Holy smokes, am I tired! Moving really takes it out of you, you know?
We are renting a townhouse in Windermere, FL until we can find the house that we want to buy. It is actually a really cute little place, but when we got here it was insanely dirty. I mean really GROSS. Like the people hadn't ever cleaned while they lived here gross. The cleaning has been hard work, but worth it. I actually dare to put the baby down on the floor now, and the boys' feet aren't TOO black by the end of the day just from running around the house.
The view from our front door is a cute little pond with resident ducks, cranes that are ginormous and some other birds that have yet to be named. We watch the fireworks from the Magic Kingdom from our front yard too. The city is beautiful. I took a drive into Orlando yesterday to get DB's school paperwork all in order and I can't wait to go back.....except I would like to avoid the underpasses.....lots of loitering going on there, made me a little nervous.
We still live in a bit of chaos, but each day gets a little better. DB will finally get to start school tomorrow, much to his dismay. JT seems to like it here, and Baby Girl is happy as long as we don't go anywhere near the car!
We should be getting internet on my home computer today, so I will post pics later.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Sunday, September 26, 2010
On the road again.
The Great Shoff Exodus of 2010 has begun. It really makes me sick to think that we had a Great Shoff Exodus of 2009 too. There better not be one in 2011, let me tell you! As exciting as this is, moving wears me out!
We had the truck pretty much loaded up by 11:00, and then we just had some serious cleaning to do. No matter how much you do before hand, there is just an overwhelming mess after all of your stuff is moved out. Yes, my last two boxes weren't even labeled at all because there was just a mixture of leftovers that hadn't already found a home. Yes, we COMPLETELY packed a 26 ft truck. There there is no more room for even a bottle of shampoo. We had some lunch with our friends in Jackson who we are going to really miss and did some more cleaning, then hit the road at about 5:30.
We ended up at a hotel in Manchester, TN. Somewhere between Nashville and Chattanooga. JT is already asking to go home. Poor kid, he just doesn't get it. DB had an absolute ball riding in the truck with Dad last night, but he is going to come with me in the car today because I have the treats, new toys and movies. Hopefully we will make it to Aunt Becca's house in Gainesville today then on to our new home tomorrow!
I am really mourning the loss of experiencing Autumn in Tennessee. I didn't get to enjoy it much last year and was really looking forward to this year. At least the leaves have started changing a bit so on our drive I have been trying to soak in as much of the red and yellow leaves as I could before we end up in the land of everlasing summer. Oh well, on the bright side, we are already anticipating seeing lots of our family, friends from Jackson, AND even some friends from St. George now! I will take friends and family over some crumbly leaves any day. Come on down!
We had the truck pretty much loaded up by 11:00, and then we just had some serious cleaning to do. No matter how much you do before hand, there is just an overwhelming mess after all of your stuff is moved out. Yes, my last two boxes weren't even labeled at all because there was just a mixture of leftovers that hadn't already found a home. Yes, we COMPLETELY packed a 26 ft truck. There there is no more room for even a bottle of shampoo. We had some lunch with our friends in Jackson who we are going to really miss and did some more cleaning, then hit the road at about 5:30.
We ended up at a hotel in Manchester, TN. Somewhere between Nashville and Chattanooga. JT is already asking to go home. Poor kid, he just doesn't get it. DB had an absolute ball riding in the truck with Dad last night, but he is going to come with me in the car today because I have the treats, new toys and movies. Hopefully we will make it to Aunt Becca's house in Gainesville today then on to our new home tomorrow!
I am really mourning the loss of experiencing Autumn in Tennessee. I didn't get to enjoy it much last year and was really looking forward to this year. At least the leaves have started changing a bit so on our drive I have been trying to soak in as much of the red and yellow leaves as I could before we end up in the land of everlasing summer. Oh well, on the bright side, we are already anticipating seeing lots of our family, friends from Jackson, AND even some friends from St. George now! I will take friends and family over some crumbly leaves any day. Come on down!
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Saturday, September 11, 2010
My Journal Entry from 09-11-2001
I was alone in my hotel room the evening of 9/11 watching the news and had no other way to express my feelings than to write it on the little notepad by the phone. This journal entry is scribbled on to JW Marriott Hotel Pennsylvania Avenue letterhead. I thought I would put it on my blog, as this is more lasting than 9 little pieces of scrap paper. 9/11 really was one of the most significant days of my life. It changed me and how I percieve this world.
There is an eerie feeling in the city tonight. Listening to the news, I can only imagine what is happening or what the feeling is in New York, as the casualties are ten-fold. The streets are empty here; quite a contrast from when we arrived on Sunday during a Carribean festival. There are sounds of sirens echoing throughout the streets. At 6:00 the homeless have hunkered down for the night, as most building have been closed down and hotels have increased security and nobody else is left on the street.
It has been hard to be here without Ben but now, without his comforting embrace, I almost feel lost. On the hour, there is a bell tower shouting out chimes of gloom throughout the city. The White House is a block and a half away, we were there last night then again this morning, 40 minutes before it was evacuated. The President gives reference to God, yet some survivors claim instinct saved them. How sad. The mothers and fathers that have been lost to this terrible act make me physically sick--those poor children who may not even understand yet. How I wish I could give blood for those injured in teh Pentagon. the images of the fires, the smoke, the ash, the people running.....This is being compared to Pearl Harbor, yet it has yet to be determined how many deaths have occurred--how many more than Pearl Harbor, they say. There is not a single commercial flight above America now--the first time in history.
A newsman was speaking of how our freedom IS NOT being affected by this. My freedom has been affected by this--I can hardly leave my hotel, I cannot go home to my family. I can't even go shopping or to the monuments to focus my energies elsewhere. The images I see on TV are not of America--it is of a war zone far away in the world--it can't be here, so close to me, as small town girl from Utah. I try to imagine working on the 106th floor of any building, let alone the WTC. How they must have felt, perhaps some were looking out the window at the beautiful fall day in NYC and saw their fate coming right at them. How many prayers have gone up to heaven today? President Bush said that the foundations of our greatest buildings may be shaken, but the foundation of freedome WILL NOT BE.
I do not understand how this can even happen--the land of freedom, the great land of America. God knows the plan, he know shte outcome, all is well. I cannot fear.
It is hard to protect agains those who are willing to lose their life for their cause. What is the answer? What do we do? I think I will choose to may my life so that every day I am more grateful fo rthe littl ethings, for our country in which I have been so close to its monuments and its icon of freedome and power, the White HOuse, and for my family who I may be kept from again.
How much of this terrorism will my children or my grandchildren be forced to endure? The world is at such unrest, it almost causes some amount of unrest in your heart. It aches for the families directly affected by these tragedies. It may sound silly and childish, but honestly, why can't everyone get along? Haven't we seen enough people die in the past? Of course, this has forced our government to come together and "get along;" they even broke into the song "God Bless America."
It is sad that tragedies are almost the only thing that REALLY brings people from all different walks of life to a united group. How long will this last? When will the criticizm of the President begin again? Perhaps it already has....
They say that there was a failed attempt heading for DC which crashed in Pennsylvania. Would that have been the time I was on break? I was at the White HOuse. How close was I, and how many thousands of people can't believe how close they are now? Those same people covered in ash, or lying in the hospital, or bleeding, or even trapped under the collapsed buildings, and the children.....
200 of the 400 firefighters that initally went in after the first plane crashed died, so far. Also almost 100 police are missing already. What do you say? How do you explain how you feel about this disaster?
There is an eerie feeling in the city tonight. Listening to the news, I can only imagine what is happening or what the feeling is in New York, as the casualties are ten-fold. The streets are empty here; quite a contrast from when we arrived on Sunday during a Carribean festival. There are sounds of sirens echoing throughout the streets. At 6:00 the homeless have hunkered down for the night, as most building have been closed down and hotels have increased security and nobody else is left on the street.
It has been hard to be here without Ben but now, without his comforting embrace, I almost feel lost. On the hour, there is a bell tower shouting out chimes of gloom throughout the city. The White House is a block and a half away, we were there last night then again this morning, 40 minutes before it was evacuated. The President gives reference to God, yet some survivors claim instinct saved them. How sad. The mothers and fathers that have been lost to this terrible act make me physically sick--those poor children who may not even understand yet. How I wish I could give blood for those injured in teh Pentagon. the images of the fires, the smoke, the ash, the people running.....This is being compared to Pearl Harbor, yet it has yet to be determined how many deaths have occurred--how many more than Pearl Harbor, they say. There is not a single commercial flight above America now--the first time in history.
A newsman was speaking of how our freedom IS NOT being affected by this. My freedom has been affected by this--I can hardly leave my hotel, I cannot go home to my family. I can't even go shopping or to the monuments to focus my energies elsewhere. The images I see on TV are not of America--it is of a war zone far away in the world--it can't be here, so close to me, as small town girl from Utah. I try to imagine working on the 106th floor of any building, let alone the WTC. How they must have felt, perhaps some were looking out the window at the beautiful fall day in NYC and saw their fate coming right at them. How many prayers have gone up to heaven today? President Bush said that the foundations of our greatest buildings may be shaken, but the foundation of freedome WILL NOT BE.
I do not understand how this can even happen--the land of freedom, the great land of America. God knows the plan, he know shte outcome, all is well. I cannot fear.
It is hard to protect agains those who are willing to lose their life for their cause. What is the answer? What do we do? I think I will choose to may my life so that every day I am more grateful fo rthe littl ethings, for our country in which I have been so close to its monuments and its icon of freedome and power, the White HOuse, and for my family who I may be kept from again.
How much of this terrorism will my children or my grandchildren be forced to endure? The world is at such unrest, it almost causes some amount of unrest in your heart. It aches for the families directly affected by these tragedies. It may sound silly and childish, but honestly, why can't everyone get along? Haven't we seen enough people die in the past? Of course, this has forced our government to come together and "get along;" they even broke into the song "God Bless America."
It is sad that tragedies are almost the only thing that REALLY brings people from all different walks of life to a united group. How long will this last? When will the criticizm of the President begin again? Perhaps it already has....
They say that there was a failed attempt heading for DC which crashed in Pennsylvania. Would that have been the time I was on break? I was at the White HOuse. How close was I, and how many thousands of people can't believe how close they are now? Those same people covered in ash, or lying in the hospital, or bleeding, or even trapped under the collapsed buildings, and the children.....
200 of the 400 firefighters that initally went in after the first plane crashed died, so far. Also almost 100 police are missing already. What do you say? How do you explain how you feel about this disaster?
Monday, September 6, 2010
Video for Dad
Okay, y'all....don't laugh at this video. I tried to just email it to Ben, but it is too big of a file. He misses us and we miss him.
I have been trying to keep everyone busy so we don't get too bummed out that Dad isn't around. Fortunately DB's school schedule doesn't leave too much room for laziness during the week so that is taken care of. We are stillorking on a homework schedule for DB.....I can't figure out the best time to make him do it. He comes home totally wiped from school and I don't usually have the heart to immediately sit down and do MORE schoolwork. But, the longer it gets put off, the harder it is to make him do it. He's got a good 30-45 minutes of homework every night, so..... All three kiddos have grown a TON this summer. DB finally complained about his size 2 1/2 church shoes, and with good reason.....his school shoes were size 5! I kept staring at JT today, because something changed overnight in him. He is speaking more and more clearly every day. He is just so dang mischevious and so dang cute. Baby Girl is amazing. She isn't walking yet but I just keep waiting for her to get around to it. She is relatively easy going, is blabbering more and more, has the squeeziest little legs, and we adore her!
Ben is honing his workaholic skills in FL. He is amazing at his work, and is laying the ground work for when we are able to join him soon. I tried to get him to take a book to the beach and just spend the day there reading and pondering the mysteries of the universe while he gazed into the oncoming surf.....he asked if I thought he had turned into a girl while he had been away. Not a chance.
Meanwhile, I have been slowly packing up and cleaning out our house. The place already looks a little bare. We are just in a funky sort of limbo which drives me bonkers, but whaddaya do?
I have been trying to keep everyone busy so we don't get too bummed out that Dad isn't around. Fortunately DB's school schedule doesn't leave too much room for laziness during the week so that is taken care of. We are stillorking on a homework schedule for DB.....I can't figure out the best time to make him do it. He comes home totally wiped from school and I don't usually have the heart to immediately sit down and do MORE schoolwork. But, the longer it gets put off, the harder it is to make him do it. He's got a good 30-45 minutes of homework every night, so..... All three kiddos have grown a TON this summer. DB finally complained about his size 2 1/2 church shoes, and with good reason.....his school shoes were size 5! I kept staring at JT today, because something changed overnight in him. He is speaking more and more clearly every day. He is just so dang mischevious and so dang cute. Baby Girl is amazing. She isn't walking yet but I just keep waiting for her to get around to it. She is relatively easy going, is blabbering more and more, has the squeeziest little legs, and we adore her!
Ben is honing his workaholic skills in FL. He is amazing at his work, and is laying the ground work for when we are able to join him soon. I tried to get him to take a book to the beach and just spend the day there reading and pondering the mysteries of the universe while he gazed into the oncoming surf.....he asked if I thought he had turned into a girl while he had been away. Not a chance.
Meanwhile, I have been slowly packing up and cleaning out our house. The place already looks a little bare. We are just in a funky sort of limbo which drives me bonkers, but whaddaya do?
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Utah Summer Vacation 2009
Spring Break 2009
Our trip
