Busy- but so lucky

Lets see... we finally made it to Baltimore- lots later than planned, visiting with another Coastie family. How blessed are we to have all this extended family. Had a relaxing evening with Elisha and then meeting the boys the next day. What sweethearts. Love the house E! Then off to Connecticut to see the Luzader's. Luzader's were our across the street neighbors and good friends in Puerto Rico- but they transferred out the year before us. Our whole families got along so well- and Maddy and Nugget were inseparable! They all just fell back into place- the kids all play great together. The visit went way to fast! Next was a surprise lunch with Ashley's best friend from the island at Friendly's. It was priceless! Planned on getting some pics of the whole surprise, but Ashley spotted Jackie in the parking lot before she got out of the car- and was practically hyper ventilating! Jackie heard her screech and looked our way and spotted Steve and had this look of disbelief on her face- she was frozen and looked confused that she would be seeing Steve! Seeing their smiles and hearing their giggles over lunch was awesome. Then from there off to the Sparkman's. Sparkman's were stationed with us our first station as a married couple- them and the Ziegler's and our families have stayed in touch- visiting each other as we transfer past one another. We are not friends- we are family! Colleen & Chris just bought their first house- and it is adorable- has a great yard, and Steve and I love the area they are in. We all fall right back where we left off with out skipping a beat! We love you guys! Zach their youngest hit a home run in T ball that morning for Ashley- how cute is that? Then hearing them giggle, play and watching them spy on their sibling - I am thinking arranged marriage... then we really would be family. :) Gracie was a great babysitter for Carson- which made it super nice for me- I could sit and catch up with Colleen without chasing after my monster. Father's day breakfast was the best- the father's cooked it! ;) It is tradition when we are all together. It was so hard to say goodbye.

Then we hit Niagara Falls, New York. Our family had a super time. It was wonderful to be out walking around after all those days in the car. We did the Maid of the Mist, had dinner at the Hardrock Cafe, then caught the fireworks over the falls. We all fell in bed exhausted and happy that night- and woke up to Carson talking about the "waterforks" ( guessing fireworks and water fall) and the boat.

We are now in Ohio for a week. Busy trying to see everyone we can. Picking up our new trailer later today- finally a place to call "home".

Day 2 & 3

Well, Everyone is still alive & we have not left any kids behind....yet. The Howard's sent us off yesterday morning after a great pancake breakfast. Then we headed to Panama City to see Jessica and her kids- Jessica and I were Co-Daisy Girl Scout Leaders when Maddy & her daughter Ginna were in kindergarten in Port St Lucie, FL. They have relocated to Pensacola so since we were a couple hours a way we decided to make a detour for a visit before heading to Lawrenceville (?) Georgia for the night. Jess has Ginna (12), Liz(8),Jack(3)and Micah(19mos)- so basically kids all my kids age! We met at a cute park, but it was so blasting hot we headed down the road to the Pensacola Naval Aviation Museum- which was air conditioned! It had a great little play area, and the kids could climb in and out of some of the Blue Angel's planes. They had a blast together. It was great detour- we seen some old friends and an awesome museum. Then we had some Sonic for dinner- Yummy. It was a late night of driving and we were all exhausted. I finally slept all night with out coughing- but Steve informed me in the morning when I woke up complaining of a sore throat and a headache that I deserved them both- I was snoring all night long. But the sleep was great!

Today we had a short drive to Morganton, NC to visit my Cousin Cheri and her family & my Uncle John and Aunt Carol took their vacation a few days early and met us there! It was great to see them all. The cousins made fast friends and had a blast splashing in the pool. Carson was in heaven with her 3 boys and all the cars to play with and Ashley and Shea hit it off and had a great time playing make-over! Oh the glitter. They did not want to leave each other. I have to say I am very impressed with her kids- they are so well mannered and helpful! It was a very nice break for me because they entertained and cleaned up after Carson- and he "lubs them" ! ( that is love for those of you who don't get his babbles) We finally formally got to meet Cheri's husband Nick- it seems any time Cheri and I are in the same place our husbands are working. Wish we had more time- seems to be the theme of our trip. But so far this has been a wonderful trip and I am so glad we have the opportunity to do it- a short visit is better than none at all.

Baltimore Bound tomorrow to visit Elisha and her boys! :) Pictures will be posted soon- I keep killing my camera battery.

Day one of our Great Expedition

We made it to Jacksonville yesterday, had a great dinner at Ruby Tuesday's, caught up with The Antel family - a fellow Reef Shark family. It was Great to see Ashley and Merrick's face when they opened the door to each other. This is going to be a great trip proving to my kids that we will still sometimes see those people we have met and made great friends with- being a Coastie Kid is not such a bad thing. :)

Steve picked up the car this morning- what a crock, he had to pay some random guy $40 dollars to escort him once he was in the Port- he said when he checked in they asked him who his escort was, he said he didn't have one and they were going to arrange for one, then a guy sitting there said he would do it- they step outside and the guy says its gonna be $40! Then he takes him out to his spiffed up caddy to drive him over and escort him back out. Steve said it was gonna cost him more for them to arrange it so- this guy actually has himself a pretty good little trade going on. Anyways- got the car- whew!

Let me say it is HOT here. It is hotter than in PR. We were dying and crabby as we loaded the car- and it is loaded! Then stopped at WALMART to get some snacks for the road- and it was so nice- it was clean, the isle's were wide and we found a parking spot about 5 spaces from the door! We had walmart in PR, but we dreaded going and rarely did.

The kids are keeping track of License plates, trying to find one from every state- I think they were at 14 when we stopped in Panama City to visit friends.

We had a great dinner with the Howard Family - Tara, Andy and their girls Bella and Gabby- adorable!

Tara and Andy both were Coasties, we were stationed with Tara way back in Florence Oregon our first tour as a married couple. It is so awesome to be able see each other every several years and catch up! Our kids got along great, and after dinner we all hit the pool. Tara has not changed a bit! {I miss you girl!}

I feel so lucky to have made such great friends - we owe it to the military lifestyle that we often find ourselves cursing. This is a great reminder that we are blessed- and even though we find ourselves saying goodbye every few years to those that we cherish, we continue to cherish the friendships forever.

Carson is still wanting to go home, but at least he settles down when we check into a new hotel. All my kids now want to live the "Suite Life". :)

Day 2 is lunch with a kindergarten class mate of Maddy's and her mom who I co-lead a daisy troop with. It's been 6 years?? Can't wait.

Just our luck

Thank goodness I can find humor in the crazy things that happen to us.

Yesterday after Steve got off work, we were going to hit Bacardi factory one last time, drop some things off in housing, and then relax with a friend and her daughter back at the hotel pool. We are driving and all the kids fall asleep- perfect, but I suddenly felt really ill. I thought maybe it was Steve's driving... I mean he drives crazy and it is not uncommon to get sick while being a passenger in his car. :x So we make it to Bacardi, and I sit in the car with the sleeping kids while he shops in the gift shop. Then we head to housing after a brief stop at the PX to pick some clothes up for Maddy who has decided to spend the night with a friend (and due to traffic it was easier to stop and pick her up some clothes than go back to the hotel- yes traffic is that crazy!)

Pick up the friend's little girl that was coming to visit from daycare for her and make a stop to pick up our medical records that were supposed to be ready 3 weeks ago.

That is a joke. First of all they lost Madison & Carson's records. The woman who comes out to talk to me knows very little English and has to go get someone who does. Mind you I have already been waiting 20 minutes. We requested the records a month ago, so they had plenty of notice, and they told us they would be ready for pick up in 5 days. I wait.... and wait.... and wait. Finally someone comes and tells me Medical records is closed now for the day. WTF! I got there before they closed- not my fault they are incompetent and lost the records! I try not to get too nasty with the woman, and explain I have been waiting for almost 40 minutes now- and that medical records was open when I got there. She goes back to talk to the supervisor. 10 minutes later the supervisor comes out explains that they have my records and Ashley's records copied, but they need a doctors signature to release them, and they found Maddy & Carson's chart, but the records are not copied. She asks if she can mail them to me, and then tells me it will be $100 for the records! Now I am mad, I don't feel good, they screwed up and there should be no charge to get our records traveling on Government orders. I not so nicely explain this to her. She promises me that they will mail all the records out on Monday- of course we don't have an address yet, which I explain to her- and then she tells me to just come pick them up on Monday. I repeat that we are flying off Island this weekend- and that we will not be returning. She says never? I said NEVER! OMG. She takes my In-laws address and says once I pay she will mail them- I told her to get her supervisor now- the supervisor comes 15 minutes later- and I explain to her that I will not pay for the records unless I have them in hand- that they can put the bill in with the records.

I show her the military orders, and the release form that was originally filled out a month ago, and supposed to be ready in 5 days, and told her that even if there was a charge ( which there is not supposed to be) that due to the inconveince they have caused, they should waive it. With a little argument she finally agreed, and supposedly my records will be mailed on Monday- we will see! Yes this can happen anywhere- but the long wait an the language frustrations add to it, on top of me not feeling well. I come out over an hour later, empty handed. Steve just laughed. Head to the hotel in major traffic.

I am feeling even worse, chills, body aches, fighting the urge to vomit, sore throat... and the girls are in the back seat making themselves gag- sticking their fingers down their throats...why???? Poor things I turn around and not so nicely tell them to quit it! After over an hour sitting in traffic - make it to the hotel, and I took some OTC meds and took a nap- kids play in other room.

Get up to have dinner with friend, and say goodbye- goodbye's stink!

Crash for the night. Steve has to get up this morning and be at the VCP to ship the car off by 5:30 am. I get up but still feel awful, go back to bed and thankfully my kids are sleeping soundly. Steve texts me that they are having a protest in front of the VCP! This place and their protests. He is not sure if he will get the car shipped. AHHH. Meantime, Maddy gets dropped back off and we have to say more goodbyes. :( It's hard to watch my kiddo's have to say goodbye.

It then mentioned to me about being bit by mosquito's and the Dengue Fever that they can carry and happens to be an epidemic here right now. So I come up and google the symptoms... "Dengue fever usually starts suddenly with a high fever, rash, severe headache, pain behind the eyes, and muscle and joint pain. The severity of the joint pain has given dengue the name "breakbone fever." Nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite are common. A rash usually appears 3 to 4 days after the start of the fever"

I don't have a rash, and don't think I have a high fever and my throat is very sore... so I am thinking I don't have to worry, but still. That would just be my luck!

Good news though is that if it is that, I am not contagious- unless your a mosquito or vampire. :-)

Steve just arrived back at 11am- 51/2 hours to ship the car!

Carson is throwing a fit because his carseat is in the hotel room & should be in the car. Try to explain the car is going on a boat and we will get it later after we take a airplane. Now he is back on the "I want to go home" kick. Madison is moping because she had to say goodbye to her BF, and Ashley just wants to swim, and Steve has escaped the hotel room ... leaving me alone once again - sick and with these monsters of mine! I do love him... I do love my life and I adore my kids. Just have to remind myself.

Our crazy schedule

Our upcoming crazy schedule :

Jacksonville, FL 13

Panama City FL 14

Pensacola FL (lunch)

Atlanta GA 15

Morganton NC 16

Washington DC- Maryland 17

New London CT 18

Beverly MA 19

Niagara Falls NY 20

Akron Oh 21-28 ( pick up our camp trailer)

Naperville, IL 28-30

Jackson MN July 1

Mount Rushmore 2-4

Yellowstone Park 5-6

Hot Lava Springs 7

Meacham OR 8

Knappa OR 9-12

Final destination of Newport, OR In which the campgrounds are all booked up so we only have a couple days- looks like we may have to stay in Waldport OR in a KOA for a while.

Hotel living

My kids are getting spoiled rotten. They are totally digging having a cleaning lady make thier bed everyday, even though I make them make them when they get up. We come back to fresh linen's and the stuffed animals arranged nicely on the beds, PJ's neatly folded on thier pillow's. They wrote her a lovely thank you note yesterday. :)

It is really difficult to keep the room cleaned up with 5 people living in it along with all our important worldly posessions that we could not live without.

Hard to believe we are flying out of here in 3 more days.

It only just begun

This adventure only started on June 3rd, and it will continue on until we find a home on the other end once we arrive July 13th. I think I am certifiably insane for taking this on and being excited about it with 3 kids. Carson has only asked once today to go home, so he is getting better. We are all sun baked and water logged from spending the last 5 days by the pool. Only 5 more days and we jet out of here to start the journey by car. Oh god...if the littles are making me crazy in a hotel room, what are they gonna do to me in a car? I am eating tums like they are candy already, not sure if it is from eating out or from my nerves.

Eating out is already getting old. Trying to make wise choices so not to gain 50 lbs while we are traveling. Madison has had chicken wings for lunch, dinner and in between, Carson and Ashley are going to turn into a cheese pizza and I can't even think about chicken Caesar salad without getting a little sick.

Steve is still working, up before dawn and not back until dinner. Can't wait for the next half of the trip when he will be around all the time. (remind me I said that later) Thank goodness we are done with the checkout in housing. I am so glad to be out of there. It has been like living in the projects in Akron for the last 2 years, the only good thing has been the air conditioning- of course the mold we have been breathing because the duct systems have never been cleaned may kill us all yet. We are all breathing much easier since leaving. Even Maddy's cold that she has been fighting for several weeks is getting better- It had to be the environment we were in. I guess I should be thankful we had a roof over out heads. :)

Anyways, it has only just begun and I am already nuts. My kids fight over everything, Carson is still confused as to what is going on and we are all cranky. I am trying to relax and enjoy the last few days of this Island, sitting poolside with a frozen beverage- pretending that the 3 obnoxious kids fighing in the pool do not belong to me. :)

I'll keep you posted on how that goes for me.

Remembering my childhood

As we settle into our temporary home here at the hotel, my children's actions remind me of my childhood days with Cadet-ettes and all the traveling we did. There was usually 4 of us girls in a hotel room, no adults- they had their own room and only came around to check on us. I remember we used to jump on the bed usually first thing as we entered a new hotel room, we played hide and seek ( how many places are there to hide in a room, really?), we had to explore all the nooks and crannies in the hotel, swiping soap, pens, and pillow candies from the maids cart in the hall as we passed. I am finding out because my kids are doing these same things. I've let them order whatever they want to eat, help themselves at the breakfast buffet, I see them checking out the housekeeping cart as we go by. They have a room to themselves basically although attached to ours and they are living it up, jumping between the beds, playing hide and seek. It is so funny.

I am thankful for my time as a child of traveling and having the independence and responsibilities I had because it is helping me let my children have these freedoms. I seriously don't know how the adults in charge handled it... having anywhere from 70-100 girls doing these things- I guess having a room away from us helped. I am sure they had to be enjoying a few cocktails after bed check! I know I am with my own kids and their friends that are staying and there are plenty of times I could use a cocktail. :)

My first blog- One journey ends and another begins...

So, I've been told many times by people that I should start a blog. My children give me much to write about, ecspecially the little one. So with the end of our Journey in Puerto Rico, I decided I would do that and blog about our trip across country.

Today the packers finished up, our home is empty an Carson was devestated. He keeps begging to go home. All the way to the hotel tonight he babbled in the backseat about home being packed all gone, his toys are all gone, tv is gone, all gone in the big truck. I sure hope he forgets this all soon and we have not traumatized him too much. Ashley is very sad, quiet. which is not like her. She said goodbye to many of her little friends today and is so worried about making new. Madison spent the day with her best friend here, and seems to be holding up and happy to be going, but deep down I know that leaving Em behind is really bothering her. It makes me so sad to see my kids going through the pain they are feeling. I spend all day off and on crying- saying to myself this is the last time I will be doing this or that here. :( I have been in denial that I have made too many friends here and thought that it would be easy to leave, but it is not. I will miss so many people, and so many people have touched our lives here. Thank you for making our stay in PR one that will leave us with good memories when we look back.

I am already planning on returning for a vacation and to meet the beautiful babies that will be arriving to a couple of my friends here. So I know that this is not goodbye, but See you later!