We're Homeless

Well, we are officially "homeless." Yesterday morning, we cleared the army housing office. This morning Jeff cleared post. We have no address, other than:

Our Van & Camper
Some Campground, USA (or maybe Canada...soon)

It is very exciting!!!

I have discovered why staying at a campground that is adjacent to an army airfield might not be a good idea.

There are these things called "night flights." Training exercises that go on at night. And with it being helicopters, these birds are flying low. REAL low. Like tree-top level. Like so low, I could hear one that sounded like it had mechanical issues, because something was clanking in the engine as it flew overhead at about 1am.

Oh my!

Hickory DOES NOT appreciate them, but he is getting used to them. It is only a couple more days and we'll be off to the new place.

I was very relieved that all the flights finally stopped....just in time for a nice thunderstorm to roll in during the wee hours. Thunderstorms are like nyquil or ambien or some other sleep aid to me. A storm rolls in, and I am OUT.

So low-flying birds aside, our very first night in our camper went pretty well. We're still kind of getting used to it, and learning the routine, but it is all good.

Loving the adventure.... until next time!

Winding Up

Well, our internet is off at the house. We came up to the neighborhood center to do some laundry before we clear housing in the morning. So we brought our laptops along and are using the "WiFi" here to check e-mails and all that fun stuff.

We pulled the camper from the garage and loaded up the pots & pans, dishes and "pantry" - along with the sleeping bags and sheets. It is already for tomorrow!

The boys went and spent the night at their best friends' house tonight, so it is just Jeff, Jen and I. We are going to do the laundry, then head out for some chinese for dinner. Afterwards we will head back to the house, take showers, clean the bathroom, and finish cleaning the kitchen. Not much left to do. Tomorrow we will get up, empty the house, and do a final wipe-down, mop and vacuum, and that will be it.

Tomorrow will be our first night in the camper!!! Wooohooo!!!!

My internet is off! Whatever will I do?!?! hehehehe...

He Came Back!!!!!

I am so completely relieved!

Jeff went outside, and he came walking back in announcing, "Look who came home."

It was CABBAGE!!!!!!

He was standing outside, when he felt something jump across his feet. He looked down, and there was Cabbage!

I nearly started to cry.....I'm choking them back as it is. Thank you Lord, I was so worried about him! All I could think was, "what if he is still out there and we move away, and he comes home and we aren't here?!?" I've been doing lots of praying for this little bunny.



He's home safe and sound.

Update: We're Still at It

We are still working on cleaning the house. But it is no rush, because we have plenty of time. Today we are going to fix a couple window screens that have come loose, and replace a broken blind.

Tomorrow I will shampoo the living room carpet, so that it is nice and pretty. Then I will do a little touch-up painting.

Wednesday I will clean out the kitchen, master bathroom and bedroom, do a final upstairs vacuuming, and vacuum the hall & staircase.

Thursday morning, we will load everything into the van and camper, clean the downstias bathroom, mop, and do a final wipe-down and vacuum. At 11:30 am we will have our "final out inspection." After that we will be OUT!

Jeff made reservations earlier for our stay at the Fort Bragg campground. That will be fun, as they have a beach and everything there.

On a sad note, last night we had a huge storm. Our rabbit, Cabbage's house was blown over. We discovered this morning when Jack went out to feed him, that it had been blown over, and Cabbage was no where to be found. I fixed up his house, and put some fresh food & water in there, with the door & ramp open. We are hoping he comes back. He was going to go to his new home this week. I know there are lots of wild rabbits out there, but Cabbage is a snowy gray color, almost silver, and with all the predators in the woods out here, he wouldn't stand a chance. We are very, very sad about it. I'm hoping to look out there in the morning and see Cabbage hopping around the yard.

Baby Cabbage

The last Phase of the Movers

On Tuesday two ladies came and took our "Unaccompanied Baggage" to be shipped to Alaska. That was the stuff that goes quickly and will be waiting for us when we get there.

Wednesday, packers came and packed up nearly everything we own.

My classroom.

Thursday, they were supposed to come pick up everything, but the decided to go ahead and come on Friday, the original pick-up date.

This was Jeff on Thursday morning, killing some time, waiting for movers.

And then on Friday, we got up, put all of our "don't pack" stuff in the closet, and waited for the rumbling sound of a semi truck. It didn't take long.

Here is the first crate. They begin bringing items out to the driveway, and gradually fill the crates one by one.

It is like the ultimate jigsaw puzzle.

Several hours later, the truck pulls out of our street.

And there goes every last thing we own, with the exception of a couple backpacks of clothes, some sleeping bags and cooking supplies for camping and such.

The next morning, the boys camped out in the living room.

Now begins the long, boring part of the house-cleaning, and preparing for out-processing.

Friends in Far Away Places

I have a friend. You know her as Mrs. Q.

Mrs. Q and her little mama.

Well, about 2 weeks ago she and her family moved to Germany. When we found out they were going to Germany, we would have long, dreamy conversations. They revolved around things like......

Schnitzel.......

Kinder Eggs.....

Brochen.......

Hazelnut ice cream......

And one of my all time favorites..... Quark Taschen!!!!

Are you detecting a theme here?

Yes, German food is to die for.

And normally I am not much for candy.....but German candy is just amazing!

So I took the kiddos to the pool today, and afterwards came home and took a shower. I was standing there drying my hair, when my dear hubby walks in with a box and a big grin on his face.

Mrs. Q had sent us a package!!

And what was inside?

GERMAN CANDY!!!!

We promptly opened the box and began a tasty trip down memory lane.

There were these...

And these... Oh help me!

And these....

And these...

Now shut the front door!

Gummy Cokes!

And then there were these. This things were new to me. I had no idea what they tasted like, but they were GERMAN so they had to be good. Right? My German was a little rusty, but I figured they were raspberry hard candies.

I pop one of the little hard candies in my mouth, and moments later, let out a squeal!

Ever had pop rocks? You know what I'm talking about. Those itty bitty candies that sizzle and pop on your tongue? Well, these let off a similar sensation, but they are a very hard candy. I totally wasn't expecting it! It makes your tongue tingle!

Roughly translated, it says:

"Luxurious, TINGLING (Kribbelnde) hard candies. Raspberry Roar.

For diversion of the mind, where too much is expected. To the amusement of the soul, so that there will be more laughter."

And then there were these.

Why hello there my little Gummibärchen. I'm so very glad to see you. Oh how I love thee.....

....like the mantis and her mate?

Packing Day!

Well today was the packing day!

We got up early, put everything away, labeled things that weren't to be packed and such.


Hickory was ready too.


Jennifer standing in her doorway, watching all of her things being packed.




A little while later...



Jack hiding in his room, keeping the animals company.




Joshua's room, all done.


Tonight we will take the bunk beds apart, and tomorrow the moving truck comes to take it all away!

And it Begins

This morning we had a moving company come to pack up our "Unaccompanied Baggage."

That is a smaller shipment of things that you would like delivered as soon as you get there....the essentials. The pick-up took me totally by surprise, because the company never contacted us to verify dates or anything. I was elbow deep in the garage, when my phone rang. I had about 30 minutes to pull together about 400 pounds of UB.

And so the essentials.

Extra clothing, uniforms, blankets, towels, etc.

Things for the kitchen, to make my cooking a little easier when we find a place.

And then they packed it all up.

More of those essential things.

Tomorrow the real packing begins!

The Garden that once was.

Well, here we go again. A few weeks ago, my lovely garden looked like *THIS*

I had stuff growing everywhere.



This morning....I committed the ultimate garden offense.

I did this.



The time had come. Wednesday our house begins to get packed, so I would potentially no longer have access to all my tools. Tomorrow the "to-do list" is so long, there was just no more that could be squeezed in. So this morning I dismantled my entire garden.

I went over and talked to my neighbor about taking all my potted plants, and in the process saw "Mrs. Q's" beautiful flowers blooming. She left two weeks ago for GERMANY of all places...so she didn't get to see the results of her work. I had told her I would take pictures and send them if her flowers bloomed before I left.

So I took these for her.






This one was my favorite. Absolutely stunning.


And after about 3 1/2 hours of work, this is what remains of my garden.

(You can see where I gave my next door neighbors the soil from the raised beds, so they could try and grow some grass on the hill back there.)


Sigh. At least we were able to enjoy most of the garden.

"The Checklist"

Just an update. Here is my original "check list" that I posted back in May:

1) Get a camper
2) Have a hitch installed on our van
3) Complete our screening process for the move (medical exams and all that lovely stuff)
4) Get the actual orders
5) Ship our household goods and truck
6) Sell the motorcycle (ad went in the paper today)
7) Clear post and housing
8) Get new tires and a REAL spare for the van
9) Get our passports
10) Get health certificates for the animals, so we can cross both borders. They can only be 30 days old, and we are going to be on the road for about a month as it is. So we have to try and get those the day before we actually leave, so they will still be valid when we hit the Alaska/Canada border.
11) Hit the road!

At this point we have done nearly everything there is to do.

We have the orders, and everything is scheduled. We have received our passports, and yesterday we shipped our truck. We pretty much gave up on selling the motorcycle for now, and it will be shipped with our household goods. The pets, I am thinking of having their health certificates done at either my parents' vet or my husband's parents' vet, so that we can make sure they are still good upon reaching the Alaska border.

Wednesday, there will be a team of packers in my home, packing our every belonging.

So on Tuesday, I will make sure all the laundry is finished so we can disconnect the washer & dryer.

We will pack everything we are taking with us, and items that the movers aren't to pack, we will set aside, away from everything else.

We will pull items from the high kitchen shelves, so the packers can pack items without climbing.

We will pull all the bins and such out of closets, and prepare them for packing.

We will also finish photographing all of our belongings for records purposes...in case we need to file a claim. That way the pre-move condition will be documented.

Then we will make sure we have all of the serial numbers of the electronics, firearms and other "imporant" things we own.

And we will get out all of the original boxes that we still have for some of our things, so the packers can use those instead of "generic" boxes.

We will sort the "pantry" as to what goes with us and what should be shipped.

Then we will drain all of the gas from the motorcycle, lawn mower and garden tiller.

And lastly, set all of our "professional gear" (military gear and such for Jeff, homeschool & reference books and school supplies for me, "the teacher.")

So we went from one checklist to another. Once this checklist is completed, then we will have a new checklist, of cleaning that needs to be done to turn our home back over to the housing office.

We only have 4 days until the movers come.

4 DAYS!!! It's crunch time!

PCS Progress, and a fun trip to Virginia

Yesterday morning, we roused our tired tookusses up at 3am, downed a cup of coffee, and hit the road.

About 4 and a half hours later, we arrived in Portsmouth, Virginia.


(I didn't bring my camera on this trip, because of what we had planned. I brought my husband's little pocket camera, and I honestly didn't take many pictures. The camera spent most of the day in a locker....You'll see why.)


The agenda for today, was taking Jeff's truck to the port, to be shipped to Alaska. The first thing we did, was give the truck a quick wash, because everything has to be "just so" when you ship a vehicle.



Then we headed to this place just down the road.


We spent about an hour there, and pulled out of the parking lot minus one vehicle.

Then we headed north.


Driving on I-664, the Chesapeake Bay.


One the other side, massive ships.


And into the tunnel that goes under the bay.




Passing this sign brought back lots of memories. This was our very first duty station right after Jeff and I got married 19 years ago. We were stationed here for 2 years, and our daughter was born here.



Our destination......




Our Mission......




And very unlike the unfortunate "Oktoberfest" incident.....(you can revisit the horror here).......we had a blast. This was the first time that this neglectful homeschool parent took her children to an amusement park. The first ride we hit, was the "Loch Ness Monster" roller coaster. My daughter was able to spend some time with an old friend, who years ago, lived in NC. Then he moved to the midwest, and now lives just down the road there in Virginia. So he came and hang out for the day.



The boys as they completed their very first roller-coaster ride. The look on Jack's face was priceless. We failed to mention before hand that the front seats were the scariest. Oops.


Here is where I put my camera, along with all the other belongings in the locker.

But my daughter got this lovely picture of herself, her friend, and a new mutual friend.


At the end of the day.


After we left the park, we made the long trip home...5 hours later arriving at our front door at 12:25am. It was so strange not seeing the truck in its parking spot.


And I will leave you with this beauty.