The House

This will be a very long post - with lots of pictures.  However, the pictures are necessary to tell the story.  

Some of you have expressed interest in the projects I completed on the house while Erik was gone - while I was experiencing my nesting syndrome.  So, I took a few pictures of the house, but they cannot be fully appreciated without seeing the "before" pictures.  I figure I may as well go back to the beginning and catalog ALL the projects we have completed on this house.  So, here is our house when we moved in - July 2009:

The Front of the House: Before

You can't tell from this picture, but there was no driveway - only concrete runners.

After

*removed all overgrown trees, bushes and outdated yard lights

*planted azaleas, hawthorns, bulbs and flowers

*added window boxes

*put up a flag

*had the unused chimney removed

*poured a driveway and parking pad

*built a shed (you can see it over the fence in the back yard) in order to clean out the garage in which we now park our van

The Back of the House: Before

 

After (So Far)

The backyard and lawns are still a work in progress

*graded and leveled 

*put down sod (which promptly died in the 100 degree heat while we were out of town)

*cut out mulch beds

*dug out some old plants, transplanted others

*added a play set

*put in a temporary patio for our outdoor furniture

*took out a good portion of the chain-link fence and built a new wooden fence

*added approximately 300 + sq ft, connecting the garage to the house with a laundry room/mud 

 room and play room

Building the fence

Putting in sod

Patio space

Play Set

  




The Living Room: Before
(That's me and Benjamin in the picture)



 

After :

*painted the front door white
*painted trim white (in the entire house)
*new coat of paint
*made some new couch pillows
*new lamps, rug, accessories

* made a little welcome sign to hang above the arch
*installed an overhead light/fan

The Dining Room: Before

After:
*knocked out wall between dining/kitchen
*added a kid's bar
*new coat of paint on walls/trim
*new dining set, lanterns, florals

Kitchen: Before

 After:
*removed windows, door and exhaust fan
*new countertops
*new sink, appliances
*added peninsula and cabinets/drawers
*added pantry cabinet space beside fridge (where stacked W/D used to be)
*new hardwood flooring
*new paint

 Guest Room: Before

 After:
*painted walls and trim
*new window treatments
*installed fan

Study: Before
















After:
*new paint on walls/trim
*got it ORGANIZED - finally (this room was the dumping ground when we moved in)
*hung pictures/put up florals & accessories
*new rug
*got Erik's diploma's framed

The Play Room: Before

After

 The Laundry Room: Before

After:
*much needed laundry/craft/sewing/storage space
*recent additions: sea grass hamper and rug

 The Kids Room: Before

After:
*coat of paint on walls and trim
(and that's Saturn hanging from the ceiling - in case you were wondering)

The Master: Before

After:
*removed paneling
*removed the chimney
*added insulation

*raised the ceiling
*added closet space (his and hers)

*put in doors to the knee wall access
*new paint
*new bedding
*hung pictures/accessories

*new blinds

So, anyway, that's the house.  We are still working on it.  I don't think I left anything out.  Other projects on our "Dreaming About" list are:  bathrooms, covered parking on the parking pad, and a stone patio and walkway in the back.  On our "To Do" list is: painting the garage and fixing the lawn.

Do we like projects?  Evidently.  We'll see how many more we will get done while we are here.

To Washington DC and Back - With 100% Retention

Erik was granted a week off from his duties at the hospital.  We definitely took advantage of the time together as a family.  We played Hi-Ya!, read books, played outside, went out for ice cream, watched movies, and the kids were especially excited to have a parent in the house that would lay down with them at night.  Michael seemed especially happy.

One problem was that Erik had no car.  I sold his truck while he was in Afghanistan.  So, with his research thoroughly done (of course) we found a dealer near DC that would give us a good deal on Erik's car of choice.  We decided to make a fun weekend out of it.  We found a hotel with a suite and an indoor pool, and we took off Friday morning.

 We got to Fairfax in time for a late lunch at Chick-fil-a (a family favorite).  Then, while the kids played on the playground, Erik walked across the street to the dealership to sign the papers on his car.  While he was busy doing that for a few hours, the kids and I headed to REI to get new summer shoes.  We met up at Target when Erik was done.  We picked up a few things and headed to the hotel.

 Swim Time!!

 After 20 minutes in the pool, Erik wimped out and went in the hot tub.  I have to admit it was nice in the hot tub.  I dared Laurel to jump in to pool after being in the hot tub and she did it!  And she stayed in!  I couldn't believe it.

 We took baths and waited for Daddy to pick up dinner.

 Sweet.  Chinese take out in a hotel after swimming.  They were having the time of their lives!

 The next morning we had breakfast at the hotel while Erik had to take his car back to the dealership for a few things.  We met him there and went together to the Metro station.  The kids were totally excited.  They were going to ride the subway train just like Curious George!

 On the Metro

 In DC - the Washington Monument

 The Capitol Building

 The Main Attraction - The Natural History Museum.  The Laurel and Michael were eager to see REAL dinosaur bones.

 Stinkin' dinosaur exhibit.  I wish I could have actually enjoyed it.  But I didn't.  It was here among this crazy crowd of people that Erik and I lost Laurel.  First stop.  First exhibit.  First time losing a child.  

Scariest.  Feeling.  Ever.  

There were steps to the exhibit, so while Laurel and Michael took off up the stairs with Erik, I went up the ramp with Benjamin in the stroller.   The crowd was thick and it took me forever to get up to the top.  Once I was there I couldn't get to Erik, so I followed the flow of traffic and took some pictures, thinking I would run into them soon.  After a few minutes I saw Erik coming with Michael on his shoulders.  I asked about Laurel and Erik replied, "She's with you."  Crap.

We split up and started searching.  Erik searched outside the exhibit while I searched within.  After the second loop around with no Laurel, I started to panic.  A man heard me calling her name and offered to help me find her.  Security was alerted.  Erik and I came back together.  Still no Laurel.  We split up again.  

Erik had already been to security and so had the kind man that was helping us.  This time I went to security, and by this time, I was in tears.  The security man asked if my daughter had on a purple shirt.  They had her.  Whew!  Talk about relief.  They escorted me down to the ground level to their security office.  The lady escorting me told me, "She's  a smart girl.  She told us her name and the man that wrote it down didn't spell it right, so she took the pen and spelled it for us."  That's my girl.  :)

I got to the office and Laurel and I hugged and hugged.  I finally got a hold of Erik on his cell and we met back upstairs in the lobby.

 Found!  Love my bug!  Evidently, when Laurel bounded up the stairs after Daddy and Michael, she stopped to take in the sights.  Erik thought she was with me and kept walking.  Some girls found her and took her to the Kodak man.  The Kodak man took her to security.  Obviously, this scenario wouldn't have taken very long, so I think security was a little slow to get the word around.  BUT we are glad they had her.

 Needless to say, we stuck close together for the rest of our museum trip.  We all recovered from the trauma and had a great time.  We didn't go back to the dinosaurs though.

After a late lunch, we got to ride the Metro back to our car!  

 Too much excitement for Benjamin.

 Handsome dudes.

 Goofy girls.

Glad to be home!  I said to Erik on the phone as we drove our two cars home, "I am glad that we are driving home today with ALL of our children."  He replied, "Yep, that's what we aim for - 100% retention!"

Welcome Home, Daddy!

Unfortunately, my stay in CA couldn't last forever and Erik wasn't able to accompany me home.  I left CA on Sunday and arrived back at my parent's house around 1am.  The kids and I spent another day visiting before heading home on Tuesday.  Erik was anxious to get home and see the kids, and he was finally able to get a flight home on Friday.  The kids were so excited.  I wondered how Benjamin would react.  We spent the day Friday preparing for Daddy.

Then the time came to go and get him at the airport.

 Waiting...

 Waiting... Can't stand the excitement!

Benjamin went right to Erik, no problem at all.  He was just waiting for his favorite to get home, evidently.

When we got home the kids had a good time battling for Daddy's attention.  Laurel was excited to have some cake.  We are all happy that he is home now - officially.  As Michael put it, "I love Daddy.  I am so happy I have Daddy.  He's my best Daddy."

American Soil

 Erik was set to arrive with his battalion at Camp Pendleton in California.  So, after some creative childcare arrangements and some willing (and amazing!) friends and family, I left the kids in NC and flew away to meet Erik when he arrived.  

Welcome home, Erik!
 Hallelujah!

We had a great dinner with the Zolezzi's during our stay in CA.  Erik had a hard time keeping his eyes open the first couple days - jet lag and a 13 1/2 hour time difference.

We were so fortunate to be able to go to the temple while we were without kids for the week.  I have always wanted to go to the San Diego temple.  It was beautiful!

After the temple we went to the USS Midway Museum. 

Classic.

Erik treated me to a dinner at Ruth's Chris.  I had never been there before, and well, after six months of eating MRE's and mess hall food, Ruth's Chris was definitely in order!

Disneyland and California Adventure.  Could it get any better, really?

It was a chilly day and Erik promised me that we (I) wouldn't get wet.  Uh-huh, sure.

Our favorite roller coaster, California Screamin'.  We went on it three times.  

 

So, all in all I have to say it was the best vacation ever.  I had my husband all to myself, we slept in, ate out and had a GREAT time - together!  It is so nice to have Erik home again - or at least on American soil.

Counting Down...

So, Erik left six months ago in September.  He was originally going to be gone for 8 - 9 months, missing the children's entire school year, but luck was on our side and we were extremely blessed to have his deployment shortened by two months.  This does not happen very often.  

Last fall I started a count down with the kids - Kisses From Daddy.  I filled a jar with Hershey's kisses, estimating the general arrival time of Daddy and counting out the kisses for accuracy.  Each night after dinner and before bed, the kids could reach in the jar and get a kiss from Daddy.  Then, when the jar is eventually empty, Daddy will be home.  This was a big hit with the kids.  I anticipated having to add or subtract kisses as needed, and I have done so over the months.  This is what the jar looked like after Christmas:

 

This is what our jar looks like now:

Whoa!!  We are so close.  Daddy is currently in temporary housing, anticipating his flight home.  Just another couple weeks until he is here and playing with us! 

Now, this six, almost seven, month deployment has gone by fairly quickly.   We had so many holidays, birthdays, and activities with family and friends to keep us busy.  However, out of curiosity I took a look back at some photos I took of the kids the day after he left (the first day of school.)

That was then, this is now:

Don't you think they look so much older?  It just shows that six months  is a LONG time.  We are so grateful to see the end drawing near.  Plans for the party are underway!