Question....why is it so hard

for me to find the time to update my BLOG??  

answer....I have no idea!!

But.....I will  make a better effort

I promise

My life is still full of brown boxes....

{But, we made it!!}

I am seated on a pop-up, $1, garage sale find, chair "thing" as I am typing this.  My computer is on the ground , my keyboard in my lap and the screen sitting on the shelf of my scrapbook table turned on it's side....but, we made it.  Arriving the night before I start work has been a bummer on my plan to ""get the house unpacked in 1 week.""  Thank goodness my Aunt is arriving this weekend to help.  Plan B= I hope eventually we get unpacked.  Plan C= we have a huge basement that has a perfect spot for a bunch of brown boxes. 

Road Trip-  The boys did wonderful. 3 straight 12 hour driving days...PERFECTION.  I wish our rented moving equipment did that good. 

Colorado- Wonderful.  I love it here.  Where has Colorado Springs been all my life.  I hope the Army forgets we're here. 

Altitude- Not so wonderful....but getting used to it.  Being 7,000 feet above sea level takes a little getting used to. 

Home improvements-  Should be unpacking.  Instead, Kitchen painted, dining room paint selected, deck...almost complete.  Still need sod, rocks, sand for playground in backyard. 

So here is my plan.  1) get up out off this seat "thing" and put my computer desk together and computer on it. 2) Go to bed so I can be on time for my last day of computer training tomorrow  3) unpack some boxes tomorrow  4) upload some pics of our road trip, house and such to my BLOG  this weekend. 

Bye

 

Hired!

Finally, I have a job.  I was getting nervous...really nervous about the hiring freeze that was happening in Colorado Springs.  I am happy to report that I will be getting a paycheck from here.

St. Frances, located 9.5 miles from our house.  That is really close compared to my drive here in Alabama.  I'm going to have to really work hard to get used to the view....

2 WHEELS

{And it was so easy}

Two words = BALANCE BIKE

I am a true believer in the balance bike.  I don't know why I didn't think of it.  If you are wondering what a balance bike is, Click here. 

This is Mitchell and his friend Blake on their balance bikes going a million miles an hour down our neighbors driveway.  That's safe, right?

Mitchell was the first to give his 2 wheel bike a try.  Brent held the back of his seat....and off he went.  It was that simple.   

 Davis waited a few days before he decided he was ready.  Same thing...we held the back of the seat and off he went.  That simple.

We bought bikes for the boys two Christmas' ago and they didn't ride them as much as I thought they would.  Davis and Mitchell are outside boys...they love the outside so much that I have used it as punishment.  Time out inside is pure torture for them.  Anyway, I got wind of this thing called a balance bike and knew that we had to get two.  I read that people had their 2 year olds riding two wheel bikes after they got them a balance bike.  I went bargain shopping and found someone on eBay that made knock-offs for about $25 each.  All I can say, is that I wish I had found out about these long ago.  I would recommend them to anyone.  Teaching a child the art of balance is the key to learning to ride a bike.  Training wheels are simply counterproductive and make learning to ride a bike harder.  Well, I can say for sure that the boys had an easy time learning to ride a bike.  They got on and rode it. 

HOME SWEET HOME

{our new Colorado pad}

We found the perfect house!  2500 sq.ft Ranch style house (that means 1 story on Colorado language) 4 bedroom + office, 2 bath, 3 car garage on 1/2 acre culd-de-sac lot with park across the street. BONUS...2500 square foot unfinished basement!  PERFECT....SOLD!

Here is a closer look.

someone else's furniture..but you get the idea

The best part....the basement....I have visions of perfectly organized storage that I don't have to climb up to the attack to get.  I have visions of little boys riding their bikes in the winter and painting.  I have visions of some construction...bonus family room, bedroom and bathroom for all of our friends and family.

 

Closing is scheduled for the end of April!  I will keep everyone posted.

We went to see the mouse

{Walt Disney World}

Should we call it spring break...or Brent had the week "off"...or neither?  NEITHER!

Brent was off the flight schedule because they thought he had started his Instrument Evaluator class.  His IE class thought he was finishing his last week of flying.  Sounds like spring vacation to me! Is that bad?  No, it's perfect....so we took off for a last minute trip to see Mickey. 

We had a blast!  A little trouble checking in to the resort since our military travel agent booked us for the month of April instead of March.  That was not so good showing up at the front desk to check in at 10pm, with 2 tired and hungry 4 year olds....and hear, "ma'am, your reservations are for next month and we are completely full."  I just laughed.  I had visions of us sleeping in our little gas efficient Honda Civic for the week.   We almost drove the Tahoe, but thought we would save a buck and drive the little car that was probably going to be our hotel for the week. But, in good Disney fashion they worked it out and handed us a key to our room. We put the car keys away and ran to the room before they could change their mind. 

Isn't it weird they sleep exactly alike?

Anyway.

 

 

we had a blast at the Magic Kingdom.  Seeing Disney through the eyes of your children is the best view.  My Mom always told me that...she was right.  I found myself in tears the first 30 minutes as I watched my boys take it all in.  If I could capture that feeling in a bottle, I would. It was pure magic.

Is it bad that I didn't tell them there is a huge drop on Splash Mountain?  This picture was taken just before going over that big drop.  I have never laughed so hard in my life.  PRICELESS.  We rode this ride several more times that day....They loved it!

We did some souvenir shopping at the end of the night and this is what the boys picked out. Davis picked a hat from one of the characters in the Toy Story.  Mitchell picked pirate goofy ears.  They wear these ALL the time...EVERYWHERE we go...all over town...EVERYDAY!

I love that!

 

Sea World was next.  This park honors those who serve in the Military...free admission to soldiers and their families!  PERFECT....we'll take 4 tickets, please.  We all had a blast!

Picture speaks for itself!  They sat in the soak zone...and loved it.  That smile is etched in my mind forever.

 

 

 

 

 

 

He was not ready for it to be over....

 

They were able to find something else....another soak zone....

We also visited Disney Hollywood studios... 

and we were a roller coaster ridin' family.  The boys rode this ride....The Tower of Terror.  How awesome is that? 

Our last day was our favorite!  Brent and I loved the wild Animal Kingdom.  It was by far the highlight of our trip.  Disney out did themselves with this park...it was amazing.  I spent the entire day like this.....

camera in my face, taking pictures.  The safari ride was so fun, the boys loved it.  The Lion King show brought back so many memories of my days working at Disney.  I am so glad that we ended our first "real" family vacation here. 

We are still in Alabama and guess what??

{ It's snowing }

 

This was a shocker...I didn't think I would ever see this in Alabama.  What a treat.  How unexpected!  We all had a great time in the snow...while it lasted.  It never did stick on the ground...but I'm not complaining.  I was happy for what we got.  I love the snow....I really do.

3 Weeks....

Our house was on the market only 3 weeks....I guess you can say I am happy??  Well, more relieved.  It is one major item checked off our TO-DO list.  The best part of the contract is the new owners don't want to move in until after school is out.  PERFECT.  We will live in our own house until the day we drive away...no temporary housing for us.  But, I am still not over that this will not be our house.  Can you say "DENIAL"....I can.

We went out to Colorado and found a whole lot of nothing.  Well, we did find a few houses that we liked....but no deals to be found.  Isn't it a buyers market?  I thought so.  No one is budging on their asking price...which seem to be much higher than we both thought.  I don't mind having to step up our price range.  I know that we are going to a much more desirable location.  I get that.  I am excited about that....but in order for me to feel good about paying ( I can't even really say the number it hurts me too much) I have to love the house.  We haven't found that yet.  Found lots of houses that we liked bits a pieces of.  We love that every house has a basement...love that we can see the breath taking view of mountains from almost everywhere...Don't love that we can't find an open floor plan.  Does everyone want a formal living room and formal dining room?  I would prefer neither....but I do have that dining room thanks to my big win on The Price Is Right.  So, I can live with one formal room.  I still want to take my house there!  So, as of right now...we are still searching.  We are searching for a house (doesn't have to be perfect) that house an open feel...nice kitchen that over looks a great room.  A place to call a playroom to house the million little pieces otherwise known as toys.  I love toys to have their own place to live, not in my living room.  Wish us luck...and may the constantly heard phrase..."It's a buyers market" really be the truth.

for no other reason....

 { than just pure cute }

Mitchell, feeling lucky to play with Davis' tools.  Isn't the hat my sister made for him cute?

What if I'm not ready...

{to let go of my house}

Can I take it with me?  Why can't we put our cul-de-sac and our perfect house in the moving truck with us? 

 

My eyes filled with tears when we were signing papers yesterday with the realtor.  It is so strange to be so excited about something and sad all at the same time. 

I am so excited to call Colorado, home.  I can get in my car and drive 2 hours and see my sister, Kelly, Kyle and Chelsey.  We can meet each other for lunch in Denver, craft together on days off.  There will be an airport in town and an hour away.  I can drive 1 hour up the road and be in Denver where there is culture, concerts, a children's museum, kid activity galore.  We can teach the boys how to ski, go sledding and build snowmen.  The summers won't suffocate me with the humidity, the bugs won't fly me away to wherever they go.  There will be seasons, snow, mountains, hiking, skiing....  I will experience new adventure, new friends, new places, new scrapbooking stores, and new places to photograph. 

There will not be our house, the one we watched being built from the dirt up.  The house that my Mom helped me make curtains and valances for.  The house where she knew I was.  The only home my kids have known.  A place where we never have to lock our door, ever.  There will not be the great friends I have here, my job. (I love the girls I work with)  Brent's family will not be close by who we spend so much time with.  All of our get-together's, crazy trips to Biloxi, long holiday weekends, and New Years Eve.  There will not be the cul-de sac that we have spent hours watching our kids ride bikes and playing ball with Hunter.  The 3 acres in our backyard that we can watch nature at it's best.  All the hummingbirds that we feed in the summer...I mean more than you can imagine...30 little birds at any given time.  There will not be the security of Brent being home every night with no fear of a deployment breathing down our back. 

Our life in the military...hard to say good-bye to all that we knew, but so exciting to say hello to all the new things that await us.  I have loved the last 3 years here in Alabama (hard to imagine that) and I will love the next 4 years in Colorado. 

 

Guess What??

{We are headed West}

Ft Carson, Colorado (Colorado Springs) is where we will be calling home for the next 4 years.

Move date....May 2009. 

 

You think we can build our home here?? 

Our Christmas Holiday

{ In Picture Re-cap}

{{ the longest BLOG post ever}}

We are now more then midway through Jan. and I have already not met my [partial] New Year's resolution...(partial, because I knew that it probably would never happen) 

New Year partial resolution... "TRY" not procrastinating.  Whatever...it's overrated. 

So, in true Debbie form, it is Jan 18th and I am posting a photo recap of our Christmas holiday. 

My New Year's Resolution will be back on tomorrow.

 Christmas Eve.

I had to work until 3PM. (Why do people have babies on Christmas Eve anyway?)

The boys made a Gingerbread house...(correction) They ate a lot of candy and made a gingerbread house with what was left.

 

Everyone tucked into bed....fast asleep.  Mom and Dad were going to be tired in the morning.  We said goodnight at 2AM.

 

Mitchell checking out his stocking.  Davis trying out his new tools

The perfect Christmas mess.  What is Christmas without everything everywhere.  Grammy and Carl spent Christmas morning with us.

That afternoon, I drove to Pensacola and picked up the Tucker's.  The Day after Christmas we started to prepare for our New Years Eve bash.  We needed firewood for our bon-fire...so we started with some of our own trees that needed to be cut down. 

 

 

 

 

...and Mitchell who dressed himself for the day of yard work.  How can you not love this?

 

 

 

 

We fit in some time for a little friendly game of miniature golf.  Kyle and Brent had a "serious" game of golf.  Brent and Chelsey tied for first, Kyle with second.   Best putt of the day....hole-in-1 on #16.  We all jumped up and down for him.

Almost every night, we played games. 

My brother and his family came from California for New Year's

 

Lauren and Alexa were so much fun to have here. 

 

Since New Year's, the boys have told me over and over "I like those cousins" 

 

 

 

 

We surprised the kids with a huge bounce house in the backyard.  The kids had a blast.  We had it for 4 days...it was worth every cent. 

Look at these happy little faces.  They all spent hours in there..laughing and giggling. Davis and Mitchell thought that we needed to have a bounce house like this all the time.  I wish.

Then it was finally time to prepare for the big night. All the guys were itching to do their traditional firework preparation.

...this thing pops for 30 minutes straight...loud, loud, loud...did I mention how  LOUD it is.

My brother said, "it's so stupid it's funny."

 

 

This is always very entertaining to watch. 

 

 

The Bon-fire... essential part of the evening!

Shannon and Amy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My sister and Amy trying to stay warm around the fire.  Kyle laughing with my brother.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the photographic proof that I am a loser.  The first New Years that I was going to let the boys stay up until midnight.  I had it all planned out....Play in the bounce house all day...get all energy out...late nap around 3-4 pm.  Perfect plan to help the boys stay up, right?  Well, it would have been the perfect plan if I would have not lost track of time.  It was dinner time the next time I looked at my watch...no nap.   BUMMER.  By 10:30, Mitchell could not stand it another minute.  When I put him in bed, he said to me, " Mommy it is going to be a long time till the next New Years...till I can see all the pretty fireworks.  Can you take a picture of it for me so I can remember?"  I am a loser....I have failed as the cool, let your kid stay up till midnight Mom! 

 

 

 

Picture ..so he can remember.  I feel so bad.

 

We all had a blast New Year's Eve.  All the people we love the most in the world, together to bring in 2009.  (note to self...get pictures of everyone next time)

One last thing we wanted to do is get pictures of all the cousins together on my side of the family.  We all live so far apart, we had to take advantage of the opportunity.