Settling In

In the morning, the bug-bombed moving truck needed to be aired out, the vehicle titles needed to be found, the seven vehicles (not counting Mr. Budget) needed to be rearranged in the driveway and throughout the neighborhood while being packed with last minute items like massive boxes of plants, electronics, clothing, luggage, a dog kennel, snacks, etc. etc. etc.—and it was trash and recycling day, which means we were dodging those big rigs, too. Whew!! And my van was out of gas. And there was a barefoot lady wandering aimlessly into traffic at the top of a hill t-intersection where we didn’t have a stop sign. Gah!

But we got successfully on our way and made it to the hotel pretty uneventfully. Just out the window (we could read the drive thru menu if we squinted just right) was a Steak n’ Shake. Buck and I decided to walk across the parking lot to eat there, while the kids decided to drive to a Chipotle. It was like a date night—something we haven’t had in who knows how long. Kind of a desperate attempt, but certainly solitary. There weren’t even people to take our order, it was all done on a kiosk. Eventually a voice called quietly from some remote part of the kitchen, “Buck.” And there was our food. Huh.

Up in the morning at the hotel, we sort of realized that we needed to get moving earlier than the earlier we’d figured out earlier. Because I was the only one driving solo with an open seat, I was going to slingshot around Buck near the airport and meet Gabby when we got close enough. But we got off to a bumpy start when a rainy morning and a large landscaping rock put a thump in our moving truck’s progress. Farm and Fleet took a sledgehammer to the problem, and--with a subsequent full tank of gas--we were back on the road (thankfully this all happened basically at and next to the hotel), but behind the Crew. They got far enough ahead of us that we decided they would go together to get Gabby, while I continued to stick with Buck and the truck, and Daisy baby, too. Teamwork makes the moving dream work!

So that was like 8 a.m. to 3 or 4 p.m. with the time change mixed in; the kids got to the apartment a bit ahead of us even with the key pick up. Caelan was understandably disappointed with the apartment’s size and cleanliness, but after a few legitimate tears she chose to see the potential and jumped into making it beautiful. Gabby and I ran to Dollar General along with ONE MILLION high school students who were doing a Young Life summer camp—oh my golly!! Amidst their happy chaos we bought bright, daylight bulbs to lift the yellow gloom of the apartment and bug bombs to mediate the various crawly/fly-y things. I don’t know if our AA batteries or Noah’s YouTube tutorial got the air-conditioner working, but we were knocking out the discomforts one by one!

Also, we were all hungry—hotel breakfast doesn’t go far, especially when you choose not to eat it, lol We shuttled the carloads of plants to the very near (wow!) VRBO, dropped off our bags, and decided to fellowship over a meal. The newlyweds treated us to a delicious pizza place in town (their cheesy breadsticks—chef’s kiss, as Gabby might mime :)—we sat outside, so Daisy could join us. Cute setting, overly-familiar/friendly staff (?? we’re trying to categorize the culture :), happy Daisy, eyes bigger than our stomachs, so hooray for leftovers! It was nice to sit down and regroup. It was nice to take in the green trees, the colorful flowers, the little creek mostly hidden nearby, and the rustic charm of the building behind us. It was nice to be together refreshing our bodies with food and our tired moods with cheerful conversation. There is so much to be thankful for!

Back at the apartment, some sidewalk weed removal and dancing took place while we waited for the apartment to air out from the bug bomb. Inside, the kitchen fridge was tippy, but it kept the pizza cold (once we remembered to bring it in from the car, ha!) Moving all the boxes in to get to the beds at the back of the truck became a priority as sleep time approached--a time both wanted and needed! The boys worked on reassembling the main bedroom furniture, while Gabby built the desk/murphy bed (that Caelan ordered months ago) from scratch—that was the first of her big projects!

The good news is all that hard work meant . . . everyone had a comfortable place to rest that night. Even G$, who opted to crash on the brown couch next to the giant kennel, Daisy, and a wall of boxes, rather than an air mattress in the VRBO kitchen. Brennen came back to the VRBO with us and snoozed on the couch bed. It’s a cute place, with lots of Jesus things on the walls and nice smells and soft textures. Good books, too! Not that we had time to read any :) Next time we visit perhaps. It could maybe use some more snacks, and a washing machine . . .

Our first full day in town was very full indeed! We met at the apartment and drove up to a cool breakfast/coffee shop inside one of the renovated 1800s buildings on the town’s main street. Fueled up, Buck, the girls, and I decided to visit the local grocery store which was part of the gas station—they have Dolly Parton cake mix, frosting, pancake mix, etc. there. I find that odd. No one else seems to. Lol. Anyway, we looked at prices, grabbed some drinks and snacks to go with leftover pizza lunch, then headed back to the apartment.

We did some more organizing and unpacking while the newlyweds went to turn in their move-in fix-it checklist (it’s kinda long) and to learn how to submit maintenance requests (for their air conditioner which drips in the bedroom and percolates in the closet and hums in the office and their water heater which pops when the shower runs . . .) Job security for maintenance or homecare learning opportunities for the newlyweds, I guess! They also got their gym passes and took care of some other on-campus business (I’m 99% sure it was this day, but I could be off by one).

I do know Caelan researched like crazy to find all the best renter-friendly products to maximize the storage space and aesthetic she and Noah hoped for in their new space. She totally nailed it! The boys helped moved the previous day’s impressive pile of boxes out of the way to create a sort of runway for wallpaper layout—the project Caelan most looked forward to completing. She and Gabby problem-solved through it like pros! The end result is suuuuuuper cute! Somehow Gabby still had the patience and steam to stick-tile the kitchen—a tedious and detailed effort that looks quite marvelous. I saw the same product being promoted on an HGTV renovation show the same night, so it must be legit : ) Not easy, but legit.

While I unpacked kitchen boxes, Buck worked on scrubbing out the bathroom with his drill and all the chemicals we bought at the store. It needed it. Badly. Noah took a run at the bathroom sink with the same items the next day. There have certainly been some apartmental updates over the years, but not all at once. So, there are some things that are still waiting their turn for retirement after maybe 20 plus years of good usage.

We also think they may have hard water—Noah tried using the kitchen sink sprayer and it WOULD NOT turn off! If it was a prank by Gabby, it could not have been pulled off more perfectly (it wasn’t :) The kitchen got a good floor wash, and it took Buck and a bag of tools to get the faucet to work properly again (the sprayer is still broken, but at least not showering the kitchen).

The days kind of run together, but this might have been the day the boys went to the auto parts store to get Caelan a new tail light for her car. And also perhaps the day Caelan’s over-the-toilet shelf arrived. G$ built that for her and she is delighted with it! Before, there was this off-centered, paint-splattered, golden-oak, mirrored medicine cabinet hung awkwardly above the toilet. I’ll spare you Graysen’s thoughts on that, lol! They kept it in case the college wants it reattached (stuck it up in a closet), but it really looks like dumpster furniture. The replacement piece is bright white and matches the sink cabinet and looks cute with the sunburst shower curtain Caelan selected. They did have to prop the new storage shelf up on some stilts, because the toilet is for giants, tall giants, but it all came together really well, yay team!

Hmmm, I might be off on a couple of events, because I just remembered this was the day I needed to log in for a work webinar. Buck and I went back to the VRBO; he took a nap while I took notes on the future of the blue-collar workforce. An hour later, I tuned in to my dear college friend’s dad’s funeral service. Sometimes technology is amazing, and I loved hearing her husband and boys’ stories about her quietly funny, gently courageous, God-loving dad. It’s hard losing your dad.

Well, soon Caelan wondered what we were thinking for dinner. I texted back a taco emoji. We knew there was a good Mexican restaurant in town from our previous visit. We walked over, Buck and G$ drove. The weather was so nice! The waiter joked with Buck when he asked if they had hot sauce that if they didn’t have hot sauce, they could not be a Mexican restaurant. He gave Buck the level 1 and told him there were two more levels of hot if he wanted to keep trying. Buck was happy with the flavor of level 1—so maybe next time :)

After dinner, the newlyweds offered to buy ice cream, so we walked (Buck and G$ drove) up to the local ice cream shop. Caelan wanted to show Gabby the campus, so we walked across the street with our treats. Buck and G$ headed back to the apartment, while we took our tour of the lake, helped a high school student with an Amazing Race challenge question, got to recognize some locals by sight, and meandered back to the apartment. 

Lots of cute houses with lots of different architectural styles, lots of interesting businesses and more empty storefronts with potential—Caelan’s got her mental wheels turning—it just feels safe and quiet. We met Buck and Daisy out for a walk of their own, coming to meet us on the other side of town. Fancy that, we know people here :)

A New Aesthetic

We met at the apartment earlyish the next morning. Caelan made cinnamon rolls and Noah made bacon—their first prepared meal in the new place! While we munched, we put together our game plan for the day—the “must-do” list was lengthy. Caelan and Noah started by getting the rental truck de-furred (so much puppy fluff!!) for its return. The fire alarm man, who failed to show up the previous morning, was due for a repeat appearance this morning. I didn’t know if Daisy would like the fire alarm man or if the fire alarm man would like Daisy—after all, no dogs were supposed to be in the apartments (although she did have a temporary pass). So, Daisy factored into our plans for the day. Turns out the fire alarm man didn’t like where Caelan stashed the fire extinguisher (under the kitchen sink, instead of sticking out like a giant red thumb in the hallway). During his visit, he retrieved the extinguisher from its logical new home and stubbornly returned it to hitchhiking in the hall. Not cute though, fire alarm man!

At about the same time Buck and the guys headed north to return the truck, the girls and I headed north to the airport with Daisy. Raise your daughters to love each other and to be each other’s best friends, and when God honors that prayer of your heart, watching them say goodbye in the airport drop-off lane is tough stuff. I’m definitely praising God for their forever connection and wishing the physical distance between them for this little while didn’t hurt so much. I’m so thankful they love each other so!

Our return to town was just a bit behind the boys, so they popped into the VRBO to grab the remaining plant boxes for transport to the apartment. Caelan put a lot of thought into how to make the small windows work in the new place—but there are only so many options when you’ve got a jungle to photosynthesize! She’s got plans to remedy the lack of light situation. When Prime days hit, so will the boxes at her front door 😉

Next, the newlyweds gathered up everything we thought would be needed for a trip to the motor vehicle office. Silly us. Motor vehicle offices always have secret requirements that no one gets to know about on the first visit! Including, apparently—the vehicle, which needs to be inspected in person! (What?!) Also, to register a vehicle, you gotta have a state ID. To have a state ID you gotta have proof of address; this can be challenging after just a few days of being at that address. BUT after a trip back to the apartment, and a bit of legwork in town (Caelan discovered how cute the town library is despite their somewhat shaky, but necessary in this situation, printing services), we returned to the county seat to try again!

Buck texted me updates from inside where he told the bewildered state ladies that he was “Dadding”—first, the car passed inspection, paperwork filled out. Next, Caelan passed the driver’s license requirements. Then Noah. Then across the hall to do pictures. Then back across the hall to prove they had licenses to register the car—close scrutiny on the paperwork, but PASS! Back across the hall for plates. And—like 17 hours later (just kidding! The ladies were actually mostly really nice and held their place in lines, so they could pop back and forth)—success! Licensed and registered in their new state! For under a hundred bucks—wooot!

We then toured a Costco, grocery store, and Home Depot to find food and misc. things to continue projects at the apartment, all the while keeping track of Gabby’s progress toward home. We were too late to visit the campus bookstore to shop via facetime, as we’d planned, but it turned out there was no WIFI in there anyway, so shopping got double delayed.

Let’s see . . . I got the meal we’d selected at Costco put into the oven, then helped Caelan decide where to put up her artwork in most of the rooms. Noah kept unpacking boxes—so many boxes! We definitely filled the dumpster to overflow proportions :) The boys helped when called upon, but also made sure the TV and video games were functioning correctly ;) Daisy successfully made sure no one forgot about her, and Buck headed back to the VRBO.

When the fireflies came out to play in the warm dark, I drove to the VRBO (all two minutes away) and looked for an on-the-way-home hotel with Buck. Brennen walked over about 11 p.m. with the requested snacks :) He and Buck watched Forged in Fire and I went to bed. That turned out to be the best night of sleep I’d had since we got back from Africa—7.5 hours with no wake-ups, yay!

On our final morning, we left a little later than planned, which was a better plan. Buck asked a couple of checkout questions and thanked our host for the stay via text. When he mentioned that we’d like to stay again, the host responded that we could book directly and avoid the online fees in the future. Sweet! While he and Brennen were getting the bags together, I walked across the road. I figured Caelan and I could do one more project, and she chose to put the cute ivy contact paper from the kitchen drawers on the fridge to make it look a bit more interesting and colorful.

Next, we kenneled Miss Daisy, loaded into the van, and tried another coffee shop in town—we all agreed we liked the ambiance of the first shop better, but the flavor of the drinks at the second one more. Then we drove onto campus—suddenly realizing that Buck and the boys missed the school tour on our visit a couple years ago—so, we took a bit of an extended wander of the student center, bookstore (so many logo things to buy!), and campus grounds. Such a pretty place! Peaceful and well-kept. Also, very quiet this time of year, when there are very few students milling about.

Daisy was delighted when we returned, perhaps because the car insurance inspector lady (for the hail damage), who arrived quite early, had been knocking on the door? But, another big thing on their move-in check list done!

And then . . . it was time to go. We took a quick video of the apartment, took some front door photos, prayed over their new space, shared some tearful farewell hugs, and loaded into the van. It is really hard to drive away not knowing exactly when the next in-person hello will be. Ooof. I may just be wearing all of my new university gear at home for the next week—never mind that it is all sweatshirts and sweatpants and long-sleeved t-shirts and it is supposed to be like 120 degrees. It will be fine! Fine! Wahhhhhhh! Not fine :(

Okay, well . . . so, we quickly realized it was already noon, not the intended 10, and we had *eaten* coffee and chai for breakfast. So, we stopped by Chipotle for lunch, then updated Buck’s former boss’s wife (the family we vacationed with in the Tetons several years ago—they’ve been so supportive of our family over the years!) on our timeline. She adjusted her plans and sent us an address that was easy to hop on and off the interstate to meet for ice cream. We spent a much-needed hour catching up in person, lots of hugs, and then we were back on the road again.

I definitely needed something to make me smile, so when I accidentally discovered how easy it is to make stickers from photos in my phone into fun pictures like this . . . I just had to share!

Noah, didn't miss a beat--he texted back "I have an idea" with my work of *art* filling the blank space above their TV. That made me laugh for real! He has my vote for interior design!

More than several hours later, we found ourselves circling a once familiar college town with a very different look, feel, and nightlife than the one we’d just left. Feeling road-weary, kinda grubby, and a lil bit hangry, we attempted to check into an unexpectedly bougie hotel that apparently sprang from the earth five years ago, completely disorienting me from what used to be “old stomping grounds.” 

Daisy Baby turned into straight up Crazy Daisy as she plowed her way into the lobby where I’d just explained that she’d been part of a service dog program etc. etc. when they asked—and gave us the service dog discount. Thank goodness the weirdness of their priorities put dogs above people in that scenario, because Daisy was not very convincing of her very well-behaved roots! Public access? Yeah—she had it! Did she look very service ready? Oh my . . . granted, she’d been taken away from Caelan, stuck in a van for seven hours, was three hours past her dinnertime, hyped up on a puppuccino and the collagen bone Buck bought her at a gas station. Her potty walk with me was interrupted by the front desk needing to see me, because I’d booked the room (with Buck’s credit card) and he wasn’t enough proof we wanted to stay there. They had no parking, no luggage carts, and there were one million distractions—including a little league wiffle ball team hitting round objects around the lobby and outside the exit doors. I mean . . . give the furry girl a break!

We made it to our room (a cart appeared, hooray!) Buck went to park the van down some distant alley, and we decided to take the wild one (now fed, but very snooty about the city water in her dish) for a much-needed exercise. The ped-mall looked completely different with no recognizable restaurants—but you could still taste the beer by breathing the air, so I knew we were in the same place. The old mall now is brick-faced storefronts that thankfully sported a familiar chain restaurant that seemed our best option. Brennen helped me walk the wild one up to the campus and posed with her for her second collegiate photo of the day. She’s so advanced for her age (hahaha). We met Buck and G$ on the sidewalk and then headed back to the hotel to eat in our room.

I fell asleep, like way asleep—didn’t hear the TV turn off, didn’t notice the lights get shut off, didn’t notice the puppy get kenneled (although she might have done that for herself around the time I zonked out); I was wiped out! I awoke in a bit of a panic the next morning at 10 a.m. Eastern time thinking, “The puppy chugged all that water and we didn’t take her down from our fifth-floor perch to potty before we went to bed. OH NO!!!” But clearly she was fine . . . and likes the air-conditioner right about her kennel, lol 😊

Buck, G$, and I took a run at breakfast, which was above average! Then Buck went to find the van while we got the puppy and the room ready for exit. I could share more details of the trip home and the guys working on the cars and the laundry and resettling into the house and Daisy’s confusion about still being an only dog, but honestly, there is sooooo much to write about, I’m going to let this be the conclusion of the tale.

Wow, what a week! I’m super thankful we got to make some new memories, together, as a family, in the newlyweds’ new home, so that it feels more like home from the start. Chase has some catching up to do on all the coffee shops and restaurants, but we’ve got all the outdoor exploring to do on future visits, so there is more adventure to come!

Preparing for Africa

In the two weeks leading up to our overseas trip, preparation became a full-time experience! I spent easily 40+ hours each week ordering supplies, collecting supplies, figuring out how many I needed for each school and age level, sorting, pre-cutting, tying 600 bells on tiny ribbons--oh yes, I called in help! I could not do it all on my own! Thankfully Buck, my awesome neighbors, the newlyweds, and and trip-participant/our pastor's daughter all pitched in and helped get the prep accomplished.

Packing everything was another massive task! I had piles and outfits and ideas laid out at least five times. And then I would put them all back in a mound and try again another day (mostly because they were on the bed and we wanted to go to sleep :)

Eventually, I caught Brennen between work and hanging out with his friends. He presented me with this pile for packing about three minutes later . . . lol, for real!

Although the pups tried to be very helpful, packing their toys and nearly themselves, we did have to put up some blockades to keep the ever-present fur from adding weight to the suitcases :)

What a sigh of relief it was to zip up that last zipper and put that massive task off my mind and to-do list! Did we bring too much food? Oh 100%--we ate like kings the entire visit! Did we utilize every craft item we brought? I wish we had, but no. Our bags got delayed even longer than we did. However, we left suitcases full of supplies for the children at the schools, so I think it was worth the effort. I hope they make rainbow tambourines from the (well-marked and thoroughly explained, itemized in individual oversized plastic bags) example found in the supply kit. Can I imagine what kind of crazy chaos spending time in the schools would have been without all this careful preparation? Lol, no! I don't even want to try!! :)

Rewind the Time

Each time I encountered one of my many to-do lists, located throughout the house and on my phone, a recurring theme appeared: finish school with Brennen, cap and gown pic of Brennen, grades and transcript for Brennen (still haven't checked that one off the list :) Graduation preparation. Time to wrap up more than a decade of education with my third scholar. All those years of learning letters, numbers, stories, histories, sciences, field trips, art projects (which of course he loved every minute of, lol), all reaching the grand finale for the third time. Kinda caught me unaware how that was going to feel. Ooof.

Is he wearing his sister's cap and gown? Yes. Was it too short for him and did he find that funny? Oh yes :) Did we put the cap on backwards and forget to move the tassel to the other side? Yes. Will I forget laughing with him about these things while he begrudgingly cooperated with my photo-taking frenzy in the midst of his video-gaming afternoon? Nope, not ever. Love this graduating guy, so, so much!!

June? Was That You???

It feels as though the June we just mad-dashed through deserves a bit of a placeholder on the blog. I'm having trouble even typing on this suddenly unfamiliar keyboard; my fingers can't find the right keys! I am planning to go back and put some meat on the bones of these few words, but perhaps as a reminder to myself . . .

--New job for me

--New job for G$

--Dental surgery for Buck

--Big boss walks for Buck

--Wild trip to Africa x 3

--Father's Day return and dinner with the Crew

--Baseball games with Mr. M

--Grandma J flies into town!

--Farm visit

--Graduation party weekend!

--Family dinner after the party

--Floods and storms

--More dental surgery for Buck

--Golfing in the lightning

--More big boss walks for Buck

--Packing up the newlyweds + dinner & cookies

--Pizza party and movies

--G$ buys another car

--Olive in diapers (two weeks too late)

--More packing, moving, and cleaning at the newlyweds'

--Our house and driveway fill to capacity

--A lovely evening memorial for Mr. R with our beautiful family

Goodness! Well, that's a lot to catch up on. July began with fireworks in the neighborhood, returning Grandma J to her home state, and Buck's neck turning to fire needles, so he can't sleep (and the shot in his tushie only helped for a few hours). We got our mower back (after about a month), the newlyweds are heading here from visiting Noah's fam to spend the rest of the week with us and their belongings (lol), and yesterday I rewrote an article and made 40 + calls (because no one is going to be around this weekend, and we are going to be pretty busy next week). 

So here comes July! If you see June, tell her Hi! We hope to catch up sometime soon :)