Monday, August 25, 2008

If You Move Here, They Will Come

One thing people told us over and over again – if you move to Vegas, you'll have more visitors than you'd ever think! Everyone seems to always find a way, especially with free lodging. I can't say 'they' were wrong!!! In fact, we've have been here less than two months and my mom has been here twice, Adam's mom's 3rd visit will be this weekend, and of course, my Dad & fam were here in July. My brother will be here some time in October and we have heard from lots of friends that travel to Vegas regularly to plan to see them too! It really is a lot of fun for us and we welcome everyone to come - especially after being so far away for such a long time. So, we are here and we want you to come!

I did get the chance to go to California last weekend. My mom flew in and we drove all 3 kids on Friday to my Aunt Kate's (mom's sister) house in Orange, CA. We stayed there Friday night and my Uncle Dexter, (mom's brother), his wife, Linda and their son Ryan came over to see us. We had a nice visit and it was good to catch up and show off the kids ; ) Some of you know, my Aunt Kate has incredible style/eye for design. Her yard is creative & immaculate and her home is beautiful and full of things that little hands like touch!!! Ha! Can you see where this going? Well, it is NOT going there because my kids did not break a thing!!! Well, we almost broke the fountain outside with bubbles – I know that sounds impossible, but it's true! Maybe I'll offer a prize to the reader that can guess how we almost broke the fountain….

Saturday we farted around at Kate's house and then went to see my Nana (90 years old) in Long Beach. Some of you may know that Nana is suffering from Alzheimer's. It has been frustrating for me because I have been far away and couldn't tell for myself how she was really doing. I call Nana faithfully every weekend, she repeats the same stories over and over, and she knows what answers to say to how they are doing – I still clean house (nope), I still make breakfast (no, again), we don't have a car, so I walk to Albertsons that's 1 mile away (never). My mom and Kate would both share their observations, but it is hard to tell what was really happening. I thought Nana looked good, healthy despite the fact she wears the same clothing every day and I don't think she bathes very often. I have argued over the last year to hire some in home help and even found a couple of agencies. But, what the hell do I know from across the country? Well, it was decided this weekend that they are going to hire someone to come in and help starting in September! Again, what the hell do I know? What has passed has passed and it is going forward. I think my mom has been the most forceful, making this happen, so I am relieved. It was good to see Nana and she loved seeing the kids and holding the baby. I look forward to being able see her again soon.

We drove home Saturday to give Russell the day on Sunday before he headed back to school. We had intended to stay another night at Kate's but decided to go on home. Now…. Russell's first day of school is a whole other entry, maybe I can do that tomorrow.

Tuesday, August 05, 2008

The Move Part III

Okay, I think I will get the rest of the move stuff into this post and then move on with the blog!!!


 

When we arrived in Vegas, we stayed for about 4 nights with the Cannys. Tracey was one of the first spouses I met in the Air Force that knew what Crate and Barrel was. So, I knew she was cool from the start! We had a great stay with them; they make you feel right at home! Tracey and I got to shop for some new furniture for our house and show me around our side of town so I'd know where everything is. We left Adam home with the kids and made him the manny! Tracey also looked at houses for us and helped us pick out the house we live in. She did a great job! We really like the house. It is big – 3100sf, 4 bedroms, 3.5 baths, gated, 3 car garage, huge closets, 2 living rooms (one and one down), and a built in grill/smoker outside. The neighborhood has a lot of foreclosures, including both houses on each side of us. Wish we were in a place to buy. Oh well!

We moved in on July 10th and had the best crew we have ever had deliver our stuff. They were so nice, courteous to us and each other, and also pointing out what type of stuff was broken coming off the truck, (instead of trying to hide it). We had some broken stuff – not that long list that I had dreaded. Our computer desk got banged up and a few other things were broken, but not like we were expecting. The labeling of boxes was what was so annoying. The box marked bedding had maybe one sheet in it and the rest of the contents were like toys or books. The box marked pillows had 1 pillow and random stuff from all over the house. They dumped some of our files into boxes, so that took a lot of time to sit and go through and refile. You get the point. It was like every box was labeled like that, so it was hard to unpack b/c you never really knew what was in the box you were opening.

My Dad, Pam, Adelle and Pam's nephew Caleb came to Vegas on the 12th to help and visit. They stayed in their RV at an RV park near the strip for almost 2 weeks. Caleb is a year younger than Russ, so that was great for Russ to have an immediate friend to play with. It was really fun having them here. We got a lot done, but also had to schedule in some play time too, which helped break up the monotony of unpacking boxes. We had all kinds of adventures – shopping of course, Adelle LOVES to shop, Circus Circus Adventure Dome (Rachel loves the rides and seemed to be a bit of a thrill seeker), visited the MGM lions, M&M World and the carnival games at Excalibur. We fit in a lot of swim time too, both at the RV park and our house has a community pool.

Adam and I also managed to sneak away for one night and celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary early whil Dad & Pam stayed with the kids. We stayed at the Trump Tower – a 5 star hotel that we booked for super cheap on Hotwire.com. What fun! When we checked in and the clerk was asking us all kinds of questions – what brings you to Vegas, why are you staying, that kind of thing…. He gave us a major room upgrade, so we had a very posh suite facing the strip, outstanding!!! We went to dinner at someplace at Caesar's. We didn't make a reservation and should have. But, we managed to sneak in and get a table and it was fine. We wondered around the strip for a while, but really couldn't wait to soak in the huge tub with a strip view back at the hotel and drink some champagne. So, that's what we did! We ordered a ridiculous breakfast from room service and when it came, the attendant set the table with a tablecloth, centerpiece, china, etc. It was very relaxing and romantic and we were so thankful we had the opportunity to celebrate with some free babysitting to boot!

So, now as it stands…. We are pretty much unpacked. I am still hanging stuff on the walls. The kids' room isn't done yet. We ordered bunk beds for Russ n Rach, which came without the hardware. So we are still waiting on that. The guest bedroom has already been used – my mom and Blake – and it's ready for anyone else headed our way!!! So – I say so a lot, I need to change that… ANYWAY….. the finishing details will eventually get finished, but we have to live life too and not get to caught up in the house. On our agenda this week are doctor's appointments for Russ & Row, private swim for Russ, enrolling Rachel in dance and gymnastics, a new psychologist for Russell (who goes by Tom, not Dr. Jensen, I like him already!) and getting ready for school to start. Oh, real quick… Monday we went to enroll Russ at his new school and the records secretary was assigning him to a class and I said "We want a really good class!!". She says "Well, I have only 2 classes open. One in the A start, Mrs. Whoever. Or, you can have the B start, Mrs. Cayer". I look at her like I don't know, who should I choose???? She gets my look and mouths to me "You want B". So, I picked the B start and Mrs. Cayer. She nods with great approval. So, I was hoping we got the hook up and I think we did. I looked up Mrs. Cayer on the school website and she has her own website filled and ready for the new year. Yea! She seems really enthusiastic and creative and organized. I am liking her already!

Russ lost his 4th tooth last night and it is truly lost. It came out, fell on his shirt, he stood up and we can't find it anywhere! The tooth fairy still came though, boy is she smart!