) grow old, grow up, and/or change drastically. I am realizing that a military benefit is that you don't really see the bad stuff- you move away! It was tough to be in church and see some of these people I've known now for 10 years, and to see how old they are getting and to see them stricken with health issues. It was kind of depressing. And to see some of the kids I knew, now grown up and making stupid choices. Ug. Seeing the mess some of them have made of such promising lives is sad. When I was growing up, we just moved away. I never saw people I really knew making train wrecks out of their lives. Now I come here and I see it and it really hurts. I mean, I knew this stuff happened, it just didn't happen to anyone I still kept in touch with. It was always news I heard third hand and it didn't hit me personally. And that is my depressing thought of the day- real life isn't always fun!

And now on to the part that IS fun! The chitlins..... Here they are, enjoying life in the boonies.

Delaney was thrilled to discover this dilapidated car hidden in the back yard. Hosed off, its now a favorite item. Callie and Delany are missing some skin off their toes, thanks to some high speed rides from their siblings. I'm just happy that they are so highly entertained.

The fountain in the front yard is a big hit too. Not so much fun after Grandpa said no more wading in it. Joshua is balancing on the rim, and that is still a lot of fun.

Finding pill bugs in the garden is a fantastic way to spend the afternoon. It does require some supervision to preserve the garden. Grandpa was not happy to see the destruction wraught the first day. They are better now, and still enjoy the garden without pulling of leaves and petals.

Fun in Arkansas

I got this fun pool at Walmart so that the kids would have something to do in the boondocks of AR this summer. We set it up on Wednesday and they had a blast. Unfortunately, they also got sunburned. Oops, we weren't in the tree's shade as much as I had thought!

Don't Ask- Don't Tell! Just kidding.... After swimming, I took off Callie and Delaney's swimsuits. That was when they decided they were not done. I thought, hey, there's no one around, the neighbors are far enough away and no one will see. Plus, this is Arkansas, we'll fit right in!

We love Grandma's office. She has so many great books. Marian cracks me up because she sits here and reads to herself, but she can't actually read, so she's just making it up. Very cute.

How am I, you ask? I am grumpy. I got up early yesterday so I could drive over to Cooper Park and run. It is lovely and 3 1/4 spins around the path make 3 miles. Now, I may have mentioned that my hips (the left one more so) have been hurting, but this was the first time they hurt while I was running. They have hurt at other random times, and it baffled the doctor as to why they wouldn't hurt while I was exercising. Yesterday they sure did. And it didn't quit. I hobbled around all day yesterday, and the stairs were awful. I'm not yet 34 (give me a few weeks!) and it worries me that my body is falling apart already. I need to find a chiropractor here.

Other than that, life is good. The kids are so cute and helpful with Delaney. Right now Joshua is at the swingset with her, helping her play and keeping an eye on her so that I can do this!

Grandma and Grandpa's!

We made it! We arrived at my parent's house about 4:30 yesterday afternoon after a total of 19.5 hours of travel time. There were too many "I hafta go potty" stops and one barfing incident, but other than that, it went well. I am glad to be staying put for a bit, although it is a little unsettling to not be in a permanent place. The kids are delighted to be here and everyone slept well last night. This morning Dan was up before 6am to go help roof our house. I don't know if you knew we bought a little rental home last year, but it needed a new roof. I took the kids over to see the progress this morning and they were thrilled to "help". Here are some pictures of the last few days....

This is the house I think we will be living in when we get back up to the DC area. The location is too perfect to pass up! The house is nice and the ward was great; I'm sold on it!

Here is Callie reading the map for me. She did pretty well for the trip. Dan and I rotated sitting in the front and sitting in the middle of the van and letting Joshua sit in the front seat. Yikes, did that even make sense?! Callie liked it when I sat next to her. She thought she was so special.

This was Marian's favorite thing. She jumped out of the car at gas stations so she could wash the windows. She did remove some of the bugs, but needed a little assistance to actually get it clean.

Here is the house getting a new roof. Yes, Grandpa let Joshua and Marian climb up there. Dan is up with them, and the roofing guy, Jason is there in the front. Dan got so dirty, but the kids loved being helpers, and bieng up on the roof was a definate highlight for them. It should be finished this afternoon.

As for me, I'm staying inside for a bit. I am allergic to something here, and I am miserable now. I did my time with spring allergies in NC! I should be done! I had quit my Flonase, because I didn't need it, and now I am dying. We'll see how long it takes it to kick back in.

Are we there yet?!

I have 15 minutes of internet time left on my card. It stinks to have to pay for it! I'm out of time to write my family letter/journal this week, so that will have to wait. I am really excited though. We may have found our house. We definately found our location. It is right next to a big park with a running and biking trail, and it is by the river (not as close, but nice!). The neighborhood is fantastic and friendly and out of the city craziness. I want to live there. The house is an odd floor plan and the kitchen is tiny. But it is big and it actually has a yard and a garage.

We looked at 3 other places, and I was not happoy about any of them. One was really nice, but not a great area. None of them were in a great area- I do not want to be a sardine! And I don't want a townhouse with 3 floors of steep stairs and no yard. I can live with a tiny kitchen to have a great place for the kids. And its a little over half a mile to the bike trail. Oh, and we could walk to church.

So that's what we did the last few days. The kids have been very good about everything. And tomorrow we head off to Arkansas. Wish me luck! 2 days of driving with all the kids..... not my first pick for fun!!

Ft Belvoir

We got checked out of the house yesterday, turned in the keys and hit the road shortly after 9am. We pulled into Ft Belvoir billetting at 4pm. I survived and only thought I might fall asleep the last hour. I so do not do long distance driving very well! It is kind of exciting and really overwhelming to think we'll be living around here. We're suppose to go look at houses this weekend, but I think Dan only has one appointment- and there are 6 houses he wants to see. It should be interesting.

The kids are doing as well as can be expected. Let me just say how glad I am that I kept the Wednesday appointment with the therapist. Hotel life is going better due to that visit! Everyone is tired and cranky and the children are bouncing off the walls- which is really not good when we have to do things with other people around. I still have to go to the housing office and put us on the list, and I'm not looking forward to that! Dan is off checking into his new job and he won't be back till this evening. Wheee for me!

Here we are, yesterday morning in our empty house, waiting for the check out. They were late. The kids thought it was great fun to race around the house, messing up my perfect vaccuum marks on the carpet.

Here we are, passing Dan. He said I was suppose to be the lead car, but then he kept passing me. I think he just had his cruise control set too high, so we leapfrogged all the way here.



This was the Delaney face I got to see. Dan had Joshua in his car and I had all 3 girls. I know Dan got the better end of the deal!! Delaney did not enjoy the trip. The other girls both got to open fun presents (notebooks they delightedly called "journals!" and Marian got a stamp set, while Callie got a very fun crayon) and they were content and happy for the trip. Yay!

As for the hotel standard.... Cherry Point has nicer rooms for half the cost. Our current room has broken AC, the type of toilet with no seat (which sucks when that's what Delaney makes a beeline for, and the bathroom seperates the 2 rooms), and a lot less room. On the plus side, they have a continental breakfast that is pretty decent, and you can check out movies. I have to go call the housing office now, and chase some children back into our rooms!

The Adventure Begins!

The move went well. The packers came yesterday and were gone by 3:30. They were great and did a good job. The girls went to preschool, and Debbie took them home with her. I picked them up at 5 and they had a good time. Today they went to preschool, and Debbie took them to Kelli's house, where they stayed till 3. After they got home, the movers were still loading the truck. But our friend Jessica, and her daughter Carol were at the park and they took all 3 girls to their house till we were done, about 5:15.

We did not check out at 4 like Dan really wanted. The movers weren't quite done, and neither was I! I had more vaccumming and stuff to do. I hate all the little things you have to figure out what to do with. Do I keep the little toy or toss it? Do I need the 3 lonely socks or not? Do I knock on the neighbor's door and ask if they want 3/4 jar of homemade strawberry jam, or do I just throw it away? So many decisions!

The house is clean and empty and ready for our 8am check out. The kids are cranky and bouncing off the walls. I am exhausted. I am really glad this part is over. I am so blessed with so many great friends. Thank you to all my friends who are so wonderful- to those who helped, to those who offered to help, to those who were willing to help, and those who would have if they could! I am going to miss you guys so much. I am glad I got to know you and glad you were my friends. Thank you for your help and support.

Moving stinks

The movers come tomorrow! I hate this part. there is so much that needs to be done, but has to wait till the last minute. Ug. I was motivated and got almost everything done today: pictures down, wall spackled, suitcases packed, car half loaded, carpets vaccuumed and spot cleaned, cleaned out the fridge, cleaned the oven (okay, only as much as possible without actually having oven cleaner!), did 50 loads of laundry so that everything can be clean before it is packed and thrown into storage for 2 months... so many stupid little things. And I hate having to remember all the little details- I can't forget Callie's stuffed Cassie, or Joshua's green blanket, or Delaney's sippy cup, and a water bottle would be nice for me....

On the plus side, after tomorrow, most of this won't matter. We're moving, no matter how much I forget. And if I forget to pack something, I bet I can get it at Walmart!

So, they pack tomorrow and load the truck on Wednesday, and we drive to DC on Thursday. That's the schedule. We'll be in DC till Monday, then we head out to AR. I don't know how often I'll get to a computer, but I'll try to update when possible here. I am really going to miss my friends in NC. So many people have offered help and asked what they can do for me. I feel so blessed to have so many great friends. 2 of them brought us donuts tonight. I felt so loved, and I feel horrible about having to leave. This part stinks. I know I'll make new friends, but it really stinks to leave behind the friends I have now.

And on that cheery note, I have to go shred some documents that I forgot about!

Triathlon!

Yep, today was the big day. I ran out of training motivation about 2 weeks ago. That's when Dan kicked up his training and started doing some pretty intense workouts. I looked for every possible excuse to stay in the house and not ride the bike or swim. It was rough. Today still arrived and we both participated in the New Bern YMCA's first ever triathlon.

And now..... the very detailed sequence of events....!

We left the house at 7am and got to the YMCA with plenty of time. We set up our bikes, got our timing chips, got a big black number written on both arms and both legs. To make it more fun, they also wrote your AGE on the back of your right calf. For some reason, they bump your age up depending on your birthday. So my leg (still!) got a 34 on it, although my birthday isn't for another month. Vanity, thy name be Rebecca!

They started the swim at 8am and sent swimmers off at 15 second intervals. I didn't register early enough to get plced by our swim time. that sucked. We were 120 and 121 and by the time Dan and I got to swim (at 8:33:45 and 8:34:00) , there were plenty of sucky swimmers in the water clogging up the works. I think I passed 5 people, and that wasn't easy- it was a 25 meter pool with regular lane lines and not much room to pass. It wasn't a great swim for me. The 8 laps vs 4 messed me up too. Even thought the pool was half the size, having to swim more laps threw me off.

I got out of the pool behind a large slow man who walked half the last lap in the POOL, and passed him on the sprint out to the bike. Dan was ahead of me, but I passed him in the transition- he thinks he has to be all dry before he gets on the bike. hee hee hee. It took him 2 miles to bike past me. I passed 3 people- which is huge for me! I never pass anyone on the bike! I felt all slow on my big ole mountain bike with its giant tires. But I kept going and it was okay that the super fast people with their racing bikes and aerodynamic (and silly looking) helmets zoomed by. It was fun though. Nice scenery, except for when we were on main roads. I didn't like being that close to traffic, but they did a great job with traffic control and police at every major intersection. So I felt pretty good about it.

Then the run. I know it takes at least 1/2 a mile before my calves quit cramping. Mentally it was hard because I didn't know how far I'd come and how much further there was to go. I thought I was so hot- I passed a slow lady and a walking man. Whoo-hoo! I never pass anyone on the run, usually. So I felt great! And reeeeaaly tired. My goal was to finish and to never walk. I just ran slow! And in the last half mile, there were 3 people in front of me. I like to sprint the end. That's my thing. So I stepped it up and the 3 in front of me didn't. I actually passed all 3 people at the end! Whoo0-hoo for me! I sprinted in and it was further than I thought- they had 2 big tents and I thought the first one was the end, but it wasn't. I had another 20 yards. Oops. So I had to sprint some more and it nearly killed me.

The coolest thing is that Dan and I both finished 20 minutes fastr than last year. Granted, it is a different course, and the distances may be a lot more different than they'll admit, but it sure makes us feel good! So, here are pictures from our glorious day!

Here is my shirt. I think our printer doesn't do good iron ons. I was afraid to wash it before wearing it, because that fades the pictures a little, and I had trouble getting good pictures. So the pictures bled from all my sweat! Lovely!

Here we are, all excited before the race. Dan was # 120, and I was #121. That was the order we registered in, not how fast we were. My Dan is pretty fast, I'll have you know!

Here is my glorious sprint for the end, and you can see me kicking butt on these slow-pokes. ha ha ha...

Here I am, after the race, flexing my number for the camera. I am triumphant; I am finished; I am happy!

Same old stuff

It does seem like we do the same things over and over. Good thing they are fun things! I was suppose to go to the pool and swim yesterday, when Dan got home from work. Instead, I took the girls to the beach and they got very wet and had a fabulous time (again)! Callie hurt her feet, walking in the water on the rocks, but that didn't stop her at all. My biggest fear was that I would have to carry her soaking wet self home. That and that she might get stung by a jellyfish. There were a lot of big ones out yesterday. They are strangely lovely. Oh, there were tons of tiny fish around too. Marian was so pleased to catch one in her net. I was less pleased, because it was already dead.

Today we went to the park. We were suppose to go for playgroup, but we went to the wrong park and the girls had to make do without all their friends. They had a great time. They are climbers, all of them!

Delaney was a hoot. She climbs on EVERYTHING and she had so much fun trying to scale the slide and then sliding back down. She also climbed up the little mountain climbing part and went down the slide all by herself! She is growing up too fast. Callie and Marian found a caterpillar and that was enthralling for them. We had lunch and headed home.

Lest you think we never do anything different..... I pulled the old crib mattress out of the garage and deemed it too thrashed to save. So the kids had a ball playing with it. It was a trampolene for a bit, and then a slide. They got more mileage out of that thing than any toy I have ever purchased! Now it sits on the front porch, awaiting a large-item trash pick up. And I let them leap on it outside now. See, I can be a fun mom!

What was the worst day ever?

I was reading The Pioneer Woman, as I am prone to doing, and she mentioned a blog she liked. So I had to check it out. It was fantastic and sad. http://www.fatcyclist.com/ This guys wife has been fighting cancer for a couple years and he talks about in his blog that they discovered she has brain cancer. They'd gone in for some tests and suddenly find out she has only months to live. He said hearing that and having to tell his children was the worst day of his life.

And I wondered, what was MY worst day? And I couldn't think of it. I haven't had a worst day of my life. I've had rotten days and horrible ones, but not a worst day. I know in high school I thought I had worst days. Finding out that so-and-so didn't like me really doesn't count as a worst day; and finding out that a jerk of a soon-to-be ex has betrayed you and screwed you royally is tough, but not a worst day. And since I can't actually recall these events with clarity, I am sure they are not even in the running for a worst day.

I had a brief worst moment, when they told me Delaney was being helicoptored to the Children's Hospital right after she was born. But she'd just been born and it all worked out okay, so the terrifying thoughts and feelings of that moment are now just a shadow among all the other great things about her birth.

I feel so lucky that I have no worst day. I feel so blessed to have all my family happy healthy and well. I am also blessed to know that if they were not, there is still hope. I don't know how I would handle such adversity, and I like to think that I would be brave and spiritual and all that. And I'd like to think that my testimony would carry me through. I am glad to know also that I have so many great friends who would be with me too.

And this is getting depressing. That's not where I meant to go. I just was surprised that I have no worst day ever. And I am amazed that for one guy, his life as he knew it has changed completely, and yet, mine continues along unchanged and indifferent to his. I suppose that now I need to go out and live life to the fullest and seize the day.

Last Minute

Nothing like waiting as long as possible to jump in! I finally registered me and Dan for this triathlon. It's on Saturday. I've been so unmotivated and I'm not really ready, but if I don't do this, I'll regret it. So I took the plunge, forked over too much money and we're now committed. I made my shirt today too. You'll have to wait till Saturday to see pix!

Random views of my week

This was poor Delaney on Tuesday. She had been so pitiful, and I put her on the couch with a sippy cup of water while I went to do something. 20 minutes later I wondered why I hadn't heard her getting into trouble. This was why. It was so sad.


Thursday evening Joshua's school had a reading night. They had fun activities and a hot dog dinner and lots of reading. There were drawings for books and prize baskets- which we did not win. But they gave every kid a free book! Way cool! Here are the kids with their new books, which they LOVE! Joshua got a "Magic Treehouse" book which he is really into. Notice that Marian has a book on Frogs. Callie does have an appropriate kids book. They are so funny and so different!

Today I took the girls to the beach accross the street. I needed pictures for Joshua's book. Thier friend Carol was there too, and they had a marvelous time together- as you can see. I had to hose them off and sent them straight up to the bath when we got home.

The girls all wore their beautiful dresses to church today. They were so cute. Notice Delaney's tadorable little pigtails. She barely has enough hair to do that now. They are all growing up much too fast!

So, It was a busy week, and I can't recall much of interest to metnion here. I did feel inspired yesterday and I made a snap decision. I had driven to the pool to swim and I thought, hmmmm, I could run home and bike back. So I did. 4.5 miles between tht pool and home. Somehow it felt a lot worse while running it. Maybe because I'd never run that way before, or because it was 1pm and hot and sunny. Whatever, it was a yucky run and I'm sorer today than I've been yet. It was also my first run in a swimsuit andmy shoulders were a little constricted with the straps. Maybe that's why my arms are sore.

Did I mention our triathlon is next Saturday? I feel good about the swim and run, but not the bike. I've decided I hate the bike. And the wind. Its not any fun. One week and I can quit the bike.... until the next triathlon! Sorry not to be very interesting today.

Delaney follow up

Delaney has been very clear on the fact that she is NOT going to ingest any medicine, of any kind! Since the stuff is not going down her, and I'm tired of cleaning up pink vomit, I've called it off. Thank goodness for my Young Living Essential Oils! I slathered her up Tuesday night and she woke up Wednesday morning after sleeping all night! And she was her usual, happy, fever-free self. Thank goodness. I've kept putting the oils on her and she's doing great. Well, she's grumpy right now, but that's my fault. I messed with the nap schedule today and she really needs to be in bed! Must use more lavender!

As a totally unrelated topic.... I made the Pioneer Woman's French Breakfast Puffs and they are beyond sublime!! Incredible, delicious, amazing! Definately not a breakfast item, unless gobs of sugar and butter is on the menu, but oh, they were SO good! You must try them! They are easy to make and the kids did a great job helping with the sugar coating part. And did I mention that are amazing!??! That's why I have her link here. I love the Pioneer Woman!