Our Adventure to San Diego

Ok, the whole story in Cliffnotes:

My last day of work in Harrison was 5/10/11,  I already really miss all of my co-workers, very very much :-( 
On 5/11 the packers came to pack the house,  I was not really prepared and it was a mad scramble to get the essentials we would need for at least 2 weeks of hotel and suitcase living, tossed into the van, before the tossed it into a box.  They were done with our entire house in less than 8 hours...it was unbelievable!! We stayed that night in a hotel in Harrison, and we got to lounge by the pool and in the hot tub for the evening.  Camille went to church for last time, came home with puffy eyes, but handled it like a trooper. I think the upcoming changes and excitment weighed out the sadness, although she does miss her friends, and is chomping at the bit to get somewhere that she can meet some peers.  Wednesday was also Aidens last day at school.  He misses his teacher the most.  He will finally sit down and write them a letter today!  Lilli-Kate went to the daycare all day Wed and Thurs, as she is NOT tolerating the changes very well at all!!

Thursday 5/12/11 the moving truck came, and it took them longer to load the truck, than it did to pack the house, despite what I had been told before hand.  This apparently was due to The driver being a bit lazy, didnt want to help with the loading, but checked progress every so often, yelled at the packers, about the placement of things and made them pull everything out and repack to his liking!  GHRR, the packers were not happy and neither was I, as this was taking away from my driving time. I also received a very upsetting phone call early in the morning that distressed me most of the morning.  The realty company (remax) who managed the rental house we had been living in, told the owner of the home that we were not going to pay rent, which was not true, as well as several other things that were not accurate. The details are not important, however it just so happened that the owner of the home is married to a Lt. Colonel in the national guard reserves or something like that.  So he called my cell phone and proceeded to threaten "coming down on Daniel so hard, he wouldnt know what hit him" "he had already found D's command" "it would not be good to start out that way as a new guy in the service" and on and on and on.  "he doesnt normally get involved but when his wife tells him someone is going to skip out on rent, it really ticks him off, and he is an attorney as well" "I needed to get in touch with D right away and pass along this message".  It was rough, I was upset on so many levels.  The realty company came in and took pictures of every little detail that was wrong with the dump, we lived in to pass on to the owner, and because we didnt take pictures or document the issues prior to our move in, we would be held responsible for them.  And the house "better be clean" and "are you gonna shampoo the carpets, it stinks in here, and the house hasnt been presentable to show, and nothing could be repaired because of all the 'stuff"', the ladies were total B@#$%^%!  I was bawling, the kids were freaking, the movers were fighting, and I couldnt reach Daniel!!  I think what upset me most is that because the owners have military connection, they will probably take us for every penny they can get out of us to make repairs on that horrible slum!  However, once I calmed down, I realized that the man was totally out of line to pull rank like that, and to take it out on me to begin with. Once I got to talk to D he reassured me of this.  He spoke with his command after they noticed something was wrong the next day,  who supported us and said "if he calls me again for any reason I am to get his number and give it to D, and they would take care of it".  The last thing I wanted to do was distract or upset D but it is nice to know we have support.  After all they have "money and time invested" in Ds success, and he definately is succeeding. He has been voted second in his class by his peers, only topped by a sailor who has been through this entire phase in the course previously :-). But who would have ever thought otherwise???
Anyways, we finally got on the road about 1630,  didnt get much driving time in before we had to stop in oklahoma, we were all exhausted.  We spent the whole day cleaning the house as the movers pulled stuff out,  I ended up having to hire a very wonderful lady from work, to get in and do the yard and haul stuff off to the dump.  I am so grateful she was able to help on such short notice! Thanks Sparky!

Before we got out of Ar. we took these uplifting photos. The first I called the Light at the End of My Tunnel, and the other two were an interesting cloud we called The Wave cloud we were riding into San Diego :)

The trip was pretty un eventful, the kids were great!  Lil didnt fuss at all the whole way, she travels very well.  They all entertained themselves.  We saw Snow covered mountains in the middle of The Desert, Albuquerque (sp).

We were excited about seeing a real Desert of sand in southern Ca, and Then got to see the Border fence of Mexico.  We went through several borderpatrol stops and alot of toll booths in Ok.  Camille thought we would go broke with all the tolls :).

California also has Huge mountains made of piles of Rocks??? Almost like the were bulldozed into piles, except the are way to large for that?  When we entered into the mountains, about 65 miles out of San Diego, we thought "we are gonna get to the top of theses mountains we will look down and see a sprawling city and the coast.....boy we were wrong!!! the mountains go on and on and on.  You actually weave through the mountains to descent into the city, but the city is mountains?  We were shocked!  Couldnt even see the coast until we got onto Coronado island. 

Lilli-kates firt beach experience was a success.  She was kinda in shock at seeing Daddy after so long. She was very happy.  These pictures are on the Bay side of the island.  Pixie was elated to be out of the car and loved the water more than anyone, wich is totally suprising, as she is the dog that RUNS from the word "bath".

We stayed on the island for 3 nights, Walked the quaint little town and ate some great seafood!   Monday I had a bit of difficulty getting my ID, due to a paperwork messup and once again had to depend on Ds command to help us out.  D was able to get out of training a bit to escort me to the ID lab on his base.  Which was much more efficient and quick than trying to deal with the busy id lab and PSD on the main land.  Luckily he is doing so well, and they were not worried about him missing a beach run.  Without my ID, I could not get on base to get stickers so I could get on base, kinda a catch 22.  I also could not get through the gate to the housing office to get us a home.  So we paid for an extra night and Cheif Gomez came to my rescue again :-)  I Went to the housing office and found out that there was only 1 home available that we could get into for one reason and another.  God blessed us,  It happened to be one we had been watching on the military housing website.  4 bedroom 2.5 bath, townhome, garage, fenced yard, NEX and walmart nearby, along with all other shopping needs.  Only 10 minutes from the island, not far off the interstate.  Military housing so lots of kids, pool at complex, fitness center and rentable clubhouse.  School within walking distance.  We counldn't be happier.  The only catch is we cant move in until 5/24/11.  So we are staying at the Extended Stay America for a week. Oh and our stuff was supposed to arrive on the 23rd, so it has to be put in storage until a company can deliver it to us on the 26th, Oh Well what is 2 more days?
 Had to have Ds command bail us out again, as I found out that housing will not let me sign a lease for housing without 2 kinds of POA a General and a Special one that has a specific statement regarding allotments and payments,  GHRR.  Anyways SWCC worked their magic and I had 3 POAs to cover all possible issues, by the next day!  I have a Thank You card waiting to go back with D on Monday to give to our Angel, Chief Gomez.
 I also have one for a gentleman that works at the housing office, I have been talking with him for several months, asking questions and getting info. He has been very patient, always quick to return my calls and find answers for me. When I finally got into the housing office he stuck with me through the whole proccess, pulled some strings to get us our house, and made a bunch of calls to get us set up here in the Hotel.  Although the extra Hotel expenses have depleted our savings,  we are making it and still very happy to be here closer to D.  Money will be tight for a while and we will only be doing "Free" sightseeing, until I get a job, but we have plenty of time for all that.  Next week, will be Getting all my papers, resume, certifications and such inline for the dreaded job hunt.  I wanted to get to stay home with the kids, but a part-time job is a must I think:-)  We are all happy and ready to get settled, Tonight We will pick up D for the weekend, and go enjoy a very cheap but much talked about mexican resturaunt down south of the island.  It is supposed to be fabulous!!  Lilli-Kate has aquired a pretty rough cold in the last 2 days, and we are worried about giving it to D, as this may hinder his training, but I suppose there is no help for it. 
Until next time, with Love
Laurie

Procrastination.

I have been putting this wonderful thing called blogging on the back burner lately, because I feel as if I have nothing worth while to talk about!  I'm finally breaking down now, because I think enough time has gone by that surely I can pull something together.  Now there is too much to say and I'm stressed! This is my love/hate relationship with procrastination.  We have been companions for some many years now.  Sometimes he makes me feel good for a bit, but he always lets me down in the end.  I should replace him with a new buddy? Maybe some day I'll meet, Motivation, Go Ahead or Do It....
I am slightly marvelled that I don't have so much more to say about the holidays, considering my love and fascination for this time of the year?

So we had a good Christmas at our house Saturday morning,  Kids were very happy. Aiden got a Nintendo DS finally(hes been asking for several years), Camille got a computer(that we are still trying to get in good working order). We did not consider that her room would not have a phone jack to be able to connect the Internet modem in to. And the the DVD writer stopped working. Consequently, we have to buy a wireless USB adapter and a new Drive just so she can get on Facebook and you tube and download her new PC game she also got for Christmas.  Ugh, ghrr, yikes and all of the other exasperation noises I can make to express my feelings toward electronics!!! It takes the patience of Job to deal with computer junk, and patience was not one of my God given gifts!  Lilli-Kate got a Barbie that produced a very animated "WOW" and big round eyes, I wish I had it on film! 

Later that day we went over the mountain to Meme and Papaws house, for a few more presents and a delightful Christmas dinner!

Daniel and I both worked the whole week, waiting with great expectations for New Years Eve!!  Our buddy Tab came down again with her kiddos this time.  Poor Camille had to stay home and Babysit While the Grown ups went out to have some fun.  I can't tell you how many times I heard "that's not fair"... One would think me telling her "I don't care" once would be enough, but man, those teenagers are persistent!! The kids had party favors and some bubbly (sparkling grape juice). They stayed up till midnight (except Keaton who was out by 1930, and Lilli shortly after), and slept a little late on Saturday.  This worked out great for us!!

Don't worry its just the cider bottle.

Us grown ups went out for a nice meal (Red Lobster-thanks to Christmas gift cards :-), despite the fact that Tabatha is deathly allergic to shellfish...One might ask "why would you choose to go to Red Lobster if you have a shell fish allergy?  Well, like I mentioned above, Gift certificates. As well as, Tabatha loves other seafood, and as it turns out Red Lobster is very considerate of people with allergies, they have a special menu and everything!! We had a great dinner and then decided to try out the dueling piano bar again.  It was of course standing room only, my feet and legs are still telling me how abusive I am.  I enjoyed the music and entertainment much more this time and the whole experience was actually quite fun.  Interestingly enough, all of the entertainment did not come from the pianist!  Ernie Biggs is a 2 story bar and both times we have been, we spent our time up stairs, with the best view of all the excitement.  The pianos are downstairs backed by floor to ceiling mirrors, as well as 2 full bars and the restrooms in the back. Up stairs, the balcony, 1 bar and the VIP room that has a bathroom.  It just so happens that a wedding party had reserved the room for a reception. They actually flagged a few bar stools on the balcony, the doors to the small VIP room AND the bathroom door!!!  Tabatha tried to use the restroom and the Mother of the groom actually stopped her and said the bathroom was for the VIP party only, and would not let her use it!! As if the common people, hanging out at the same bar as them, are not good enough to sit on their toilet? To me if you can't share a public restroom, you shouldn't be hanging out in a piano bar, on New Years Eve no less! Oh well, by this time Tab has had plenty to drink and it was an exciting adventure down the stairs and across the whole club to the common persons restroom in the back corner. 

The other nightly entertainment was the skank in the very short strapless mini-dress, who apparently forgot her undergarments.  The dress truly needed its straps back,  it was trained to strategically fall down every time she raised her arms, a bit of a preview of the nights events to come, or just easy access.  So, LittleMiss Shows Alot made an interesting dance move of squeezing the sides of her boobs, as if to create some cleavage, while discreetly hiking up her dress every 25 seconds.  And I must mention her greatest feature, the "get low" booty grind down to the floor, that ended as she was rising with a very liberal and obvious (supposed to be hidden, maybe nobody is watching, I have a huge itch) vaginal scratch session, that promises any watching  "I want a piece of that" party goer, a nasty, itchy, crawly, lasting reminder of their year end bash!  

And the final Act of the night was the redneck super model that provided us a little strip tease on stage, by unbuttoning her much too tight plaid shirt to reveal her matching red Victoria secret miracle wonder Bra.  While doing so, snagging cash off the piano and out of the pianist tip jar!  As her date notices he tries to distract her (or the pianist) with a grinding gyrating slobber-fest.  Needless to say the entertainment came after this, when the pianist made her give the money back, the bouncers show up and her date has to physically carry her off the stage as she is groping the piano bench, because her time has been cut short :)

 Daniel and I talked about it and I think we will go up there again and try to get there early enough to get a table next time :-).

All right, I follow Daniels cousin, Danielle's, blog and Her latest post about recapping the last decade really gave me some ideas of what I'd like to do with my Blog. I hope she doesn't mind me copying her idea :) In order to avoid the inactivity of my blog due to insufficient writing material of our current happenings in life,  I will start at the beginning and recap my life through shared pictures and memories. (I got a really cool Scanner/ Copier/Printer to help with this) Well, maybe not quite so structured as Chronological order, but maybe certain events and highlights!

It will be a bit of my own scrapbook. Of course, I will input and report all the current developments to do with the family and kids and all that sweet here and now stuff, as well!

I can't wait!