Home

Well, it doesn't feel like home yet, but we are here where we will be living! :)
I wonder how long it will take before we stop referring to Idaho as home?

Yesterday went a little bit better, as I totally vented it all out on the blog the night before. I did not threaten to throw any imaginary friends out the window and leave them on the highway. I did not have to pull the van over on the side of the road and "spare not the rod." There was another one bed and one pullout couch last night in Little Rock, but my sweet hubby got TWO rooms so I could unwind. The boys took one TLF and the girls took the other. I put Kaitlynn on the pull-out, Kaebrie on the floor and took the one bedroom all to myself! Even got to watch my favorite show!

We did not have as long to drive today, so we took our time getting ready and on the road this morning. Filled up with gas at $1.99 per gallon!!!!!! Gotta love that! I think we only drove about 4 hours today. The kids are so tired of being in the car, but overall, they really do travel well.
One big answered prayer for this trip...................... not one barf bag used!!!!!!!! Now, I did use a few orange happy pills (children's chewable Dramamine) during the mountain drives just in case, but what a relief not to have to deal with vomit!!

No flat tires. No broken down vehicles. No getting lost. Nobody hurt. God answered all our prayers and blessed us with a safe and successful journey!

We arrived at MY NEW HOUSE around 4:00. I was a bit nervous. Sam kept asking me if I was nervous and that made me MORE nervous. He was worried I wouldn't like it. I started worrying I wouldn't like it!

Wrong. It was so perfect I cried.

Needs a lot of work!! But it is so wonderful. It feels like a mansion. At one point, I needed the bathroom and couldn't find it! We explored for awhile, the kids totally agreed with the rooms I said they would probably have. We walked the property, Kaebrie played on HER swing set, listened to the bugs and saw nothing but trees. Green trees everywhere. It was SO peaceful!

We came over the the judges house, where we will be staying until our stuff arrives (hopefully Wednesday) and his entire kitchen table was filled with gift baskets. Every child had a personalized bucket with personalized gifts inside. It was like Christmas they were so excited! Sam and I had a big basket full of goodies and gift certificates. We feel loved and spoiled already and we haven't even seen anyone yet!

Tomorrow, my great friend Sarah is coming down from Louisville with her fantastic interior design knowledge and will help us pick out paint colors. I think only one bathroom does not need painting! The church is coming over for a painting party on Monday, so we will see how much we can get done before the furniture gets here. The pink room will be the first to go!!! :)

I am to tired to post pictures right now, but will try and plan on doing that tomorrow. Tonight, every person gets there OWN ROOM and hopefully they can all catch up on much needed rest.

More tomorrow!!!

NOT GUILTY!

The original title for this post was going to be:

CRAM IT, SHOVE IT, STICK IT!

But I think that ANY crime I committed within the next 3 hours would be declared not guilty by reason of insanity from ANY jury in the country.
Let me back up and start at the beginning............................

Monday morning, 7:35 am. It is still pitch dark outside and hovering at the freezing point. I get dressed in a hurry and wake up the kids. Why? It is time for our final inspection to check out of housing. I have 10 minutes to get over there and spray every room with Fa Breeze, especially the carpet, because we were told if they see a stain, they will sniff it and try to determine what it is.
(I used that example after our pre inspection for my older children, showing them how important a college education was, so you didn't have to crawl around on people's floors for a living sniffing spots on the carpet to determine if it was urine or milk.)

Another neighbor said to bring ALL the kids, it helped be a distraction to the inspector.

There is a military / mafia scam on this base. If you don't pay a cleaner from their list, you don't pass. It truly is insane. So we payed, and FAILED. Because of the blinds.I must have missed that tiny part of the cleaning contract that said they don't DO blinds when that is part of the checkout and they originally said they do everything required for checkout. I didn't speak one word to them I was so angry. They have to be there for the checkout, and when they told the inspector that wasn't in the contract, there was nothing he could do. So they all left, and the inspector said he would be back in an hour and a half for another inspection.

Now, I have NOTHING. The house is totally empty. I go to the neighbors and beg cleaning supplies from them and clean as high as I can reach, as I have nothing to stand on either. Silently sinning with bad thoughts about the cleaners.; a sweet neighbor takes the kids to their house and feeds them breakfast because they are starving and freezing. At 10:10, the inspector comes back, barely looks at the blinds, and signs the papers. I think he might have seen the insane / murderous look in my eyes and got scared and just wanted to leave. :) He NEVER even checked the carpets by the way!!!

We have to check out of the TLF by 11:00. I called and asked for a one hour extension, but was denied. SO in 50 minutes, I had to pack up and load up the TLF. Now, remember, we had been there for a WEEK. That is plenty of time to get comfortable, and lazy, and have things kind of spread out everywhere. Sam wasn't there. He was at his final out meeting signing all his papers. That means everything meant for 2 vehicles, had to be put into one. Besides the 11am checkout time, Sam had a medal ceremony at the chapel at 11 we needed to be at. So we were rushing around just throwing stuff together. I really did yell, "Just get it all! Cram it, shove it and stick it anywhere you can put it!" So the kids followed instructions and we made the cutoff by 5 minutes.

On the drive to the chapel, Collin looked like a person about to drown in an elevator. He was sitting on a suitcase on top of Tiff's car seat with his nose up to the top of the ceiling trying to breathe. Stuff was EVERYWHERE! I prayed that God would blind the eyes of any security patrol that drove by (it was only 2 blocks away). We made it to the medal ceremony. Sam looked so handsome in his blues!! It was ALMOST the last of the goodbyes. A few more tears.

Then we went to get the trailer. The previously mentioned Beverly Hillbillies trailer. Rearranged the stuff in the van so all the kids could be belted in and I could see out of the windows. Sam took the kids to the BX for a last lunch with friends, and I headed out for a few more tearful goodbyes.

I get to the BX, all splotchy and ugly from crying, and the kids are drinking SODA! Large cups of soda. They don't get a lot of soda, but they really love it. I don't mind it on special occasions, but right before a long drive is NOT the time. Seriously! There will be potty stops every 15 minutes!

There is a fine line between boredom "i am thirsty" drinking in the car, and medical dehydration. When they say they are thirsty on a long drive, I ignore it. When they complain that their lips are cracking, then they can have a few sips.

We made the 4 hour drive to Salt Lake City in 7 hours. Not joking. We left the base at 1:37 pm, and at 1:58 pm Kaebrie asked if we were in Mississippi yet. Not joking. We had to make a lot of potty stops, and a lot of stops trying to find a connector so the trailer would have lights. Nobody had it. Finally, when we reached Salt Lake, a very nice guy at the U-Haul made one. Took him over an hour, but it works great! We made it to the base, unloaded, and crashed. EVERYTHING had to be unloaded, because my usual travel uber-organizer self knew where nothing was because everything has been, crammed, shoved and stuck somewhere that morning! :)

I repacked the next morning, felt myself calm down because everything was back in its place, and patiently waited for Sam to fill his car with gas. Missing the exact moment when he drove off.......with the pump still attached to his car. Yes, I have a picture. Yes, he was so embarrassed. Yes, I felt sorry for him. Yes, I was so glad he gave me permission to blog about it. :) If there was ever an example to show how exhausted we are, this would be it. Picture to be posted as soon as I get to a computer where I am allowed.

We got on the road. Utah (you-ha as Kaebrie calls it) was so beautiful. The trees are glorious and the mountains are stunning. About an hour into the drive Kaebrie starts fussing. I ask her why she is upset, and she says that Star-Light and Thunderhead (her imaginary horses mind you) are stuck upon the mountain and can't get down. Thank goodness that those horses learned to fly about 2 minutes later or I don't know what I would have done!

It was a long day. We went about 11 hours to the Air Force Academy. Unloaded, and crashed. Today we made it to Wichita Falls, Kansas. McCord Air Force Base I think the name is. Woke up with a bad cold. Haven't felt good all day, tired, grumpy, tired of kids, tired of noise, just wanting to take my NyQuil and crash. And they give us a ONE bedroom room. Seriously. NOWHERE to escape. Kids everywhere on the floor. Not even the closet is big enough to put anyone in!! That did not help my mood. They are good kids, and they have done an AWESOME job traveling, but I am not up for any mom-of-the-year awards right now and just need a break. When Kaebrie got upset today that she couldn't watch the DVD movie because Larry Boy (another imaginary friend) was using her headphones, I told her he could ride on the roof and she got even more upset.

I feel calmer now. I have been in this empty computer room for about an hour, not a human in sight. Time to go back, pop my pills and hope everyone sleeps. Maybe they all need some pills too!!??

Tomorrow we make it to Little Rock.

Friday, to our new home.

To bad I can't find Dorothy since we are here in Kansas and borrow her red slippers and click them 3 times!

Sunday

This weekend has been a physical and an emotional whirlwind!
Friday night was the staff dinner. We had a good time, and No, I didn't tell Sam's boss the truth. He was sitting on the other side of the room so the subject never came up. :)

Sam was gone ALL DAY yesterday. Painting, and oil change, and odds and ends with the house. I got several loads of laundry done and some more last minute errands. Last night was one of our final fire pits as well. SO much fun! Even though it is much warmer in Mississippi, we will continue the fire pit tradition!

Our stuff should be arriving soon to a storage facility in Hattiesburg, MS.

This morning was rough. I had a hard time all through church, and not necessarily because it wasn't Sam preaching. It was just emotional. I remember the first few weeks (months?) we were here, and I cried every time we got home from chapel, because I hated it so much. But after three years, we have grown to love it. Today they had a good-bye potluck after service. They presented us with the most beautiful stained glass window. The center is the mountains we love, then the 4 corners have an American flag, the Air Force symbol, the state of Idaho and a cross. It is beautiful. Thank you Jen for making us such a special gift we will treasure always.

Needless to say, my face is swollen and my eyes are puffy from crying so much today. Good-byes are just so hard. God so totally blessed me with the friends he gave me here, but it sure hurts to let them go. These ladies have changed me; challenged me, encouraged me, loved me, through so much these past three years. I am thankful for them and for the time we were here.

One more set of good-byes tomorrow. We start our drive to Salt Lake City a bit after lunch. Hopefully, my eye puffiness will go away quickly so I can see the road!

I will update when I can. Without our laptop it will be hard to do so.
Please pray for safe travels, health, alertness, and for our trailer.

I wish I had a way to post pictures right now! Our neighbor says every time Sam drives by with it, the Beverly Hillbillies theme song pops into her head!

My time is up at the library, people are waiting!

Mississippi, HERE WE COME!!!!!!!!

Day 5

Good grief. Can we just get this over with already???????????

Quick run to Wal Mart this morning for primer. LOTS of primer. Our neighbor and Sam are going to tag team paint both houses since we both check out on Monday.

Cleaning ladies are at our house today. They were appalled at the kitchen sink cabinet and the hallway floors. Yeah, we have been appalled for years.
Sewage leaks, old pipes, drips under the kitchen sink that leak out onto the floor, gunk backing up in the sink whenever the washing machine and / or dishwasher is turned on. And the list goes on and on.
They don't call our neighborhood SEWER-Ville for nothing! The sad thing is , is they are moving more families in. These decrepit places are falling apart, they no longer order or stock supplies to fix them, we were supposed to be the last humans living there, but, no. I feel sorry for the next family who has to live in that run down place.

Sam has meetings all day.
His staff fare well dinner is tonight. We are all going to Carmella Vineyards, a place where only the boss likes. Nobody else wants to go there, but nobody else is brave enough to tell the boss that. I am feeling a bit brave today! So who knows, if it happens to come up in the conversation tonight, maybe I will tell him and spare the rest of the people still here! :)

Need to go get Christopher from his last day of school. It is an early release day.

I am just ready to be done, to get on the road and get this long drive over with.
ugh
Just reread this, doesn't sound like I am in the best of moods.
I really am OK, just , as I said, ready to GET ON WITH IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Day 4 (really??, is that ALL???)

The house is empty.
Well, empty of furniture and such.

What was UNDER all the furniture, well, that was pretty bad.
The BIG things, that haven't been moved in over three years (piano, our king size bed, ect), the dust under those was so bad the carpet was almost gray. We spent the morning pre-cleaning. Cleaning before the cleaning ladies come tomorrow. We still have to go back later and get the rest of the stuff out of the fridge, pack all the cleaning supplies, re-attach all the storm windows, and take one more load of trash to the dump. Two rooms still need to be repainted, we have until 9am Monday morning to get that done. I will be SO glad when that final inspection will be behind us!

4 guys loaded up all the stuff yesterday. 15,960 pounds. They consider 10% to be packing, which still put Sam JUST under his 14,500 captains limit. They MIGHT count his pro-gear and credit him another 1200 pounds. Thankfully, he bought a trailer and we are carting a bunch of stuff ourselves, or we might have gone OVER his weight limit, and then they make you pay a dollar PER POUND!!! The driver was a real character. 71 years old. Has been driving a truck for 54 years. Has 15 kids (with THREE sets of twins). He is a twin, his wife is a twin, and he was really great to our kids. I guess with 29 grand kids he has had some practice!

I am over at the Family Services Bldg, they have a great computer lab. It is really weird only logging on once a day though when I am used to all day access!

Kaebrie is sleeping better, I guess this growth spurt is about over.

I need to get back and put her down for her nap, then it is Sam's computer time. :)

More later! BYE!

Kibbles-and-Bits Day 3

whew.
double whew.

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The packers finished up last night. Took 5 of them the rest of the day to get it all done. When they say they pack EVERYTHING, they do. Sam laughed when he saw one whole box wrapped and sealed with the bubble wrap that I bought to wrap things with inside the box. A box of bubble wrap!

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Dinner last night at another friends house. What a blessing!

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Had to go to PWOC this morning to get fare welled. Wanted to just skip it, because I HATE going to things that I know will make me cry, but they wouldn't let me. So I went. I cried. I tried to make some semblance of a speech because they made me but I kept seeing more ladies crying and that made me cry even more. We had 2 first time visitors today, poor things. I hope I didn't scare them from coming back. We left, went out to the parking lot, hit the key chain remote, unlocked the van, everyone climbed in, and AFTER I put the key in the ignition, I noticed a few things that weren't mine, then realized the VAN wasn't mine. An identical Odyssey that was parked right next to mine! Must have been one of the new ladies! Guess my remote worked her car!

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Loaders finally showed up today after a bit of confusion. By lunch time, the whole crew had arrived and they are still loading. I swear the moving van is bigger than my house!!!! I can't watch much, they just flip things around and shove them in, one giant puzzle.

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Had my first parent teacher conference as a parent. I don't know which side is more nerve wracking! I guess after 6 years of being a classroom teacher, I got used to that part, but this was my first ever on this side and I was a bit nervous! Tiff got a glowing report, both in his academic part and his behavior part. He is at or above grade level in everything accept scissor cutting. :)
He has come a LONG way with Mrs. Norris, she was able to turn him on to learning and I thoroughly thanked her. His last day will be Friday.

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I completely forgot about Collin's online class today. I remembered this morning and made sure his homework was done, but then didn't think about the class until it was over. My mind was on the packers and the teacher conference.

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Kaebrie loves stairs. She loves the TLF. She just isn't sleeping. Crying all night long with leg pains. Bad timing for a growth spurt!!

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We have to much earthly belongings.

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The amount of dust underneath the washer and dryer once it was moved was beyond any adjective I can think of at this moment. They have been taken to the airman's attic and donated. YAY!!!!!! I am SO looking forward to a bigger washer/ dryer set when we get there. My 11 year old dryer was on its LAST spin. These last few weeks is has been held together with duct tape to keep the door shut and a new paper clip to trigger the on switch for every load.

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Gotta get back to the TLF! Kaebrie should be waking up from her nap any minute now.

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More later!

Day 2

Last night, I came back when the house was empty, the packers were gone, the rest of the family was at the TLF, mainly to use the computer. I walked around the house looking at all the packing. I had talked a lot to the main guy doing the kitchen, and one other guy who did our bedroom, but the third guy didn't talk much so we left him alone. He did both rooms the kids are in. Anyway, I walked in, saw what he did, and almost cried!!!

HE UNPACKED ALL THE RUBBERMAIDS!!!!!!!

I have spent WEEKS getting all the closets organized, everything labeled, ect. And I walk in and all the empty Rubbermaids are sneering at me in the dark. All empty and stacked on top of packed boxes. Boxes just labeled "clothes."

{SIGH}

Now when we unpack, I am going to have to RE-sort everything. Take the clothes that fit and the different season clothes and the clothes waiting for Tiffer to grow into, that are all packed in the SAME BOX and resort it ALL!!!!!!

ugh.

I said something to the main guy this morning, he said no, they don't unpack them. I showed him what the guy had done and he pulled him outside and told him NOT to do that.

So, yes, I am upset at the extra work, but I should be thankful it was only 2 rooms. Today, no more unpacking Rubbermaids!!!!!!!!!! And there are about 50 more spread throughout the rest of the house!

They just started on the garage and I overheard one of them call it the Dungeon!!
Kind of appropriate!!
But it is a dungeon FILLED with Rubbermaids!!!!!!
And I told them to NOT pack any of the spiders. All spiders need to stay in Idaho!

Time to swap with Sam. Not room for all 6 of here with FIVE packers today. A packer in every room! 1,100 sq. feet does not mix well with the 6 of us and 5 full grown men!

More later!

Today went well. Better than I even expected. 3 of the packers showed up pretty much on time. They were friendly and professional and let the kids talk and ask a LOT of questions. The kitchen is 95% done (including all of the kitchen stuff we had to keep in the garage), our bedroom is done, the boys is done, the girls is almost done, and I haven't gone back to look at the classroom yet.

They had to leave at 2:30 this afternoon because we had to go sign away the next 30 years of our lives on 57 different pieces of paper. I don't feel so "debt-free" anymore. :) The papers are being overnighted to Mississippi where the sellers will sign them all on Thursday, then that is it. We are home owners again for the first time in about a decade.

Tomorrow they will finish the house (meaning the computer too) and Sam's office. They think we are cutting it pretty close with the weight limit. We will see!

I got us all moved into the TLF. It is very doable. Three bedrooms, 1 and a half baths right around the corner from here.

Amazing friends are truly helping this to be as easy as possible. All 4 kids had someplace to go this afternoon so they were out of the way and so we could go to the lawyers office. Kaebrie was gone all day! Dinner was brought to us tonight in the TLF and we have dinner plans for 3 more night this week.

God provides so much to us through the friends he places in our lives. I do not want to ever take that for granted.

I am off to the BX. The TLF needs detergent, paper towels and a few other odds and ends.

Will update when I can!

STRESS

OK, so truthfully I don't feel as stressed as this little dog must feel. Well, maybe I did yesterday, but as of this morning, there is nothing much else I can do but sit back and watch. All

6 of us are packed for 3 weeks in a suitcase, all non-replaceable, sentimental, refuse to part with items are securely packed and loaded in the rover, both fridges are cleaned out, bathrooms are emptied, pictures are down, and now the countdown begins: for strangers touching my stuff.

Sorry, unresolved issues stemming from childhood there.
In fact, the first real fight Sam and I had as a married couple was when he touched my stuff without asking ( he was trying to be nice and organize our tiny one bedroom apartment).

A friend told me to buy the over sized Ziploc baggies and fill them with everything, so all they have to grab is the bag and they never actually touch your items.

So fill I did: all the silverware and kitchen utensils, Kaebrie's hair bow basket, medicines, and most importantly the contents of my dresser, because it really creeps me out thinking of strange men pawing through my "unmentionables" drawer to pack everything that wouldn't fit in a suitcase. All the underthings are now safe from foreign fingerprints! :)

It is now 7:29 am. They said they would be here between 7 -8. I got up at 6:30 to shower, I could have slept in later seeing that I couldn't fall asleep until after 2:30. ugh.

At least the clean fridge is full of caffeine!!!

More later when I can. The laptop died 2 months back, so if they pack the computer today, Internet access will be rare for a few weeks.

Thanks for your prayers! I will be sure to post funny stories as they are bound to happen!

Bye for now!!!!!!!!!!

Boise Pictures

 

Kaitlynn and I spent an enjoyable 3 hours in Boise yesterday evening photographing 2 families who are great friends of ours.

Here is the complete family, Daddy just got home last week after being gone for 5 months.

Look a BIT familiar?  :) I have been waiting for this fall to go back to this spot. The leaves are nowhere as colorful as they were this time last year though, but it is still the most beautiful place I have found for photographs with green surroundings.

New friends who moved in this summer. What a great family!

Daddy leaves next week for six months.  :(

The weather cooperated beautifully. 54 degrees and NO wind. That is a rarity for Idaho.

You can't photograph children without expecting moments like these!

Thankfully, there were happy moments too!

I am still hoping to fit in one more family before we leave!

Gotta run, crazy day and the to-do list keeps getting longer instead of shorter.

Last night was a LOT of fun!
We had a triple date with great friends.
Steve and Dee Dee Barfield and also Jen and Tim Wood, joined us for dinner in Boise, at...... one guess which restaurant, ...yep... Carabbas!!!
The only bad part was that our waitress wasn't there. She has NEVER not been before! Shame on Staci for taking a night off and going to a concert. Has anyone ever heard of Flogging Molly before? They obviously performed in Boise last night. We all felt a decade younger even knowing and being able to say the name of that group. When I am done here I am going to google them and see who they are. :)

The weather had been cold all day, with really cold rain. We were almost in Boise when the snow started. Yep, no typo there, SNOW. And not just small flurries that blow in the wind and melt when they land. Big, Huge snow!! Before we got to the restaurant, all the trees, rooftops and cars were WHITE! Yesterday was OCTOBER 10th. The earliest snowfall since they started keeping records in the 1880's. 2 inches in under 2 hours. Now, to be honest, it really was great to see it again, one last time, but that was enough for a good long while. Each winter here has been worse than the one before, colder, more snow and LONGER. The kids are already saying it is to cold to play outside (the wind has been pretty brutal) and right now, I am so thankful to be headed to warm Mississippi because I honestly don't think I have the patience left to deal with the kids in the house for the next 7 months of winter. Next weekend it is supposed to be back to a balmy , beautiful 70 degrees.
Crazy, crazy Idaho.

Today, I needed to run an errand in Boise (two days in a row, crazy, sometimes I go a month or longer between trips), and decided to bring Kaitlynn along to we could finally see the movie we have been waiting for.

We really enjoyed it. Kirk Cameron did REALLY well. The storyline was well put together, the presentation of the Gospel was obvious and strong. We laughed, we cried, and it opened up some great discussion time with Kaitlynn on the drive home. A highly recommend MUST SEE!

New officer housing has finally opened up this month and our neighborhood is clearing out. I can't really blame them: brand new, twice the size, with laundry rooms, pantries, 2 car automatic garages, ect. After we leave, there will only be 4 families left on our whole street and one of those is now considering!

9 days left until the packers come.
12 days left until we close on the house.
16 days left until we leave.

I just got back from the commissary. Kaebrie must have heard me tell Sam I was going, because she ran out to the van and by the time I got there she was already buckled in.

Off we went for a short list run. She was sitting in the cart, and I was standing there looking for a certain cleaner the inspection guy told us about this morning, when a young father, who was holding his newborn, backed into our cart.

He immediately turned around and said, "Excuse me!"

Kaebrie immediately replied, "Excuse me is not for walking, it's for tooting!"

Once again, if I could have captured his expression..........

Scarecrow Day

This was a special day in Kindergarten. Scarecrow Day! Parents donated all the supplies, then the kids put assembled some very creative scarecrows! The stores downtown buy them for a $35 donation, and the money goes back into the classroom for more supplies. The scarecrows are on display outside the local businesses for the fall season. Really cute idea, and really a lot of fun!

When I got there, they weren't quite done with class yet. SO I was able to stand there and watch for a few minutes without him knowing I was there.

The teachers aide was working with him. He looked so grown up sitting at the table all by himself and just doing his work.

When he was done, he just raised his hand and waited until she returned.

And to think I was worried about this little guy!   :)

 

Then the 13 students got split up into 5 groups and the fun began!

Here is Tiff with McKenna (of course) and Devin.

Let the stuffing begin!!!!!!!

The pants are done.

COMPLETE! McKenna said it was a girl, the boys said it was a boy. But they were all happy with the way she / he turned out.

It cracks me up to see Mrs. Dee Dee hiding behind it.

Sam donated the shirt, the jacket and the hat!

It just doesn't get much cuter than that!

Hey Steve and Dee Dee........ what are your thoughts on arranged marriages???

;)

Each group signed their name to the certificate that stays with their creations.

There is Mrs. Norris! This is her 21st year in Kindergarten.

Super Fun way to spend an afternoon!

My Turn

Well, it was BOUND to happen. We have escaped it for over three years now, we have come REALLY close before, and yes, we have laughed at those it has happened to.

No more laughing.

Well, actually I did.

Driving back onto base Tuesday afternoon, we got stopped. Now, you always have to stop and show your ID card to get on.

But usually there are hired security workers who stand there all day and check. As we drove up, the security worker handed my ID card to a military cop who had just walked out who had a rifle. Up walked another cop, with a rifle, and said I had been chosen for a random security check, please drive over to the search area and await instructions.

Now, the van windows are really dark, and it just looked like it was only me in there. I pull over, roll down the window, and he says to turn off the vehicle, open all the doors and exit. I ask him if they all had to get out.

He looks in, and the look on his face was so funny!!!!

There are 4 children, stuffing their faces with McDonalds (because I had to bribe them because I wanted to take more pictures of them in Boise trying to get my Christmas card picture and they didn't want any more pictures taken, and before I ever had children I said I would never be the kind of mother who bribed her children, but that topic will be for another post).

The car smelled like a fast food joint. As we had been gone all day we had extra stuff with us as well. All our picnic stuff was piled in the front passenger seat as our trunk was full. Filled to the brim with FORTY-SEVEN pounds of apples!

Now, these cops are young guys (young guys with rifles). It was almost like I could read their minds. They opened a mini van, it is filled to the brim with children and fast food and picnic supplies, a trunk full of produce and it was almost like they were thinking...."I am NEVER going to get married and have kids if this is what I have to look forward to."

Then it gets better.

Now, just visualize, we are at the checkpoint, the trunk open high, both front doors wide open, both side doors open, and by now the kids have unbuckled and are excitedly asking questions. French fries are falling to the ground, two apples rolled out of the back, Kaebrie is singing, and these 2 guys are ready to be GONE from us.

Then one of them says, "Ma'am, you need to pop your hood."

A moment of silence. Then I say, "I don't know how."

Now let me explain, the van is new, I have never had need to pop the hood, and after a few minutes of SEARCHING for a button on the console and below, I give up and admit I just can't. So they both are now crawling around trying to find a release button. They can't find it either. I do offer to get out the owners manual and look up how to open the hood, but by now they have had enough. I am obviously not a terrorist, just a crazy mom with a lot of kids who are tired of being in the van for 2 hours and they want to get home so they can play with their friends.

They look at each other, and say, "That won't be necessary." I think they are more than ready to be done with this random vehicle check.

"The last thing we need to check are your glove compartments. Please open them and step back," they say.

I hesitated, not because I am packing ammunition and bombs, but because my glove compartment is full of barf bags. 36 Delta barf bags.

I step to the side of the van, let them crawl in, and I start to giggle. If ONLY I could have taken a picture of their faces when they thumbed through 36 barf bags.

Once of them glances behind him at all the kids, who by now have finished their french fries, and he jumps out of the van.

What was he thinking? That a mom who carries around that many barf bags might have kids who spontaneously projectile vomit or something? Who knows, but they said they were done and hightailed it out of there. I got the kids all buckled back in, all the doors closed, and laughed all the way home.

I still don't know how to pop the trunk, but I bet all the moms on base who drive dark blue mini vans will be safe from random vehicle checks for awhile.

:)

How do ya like THOSE apples?

It really blows my mind to think this was our fourth trip to the Apple Orchard. It has become a favorite fall activity. The drive isn't bad, a little less than 2 hours, and once you pass Boise it is mostly all farmland and pretty to see.

When you have your own kids, you don't see the passage of the time until you look back at old pictures. Collin and stayed up late last night doing just that, and we were stunned at how much they all had changed.

Here is Kaitlynn, a month AFTER we got to Idaho, and a month BEFORE we leave Idaho, a span of just a little bit over three years.

Good grief.

Here is Kaebrie, and these pictures have only been 2 years different. She didn't go the first year because she WASN'T EVEN WALKING YET!

She has basically grown up here. She has had all four birthdays here, all her Thanksgivings and Christmas's, she learned to crawl, walk, talk and run here. Her first EVERYTHING was here. I realizing I am entering the "nostalgia" phase of our move. Seeing the "last" in all the things that are going on right now. Recognizing that Idaho will always be an important part of our family history. Sam's job, all that the kids have done, the way God has changed my life, no matter where we ever have lived, it is always sad to move.

Now, I DO remember crying for weeks (if not months) before we came here. I remember a wise and great friend in Louisville saying that this is where God wanted us to go, and if we let Him use us, I would cry again when it would finally be time for us to leave. She was right. 25 days left and I feel myself starting to panic a bit. Not only with all the work this month is going to require, but all the emotions that are going to come with it. And wondering where the energy is going to come from to start all over in putting together another home, making new  friends, supporting Sam in a BIG job change, ect. But I am assured that we are going to where God wants us. So this time, there aren't any tears about going somewhere new. There is excitement mixed in with the nerves. The tears will be for an end to an era, for the loss of what has become beloved and comfortable.

Now, how in the world did a post about going to pick apples turn into this? Back to the point!

Well, sort of, had to share more "changing" pictures.  :)

Kaitlynn and Collin  - 2005

2006

2007

Yesterday - 2008

 

Now for more pictures of yesterday!

Kaebrie, let us say, likes apples. She likes to eat apples. And eat she does at the orchard, ALL DAY LONG.

I told the owner to weight her when we got there and then again before we left.

Think I am kidding? Here are a FEW examples:

Tiff was big enough this year to use the picker and he even climbed a few trees to reach some when Collin had the picker.

 

 

 

 

Some group shots:

 

Odds and Ends pictures:

Notice the apple in the picker is already eaten.  :)

The "who got the biggest apple" contest.

Her three perfect apples.

Other friends:

Here are the "sisters" (and the mom) to "the boy" I wrote about last week.

I couldn't resist this one. I walked by and here he was, they left him in the box because he is now crawling and this was a safe place.

Daddy has been gone for 5 months and will be home NEXT WEEK! They want a COMPLETE family picture after he gets back. I can't wait to do that one!

Kaebrie will very much miss Emily.

One that I really liked.

I ended up photographing 5 other families. I spent all day taking pictures and the kids spent all day running around in the beautiful outdoors, picking apples, throwing a football, climbing trees, picnic lunching, and we all had a fabulous time!

:)