I'm home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I made it.

I'm finally back in Texas!

And, I'm exhausted. There will be lots of pics from my good-bye party before I left, the road trip down here, and the State Fair, soon.... but it's been a very busy week and I'm tired. :)

Oh. And I start work tomorrow. So, no catching up on sleep til........ Thanksgiving, maybe???

Whoever invented the concept of time...... BITE ME!

Seriously! The majority of the last three years or so has crawled by, and now it's just being thrown at me. The last week has been a whirlwind. Last Thursday I took our dogs to the kennel at 9, came home and finished getting ready, had a move inspector here at 10, left for the airporter at 10:30, caught at plane at 2:30, got to my mom's house by 10, and didn't go to sleep til almost 4. Friday, my mom, grandma and I left at 7:30 and drove the 8 hours or so to Springfield, Missouri to see my aunt, uncle and cousins, and to attend a memorial for my grandpa. I had a great time seeing everybody, and getting quite the lesson in family history, and the memorial wasn't as sad as I thought it would be. Sunday morning we left at 10 and drove back home in time for a late dinner and bed. Monday, I had some errands to run, then my grandma and I drove out to Frisco so I could speak with the owner of a My Gym there. And now, I have a job!!! But, that's a whole 'nuther story. :)

Now, I'm back up in Washington and spent yesterday trying to scramble around getting everything I don't want the movers to back out of the way, when they called yesterday afternoon and said they won't be here til Thursday. Luckily, I'll have more time to get everything organized, and one less night I have to sleep on an air mattress works for me!! So, the new schedule for the next couple weeks:

Thursday- MOVERS!!!
Friday - My mom flies in to help me clean!
Saturday - More cleaning.... boo
Sunday - Taking my mom and Nemo and Koda to the airport
Monday - 8 am, moveout inspection of the apartment, then quick run to the chiropractor, then I'm off and headed for home!!!
Tuesday - Hopefully, (fingers crossed!) arrive in San Diego to see a certain someone who may be pulling in that day.
Wednesday - Enjoy a break in San Diego with a certain someone
Thursday - Head east for El Paso
Friday - Arrive in Lewisville, TX!!!!
Saturday - Go to the State Fair of Texas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sunday - Celebrate my grandma's birthday!
Monday - Start my new job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok, now I have to go nap just thinking about all that...................................

Sheesh. It's been a looooooooong week. Or however long it's been since I posted my first blog. But, there's been lots more news!!! Here's a catch up:

1. We thought we lost the house. After the inspection was done, we sent our wish list to the seller's with about 10 things we'd like to be fixed before we bought the house. We assumed they wouldn't fix everything, but we aiming for at least 2 big ones. The roof, (some hail damage from the storm a couple months ago), and the beginnings of termites on the outside of the house. A few days later we get a call from Ken, (our AMAZING Realtor), and said that in a surprising twist to all involved, the seller's weren't going to fix ANYTHING. NOTHING!!!! So, sadly Chris and I decided it would be best to move on and God would find us something better. BUT, just this morning, we got a call from Ken saying they had decided to fix almost everything on our list!!!!!!! The few things that they didn't agree to are easy fixes for us. Or should I say Chris, cause he'll be the one to actually do it. :) SOOOOOOO....... it's all exciting again!!!!!!!! We're both ecstatic to still be able to get the house. It's perfect for us now.

2. We finally got a move out date!! We have been waiting for almost 2 weeks to hear back from the Navy on when they're coming to get our stuff. FINALLY, they emailed us and we're being packed up on the 8th and 9th, with our official move out on the 10th. I doubt it will take 3 days to get everything on the truck, but we shall see. So, my mom will be flying up on the 10th, (it's on my blog now, Mom, so you have to now! I can't take it back!), and we'll clean up the apartment for our move out inspection up here. I hate cleaning by the way, so I'm NOT looking forward to it.

3. Then, Monday morning the 13th, Analee and I will drive down to Texas. (I'm not giving you the same thing as my mom, but I really hope you can!!!!!)

4. And Chris has left for his final under-way. It was bittersweet, cause it's the last time he'll EVER be gone, but it's always hard to see him go, especially since it means leaving me to close on the house. He also realized it was his last time in our first place together, which again, is another happy-yet-sad situation. So, like I said, a very busy week or so! Below is a picture of the Stennis. I'm glad I never have to see the back of her again!!!

It's Starting!!!!!!!

Wow!!!!

We thought the day would never come, and now, all of a sudden, it's being thrown at us in all directions!! WE ARE FINALLY MOVING BACK TO TEXAS!!!!!!

WAHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Last weekend we headed home for a couple days in the hopes of finding a new place to call home. We've been speaking with a real estate agent since December, and made a list of about 10 houses that we wanted to look at. We flew in on Thursday, spent the afternoon with my Grandma, then Chris' family, then Friday afternoon we headed out.

I've always been one of those people who go on feelings, and as soon as I saw this house, I just KNEW it was for us. All the other houses, (even the one we had picked out online that I had pre-decided was going to be it), just didn't feel right. Chris kept looking at me like I had lost my mind because for all the other houses, right as we stepped in, I'd look at him and shake my head. He kept saying, "You haven't even LOOKED at anything!" But, sometimes you just know.

Needless to say, we both finally agreed that we'd found our house. But, we had to wait til Monday to speak with our Mortgage guy and run some numbers. So, we got to enjoy the weekend with our family. Well, not complete joy, my Grandpa's memorial was Saturday afternoon, but my one of my bestest friends, Analee and her hubby David, came up from Houston to spend some well-needed time together.

Monday morning came, and Chris and I got all the numbers worked out, and by that afternoon we had made our first offer on our very first house!!!!!!! The negotiations went on for a few days, but Thursday morning at 7:30, I got a call from our Realtor saying, "Congrats!" EEEEKKKKK!!!!! It was unbelievably exciting! So, now we're scurrying around trying to get papers signed, documents faxed, movers coordinated, and a bunch of other things done before Chris goes out for his last and final trip to sea. Which, in itself, thrills me beyond belief. I can't wait to have him home for good!

And now for some pics. They aren't the best because they're the ones the current owners posted online, but you can kinda get the idea.....

EEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!