We made it home....

We set out yesterday morning at 9:30. It was a long drive but we were finally here just after 4. We met Dan at the house and it wasn't at all the way I remembered it :( The tenant had conveniently covered all the stains on the carpets with furniture. And there are a lot of them. If it wasn't in the lease that you have to give them a copy of the receipt for the carpet cleaning I would be wondering if it was even done. There are holes that were terribly patched in almost all the walls. The guys used this stuff that goes on pink and is supposed to turn white once it dries. Well that didn't happen and there are pink spots on the walls. I guess I will get to paint again. Yeah! I think I saw some paint in the garage so I hope that it is white. I guess on the plus side we wont have to worry about the kids or us doing any harm to the house. It definitely needs a makeover. I am hoping that I can strategically place pictures and furniture to hide most of it. I may need to pick up a rug for the living room though. Oh well though. It has a huge kitchen and back yard for the kids.
The kids are really excited and were having a great time playing out back and running through the house. It is strange having more than twice as much space. The movers will be here this morning between 10-12. We were expecting them this afternoon when he left last Friday.
I'm not sure when we will get our cable and internet on so this may be the last update for awhile. Feel free to call my cell though.
We are looking forward to getting unpacked and settled. I will post some pics as soon as we have internet back up.

Fun in Southern California

Well we made it Grandma Bev's on Sunday afternoon. It was a long drive to say the least. Friday went by pretty good. The movers showed up just before 9 am. They had 3 guys and the driver so it went pretty quick. They were done by about 11:30. We had 162 pieces that went on the truck. I had no idea we had so much stuff. Even after getting rid of a bunch of stuff. After the movers left we still had alot to do. Packing all the stuff into my car and Dan's truck that was left over (we ran out of boxes), and throwing away the rest of the stuff we didn't want. We finally turned over our keys at about 3:30. We were officially homeless, we didn't take over our lease officially until today. On the road during rush hour traffic we made it down to Portland by about 7:30. Exhausted we found a Best Western and found some dinner.

We were back on the road at 7 am Saturday. It was a long day to say the least. By noon I was going cross eyed. I hate driving through Oregon its so long and never ending. We finally made it to Ca and silly me pulled over on the side of the road to get Phedora to stop throwing a fit. Well a few miles up the road Dan is calling me telling me to pull over. Apparently, I ran over something that gave me a flat tire. Luckily for us we were just passing through Weed, Ca and there was a Les Schwabb 5 miles down the road. Of course it was the front tire with a flat. So Dan had to put the spare on the rear and the rear on the front and it was HOT! So we head up to Les Schwabb were we buy 2 new tires for the front. Back on the road by 4:30. Trecking on we made it a little town called Willow, Ca. We stayed here on our way back after Christmas and never thought we would be back. But here we were unable to go on any farther.

Back on the road Sunday morning. It was a pretty uneventful day. Thank goodness for that. We made it in once again exhausted at about 4:30. All in all a good day though. We didn't figure we would get here until at least 6.

Monday we went with Grandma Bev to this little hole in the wall Mexican restaurant for the best ever huevos rancheros. I have never had them before but they were really good. I ate all of mine plus some of Phedora's. Afterwards we went over and spent the day with G&G. We had a good time visiting with them and Aunt Janice and Gabriel. We went out to dinner with Uncle Richard and I had some really yummy chicken marsala. I love coming to Ca we always have wonderful food.

Now for today.... Dan was up at 5 on the road at 6 to Arizona. Today was the big day. We got the keys to our new house. We are no longer homeless. With Dan gone Grandma Bev, the kids and I went over to the Long Beach Aquarium. The kids had a great time seeing all the fish, especially the Nemo's and Dory's. They also got to feel the sea urchins and star fish. If only their little arms were a bit longer they could have touched the sharks and rays.

Afterwards we went over to Islands for lunch. I had a delicious Maui Burger and ate it all. I swear I gain a ton of weight every time I come down. After lunch we came home and I got on the phone with T-Mobile. Yesterday afternoon I all of a sudden couldn't make any calls. But I could still receive calls. So after a half hour on the phone they send me to a T-Mobile store to try my SIM card in another phone. If that works then I need a new phone if not then its the network. So off to a T-Mobile store. Only to find out that I need a new phone. Oh Yeah!

One last update....

Tomorrow is the big day! The movers will be here between 8 and 9! Kinda early but this time around we will be ready for them. It has been a long week, filled with packing and seeing friends one last time before we go. Monday night we went out with Ryan, Tuesday night I went out with my girls. I will miss them terribly, but we will be back and reunite! Yesterday we got the kids back from grandma and grandpa and went out to dinner with Sarah and Phil. The days have been spent packing and going through stuff. We have gotten rid of a lot of stuff but we still have a ton of stuff. Its never ending. Tuesday I took 10 bags of stuff to the dumpster, Salvation Army came and picked up a big pile of stuff. And we still have a big pile of stuff to take to the dumpster. UGH! But at least we are getting rid of it now while we don't have to pay for it :) The one thing I love about apartments.
The packing is done. Theres a few things straggling about and the blankets but its done IMO. The cleaning is also almost done. The kitchen took the longest so far. I spent a few hours on it yesterday and about an hour this morning. All thats left is those few stragglers on the counters and to wash them down. I did the living room and dining room this morning and am headed to the bathroom/laundry room next. Then our room and we will be done. Aside for the numerous dumpster trips. Anyone want to come help :) hehe just kidding.
Well we are going to head out tomorrow and see how far we can get. Maybe we can make a really long day out of Saturday and get to Grandma Bev's. Doubtful but you never know. The kids and I are going to stay an extra day there and then head out Thursday to our new home. The movers hopefully will be there on Friday with our stuff. Otherwise I guess we are shacking up in a hotel till Monday when they get there. Dan is going out to Az on Tuesday. We get the keys to the house on Tuesday and he has to be onsite on Wednesday.
I will update you all when we get to Ca and let you know how the trip went. After that I am not sure when we will have the computer set back up. They are turning the cable and internet on sometime next week. So it wont be long after we get there. And I will post pics at that time too.
We will miss you all, but you can take a vacation through us. I will post ALOT of pics over the next 8 months or so. Then we will most likely be back in Wa.

Its Official

It is officially official! We signed the lease yesterday and scheduled the movers today. The movers will be here on Friday. So we will be off hopefully bright and early Saturday morning. I have been busy packing today. I have packed the majority of the kitchen, linens and our closet. I am making a dent in it. Though it doesn't seem like it I am sure. I am looking forward to a relaxing weekend with the family. I cant wait actually. I am worn out on packing and it is no fun cause the kids really want to help. But theres not much they can do. I keep trying to get them to pack/clean their room. But thats not what they want to do. I am off to order pizza and finish packing up some more stuff.

Moving Next Weekend!

Talk about down to the wire! We will be trying to get the movers in here next Friday at the latest. They want us down there and Dan on site the 16th. Wow... I need to get busy around here! I am off to pack for real. I have been wrapping the last of our pictures so far this morning. I am shocked at how many we have in this little house. I cant wait to take pics of the new place and share them with you all.

Wednesday News!

Ok so now that we are all caught up on the waiting game. Today was a beautiful day! Dan and I both took care of some errands this morning. Me and Phedora to Dr. Ben and Dan and Hayden to the car shop. He got rear ended on his way to work yesterday. Then we met up at the Flying Pig for a yummy lunch and off to the Children's Museum. The roof top play area was open so we headed up there. It was brutally cold but nice to be out in the sun. Meanwhile, we are waiting on two important phone calls. One about the house and one from Bill. He went down today to finalize some stuff on the job. We were also supposed to get a moving date today.
So while at the museum, we get a call from the realtor. She is letting us know that we were approved and get to have the house. I am so excited. I cant wait. See my previous post for a full description of the house.
So we are done playing and head home. We are waiting and waiting for the call. Finally at 5, Gary calls and tells us that we are in fact going to Arizona. yeah! But we still don't have that moving date. Dan has a conference call at 9:30. We should find out then. But it will be soon as we were told to go ahead and give our notice here. The last date we heard though was they wanted Dan on site on the 16th. If that is the case we better get our little err... big behinds in gear. We are running short on time.
I will update more tomorrow and post some cute pics from the museum of Phedora.

A Weekend In Arizona

Well, better late than never... Right? So last Wednesday Dan flew down to Arizona for some meetings. He was also supposed to have a meeting on Thursday morning. So the plan was that I would fly down in the afternoon and then we would go house hunting. So Wednesday night he calls me and tells me he is done with all his meetings and I should go to the airport early and fly stand-by. Ok I say.... I get up and am at the airport at 6 am. Mind you my actual flight doesn't leave until noon. So I go through check in where I am able to for a mere $25 change my flight to the 7:05 or the 10. I figure OK there are tickets available so I will save myself $25 and fly stand-by. I go through security check my bag and get put on stand-by for the 10 flight. I get through security way faster than I had anticipated so I decide to go up to the gate for the 7:05 and see if theres a chance I can get on it. I go up they are oversold but if they have someone not show up they will put me on. Then they ask if I checked a bag and I say Yes. Oh, never mind, because I checked a bag I am not allowed to fly before my bag does. Ok I go over to the gate where the 10 and my flight is leaving from. The 10 flight is now over sold and I am still waiting. Dan calls to find out if I made the 10. I say no and is it too early to start drinking? I find myself in the airport bar drinking a tasty bloody mary and eating a terrible french dip. All is well I get on my noon flight and am in sunny Phoenix at about 2:45.

Thursday night we went out to dinner at this place called..... My Big Fat Greek Restaurant.... MMMMM If you ever find yourself by one go in and eat. Dan and I shared the special for the night which was.... 2 lbs of lamb shoulder the best lemon roasted potatoes ever (they felt like silk on my tongue) and this really yummy subtlety flavored rice.

Friday morning we were up bright and early ready to find a house. We had our first appointment at 9. We went over to Starbucks and headed to the house to check out the neighborhood. We love the area, the house could use some work but its pretty close to the job site. We go inside and it has not been taken care of over the years. It was alright but for the $$ we knew we could do better. It potentially could have been a nice place. I was very bummed to see that the wood beams that ran the length of the house in 3 different places had been painted white, and poorly as well. I kept asking WHY? Why would they do this?

House #2.... Cute little neighborhood but all very very close to each other. No yards at all, the cul de sac is the smallest one I have ever seen. It must have been a quarter the size of a regular one. Anyway the house was alright. It was 2 stories huge master bedroom and bath. But the kitchen was very small and I just couldn't picture our stuff in the living room. Plus it had no yard.

Moving on we call our 3rd appointment to see if we can go early. Turns out it rented and they didn't bother to call us. Great we have 2 hours till our next appointment. So we start calling on places that we have yet to hear back from. And that is how we meet Kevin. Kevin and his wife of 31 years are Real Estate Agents with Keller Williams. Kevin is also a minister at their Church. He clears his schedule and spends the whole day driving us from house to house. We offer to take him to lunch to try and repay him for his generosity. He recommends a restaurant named Abuelos. It is the best Mexican food I have ever eaten. I cannot wait to go back! The first house we look at with Kevin is one that we found and had an appointment to view at noon. It was described as being in "good condition" as per the description. The pics were of course of the few nice things about the house. Ok so if they thought it was "good" I don't even want to know what "great" or "bad" is.

So we move on and look at I don't even know how many houses. Then the last one we look at is the appointment for 4. I knew from the pics I was going to like it when we found it. However, after all the houses we looked at I was worried. We get there a few minutes early. Drive around the neighborhood. There is a park just down the road with a nice little grassy area. We take a picture of the playground to show the kids and go back to see the house. We walk in and I am in love. To the left of the door is the formal dining room. It has probably a 1/4 wall all the way around with sheet rock beams that for long open windows. Perfect for a playroom for the kids. From there it opens up to the living room. It has vaulted ceilings that soar into the sky. I can see our couches, end table and even the coffee table thats been in the closet for 2 years. Off the living room there is an area to use as an informal dining room. Then you walk into the kitchen which is just to the left of the dining area. There is a little nook, kind of like a bay window but without the seat. Here I see the computer desk. Of course the window looks out onto the neighbors fence, but hey I could put a flower box out there. The kitchen is good sized with lots of cabinets and counter space. Through the kitchen is the laundry room and out to the garage. Yeah a 2 car garage. Of course both our vehicles will never fit. Back inside the dining room has a sliding glass door that leads out to a big covered patio and a huge yard. And its grass... YEAH!

Ok so when you come into the house to the right of the entry way is a hallway. The first part of the hall ends at the master bedroom. We go in and it is huge. There is enough room for the bed, and the chair and then some. I think this will be a great home for the chair to live. Then I can actually sit on it. Then the closet. Its is a walk in shaped like an L. We just glance in since the current tenant is still living there and feel as though I am invading his space. So off to the master bathroom. It too is huge with a double vanity a separate shower and a large soaking tub. I'm not a big fan of baths but that may change. Down the hall again is the 2nd bathroom and the 2 spare bedrooms. Both of which are good sized. I think we will keep Hayden and Phedora in the same room and turn the 3rd room into a guest room/Dan's computer room.
Upon leaving the house we see that in the other direction also within walking distance is another park. Only this one has ball fields, a bike park and a spray pad. This is the house we want. So we go back and get the application filled out and the money order for the credit check. Yes I forgot the checkbook at home. Go figure right?
We spend Sat. looking at washers and dryers, tv's computers and water coolers. Fridges were also looked at but we really only need a washer and dryer. We went back to the hotel and took a nice nap and relaxed.