Summertime and the livin' is easy

Our summer, like most, went by very quickly. Most of our days were spent getting settled into our new home and routine. We've made some new friends, visited some new places and started new projects.

Roman is growing and changing everyday. He's still a great sleeper/napper. This is good news for me because it give me time to clean up after he's torn through our house. This is a typical view of our home after Roman has "explored":

He just loves pulling anything and everything out of cabinets and cupboards. Sheesh....

But, he also loves playing outside:

(Side note: our child does wear clothing on occasion)

This is the first summer I had a chance to spend multiple days at the pool. It's been great fun because Roman loves the water! He has no fear- which has been a blessing and a curse. He's more than willing to play in the water, but eventually he gets frustrated and wants to swim without my help. Um, no. 

We've also manage to sneak a few hours in at the beach. This past trip was overcast, but we had a good time. We even managed to get a few snap shots. 

Our weekends are usually spent BBQing with new friends and attending our new church. The church is Horizon Baptist and we joined a few weeks ago. It's a young church with a smaller congregation, but we are enjoying getting to know everyone. There are many younger families as well so there are plenty of children for Roman to play with and learn from. I'm glad we have a great church for him to grow in for the next 4 years.

And that, folks, is our summer in a nutshell. I hope you all had a lovely summer as well!

What's Been Keeping Me Busy?

 Working on my floors (Hint: They're finally done!). More on that process at Creative and Domestic

 And spending my days with this guy:

 

Moving and installing flooring has consumed all my time recently. Hopefully I'll have more to share with you soon!

Have a great Friday!

A Very Special Day

Today Dan and I celebrate a decade (!) Of marriage! Our lives are so different now. We  are different. We've changed and grown as individuals. But no matter what, he still remains my best friend.

We've been thru four moves, more cars than I can count, accumulated four dogs, and had a beautiful baby boy.

I love experiencing life with this man and I can't wait to see what the next ten years bring our way!

A post about Motels, Frigerators and Fighting Ants!

I can't believe it's May. 

These past few months have been such a jumbled mess, I've lost track of time. When you live in a motel room, each day tends to blend with the next. Hopefully we will be moving into our house next week, but not before moving to one more motel room. I've started keeping track and this will mark our 7th room change since moving to California. This does not include our travels to Ohio and staying with friends before we left Las Vegas. Enough already!

I'm ready to cook again, and that's saying a lot because I hate cooking. I'm just SICK of eating out. When the rooms allow, we try our best to make ourselves meals; however, this room has a serious ant problem so we no longer keep any food around. I have sprayed and sprayed and sprayed, and the ants always seem to find a new way to get into everything. We move back into a room with a kitchenette on the 9th, so hopefully we can cook and grill again.

Speaking of cooking: Dan has a new grill all picked out (we had to leave the other one so it didn't make a ginormous mess in the truck), and I just purchased a new fridge. This home didn't come with a fridge so I've been comparing prices around town. Most places price match, but it's still more than I want to spend. We had a beautiful french door Samsung in Vegas and we loved it. I wanted that fridge again, but I haven't been able to find it as cheap. That's when I discovered Sears outlet online. I was able to find a french door Samsung (but in stainless steel, with water- even better!) for $500 less than our old, plain one. Why so cheap? The outlet site has all their floor models or scratch and dent items. There is not a store near us, so I couldn't see the item for myself; however, they do post the condition and location of any dents or scratches. Plus, each item has 4-5 pictures so you can see what you are purchasing. Since the fridge isn't being delivered until next week it remains to be seen if I scored a great deal or a lemon..... I'll let you know how it turns out.

That's it for now!

House Hunters

We are officially in the market for a house again. Inventory is limited, and we're competing with investors again. Boooooo

We looked at one on Sunday, but it was a mess. It was the right price, and that was it. It was in rough shape. Plus, you had to walk thru a bedroom to get to the garage!?! Um, I hope you like the smell of gas fumes, guests! And there was an un-permitted addition on the back. No, thanks.

Today we are going to look at another one, but I told Dan I hope it's the one because I'm already tired of looking.

He laughed and said, "We've only looked at one house!"
 
 Oh, boy.....

Where We Are, and Where We Are Going

I wish I were blogging more.

I have the time.

I just don't feel there is much to say.

But, I felt I should update everyone on our move.

Our home sold, and it was a very quick and painless process. With the money we made on the house, we were able to stick some in savings and buy a new (to us) truck, and pay off the Camaro. Now we officially own 3 cars again. And now we get to figure out how to move them all the Cali. I think the Camaro will be staying in Vegas until we get settled.

One of our biggest concerns that always comes with moving is getting our dogs situated. This involved driving back to Cincinnati with four dogs and a baby. What can I say about the drive there and back. It. Was. Terrible. Horrible, freezing weather, spinning out and getting stuck in the snow, being towed, busting out the back glass of the camper, moving all the dogs to the cab, having a wheel try to fall off, being towed-again, stopping at a sleazy motel, immediately packing up and moving to a different hotel, needing a cab with a baby and a dog while the truck was being repaired, almost hitting cows in the middle on the night in Kansas (there was a herd in the road), the windshield wiper fluid freezing, and the headlights not wanting to work. That's all I can think of right now. It was awful. But- the dogs are now in their temporary homes, and everyone seems content. It really does make a huge difference for us, when we know we don't have to worry about the dogs. Zelda is still with us, but she's easy, so I don't foresee any problems while we move.

Currently we are in Vegas... at least for a few more weeks. Paperwork delays and testing dates are keeping us here until the 27th of this month. After those things are complete we should be headed to Port Hueneme. Starting the 7th of April, Dan will be training at another base for a month. It's only a few hours away from Port Hueneme, so we are hoping to do some house hunting on the weekends. The plan right now it to buy a home again, but if that fails, we will rent. The trick with renting is finding a place that will allow the dogs, so I'm praying very, very hard that the Lord will let us find a place to buy.

That's the update for now. I know God cares about the little details just as much as He does the big ones so keep us in your prayers. Pray for Dan as he tests in a few weeks, and for his training and new job. Pray for me and Roman that we will adjust quickly, and make some new friends. And pray for our housing situation- that no matter if we rent or buy, we can have a place with all our dogs.  :)

Happy Wednesday!

Birthday Boy!

Roman is one today! Happy Birthday, Buddy!

*Fair warning this post is picture heavy

More than anything else in my life I prayed to have a baby, and I'm so grateful God gave me Roman. He is a HUGE blessing, and I am so thankful I get to be his mommy.

We were also thrilled that Dan was able to come home in time to celebrate with him.

 Here is his last *tear* monthly photo:

And in no particular order, here are a million more pictures of our wonderful boy, taken throughout his first year:

  

 

Happy Birthday! We love you VERY VERY VERY much!

Goodbye 2013....

....Hello 2014!


Wow! 2013 was quite a year for us! We had our sweet, baby boy. I quit my job. Dan got deployed. Dan also received a new assignment to California. I listed our home. We sold our home.

If I'm honest, 2013 was a bit of a blur. I know that's how life goes, but I must say, I really felt like this past year was on warp speed.

Regarding the sale of our house: we have our home inspection tomorrow. The buyer already said they won't ask for any repairs, so I'm not worried much about the inspection. The closing is set for the end of the month, so I've begun the tedious project of packing. So. Many. Boxes. I have actually been selling things since the summer. Lots of things. But now that I'm packing I've realized we still have too much. Dan says it's all mine, but I beg to differ. Since he's not here to pack, I'm sure he would notice how much was truly his if I didn't bother moving it. Mmmkay?

I've had to order Roman's first birthday cake. Yes, his 1st birthday!  I'm not going to do a big party since we will most likely be out of the house already, but I did want him to have a smash cake. My dear friend, Heather, is doing his party cakes.  I can't wait to show you! She makes the most amazing cakes.

My plan has always been to buy Roman a Little Tikes Cozy Truck for his birthday. Now that we sold the house, everything will be packed, so I'm not sure a giant truck is the best idea right now. Maybe I should buy it early so he can enjoy it for a few weeks before it has to be stored. :(

Dan is moving to day shift, so we will be on opposite schedules. It's good for him if he need to get things done on base, but it makes it harder to Skype since Roman will be sleeping most of the time. I'm sure we will figure something out. Roman likes to see Dan on the screen. Dan was even able to get the giggles out of Roman through the computer. I don't think we'll have any problems when we're finally all together again. :)

So that is the news around here. Happy New Year!

I'm off to resume packing.....