July 7, 2010

Jack Makes it to 7!



Somedays I think it's a miracle that this child has made it to 7. But, he is so funny. The kid who thought his chunky peanut butter had turkey bones in it, the little boy who called Dad, Nondy, for years. The crazy soccer player who scored over 25 goals last season. The child who cut the whole front of his hair off to avoid a haircut (no really he did and ended up entirely buzzed). The boy who is so full of life, to the point of popping out of his skin. You drive us crazy sometimes my son, but we love you oh so much and our lives would just be so calm without you in it. And how boring would that be? Happy Birthday Jack.

July 6, 2010

Our Trek From Florida to Nebraska

The thought of a move lately fills me with a sensation of dread. Not because I'm coming upon one, but because I just did a move, and I shiver to think of another in my future. Our last day in Florida was almost upon us. We had our U-haul trailer which we thought I would tow with my car-well that didn't happen, too much weight. So we switched out vehicles at 11pm. Not good because Jaesen had to reweigh the empty trailer so we could get reimbursed from the military. So we hook up the boat to my car and all was right with the world, it towed it around the neighborhood just fine. We packed up the U-haul until 2 am when I finally keeled over in the garage with fatigue. Off to bed we went and got up at 7 am to begin the 13 hour drive to Louisiana. Except we forgot to take out the computer desk. So we are kicking it apart and dragging it down the stairs. The screws were still in place though and I ended up with screws through both hands, my new shorts and shirt and blood dripping all over. As we start the drive out of our neighborhood at 10 am, Jaesen says my lights aren't working on the trailer. We troubleshoot for an hour and I finally say we need to get started or we'll never go. I had no brake lights on the trailer and no running lights on my car thanks to U-haul screwing up the electrical wiring in my car. When we pulled into Monroe at midnight (1 am our time) we were on our last legs and thankful for no tickets. The next day Jaesen and his brother spent the whole day trying to fix the wiring, replace tires on the trailer (yes they were bald on the inside-don't even ask!) At one point, there were 4 men outside working on my car and Jaesen's ears just became more and more red as the day wore on. The next day we didn't get our early start as we were waiting on Jaesen to return from the U-Haul dealership with my car in working order. Finally on our way again we were excited when we finally pulled into Joplin, Missouri that night. After getting the animals settled (oh yes, did I neglect to mention in addition to my 3 kids, we had 2 dogs and one cat travelling with us?) we walked across the street to Ruby Tuesday. Once settled, Savannah said she didn't feel good. I took her to the bathroom and found she was burning up with fever. I got her back to the table and held her in my lap. She burped once and proceeded to pull an Exorcist move and violently puke all over her, me, the chair, the floor. And although she kept throwing up on me, she was extremely distraught about getting me dirty. Thank the Lord, there were only 3 other tables in the whole restaurant. I got her back to the hotel and washed her up and got her to bed, then hand washed all our clothes. The next day was the push to Omaha, and I can't tell you how ready we were to get here and not be in a car anymore with kids or animals. When we arrived my Mom was at our house, with food, drinks and more importantly, WINE and MARGARITAS!!!! Both of which I desperately needed. If I could have worn one of those beer hats with the straw coming out of the drinks I would have. All seemed great, we were at least here, no more driving. Then the air conditioning broke on the same day as the movers were here and Jaesen's best friend decided to stay here with his 3 kids. Not sure what he was thinking. David if you are reading this, you are a brave one for sleeping in the basement with 6 kids. Once we got the a/c fixed the disposal quit. Once we got that fixed the brand new washing machine quit. Once we got that fixed, the outdoor faucet snapped and we had the water shut off to our house for almost a full day. To say it has been an adventure would be an understatement. During all that time I have still had to find time for 2 classes and papers. To say that the papers are not my best would be an understatement, I was happy to just get a grade on them. Today was Jaesen's first day at work and things are beginning to calm down which is a nice change. And although we still have stuff to get done, all the boxes are gone except for the ones the kids begged us to keep. Now it's time for a deep breath and the next challenge-Jack's 7th birthday (for this special occasion he decided to shear off the front of his hair so we had to go get him buzzed! But that is another story for another day)