Last Thursday was our last full day in Las Vegas. I'm on my MIL's computer now, so if you want to see pics of our friends that I took last week, you can go here. It was a long, busy day. Ted was at the house early to meet the movers. We had high hopes that they would be done shortly after lunch, but the heat sapped their early-morning energy, apparently! Meanwhile, the kids and I drove from the TLF to pick up Charis from Julie's house, where she had spent the night with her friend Alyssa. Then to the old neighborhood to spend time with Braden and Mikaela, then to the park to meet friends for lunch, then back to the house.
All that went according to plan. But then things sort of fell apart. Ted went to pick up the towing dolly and tried putting the van on it with help from a couple of the mover guys. Turns out it was the WRONG dolly, and we never should have been able to rent it. After doing some damage to the paint on both vehicles, Ted gave up and took it back, and it's a good thing. Although we now have to drive two vehicles, at least we know we're safe!
It was dinnertime when the truck was loaded and the house completely cleaned out. We went to Debi's house for a spaghetti dinner and ended up having to scrap our plans to take the older kids to see Up. Instead, we headed back to the TLF, hoping to get a decent night of sleep before pulling out of town the next morning.
Alas, Lucan had a bad night, and I literally saw the clock every single hour from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. After Ted's final out-processing appointment, we said goodbye to Las Vegas and headed out of town, with me driving the minivan with Charis in it, and Ted and the rest of the kiddos in the Suburban. Charis was tasked with keeping me awake, but it took a stop at Dairy Queen shortly before we got onto I-70 to get me to stop weaving all over the road, according to Ted!! That Peanut Buster Parfait did help, but mostly listening to our Focus on the Family Radio Theater's Chronicles of Narnia CDs did wonders to keep my attention.
We stopped in Green River, UT, for the night and let the kids swim before eating delivered pizza. The next morning we were off to see Arches National Park! We spent a couple of hours exploring the park and were glad for the cloud cover when it was available, as it was a very hot day otherwise. The drive along the Colorado River back to I-70 was amazing...I'm so glad Ted planned that side trip for us! I'll definitely have to post pictures later.
We met Rhonda for dinner at a cute little tavern in Georgetown, about 50 miles from Denver. And we've been here in Colorado since Saturday! We attended church yesterday and went to the science museum today. After naps are finished, we're planning a family photo session with Ted's friend Bill as our photographer.
And with that...it looks like naps are over!! Kenna just sat up, so I'll close here. We'll be in CO until Thursday morning, at which time we'll head to Kansas and spend a couple of nights with Craig & Mimi before finishing the drive to Ohio.
Showing posts with label Move. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Move. Show all posts
July 13, 2009
July 08, 2009
Last Week in Vegas
We're on the tail end of our time here in Vegas...here's a quick rundown of our activities this week.
SUNDAY
Our last service at Canyon Ridge was wonderful. They honored all military members, past and present, by having them come on stage and say their name, rank, branch of service, and tour(s) of duty. By the time everyone had filed across at the 11:00 service, there had to be at least 100 servicemen and women on stage! The long standing ovation afterward with cheers and whistles was enough to make my breath catch in my throat, and I could barely sing "America the Beautiful" afterward. THESE are true heroes.
************
Later that afternoon we had a family going-away party at my friend Cindey's house. Though some folks weren't able to make it, we enjoyed visiting with some of our favorite Las Vegas families during an informal potluck. Sadly, I took very few pictures despite good intentions! I always get caught up in the moment and forget about my camera. Once again, I'll have to post photos later...the Internet access here at the hotel is pretty sketchy.
Afterward we took Charis to the T family's house so she could spend the night with her friend Addie.
MONDAY
The packers arrived around 8:30 a.m. The kids, amazingly, slept in, which was a huge blessing, as Ted and I had tons to do! After breakfast I took the older three (Tobin, Arden, Kenna--Charis was still at Addie's house) to Cindey's, and Ted and I worked and worked to finalize things while the 2 packers did their thing. A third packer joined them around noon, and they ended up finishing up the whole job that day, another blessing! I picked the kids up from Cindey's in the afternoon, and then after things were finalized at the house, we picked Charis up and went out to Sweet Tomatoes for dinner.
We arrived on base and went to pick up our keys for the Temporary Lodging Facilities. We were supposed to have 2 adjoining rooms; however, some (idiot) one decided for no apparent reason to give away one of our adjoining rooms. So, we had two rooms, but instead of being together, they were on opposite ends of the property!! Disgruntled and extremely exhausted, we piled into one room and made do for the night rather than try to separate items in our shared suitcases.
TUESDAY
After many phone calls, we were shuffled across the TLF courtyard to two side-by-side (but not adjoining) rooms. This meant hauling all our stuff from one room to the other. Sigh. This took most of the morning.
The kids and I went to Cindey's house where I worked on a mailing. Ted did some work here at the TLF, finishing with the unloading of our many items, getting a few groceries, etc.
In the evening Ted took the 4 older kids to the base pool while Lucan and I drove across town to attend the last Bible study gathering, a salad bar potluck with some dear sisters in Christ with whom I've shared much over the past months and even years, with some of them! I enjoyed our last get-together and will miss being with them when they begin their next study in the fall. (Will have to post photos of this gathering later, also!)
WEDNESDAY
This morning I took the kids to the free movies, where we saw Inkheart...what looked like a very unique and interesting movie, from what I could tell. :-) I think it may have been a bit intense for my kids, but Tobin at least seemed to really like it. I missed the first 15-20 minutes because of standing in line for popcorn, and then I had to exit a few times with Kenna and later with Arden, who needed to go potty. Anyway, it got us out of the TLF for awhile and allowed us to visit with friends again--tons of people we know go to the free movies!
Charis and Arden are spending the afternoon with friends Alyssa and Zachary E, and the rest of us are ready to head to Blair and Heather's house for one last evening. I'll pick Arden up later on for dinner, and Charis is spending the night with Alyssa. Ted and I are looking forward to at least one more game of Catan with Blair and Heather!
SUNDAY
Our last service at Canyon Ridge was wonderful. They honored all military members, past and present, by having them come on stage and say their name, rank, branch of service, and tour(s) of duty. By the time everyone had filed across at the 11:00 service, there had to be at least 100 servicemen and women on stage! The long standing ovation afterward with cheers and whistles was enough to make my breath catch in my throat, and I could barely sing "America the Beautiful" afterward. THESE are true heroes.
************
Later that afternoon we had a family going-away party at my friend Cindey's house. Though some folks weren't able to make it, we enjoyed visiting with some of our favorite Las Vegas families during an informal potluck. Sadly, I took very few pictures despite good intentions! I always get caught up in the moment and forget about my camera. Once again, I'll have to post photos later...the Internet access here at the hotel is pretty sketchy.
Afterward we took Charis to the T family's house so she could spend the night with her friend Addie.
MONDAY
The packers arrived around 8:30 a.m. The kids, amazingly, slept in, which was a huge blessing, as Ted and I had tons to do! After breakfast I took the older three (Tobin, Arden, Kenna--Charis was still at Addie's house) to Cindey's, and Ted and I worked and worked to finalize things while the 2 packers did their thing. A third packer joined them around noon, and they ended up finishing up the whole job that day, another blessing! I picked the kids up from Cindey's in the afternoon, and then after things were finalized at the house, we picked Charis up and went out to Sweet Tomatoes for dinner.
We arrived on base and went to pick up our keys for the Temporary Lodging Facilities. We were supposed to have 2 adjoining rooms; however, some (idiot) one decided for no apparent reason to give away one of our adjoining rooms. So, we had two rooms, but instead of being together, they were on opposite ends of the property!! Disgruntled and extremely exhausted, we piled into one room and made do for the night rather than try to separate items in our shared suitcases.
TUESDAY
After many phone calls, we were shuffled across the TLF courtyard to two side-by-side (but not adjoining) rooms. This meant hauling all our stuff from one room to the other. Sigh. This took most of the morning.
The kids and I went to Cindey's house where I worked on a mailing. Ted did some work here at the TLF, finishing with the unloading of our many items, getting a few groceries, etc.
In the evening Ted took the 4 older kids to the base pool while Lucan and I drove across town to attend the last Bible study gathering, a salad bar potluck with some dear sisters in Christ with whom I've shared much over the past months and even years, with some of them! I enjoyed our last get-together and will miss being with them when they begin their next study in the fall. (Will have to post photos of this gathering later, also!)
WEDNESDAY
This morning I took the kids to the free movies, where we saw Inkheart...what looked like a very unique and interesting movie, from what I could tell. :-) I think it may have been a bit intense for my kids, but Tobin at least seemed to really like it. I missed the first 15-20 minutes because of standing in line for popcorn, and then I had to exit a few times with Kenna and later with Arden, who needed to go potty. Anyway, it got us out of the TLF for awhile and allowed us to visit with friends again--tons of people we know go to the free movies!
Charis and Arden are spending the afternoon with friends Alyssa and Zachary E, and the rest of us are ready to head to Blair and Heather's house for one last evening. I'll pick Arden up later on for dinner, and Charis is spending the night with Alyssa. Ted and I are looking forward to at least one more game of Catan with Blair and Heather!
July 05, 2009
Moving Day...
...is rapidly approaching! Today is our last day in this house. We'll be here thoughout the next week, but the packers arrive tomorrow morning. This past week has been a whirlwind! After getting back from Commission--a 10-day trip away from computers during which we barely even thought about our "normal" life--we were suddenly plunged into reality, which included an amazing amount of effort in order to prepare for this coming week!
Rooms are frighteningly clean...we've put out an extraordinary amount of trash...toys that were MIA over the last however many months (years?!) have made their way back to where they belong...and the bookshelves look as if they came straight from the library. Why can't things ALWAYS be this neat and organized?! We've discovered how much stuff we truly never used and donated a whole truckload to Goodwill after attempting a sad and pathetic garage sale, but we did earn some family spending money by selling some larger items. We're all looking forward to a more organized existence in Ohio! There is a lot more storage space in our new house, so that will help tremendously, and with the kids' playroom in our finished basement, we'll be able to have a no-toys-in-bedrooms rule that SHOULD help keep things a lot neater.
So...are we ready for the packers?! I guess about as ready as we can be. There is always the last-minute mad dash to set aside this or that, things that are more easily kept with us to avoid having to hunt for them on the flip side. Ted is clearing out our "Harry Potter closet" (the closet under the stairs, for the uninitiated) to use as a do-not-pack space where we can store the things we want to take with us personally.
They scheduled 3 days for the packers to be here, but we're hoping it won't take that long. We'll get a feel for how long it should be when we see how many people they send out tomorrow! The moving truck will be here Thursday, and we'll be spending Monday through Thursday nights in the TLF (Temporary Lodging Facilities) at Nellis. Friday morning Ted has his final out-processing appointment, and then we'll head out from there, towing the van behind us, packed to the brim for our partial "ditty" move (DTY, do-it-yourself move). The plan is to drive to Green River, Utah, that night, then go through Arches National Park Saturday morning on our way to Rhonda's in Colorado. We'll be in Denver a few days, then will drive to Kansas to spend a couple of nights with our dear friends Craig & Mimi, then off to Ohio!
Our landlord finally got his orders, so we are OFFICIALLY renting his house now. :-) It looks like we will be able to do a door-to-door move, which means only staying in the Wright-Patterson TLF a couple or three nights, Lord willing.
All the preparation has been such a whirlwind that it's been hard to sit around feeling sad about saying goodbyes, which is probably a good thing. The fact that we're going back to familiar territory, close to my family and meeting up with old friends again, really makes us excited about this move, more excited than previous assignments, I think. Maybe I'm just relieved that I don't have to completely start over with 5 kiddos, LOL!
We have a family going-away party this evening, and I know I'll see folks there that I won't get to see again before we actually leave next Friday. Today was our last Sunday at church, so I said some goodbyes then, too, and I'm starting to "feel" it. As eager as we are to get away from the Las Vegas heat, and as eager as Ted is to leave his job at Creech, we are so thankful for the wonderful people we've met here and in particular for such an amazing, God-first church that we found in Canyon Ridge. The only thing that makes leaving it bearable is knowing that someday we'll all be part of THE Church in heaven!
Rooms are frighteningly clean...we've put out an extraordinary amount of trash...toys that were MIA over the last however many months (years?!) have made their way back to where they belong...and the bookshelves look as if they came straight from the library. Why can't things ALWAYS be this neat and organized?! We've discovered how much stuff we truly never used and donated a whole truckload to Goodwill after attempting a sad and pathetic garage sale, but we did earn some family spending money by selling some larger items. We're all looking forward to a more organized existence in Ohio! There is a lot more storage space in our new house, so that will help tremendously, and with the kids' playroom in our finished basement, we'll be able to have a no-toys-in-bedrooms rule that SHOULD help keep things a lot neater.
So...are we ready for the packers?! I guess about as ready as we can be. There is always the last-minute mad dash to set aside this or that, things that are more easily kept with us to avoid having to hunt for them on the flip side. Ted is clearing out our "Harry Potter closet" (the closet under the stairs, for the uninitiated) to use as a do-not-pack space where we can store the things we want to take with us personally.
They scheduled 3 days for the packers to be here, but we're hoping it won't take that long. We'll get a feel for how long it should be when we see how many people they send out tomorrow! The moving truck will be here Thursday, and we'll be spending Monday through Thursday nights in the TLF (Temporary Lodging Facilities) at Nellis. Friday morning Ted has his final out-processing appointment, and then we'll head out from there, towing the van behind us, packed to the brim for our partial "ditty" move (DTY, do-it-yourself move). The plan is to drive to Green River, Utah, that night, then go through Arches National Park Saturday morning on our way to Rhonda's in Colorado. We'll be in Denver a few days, then will drive to Kansas to spend a couple of nights with our dear friends Craig & Mimi, then off to Ohio!
Our landlord finally got his orders, so we are OFFICIALLY renting his house now. :-) It looks like we will be able to do a door-to-door move, which means only staying in the Wright-Patterson TLF a couple or three nights, Lord willing.
All the preparation has been such a whirlwind that it's been hard to sit around feeling sad about saying goodbyes, which is probably a good thing. The fact that we're going back to familiar territory, close to my family and meeting up with old friends again, really makes us excited about this move, more excited than previous assignments, I think. Maybe I'm just relieved that I don't have to completely start over with 5 kiddos, LOL!
We have a family going-away party this evening, and I know I'll see folks there that I won't get to see again before we actually leave next Friday. Today was our last Sunday at church, so I said some goodbyes then, too, and I'm starting to "feel" it. As eager as we are to get away from the Las Vegas heat, and as eager as Ted is to leave his job at Creech, we are so thankful for the wonderful people we've met here and in particular for such an amazing, God-first church that we found in Canyon Ridge. The only thing that makes leaving it bearable is knowing that someday we'll all be part of THE Church in heaven!
June 02, 2009
Winding Down
We're in Week 36 of Sonlight's Core 1. It has been a GREAT year! I'm sad that I haven't yet ordered the next core, but Ted and I agreed it would be better to just wait until we get to Ohio. I know once we have the books in our possession it will take some heavy-duty locks to keep them out of the kids' hands, LOL!
Mostly we are on track to finish by Friday. Charis just today finished her week 35 Language Arts, so she'll need to crunch if we want to finish by Friday, but she and I agreed it would not be a terrible thing if she finishes things up next week. Tobin is finished--I think that kid needs more work next year! I will definitely make him do more of the writing assignments. He got a pass on a lot of them because, having done this LA with Charis last year, I realized how frustrating it was to throw out a writing prompt with little guidance and expect a 6 or 7-year-old to be able to write a paragraph. This year I was a lot more laid back about it, sometimes letting Tobin dictate to me, sometimes changing the required topic to something he was more interested in (usually Star Wars, LOL).
I've begun realizing that Arden has gotten the short end of the LA stick--he breezed through his Ready for the Code phonics books, but since I had a hard time keeping track of everyone, he usually finished before I was ready to watch him with the writing part...and I've noticed that he's making some of his letters backwards now, particularly the lowercase "b" and "d," which is understandable. His capital letters are fine, and he's reading quite well, so I'm not terribly concerned...it will just take some concerted effort on my part to help him with his practice, which I intend to continue through the summer.
We will also continue math at an unhurried pace over the summer. Charis has had some troubles with multiple-digit multiplication, but she seems to be getting over the hump. We've had to take it pretty slowly with these lessons, but I don't mind. She only has 5 more lessons in her Gamma book, and I'm confident she can start the next level once we're ready to start "school" up again. Arden is nearly finished with the Alpha book, and that's with me trying to slow him down! Tobin is about 2/3 of the way through Beta. Once again, I'm sure if we want him to, he can be ready to begin the next level when we start Core 2 with Sonlight.
PE has come to an end as of last Thursday. I am really going to miss the SAINTS program! The kids are, too! They have learned so much about so many different sports. They've gotten to try everything from archery to baseball to Capture the Flag. They've played tennis, kickball, flag football, soccer, and run relay races. They've learned to listen to a coach and get along with teammates (and those on the opposite team!), and they've learned about glorifying God with their attitudes and abilities. Coach Chris, shown in the picture with the kids, is a great guy, and I'm so thankful for the time and effort he and the other coaches have invested into our kids.
AWANA has also ended for the year. The awards ceremony was last Sunday. I don't have the pics downloaded yet, but maybe I can come back and insert a picture here. All three kids finished their books this year, and both the boys also completed their review patches. The church we're going back to in Ohio also has AWANA, so we look forward to continuing next year. And the year after next, Kenna will be a Cubbie!! Wow!
It looks like I'm down to just one or two more business events here in Las Vegas. As much as I want to reach $2000 in sales for this month in order to keep my current career title, I just don't see that happening with a trip to Idaho scheduled for 10 days and only one stamp club meeting!! I'm not complaining...my focus now is on sorting and organizing our stuff, weeding out things I don't want us to have to unpack later, and preparing our family mentally, emotionally, and physically for our move.
Mostly we are on track to finish by Friday. Charis just today finished her week 35 Language Arts, so she'll need to crunch if we want to finish by Friday, but she and I agreed it would not be a terrible thing if she finishes things up next week. Tobin is finished--I think that kid needs more work next year! I will definitely make him do more of the writing assignments. He got a pass on a lot of them because, having done this LA with Charis last year, I realized how frustrating it was to throw out a writing prompt with little guidance and expect a 6 or 7-year-old to be able to write a paragraph. This year I was a lot more laid back about it, sometimes letting Tobin dictate to me, sometimes changing the required topic to something he was more interested in (usually Star Wars, LOL).
I've begun realizing that Arden has gotten the short end of the LA stick--he breezed through his Ready for the Code phonics books, but since I had a hard time keeping track of everyone, he usually finished before I was ready to watch him with the writing part...and I've noticed that he's making some of his letters backwards now, particularly the lowercase "b" and "d," which is understandable. His capital letters are fine, and he's reading quite well, so I'm not terribly concerned...it will just take some concerted effort on my part to help him with his practice, which I intend to continue through the summer.
We will also continue math at an unhurried pace over the summer. Charis has had some troubles with multiple-digit multiplication, but she seems to be getting over the hump. We've had to take it pretty slowly with these lessons, but I don't mind. She only has 5 more lessons in her Gamma book, and I'm confident she can start the next level once we're ready to start "school" up again. Arden is nearly finished with the Alpha book, and that's with me trying to slow him down! Tobin is about 2/3 of the way through Beta. Once again, I'm sure if we want him to, he can be ready to begin the next level when we start Core 2 with Sonlight.
PE has come to an end as of last Thursday. I am really going to miss the SAINTS program! The kids are, too! They have learned so much about so many different sports. They've gotten to try everything from archery to baseball to Capture the Flag. They've played tennis, kickball, flag football, soccer, and run relay races. They've learned to listen to a coach and get along with teammates (and those on the opposite team!), and they've learned about glorifying God with their attitudes and abilities. Coach Chris, shown in the picture with the kids, is a great guy, and I'm so thankful for the time and effort he and the other coaches have invested into our kids.AWANA has also ended for the year. The awards ceremony was last Sunday. I don't have the pics downloaded yet, but maybe I can come back and insert a picture here. All three kids finished their books this year, and both the boys also completed their review patches. The church we're going back to in Ohio also has AWANA, so we look forward to continuing next year. And the year after next, Kenna will be a Cubbie!! Wow!
It looks like I'm down to just one or two more business events here in Las Vegas. As much as I want to reach $2000 in sales for this month in order to keep my current career title, I just don't see that happening with a trip to Idaho scheduled for 10 days and only one stamp club meeting!! I'm not complaining...my focus now is on sorting and organizing our stuff, weeding out things I don't want us to have to unpack later, and preparing our family mentally, emotionally, and physically for our move.
April 25, 2009
WE KNOW SOMETHING!!
So Ted got an assignment rip yesterday!! Woohoo!! This is an answer to prayer. We had found out on Monday that Major H, whom Ted had worked for at Nellis, had specifically requested Ted to be his D.O. at Wright-Patterson. This was news to us, and gave us something to think about...what would it be like to return to Ohio, where we spent 2001-2004?!
Well, now we get to find out!! We are indeed going back to Dayton. I'm looking forward to reconnecting with friends, going back to our church there, and taking the kids to Young's Jersey Dairy. :-)
We plan to leave Las Vegas July 10 or 11. ACK! That gives me just a little over 2 months to organize all this STUFF. Five kids and four years of homeschooling under our belts makes for a lot more STUFF than we brought with us to Las Vegas.
Ohio, here we come!!
Well, now we get to find out!! We are indeed going back to Dayton. I'm looking forward to reconnecting with friends, going back to our church there, and taking the kids to Young's Jersey Dairy. :-)
We plan to leave Las Vegas July 10 or 11. ACK! That gives me just a little over 2 months to organize all this STUFF. Five kids and four years of homeschooling under our belts makes for a lot more STUFF than we brought with us to Las Vegas.
Ohio, here we come!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)