Tuesday, July 31, 2012

MIA

I have been mia for a while…. on purpose!
I didn’t want to give the blog the impression that I was depressed.
My mom challenged me to post something. “It would be healthy to think of something positive to write about”, she said.
So I sat thinking of something positive…. I thought for a long time…. and I couldn’t think of anything.
I am pretty sure I’ve caught the negative bug. It’s awful! It’s worse than the seasonal flu, worse than the swine flu, even worse than the bubonic plaque!

The most common symptom is debunking every positive thought with something negative. Followed by irritating others with a sour attitude and refuting every suggestion they make. There is the occasional outburst or hollering at your children over spilt milk, (or in my case, urinating on the hardwood floor). And you may find that the entire tray of brownies is emptied by you in a single day (yes, the recipe that contained 3 1/2 cubes of butter is now clogging my arteries).
It may be terminal if not treated.

I’m a bit overwhelmed with a new baby, shawn’s new military career, moving to a new house, in a new state, making new friends, and all the changes that come with these things.

I just don’t see any light at the end of the tunnel. (And didn’t we just exit a tunnel?) Is life just a series of tunnels, one after the next? I believe the grass is greener on the West coast! It’s true. I think I have culture shock. I really feel like I’m in a different country.

Wow, could this narrative sound any more depressing?
the answer is yes, yes it could. Let me tell you how….
There are no good thrift stores here in NC, none! (if you know me, you know this could be the death of me). I spent an entire day, dawn ‘til dusk, going to every thrift store in a 45 minute radius. They shouldn’t be allowed to call themselves thrift stores. It was trash, really expensive trash. I am still in shock over this and don’t think I will ever recover.

And that (my mood, not the thrift store discovery) is the reason I haven’t called you, or returned your phone calls… oh and the fact that I don’t have good cell phone service in my home! What the? Way to make me feel more isolated Sprint!

Positive, think positive. Okay… here I go.
I did finally get through this pile of boxes…. single handedly, in between feeding baby and caring for my kids. Noteworthy!
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We have a Jacuzzi tub, which is awesome. Reagan is especially enamored by it and will take 1+ hour baths. This is whine-free time I truly enjoy!016

The movers broke one of the posts on Reagan’s bed. Before the move, I said, “I’m not really concerned about anything, but if something happens to this bed I will flip out.” And sure enough…. tada.
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I know, this isn’t positive at all. But it is something to mention because it really upset me. really really really upset me. The entire move upset me! I’ll spare you. Just call me and I will tell you how awful it was, okay. (I’m expecting 0 calls).

Woombie. Ever heard of one? Have a newborn? Get one! I saw this contraption online but didn’t want to spend 30 bucks on something that didn’t work. Low and behold I found one at a thrift store in Oregon for $.50 (that’s 2 measly quarters!!). Kennedy sleeps so well in this. She can move her arms and legs, but doesn’t startle awake and can’t escape. This is probably the greatest thing in my life right now (besides the Jacuzzi tub).
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We’ve been able to get some entertainment out of all the packing material. Such as tracing our bodies, building forts, and sliding down stairs (slightly dangerous). We’ve had to get creative since it’s been too hot/humid to go outside some days.
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And that is my list of positive things that don’t have a negative comeback. Really, I could only think of 1: the boxes are unpacked 2: Reagan is entertained by our tub 3: the woombie keeps Kennedy asleep and 4: the kids are having fun with packing material.
My goal for this week is to think of more positive things. Maybe I can challenge myself to think of 10 things, then 20, then 50. It sounds impossible right now. But I know it’s the only cure for the Negative Bug. And I have to get over this, and quick!

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Day 8

Grayson, KY – North Carolina
Day 8

Today flew by. I think it was because we were so close to our destination. And it helped that the drive was BEAUTIFUL. I spent the entire day staring out the window and making comments to Shawn on how “I want to live here” and “I want a house there” and “wouldn’t you love to live there?” and “oh, look how pretty”…. I may have annoyed him to death. oh well.
See?…
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We stopped for lunch at a park and the kids played for a while.

Some things we saw along the drive…
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Have you ever seen a KFC Buffet? Me neither. And I think everyone deserves a grocery store named after them!
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Some cute kids…
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When we got to our final hotel, the boys took off to see a Minor league baseball game. Grant has been excited for this game for an entire month!
And us girls took a walk to a nearby restaurant, Darylls (which is my new favorite, by the way).
30 minutes later there was a TORENTIAL DOWNPOUR. And by that I mean raindrops the size of fists falling horizontally (yes, horizontally) in the wind, with trees (and light posts) swaying like crazy. Reagan said, “I think tomorrow when we wake up, all of the cars will be flipped upside-down.” She might actually be right. I believe there was more lightning in that one storm then I have ever seen in my 29 years. And the thunder made me feel like I was in a horror movie….. Clearly the weather is different over here on the East Coast!
Sadly, the baseball game was cancelled. Grant was crushed! But I was selfishly happy because now we had a ride home from the restaurant (remember, we walked).

The good news is, we’re HERE! We made it to our new home… alive, and happy.
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We traveled 2,900 miles, for 8 days, about 50 hrs, through 13 states.
Which reminds me…. of all of the states we exited, Oregon was the ONLY state to have a sign saying “Thank You for visiting”. I found that interesting.
We couldn’t have done it without my mom, who drove our Civic. A thank you is not enough. I’ll think of something better… but in the meantime, we really appreciate you!

Now that we made it, what’s next?
well, we will have a home tomorrow, but no belongings until the 20th of July. That’s another 10 days, fyi. So, hotel living continues for us (at the military's expense, thankfully). And the adventure is prolonged…..

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Day 7

Mt. Vernon, IL – Grayson, KY
Day 7

We hadn’t planned on stopping anywhere special today. But as we were driving, my mom pointed out the road signs advertising the Marengo Caves, and we thought, heck, why not take a peek.
So, after driving through some adorable towns in IL, we found the caves and put on our tennis shoes. The tour was truly amazing. Just to think that the stalactites and stalagmites grow only 1 inch every 100 years, wow!  
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Walking on underground trails
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I had to steal the “welcome to Indiana” sign from online. I couldn’t get to my camera fast enough…. it was traumatic!indiana   DSC_0145

The state of Kentucky is beautiful, fyi.
Oh, and their Carl’s Jr. (called Hardees) doesn’t have the Famous Star… very disappointing to Shawn. 
And we hit a horrible storm. Luckily Shawn was driving… I couldn’t see a thing out the window. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much lightning in my entire life. It was terrifying! I am so thankful that we’ve made it this far without any car troubles (with the exception of the new tire we had to buy), or accidents. Only one more big driving day, hooray!
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Day 6

St. Joseph, MO – Mt. Vernon, IL
Day 6

Our route took us right through Liberty, MO. So we made a stop at Liberty Jail.
(I love how Jefferson is holding Reagan!)
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Our church reconstructed an exact replica of the jail, in its original location. It was fascinating to see where Joseph Smith was held for 4 months, and where he received revelation from the Lord.
The front entrance of the jail, where Joseph entered and greeted the men with, “good morning gentlemen.”
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Joseph and 5 other men were kept below, while the guards stayed above. Some interesting things I didn’t know:
The front door didn’t have a handle, so the guards couldn’t even get out themselves, they had to be ‘let’ out.
There was a space between the exterior and interior walls that was filled with rocks. If the men tried to escape, they would have to pull out rocks, which would make other rocks fall, and alert the guards.
The jail was used as an ice house years later. During the winter ice was taken from the river and stored for up to 1 year in the basement. I can only imagine how cold it must have been for the men in the basement during the winter.
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The room was so short that one of the men couldn’t stand up all of the way… his back was forever hunched.
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I wish we could have seen more church history sites, but it was ‘back on the road’ for us!

Some things we saw on the road….
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No jail time huh?… just a fine.
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The Gateway Arch… from a distance
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We made a pit stop at a statue called “The Awakening". It was entertaining, but we didn’t stay long…. it was 104 degrees outside!DSC_0016
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Day 5

North Platte, NE – St. Joseph, MO
Day 5

Today was difficult for everyone. We had a lot of this…
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There was nothing to stop and see along the way, besides corn, corn, corn, and more corn.
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And what a cruel prank to name a city Oregon right smack in the middle of the the US. For anyone who is missing Oregon (me), it is quite a tease!
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But, I will say, it was nice to see some green for a change. What a breath of fresh air!
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I think the horizontal stop lights was the most interesting thing from today.
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Friday, July 6, 2012

Day 4

Rawlings, WY – North Platte, NE
Day 4

What a long day! No offense to anyone who lives in southern Wyoming and likes it, but I was depressed the last 2 days. It was flat, and brown. According to Jefferson, “I don’t think I would like living here. There are no trees.” So true.

We made a stop at the highest elevation point on I-80 (also called the Lincoln Highway). There was a monument of the President.
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And the boys got some time to get their energy out playing Cowboys & Indians
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Some sites from today
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Check out the awesome Tee-pee house…
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We got warning of these bandits on the loose… we’re keeping our eye out for them during our trip.Wanted 2

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