Showing posts with label Omaha. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Omaha. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Moving

This move sucked.  There is no other way to sugar coat it.  It sucked.  Never move in 2 weeks.  NEVER!
We got the truck and loaded it up Monday the 10th and it was awful.  We weren't ready at all.  I was still cleaning dishes and packing the kitchen...we were a mess.  Fortunately, I have great friends.  Serene came and collected my kids for a full day of madness at her house and Katie ignored my "don't come, we will be fine".  I don't know if it was her prompted as the Relief Society Pres. or just being a great friend, but she ignored me and came anyway.  It was so wonderful that she did, because she helped finish us getting packed up.  She was awesome.  Kevin did an awesome job loading the truck.  Ashton swore we would have needed 2 trucks if it weren't for him packing it so well.  Well, we scrambled getting everything packed/loaded only to find we need to rent a trailer, too.  We had to much junk.  So I ran Dex to his 4 year old appointment (yes I scheduled a Dr. Appointment on that day too.  We didn't know when we would be able to get him in if we didn't do it then.) and Ashton got the trailer.  Dex and I said our goodbyes to nurses and to Natalie, our awesome audiologist, and then we raced home to get as cleaned up as we could for the inspection @ 4:30.  Well, I got the 2 bedrooms ready and the rest......was what it was.  She came, walked through directing us clean this, clean that, you get your deposit back minus $25 for the hole in the wall Ashton made a week before.  Ash and I finished cleaning/packing at about midnight, and I won't tell what corners I cut for cleaning.  I'll just say, it all looked clean.

The Sweeten's came over and brought the kids some presents and got the grill.  It was hard saying goodbye.  Serene is one of the closest friends I have, and I so enjoyed having them as close by friends.

We tried to go to sleep on the floor downstairs.  We tried.  We were leaving the keys in the rent box and leaving at 4am.  We only had 4 hours to try to sleep.  It was rough.  We were emotionally/physically worn out or mourning.  Then it happened.  We both ignored promptings to make sure the car was locked.  Sometime, in those 4 hours, someone got into the car and stole the kids and I's snacks and GPS and Ashton's old wallet that had nothing in it but his Eagle Scout card.

Always remember, Heavenly Father can't protect us, if we haven't done our part first.

When Ashton got up, he noticed the light was on in the car and that a box of kleenex was sitting outside.  He went out and checked it out and came back looking like someone had stolen the Uhaul.  When he told me the GPS was gone, I was done.  I bawled.  I had to drive across the country, with no directions, and my 2 kids.  I was done for.

I pulled myself together, got dressed, loaded the kids in the car, we all waved goodbye to our home, and then we dropped the keys off.  I stopped at the Stinker station with the dinosaur on the corner and picked up another Pepsi and some snacks.  Then we were off.  We waved goodbye to Iowa, to Creighton, and Omaha, eventually Nebraska, and made it to our hotel.

It was there that we realized that there were still blessings for our car having been rummaged through.  Ashton's laptop was in his backpack.  We noticed it was unzipped, but somehow, the laptop was missed.  We found it at the hotel.  Also, we had put our TV in the trunk.  It was covered by mounds of blankets to protect it, but it was still there too.  The thief could have really hit it the jackpot, but we were still blessed.  AND we all made it to the hotel safe and sound.

One other thing that made this move even more fantastic, we didn't have a move in date.  We knew we had an apartment, we put a deposit on it, but we didn't have a move in date, despite desperate attempts to get one.  So we tried one more time in the hotel with no luck.  Yes.  Here we are all packed up with no place to go.

Next morning, we got up and left.  The kiddos and I stopped in Lyman, WY at my cousin's house for a leg stretch.  It was so nice.  We had stopped there 4 years before on our move out.  Then with a pretty drive through the Ogden canyon, we made it.  We made it to Idaho.

We spent a couple of days at my Mom's till we got the okay to move in.



Dex rode in the Uhaul for the ride up to Boise.  He was nervous, but had a lot of fun.  
We got out keys, our ward helped us move in, Shauni and Blake came and brought dinner over while Ashotn and I dropped the Uhaul off.  While we were gone, Blake got our beds put together.  :)  Gotta love family,  and Shauni helped to unpack the kitchen.  While unpacking the kitchen, I realized, I didn't unload the knife drawer.  We left our knives in Iowa!  After many attempts to get them back, they are gone.  The complex in IA says they aren't there.... but I know I didn't pack them....I had a lot of anxiety/stress over it.  So much so, I almost got in the car one night and drove there, just so I could see with my own 2 eyes.  

It was not good.  

I was a mess.

And as if it couldn't get any worse, I go to make soup for dinner and realize, we left our big pot there as well.  I do remember unpacking it and putting something that fit in it's spot better, and putting the pot back in the cupboard.  Why? All I can think of is out of habit.  And I think when I checked all the cupboards, I may have seen it, but it didn't dawn on me that that should be empty, in my mind, it was simply put away.  I also know I never opened the knife drawer.  Why?  Who knows.

So there you have it.  The move sucked.

Silver lining, when we got the check from the apartment complex, it was $90 more than we were expecting.  We some how overpaid, and even with the $25 deduction, we were given more than we put in for our deposit 4 years ago.  

Monday, September 16, 2013

Birthdays and Farewells

 Dexter turned 4 this year!  He is so tall and is growing up so fast!  He loves sharks, sports, and can spout off anything you may want to know about sharks and then some.  He is very independent and loves to help in the kitchen.  He learned how to top strawberries this year using a butter knife even.  He is very smart and a sweetheart.  For his birthday, he got a shark remote control car.  He's had a lot of fun with it.

His birthday was shark themed.  I finished his shirt.  I think it turned out pretty cute.  If you can't tell, it says "duh dun, duh dun."  Think theme to Jaws.  That's what I tell my kids sharks say if they ask :)

For his birthday celebration, we turned it into a birthday/farewell party.  We invited over the Bourne's, the Nordbys, and the Sweetens.  I'm such a dork and didn't take pictures of anybody.

We had yummy hamburgers/hot dogs and sides.  We also had these awesome shark cupcakes.  I lucked out on finding the frosting.  I went to Hy-Vee to pick up some vanilla to tint blue, and found this blue frosting with fish sprinkles.  How perfect!


They were pretty yummy.  Just ask Jules...


The kids had a lot of fun playing and Grant was so sweet as to oblige them in playing baseball


Here is the last picture of our kids and the Bourne boys.  We've had a lot of fun with these friends the last 4 years! 


It was a bittersweet evening.  I did fairly well holding back the tears until we said goodbye to the Bournes.  I knew we'd see the others one more time, but this was it for them.  Man, we had a good time.

Sunday, September 15, 2013

Last Time at the Winter Quarters Temple

Early in June, we had a special family home evening and we went to the temple grounds.  We had done it once before when Dex was JJ's age, but hadn't done it with Jules.  It was also nice to get to spend some time together at the Winter Quarters Temple, Cemetery, and Trail Center one last time as a family.

We stopped at Zip's and got some ice cream and ate it at the picnic tables outside of the trail center.



When our ice cream was gone, we made our way to the temple




That night, I was so grateful for everything we had been blessed with, and had experienced in our four years in Omaha and Council Bluffs.  We learned how to be a family there.  We made great friends, and it was the best ward we have ever been in.

I am so grateful for temples.  I am so grateful that these 2 littles are mine and will be mine in the eternities.  I'm so grateful for Ashton and that we will be together for eternity, too.   

JJ wanted her picture taken with the temple.  So, here is Juliette at the Winter Quarters Temple.


Dex at the Winter Quarters Temple.


They both wanted their picture taken together right next to the temple.



This spot in the cemetery, between the 2 trees, to the right of the grouping of headstones, in the south west corner, is a special place.  It's where I stood 4 years before, and received unquestionable confirmation that we were where we needed to be and that we'd be alright.  I'm so grateful for having had that experience, and I never want to forget this wonderful place.


I remember feeling so grateful for Ashton.  I just loved watching him teach his children about the pioneers and what happened here.


He is a remarkable man.  I adore him.


I love these entrance doors to the temple.  I walked through them many times, with many different acquaintances to clean or do sessions with, and it was wonderful.


And as we left, we snapped a picture of the Trail Center.



Monday, August 26, 2013

After Graduation

AFter graduation, we played around with Ashton's family.  We went to the zoo for the last time and we even caught one last baseball game.





These 2 really are friends.  



We saw these cute little mustache birds in the aviary board walk.  I just loved them!

Juliette watching her "mingos"




JJ swinging in the gorilla house


Dex with a shark.  He was sad to say goodbye to them. :(


JJ saying goodbye to her upside down jellies.



These are the cookies I made for the BBQ we had with everyone.


Then we went to the new Werner Park to watch the Omaha Storm Chasers.  It was pretty fun.







Dex was patiently waiting to catch a ball the whole time


Crayson even got him a foul ball!


Ashton took Dex and Crayson geocaching, and Dex came home with these flowers.  They were my first flowers picked by my little boy!

Friday, July 15, 2011

4th of July

To start out our day, we took Dexter in to get his 2 year old pictures taken at JCPenny.  They turned out alright. We got a couple of cute ones, but as a whole, they aren't my taste.  Good thing for coupons, because I don't think we'll be going back.

After that, we hung out at home and met up with Ashlee and Julia for a fireworks show.   We sat there and chatted and ate yummy snacks.  Poor Dexter was terrified the whole time.  People brought their own fireworks and were shooting them off before the show started and he was very uncomfortable.  We sat in front of a senior citizens apartment complex that Dex and I walked around.  All he wanted to do was go inside and take cover or go to the car and leave.  Just before the show began, I had the idea of making Dexter's blanket his safe zone, so we played by hiding under it, where I reassured him that he was safe.  The girls had brought glow bracelets and he also had fun playing with them in under his blanket.

When it came time for the show, Ashton held him and every once in a while he would peak his eyes over the blanket and watch the fireworks, but he was quick to hide again.  On our drive home, he kept asking to see more fireworks and couldn't get enough of what he saw out the windows.  Silly boy.  I think next year will be better for him.


My poor concerned Dex.  This is how he looked most of the night.

Julia and Dex


--Ali
p.s.  thanks Ashlee for the pictures!