RIP Uncle Tom :(

Moved into the new house yesterday and the same time lost my dear Uncle Tom. Lots of prayers for my family, please.

Won't have internet until Tuesday will also get new phones then. That's all for now.

It was time for an update anyway

Honestly not much has been going on, you forget how much you miss the stuff that's in your house until you don't have it anymore.

Last Friday we drove to LA to get MalibuSadie and I am so excited to have her back! It was really neat driving past Hollywood, Santa Monica and Sunset Blvd. I can't wait to take a trip there that is purely pleausre rather than a rescue mission to get my baby girl!

My Uncle had a heart attack this weekend, but he is recovering really well now and was even sent home today. I imagine it was really rough for my family, but even tougher for TJ, for being so far away while his papaw was in the hospital.

My mom just told me this evening her Father in Law has just had a heart attack and so I'm sure he could use any prayers you guys are willing to spare.

So onto the housing issue. We had picked out this house in the newest community on base. It was a 2 bedroom/2 bath and 2 car garage. It was the only one available and the people had just moved out the day we arrived on base. We had to wait while they did all the maintence and everything and that is what we have been waiting on. We were supposed to get the keys tomorrow and move in on Friday (since this is a long weekend anyway) but the lady called today and said there was a huge pest problem. Basically these little black bugs are crawling over the brick fences and taking over. She said they are getting calls from people saying these bugs are in their kids beds and in their washer in dryer, etc. Not exactly something we want to deal with.

Oddly enough, last night we were driving around the other neighborhoods just as a "are you sure". We drove up to this one that was a 2 story we never wanted to see, since our home in Alaska was 2 story. Well, after MalibuKen told the lady at housing we didn't want to deal with the bugs she actually sent us to the one we drove up to last night. It is a 2 story, 3 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath house....very much like our last home in Alaska.

I will post some pics of it down below. There are some cons, it's the "oldest" built houses on base, the back yard has a brick fence in the very back but connecting our neighbor its only chain link. We currently will no have neighbors though. While the garage is the same size as the other one, it only has a one car door, however our driveway is so large, I think we will use it as "man" cave anyway.

Overall, I actually like it much better and it's kinda crazy to think that had we not written it off in the first place we probably would be moved in by now :)

The good is: I like the layout better, it actually looks bigger than the other place. It has a pergola in the backyard already built so that MalibuKen doesn't have to. There is a playground right around the corner and we get a front yard that has grass and we can landscape beautifully. I also like that if we get neighbors the only part of the house that is attached is the living room rather than the bedrooms.

It is technically not ours yet, but it is "move in ready" so hopefully *prayers* we will get the keys in the morning.

The outside:

Another outside view:

Backyard





Backyard

Looking down the stairs

Kitchen and dining room

Living Room



So say your prayers that we get to move in soon (like tomorrow)!

The big day is the 28th--for now anyway

As of now we are supposed to get the keys to our house on the 28th, which is next Friday. I am SO past ready to have our household goods again, and I'm sure MalibuKen can't wait to get his motorcycle. I'm also incredibly ready to have Sadie back. I think the plan is to go tomorrow unless something comes up at work again.


I have been internet "shopping" for how we are going to decorate the new house. I'm really ready to live and decorate like an adult, so I'm hoping we can get some of the things I have been looking at.


MalibuKen is going to build MalibuKaeden a new bed, and then we are going to redo his room with a dinosaur theme since that seems to be MalibuKP's big thing. He even got to pick out his own bedding. He is pretty excited about it.




I also decided I'd really like to do our living room in a vintage University of Tennessee Football theme. Trust me, I'm not wanting an overly-orange and white room, but I've picked out a couple of prints that I love and a lamp too. There is a lot of stuff I like but I'm just going to have to see how we set up the room.






You can't really see it well, but in the cages are the different SEC animals like a bulldog, gator, etc

Happy Birthday, my sweet sister

I figure if I just go ahead and get this off my chest now, with any luck I won't be thinking about it all day.

Today would have been Jamie's 22nd birthday. It's so unfair. I can't help but think about what her life would have been like...if she went on to four year college she would have graduated this month; earlier than me...I think she would have liked that. On my 22nd birthday I had a 3 week old. It makes me wonder where she would have been in life, would she be married or engaged or too busy living her life to worry about men? I wonder if she would be into the Twilight series like me, and we could obsess together. I wonder if she would be so excited that I live so close to LA now because that means the beach and tons of shopping. I will NEVER EVER know these things. MalibuKen often says to me that I don't know God's plan and he could have been "saving" her from something awful, and I think I fully understand that. I know that grief is a selfish action. I truly believe and KNOW she is in heaven, which is one hundred million times bigger and better than earth and she is enjoying every minute. I just cry for me. I cry for Aunt Linda and Scott. I cry for MalibuKaeden who will never remember her, and because it's been over 3 years I'm slowly starting to lose what she sounded like, and the insanely funny things she would say.

I dunno, it's not all I have about this topic but I have to stop if I have any hope of making it through this day in one piece. So I'll just say this. Happy Birthday, Jamie Kate, know you are missed and loved so very very much.

I had this made a while ago, so it's old, but it's fitting for today

First weekend here

So this weekend has been a fun one of exploring the base and surrounding area.


First I'll comment on the weather: It's like 95 today and it's been sunny all weekend; I'm pretty sure it's sunny and hot almost every day. I love it. The only downside is that we don't have an A/C and the swamp cooler doesn't get turned on until Tuesday to it's a little warm in here at the moment. Cooking baked potatoes probably doesn't help either.



Next I'm going to post a picture of the outside of our house and maybe the backyard. I didn't take good pics because we were in a hurry, so I'll do a better job when we actually move in which will be around the 26th of the month.

We explored Lancaster on Friday which was cool; theatre, target, walmart supercenter, the fair grounds, etc.

We saw our first dust devil which was pretty cool!





On Saturday I went to the commisary expecting that because it was pay day weekend, and the case lot sale it would be insane and crowded. It wasn't AT ALL. I was shocked. MalibuKaeden was really good, which was nice and refreshing. We explored the Antelope Valley Mall in Palmdale later in the afternoon, holy moly I was in shopping heaven! It's a nicer mall than Anchorage by far and it has tons of stores around it: Ashley, Michaels, Tuesday Morning, Costco, Walmart, Target, bookstores, Sams Club, Kohls, Marshalls, all stores I haven't seen in quite some time! Lots and lots and lots of restaurants too, including my precious Olive Garden! We ate there Saturday night and it was SUPER good :)



On Saturday we also started "the ball system" for MalibuKaeden. This is something we picked up from our friends in Alaska. Basically we got practice golf balls (the plastic ones) and a container, when he does good stuff he gets a ball but when he does bad stuff he gets one taken away. We want to make sure that he starts to understand that his actions have consequences. Also, when he gets the golf balls to the top of the container he can go to the store and get a $10 toy. It takes about 36 balls to fill the entire thing up.



Today we went to the library one base which was small but nice. We also had a picnic at the "bark park" which is the dog park on base. It was actually really nice and even though it was hot it was a great picnic.

I found this at the park too:

I should probably get to cooking dinner since it's starting to get a little bit late.

What's going on

So here is my BIG, BIG update!

We spent an extra day in Redding with Cheyne and Casey. It was nice that we were able to visit a bit longer. The next day we left to drive through the Redwoods, it was really amazing! Probably the funniest thing ever is that as we get out I want to take MalibuKaeden's picture next to this HUGE Redwood and the next thing I know, he just pulls his pants down and is about to pee ALL over it. BOYS! MalibuKen also drove through a tree and I was freaking out, it was an incredibly tight fit and I'm just thankful some guys were standing around to direct him through it.

We stayed in Sonoma that night, and wine country is BEAUTIFUL!! I can not wait to go back sans child to enjoy the fruits of the field so to speak.

We stayed in a fairly nice hotel and were on our way again. As we were passing San Fran our GPS was going nuts and we didn't get off on the right exit so we ended up driving right into downtown; that place is HUGE--bigger than anything this Barbie has ever seen. Although I was having a small panic attack we ended up getting to see the Golden Gate Bridge so that was pretty rad.

Now we are at our final destination--Edwards AFB. I'm here to say, I like it. It's different but it reminds me a bit of Florida. It's a little sandy with some palm trees here and there and while warm the breeze makes it feel nice. (However the lady at housing said we have 100 days of 100 degrees or over starting around next week--EEK!)

So we are staying in TLF on base, and it very nice. A 2 bed, 1 bath place with a kitchen, front yard and washer and dryer. I'd love to live here with all the maid service :)

So I will say the only downside is this place is incredibly small. The commisary in Alaska had about 20 checkouts, this place has 6. The BX is also much smaller and I no longer have Coach bags, Smashbox cosmetics, and Philosophy fragrace at my fingertips. BOO. Also the closest Target, Bestbuy, restuarants, etc is about 27 miles away from base. I'll be going through some serious shopping withdrawls I'm sure; hopefully however my lack of being 2 miles from a Fred Meyer will make up for the COLA we are losing :)

We went to housing today and were offered a 3 bedroom or a two bedroom plus, I think we are going to go with the 2 bedroom plus because it's much bigger and newer (2007) than the other one. Someone is moving out of the newer one tomorrow so we are going to look tomorrow afternoon after MalibuKen checks in at work.

Today we drove out to Cal City and I must say, I'm so glad we would never buy a house without checking out an area first because while there are some nice houses there it's just not a nice looking place over all.

So I guess that's about it, we are here and so far we like it a lot, YAY!

I hate how it does these pictures backwards and I'm far too lazy to actually fix them, so here are pictures from today to the past couple days:

It's so true....


YAY Edwards!


Wind Energy thingies


Welcome to the desert


The Golden Gate


Wine Country


MalibuKen in a tree


MalibuKen in a tree


MalibuBarbie in a tree


MalibuKaeden and Malibu Ken in a tree


BIG TREE


Redwoods





Cheyne and MalibuBarbie


Cheyne and MalibuKen

We're here!

So we finally made it. We are staying in a nice TLF on base. So far I love it here. I know I've skipped the last couple days which included the Redwoods and Sonoma, but I'm exhausted. Long post tomorrow with LOTS of pictures I promise!

More beer, more friends life really couldn't be better

***note started writing this last night right as our lap top bit the dust***


Just arrived in Redding to see my "big brother" and his soon to be wifey! What a long drive. We finally hit rain, but it didn't last so long. Since we didn't get in until late today, through the graciousness of Cheyne and Casey, we are staying an extra day here.

Yesterday in Portland was really fantastic. We didn't get into town until around 2, and met up with Jill, Leigh and Simon at their house. After a bit of chatting we went to do some site seeing. We went to Multnomah Falls and to the vista house as well as drove a scenic route. We had so much fun seeing some of the fun stuff Portland had to offer. At around 6 I called my Aunt to see if we could meet up but didn't get an answer, after waiting around for a bit we decided to go downtown to get something to eat. We went to the Widmer Gasthaus, where dreams are made into beer, or vice versa. I tried to call my aunt again when we got back to the hotel but no answer, so I ended up not getting to see her :( but I'm hoping to make trips to Portland more frequently.

On to yesterday (Sunday) and today (Monday)

Just as I was starting this blog yesterday our laptop just crashed, wouldn't turn on, wouldn't charge nothing. UGH! So today we went and bought a new one; it was on the list of things to replace anyway.

I had my first in and out burger today and it was really, really, really good.

Can't really think of much else that has gone on, got MalibuKaeden some new awesome Imaginext toys today.

Tomorrow we make our way on to the Highway of the Giants to see the Redwoods. They called today and told MalibuKen that Sadie was ready so we will probably be stopping in LA to get her soon.

Well, gonna go spend the rest of the time that we have with Cheyne and Casey!

Some say heaven is in the clouds.....

I say heaven is a great beer with good friends :)

Portland was great, could have done without the traffic. I'm only uploading a couple of pics because I'm exhausted. I promise to update all of today AND tomorrows stuff when I get to my big brother's house!

Oh and please ignore my shaddy appearance. MalibuBarbie had been in a car all day, it was rough ;)

I'm in FORKS!!!

**Insert pre-teen squeal here**

But before Forks stuff, comes the blah stuff...the ferry.

You might think 4 days on a ferry really isn't that bad, and I can assure you it wasn't awful; but boy does it get tiring doing nothing. Our cabins were nicer this time around and I actually feel like the entire boat was as well. There was a toddler play area on the observation deck with blocks and a slide and stuff so that was a nice bonus.

First day was good. We boarded later at night so we just made dinner and went to bed. We each had our seperate beds.

The second day we stopped for Port in Sitka, and found a really cool hiking trail right off the dock to take the dogs for a walk. It got cut a little short when we heard the horns of the boat and thought we were being left behind. I have never been so worried about how we were going to find some little puddle jumper airplane that would take 2 adults, one child and 2 dogs from Sitka to Ketchican.

The third day we were almost in Ketchican for the whole day which was nice to be able to eat some restaurant food and play in a park.

The forth day was the longest, no stops at all. I ended up snagging some great photos of the sunset though.

Over all the trip went well, thank God for "go fish" cards and a portable DVD player. I really couldn't have asked MalibuKaeden to be better. Okay, I could and I did. I didn't get sick, but I also saw 0--that's right--zero whales, bummer. I'll take the trade.

We got off the ferry in Bellingham today, a beautiful Washington day might I add! The first place we stopped was a McDonald's with the biggest playplace I'd ever seen and free WiFi! YAY! I was dying to check my grades. All A's and B's, not bad for 6 classes and packing to move across the country. MalibuBarbie is a happy girl :)

We began the drive to Forks. *Side note* MalibuKen is THE best. I don't know many husbands who would go to Forks period, let alone suggest it AND go out of his way to do so. Many kudos to him. I am one happy Barbie tonight! Okay, so begin driving to Forks, it's green and beautiful and oooh whats this 2 hours down the road? Another ferry?! Talk about a surprise. I was not ready to be on water again. This time it wasn't so bad only a 30 minute ferry ride across the water to Port Townsend, which is beautiful! From there it was about an hour and half to Forks. We passed through Lake Crescent which was nothing short of amazing

So here we are in Forks. I love it, naturally! First Beach is amazing, I could have stayed there all day! It's a really small town, and I mean really small but it's very pretty. It was a very sunny day, so we didn't see any vampires; I'm sure they were out hunting for the spring grizzlies.

Here are some photos for your viewing pleasure. Click on them to make them larger, if you so choose.

Kaeden in the ferry window:




The hike in Sitka:

Please let me know if you know what these mean:

Differnt ones from the ferry:

Now I'm just getting tired so they will be all out of order but here are the pics from First Beach in La Push and in Forks. I'm ready for a bath and bed. Will try to edit with captions ASAP!

La Push:


First Beach:


Chad found paw prints on the beach (not from our doggies either!):


Family shot:


Some driftwood:


The broken Forks sign:


Our hotel (notice the pun):


Lake Crescent


Port Townsend ferry:


Charlie's work:


Bella's truck:


Where Bedward met:

Tomorrow the plan is to drive into Portland, to have some outdoors time with Jill and family, then spend some time with my Aunt and cousin. I am looking forward to it and hope we have smooth sails :)