Blackout

They are putting in a new electrical box in the RV park, so we have had no internet for the last two days.  We have been busy though.  Yesterday we put in a full day of school and then went to the rec center to swim.  It was really nice because there was hardly anybody there.  We all enjoyed the space and stayed for a few hours.  Soon we will be purchasing a summer pass and then we will be able to go whenever we want.  Today we have been putting in extra time for school.  We are still working on the Hobbit and enjoying it immensely.  Unfortunately we are expecting yet another spring snow storm with 6+ inches of snow.  I am not pleased, but this cannot go on forever!

TGIF and Two Weeks!

Hooray for Friday!  We made it through the King's first week back to work and our first week back to school after spring/moving break.  It went really well.  It was a bummer not to have him home everyday of course, but aside from that everything went without a hitch.  Until this week, I had not driven around town myself and I was pleasantly surprised at how easily I got around and remembered where things were.

Today, after wrapping up our school week with another chapter from The Hobbit (which we are loving btw) the kids and I took the dog for another long walk.  It was beautiful outside and we enjoyed wearing shorts and ditching our jackets.  When the King got home we headed to town for dinner out, Golden Corral, and then picked up a the parts we needed to fix our leaky pipes.  Now tonight we are using our own potty (it's the small things) and I am so happy to be able to wash the sink ful of dishes tomorrow. 

The weather this weekend is supposed to be gorgeous and I am thinking we might roll out the awning and set up our "yard.."  There is a senior "rally" as they call them, at the r.v. park this weekend and it's been pretty fun to watch.  It actually makes me look forward to aging! 

Rambling

Today was really warm outside.  I actually turned the heat off for the first time since we got here.  It was nice.  We had longer school day, but it was good.  After our trip to the library we are back to reading aloud and actually started two new books today.  We are reading The Hobbit and All the Stars in the Sky.  Both are interesting but we are especially excited about the Hobbit.  

 

 

 

 

 The kids are really loving having a dog and as much as I worried, he is really no trouble at all.  He is a so snuggly and not hyper at all.  A perfect travel companion.  My only complaint at all is that he does shed.  We bought a brush though and I am hoping that helps.

 Boo has been working really hard on her phonics this week and it's paying off.  She is reading so well.  I can't believe she is only 5.  I am very glad I started K with her this year instead of holding off since she is a late summer birthday.

This boy is a little goof.  Lately everything goes on his head and becomes his hat.  He puts on a show for anyone who has the interest.  He seems to be adjusting well to our new "life."  We did finally get water hook ups today.  That proved to be interesting because we had a leak and it took forever to discover it was coming from under the bunkhouse.  Whew!  Once we found it it was an easy fix.  We need one new trap and by tomorrow night we should be good to go.  It will be nice to be using our own restroom. 

Chiggie went to youth group tonight at the church we visited on Sunday.  She really wanted to go and said she had a good time.  I think it was hard being new, especially since she was so young when we started our old church.  It's a new experience for her and as hard as it can be to watch, I want her to be independant and strong.  She wants to go back next week and is super excited about some of the trips they have planned.  It pays to be closer to the big city I suppose!

More Exploring

I think the weather has finally decided to warm up beginning with today.  It was nice to see the snow melting and walk back and forth to the bathrooms without getting all slushy!  After school we headed to check out the library for the first time.  I was a little worried that I would have trouble getting a library card, but it ended up being no problem. We were all very impressed.  It's a huge library with a lot of resources and Chiggie was excited that they have a "teen" room for middle school and up.  I told the kids on the way that they could only pick one book a piece due to storage issues, but we walked out with 17.  What can I say we love books.

Afterwards we went by Walmart to pick us some things we really needed and a few extras and then I took them to a really cool park we have driven by several times.  There is an old army tank to play on and they enjoyed reading all the information posted about it.  They played for a good hour before we had to come home.

I finished the evening doing a few loads of laundry (I am loving doing laundry 2x a week!) and the kids played more at the park here.  We had lasagna and bread sticks for dinner and it was even yummier than usual.  I am glad that tomorrow is Thursday and we are one day closer to the weekend!

Back to School

All good things must come to an end and our spring break did just that this morning.  There was some excitement in the air as I unloaded our school boxes and we got started.  Well, we got started after I sharpened the four pencils I finally managed to find with a knife.  Note to self: might want to buy pencils and a sharpener.  Anyhow, we got started by 8 and we were completely done by lunch.  I am really hoping this is the new routine as we would really like to have our afternoons free for exploring. Unfortunately today another rotten snow storm came through and we were yet again holed up all afternoon.  The girls made shrinky dinks and we watched a couple of hilarious youtube videos.  Tomorrow should be the last day of snow.....we'll see though!

Church and the Rec Center

This week we did some online research and found a church we thought we might like to try out.  Today we got up early and headed out.  First we went by Kmart and happened upon some beach towels, which we very much needed, on sale for $4 a piece!  I was thrilled and we all picked one out.  Boo also needed a new pair of flip flops and those were on sale for $1.  By the time we were done, it was time to head to church.  I got a good feeling right away  People were friendly and receptive of our family and the kids liked it too.  We will be going again next Sunday!

 

After church we came home for lunch and the kids and I took Boston for a nice long walk.  There are walking trails along our rv park and we took one that led down to the river.  The kids and the dog enjoyed it.  With the dog all exercised up, we went to the rec center to wear the kids out.  We all had a blast!  They have so many cool things including a lazy river, speed slide, zero-depth beach play area for the littles, a vortex, and a therapy pool the whole family can get into.  We ended up staying for several hours and the kids still weren't ready to go.  

Once we got home we went ahead and took our showers just to have them over with.  We still don't have water at our site so that complicates things a bit.  We grilled hot dogs and Italian sausages for dinner and then I made cinnamon rolls for dessert.  Thankfully, I wrote my paper for school already and can just relax with the family tonight.  The King only has one more day until he goes back to work and I know I will miss him during the day.  We have had a really fun "vacation."

Pretty

Chiggie saved up her babysitting money for several weeks before we left, so that once we got here she could get a 2nd piercing in her ear lobe.  She did great and it looks very pretty.  She was proud and I was proud of her that she set a goal and worked until she met it!

Introducing....

Boston!  When we went to Boulder on Friday, we swung by the Longmont Humane Society to check out their dogs.  His name is a complete coincidence and he is a one year old Chihuahua mix.  We love him to bits and he is the easiest dog ever.  We now have 3 pets along with us on this adventure!

Back in TIme

We took a trip down memory lane, quite literally, today and took the kids to Boulder where I spent my freshman year of college.  It was strange being back in a town that I truly loved and haven't been to in so long.  Oddly, I felt old as we drove down the same streets I used to bike down daily.  As we passed the child care center I worked at I couldn't help but wonder if my old boss and dear friend at the time still worked there.  I remember wanting to call her when I was pregnant for Chiggie, but I kept putting it off.  I'll call her when I know what I am having....then no, I'll wait until I have had the baby...until pretty soon time passed and I never did make that call.  I think the older we get the more apparent it becomes that we really are getting older. 

We also got the kids a little "surprise" while we were there.  They are thrilled, and I promise to post pictures tomorrow, when my I am not so tired and my head isn't full of so many old memories and dreams....

Laundry Time

Hands down, one of the weirdest things about this new life is the lack of chores.  There really is just not that much to do.  I take that back, there is a ton to do, but it really is no comparison for the amount of work I was faced with before.  In fact there was so much before that it never all got done.  It was really just too much for one adult and five younger kids.  Now cleaning the house takes about 20 mins and that includes making beds, sweeping, mopping, and vacuuming.  I can definitely handle that for awhile.  

 

 

 Laundry is also much simpler.  Twice a week, 3 loads, and we're done.  The girls and I headed over (it's just across the way from our site)  today and it only took about an hour and a half.  The laundry area is very clean and decent sized so the kids stayed in there with me and played with their dolls. 

The storm has not let up as of yet, but the warmer temperatures are causing a yucky, wet, slush that makes walking around pretty miserable.  The next two days should clear that up and maybe by early next week, we might even see the ground again!

Yesterday while we were in town we rented a couple of movies from Red Box.  The kids chose one and the King and I picked Lincoln.  It was really good, but even though I already knew the ending it made me sad.  It really reminded me, in the midst of this weeks bombing tradgedy, that these senseless acts aren't anything new.  That being said it's still hard to understand. 

Winter Storm Yogi

This storm is really no joke.  I say that only because time and time again, we have been expecting "the storm of the century" only to wake up to a light dusting of snow barely covering the road.  Not this time.  We woke up to a little more than a foot this morning with the potential for another foot tonight.  I can't say that I'm thrilled but it has prepared us for less than ideal circumstances.  Today we went into town to run some errands and grab some more groceries.  We also figured out that all we have to do to get more propane is leave our empty one out and they bring it back to us full.  This is just put onto our monthly tab, so super easy.  This made me feel better because last night I was worried about food and propane.  Now tonight maybe I will sleep better!

Snowed In

It's a good thing we got out yesterday, it seems that might be the last time we will for awhile.  That cold wind we experienced was blowing in a sizable snow storm that blanketed us with over 6" just during the night alone.  It continued to come down for most of the day and is predicted to keep going until Wednesday!  We spent the day watching movies, playing games, and eating.  Thankfully we are toasty warm and not to restless yet.  We'll see how the next couple of days go!



 



Exploring Town

By Sunday we were all feeling eager to get out a little and explore town.  We got up and showered right away and headed out by 11.  Our first stop was an outdoor mall with tons of really great shops.  The only downside of the whole experience was the bitter cold wind that froze us between shops.  After a bit we stopped to have lunch at Red Robin and to warm up.  Our lunch was great and was fun to just be out and enjoying things after such a stressfull week.  After eating, we were feeling warmed up enough to head back out and enjoy some more shops. Surprisingly I think everyone enjoyed Barnes and Noble the most.  Buster really liked playing with the toys in the kids section and the rest of us enjoyed perusing the book selection.  It was a great day out and I did take pictures but it was on my cell phone and we have terrible service right now, so none for now!

Getting Settled



Our first full day was spent "moving in" and getting settled.  I was surprised at how much work it was organizing the camper.  It was pretty stuffed when we left and going through everything was a tedious job.  The kids spent a good deal of their time at the park playing and that night we had a delicious bbq!  

 

 

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Departure Day

Amazingly, the day we thought would never come finally did!  The days leading up to this one are honesly a blur.  The day before was insane and included a blown break line on the truck that cost us almost an entire aftenoon of loading and cleaning.  Obviously it eventually all got done and by 11 am we were on the road.  Our destination had changed just a merre two weeks prior but ended up being for the best and everyone was very excited.

The drive went without incident, barring some gusting winds on the interstate that gave the King and the crew in his truck a bit of a scare.  We made it on time and the kids were starving, or so they thought.  We all laughed because the easiest place to park the rig was in a McDonald's parking lot!  The kids really liked their huge playground and everyone was much happier after eating.

After eating, we headed to our RV park which was really easy to find.  We love our spot, which is a large one with our own picnic table, fire pit, and a large pine tree.  It's also right acroos from the laundry and bathrooms and just a short walk to the playground.  We are so thankful to be here and looking forward to starting our new adventure!