From VA to CA and Everything Inbetween

Has it really been 3 weeks since the movers packed our home in Virginia? How time has flown by. (*Actually now 4 weeks because it's taken me a week just to publish this post.)

We drove across the country in four days. First we drove for 3 days straight with hail storms and sunshine.

We also had some fun stops along the way like the Grand Ole Opry.

Sergio toured the Gibson factory while Hannah and I took a carriage ride in downtown Memphis.

We randomly stopped at the Route 66 museum in Elk, Oklahoma.

What is a tot to do on the road?

After day 3 we stopped in Santa Fe, NM to spend time with some of Sergio's family for 3 days. We had a wonderful time. Hannah adores her Auntie Emily and her pink room. She also got her first big scrape from falling off a bike. She did cry, but only because she wanted to get back on the bike. Daddy doctored her up while she sat on the bike.

From Santa Fe, we drove a straight shot to Hemet, Ca to my parent's home.

Our first sunset over the Mojave Desert back in our golden state.

Then we went to Carlsbad the next day to sign our lease. The landlord was still remodeling it, so it was another week before we could move in.

In the interim we celebrated Easter with my family, Sergio started work, and I started planning Hannah's birthday. The Matrix got new brakes, tires, and an oil change. We also attended my niece's birthday party. I loved watching my niece play with Hannah. Hannah adores older girls.

Our belongings arrived on the 2nd. Unpacking is coming along. We're at the point where we need some new furniture and organizational items, before I can finish unpacking. Better to leave things in a box where a 2 year old can't get to them, than just have them piled in a corner.

Saturday was Hannah's 2nd birthday party. The theme was shoes because the kid loves shoes. The colors were hot pink, aqua, and white.

We still need to take her 2 year old pictures. She was very shy at the party so it was hard to get a birthday picture of her in her birthday dress and hat. Instead we are going to do a photo shoot of her at the beach. I'd love to get her on the shore with balloons in hand, but not sure if we can make that happen. We'll see.

Then we had a wonderful Mother's Day. The day started with breakfast in bed. In the afternoon we went to Cardiff Beach and walked around Encinitas. Then ended the day with a barbecue at my parents' house.

Packing Day

I wish I had some pictures to share, but Sergio packed the camera somewhere and is at work.

Today was our big packing day. Or not so big because they are already done. They finished around 1pm. Only took 5 hours! Usually we have three packers, this time only two. They arrived about 8am. I was just starting to unload the dishes when the door bell rang. I woke up at 7:30 while Sergio was putting his flight boots on. Little sleeping beauty was still asleep next to me. I did not want to get up. I realized I didn't even know what time they were coming. Usually they say 8 and come between 8-9, so I figured I better get a movin'. Little sleeping beauty kept sleeping, I hopped in the shower, and Hubs left to work. Thankfully Hannah slept till I was showered, dressed and make up on. Nothing like being in a hurry, with a just waking toddler.

Once they arrived I gave them the house tour. They went straight to work. Hannah and I unloaded the clean dishes and hand washed the pile in the sink. There was no time to run the dishwasher. Then we took the curtains down. They'll take the pictures off the wall but you have to remove the curtains. I loaded the Explorer with our stuff we are driving. Sergio loaded his stuff before leaving, so I only had mine and Hannah's.

A couple tips. If you ever have professional movers, get everything out of the house you are taking, otherwise they will pack it. Including your trash! This next is a time saver. The first time we had professional movers I went through the house boxing everything like batteries, candles, chemicals that are on their do not pack list. Don't do what I did. I quickly learned the second move, they will just set those items aside on your counters. Saves you time and energy. Sometimes they'll even pack it. After they leave you just put it all in a box, or give it away if you don't have anymore space in the car. That will be us this time.

What I wish I had pictures of, Hannah. After we completed my to-do list, we played outside. I have two moments I wish I had the camera for. She put Elmo and Lady (a new ladybug she got from her Auntie Emily) in her wagon. Then she pulled them around the yard. She even made sure they were wearing seat belts. I set aside some of her books for the road. She sat straddled over the side ledge of her jungle gym reading The Nose book. When I looked over and saw her, I got a glimpse of the future. I can already picture her reading and obsessing over books, in her favorite outside reading spot.

I was thrilled the movers packed so quickly, because lunch was approaching and Sergio was at work. I couldn't leave the house till they were done, and we have food but no way to cook. Let the take out commence.

Sent from my iPad

The Joys of Moving, 2

The moving process is coming along really well. In my last moving post things were chaotic. They still are, but we now have definite plans. Just a matter of getting them done.

Our movers will be packing Wednesday and Thursday, then loading Friday. It should only take them one day to pack but they allow for two days. If it only takes one day, they may be able to load Thursday. Just depends on their truck's schedule.

After they leave we will clean, mow the lawn, and steam the carpets. Then we can do the final walk through with the owners, so we can get our deposit back. Most likely we'll do the inspection on Friday.

I've notified half of our utility companies we will be moving. Still need to call the other half. ADT is supposed to send a technician to remove our security system, so we can transfer our service to San Diego.

We need to replace a couple blinds Hannah and Oski bent up. Remove Hannah's border. Take stuff to the dump, and pack enough clothes till our stuff arrives in Ca.

We are planning to leave Saturday morning. If the o

wners don't do the walk through Friday, we'll do it Saturday morning. Then we have to drive a couple hours north to drop off our car at the shipping terminal. Once that is done we can officially hit the road for San Diego. I'm looking forward to only driving one car. It will be much easier on us as drivers. Also one of us can entertain Hannah while the other drives. Not too sure how Hannah will do. She has always done very well in the past except she's now at the age where she doesn't sleep the whole time. This is a much longer trip too.

To take a break from moving preparations, we spent some time with friends this weekend. Saturday our friend Ben had a shrimp boil. I blogged about the last one over the summer. It was fun to be together one last time.

On Sunday we drove 3 hours to Shenandoah National Park for a hike. Our friend Julie went with us. We planned on going camping sometime this past year, but never did. Sergio really wanted to see the park before we moved. It was a great way to end our time here.

Today, an agent called to show the house to a potential renter. They are supposed to give me a 24 hr notice, but I'm too nice. Then the movers wanted to do a walk through so they can estimate boxes and time. After being busy all weekend, the house was a disaster. I also had a huge to-do list. So I scramble around cleaning the entire house and managed to complete my to do.

Somewhere in the scramble I stopped to make sure I was giving Hannah my solid attention. While I was folding laundry in the guest room, I could hear her saying, "jibber jabber, jibber jabberish, nigh nigh baby, jibber jabber baby". I went to put her clothes away and she was putting her doll and hippo to sleep in her toy bunk bed. She has a basket of blankets in her room, so she was using them to cover her darlings. Then she brought a blanket over to me, and nudge my shoulder to lay down. I laid down and she covered me with a blanket. Then she laid down next to me and covered herself with another blanket. I guess she felt we really needed a nap. I enjoyed watching her rest on the floor, before I went back to cleaning. How I would have loved to just stayed there though.

Over the weekend we found a home! And it's on my parents street. The owner is completely remodeling the inside and outside. My parents have been keeping in touch with her since they found out we were moving. We first ruled it out because of the commute for Sergio. We researched different areas of the county, taking the commute, rent, types of properties, safety and some other factors into consideration. We decided we wanted to live there after all. The remodel is almost complete so she was going to start listing it for rent had we not taken it. It's smaller than our current place, but has a much better layout. How many times have I said it's not size but layout! We will be losing a bedroom, but we don't need a guest room anymore since we'll be living in Ca. If baby #2 comes along, once baby moves from the bassinet to the crib, Hannah and baby can share till we re station. We are really excited to be not only be moving to San Diego, but now getting to live in the part of the county we love!

The Joys of Moving

Everything is happening so fast. My emotions of excitement and anxiety are playing tug-a-war. This will be our 6th move with the military in the past 3 1/2 years. So for all of you who may be curious as to how we juggle these moves, well I suppose I shall blog about it this time.

Excitement: Moving HOME! I just can't get over that we are finally going West. There is no more when or how many more years, it's a matter of weeks, and now days. We get to stay put for 3 years. If we find the right house the first time around, I don't have to move for 3 years! Hannah's birthday! We will make it home in time to spend her birthday and mother's day with my family.

Anxiety: Moving. Do we move ourselves or have the military. Military, check. Drive 2 cars, tow, or ship 2nd car? Tow, check. Tow, unchecked. Turns out Uhaul does not allow Explorers to tow because of too many lawsuits with Explorer owners. Hmmm, major inconvenience. Wishing we did not sell our Tacoma. Stop remind ourselves in the long run it was the best decision for us. So now do we drive 2 cars, or ship 2nd car? Ooh cost that much to ship a car, hmmm. Undecided, but leaning towards shipping. 10 days on the road, 2 cars, a dog, and toddler...I think I'll fly home. Looks like we better ship a car so we can enjoy each others company and take turns behind the wheel. So when do we leave Hunny? Don't know. Need to finish a couple things, and then see how fast personal property can arrange movers. I bet we can move ourselves faster. I saved all the boxes from the last move. We'll spend the weekend packing, have ABF load the truck Monday, clean the house Tuesday, leave Wednesday. We'll wait to see what news they have for us tomorrow. Oh by the way Hun, what should the theme for Hannah's birthday be. I need to start planning. And while I do that I'll search for a house, wait list for base housing. Which reminds me do we want to wait 3-4 months for a house on base or find something ASAP? I'll have my parents check out the housing, and then the area we're interested in. Hopefully it's awesome, so you don't have to drive any further than 16 miles to work. Should be 25 minutes with no traffic, but we'll see. And if it's not a good area, well your commute just became longer. I better start making a check list: check auto and rent insurance premiums, registering and titling vehicle fees, schedule brakes and new tires for the Matrix, schedule Hannah's whooping cough vaccination. Oh Oski needs a new rabies shot before we leave. Call utilities and schedule shut off dates. Haha, as I'm typing this I remembering stuff I haven't even thought of.

Pause: Savor every last day of Hannah being 1. Kisses, hugs, and laughs. Oh honey did you know Hannah's molars are in. Aw, no wonder she's been fussy lately.

Pause again: Time for celebrations, farewells, and goodbyes. Saying goodbye to great friends who are deploying. The reality of why we are all here.

That has been the roller coaster of emotions this week, and really today. The wheels in my head can't stop spinning, but sometimes I'm getting ahead of myself, and other times I feel so not on top of things. I do have to say thus far, this is one of our easier moves. Not because we've done this 5 times before, but because we are going home to family. There is so much to look forward to. We are truly blessed as a military family to be able to live so close to our family. Having family nearby is not a common benefit of military lifestyle. When it comes time for the big "D", deployment, I will have my family. I know I could have done it with the support of our friends had we stayed on the East Coast, but family is family. Then there is the logistical benefit of family. Somewhere to crash while you find a home. Don't have to live in a hotel room with your 1 year old and 2 dogs while you house hunt, like we did when we moved here. We actually get to take our time and find a place we love. They can go check out houses for you, so if you find something you want to secure before arriving. They can check out a whole area for you! My parents drove to an area of San Diego we like and scouted it out. On our short list of areas that are safe, within in our basic housing allowance, and not a grueling commute there are only a couple areas we aren't familiar with already. I did as much research online first, then told them where to go. Takes a huge burden off me, to know that if I like a house, I'm not going to show up and it's in the ghetto. Yeah, we've been there, done that every single move. We didn't and don't live in the ghetto. I meant we'd have to start our search over or cross houses off our list house hunting list once we saw the area they were in.

So thus far that would sum up the moving marathon that has begun. But honestly it's a marathon we've become pros at.

Spring Cleaning Continues

I don't want to say spring is finally upon us, because every time I do it leaves. I will say spring cleaning has arrived. I feel like we've slowly been spring cleaning all of 2011. Friday we finally loaded the back of our SUV with our donation pile. Feels wonderful to get rid of stuff!!!

Our grass has started growing in and was getting out of control. The front wasn't too bad, but there were some crazy patches on the side. The back was just ridiculous. I called our gardener 2 weeks ago to resume our bi-monthly schedule now that it's warm enough for grass to grow. Fall through winter no one mows lawns in these parts. Looking forward to year around, full lush green grass. Any ways, I have called him twice. He has called me once saying, no problem they'll be out at the end of the week. Guess what, 2 ends of the weeks have gone by and no gardener. We were not risking another week of a no show. So Sergio mowed and saved us $40, while I raked. Hannah had fun helping me rake and just enjoying the sun.

Hannah's first dandelion wishes.

Love Hannah's adoring expression.

I spy...dirt!?!

Love her little pucker lips!

Water, sticks, and gum balls.

Little busy body spying on the neighbors.

Regal Oski.

They were plotting an escape, while the hubs was using the gate.

Already doing the (Great) Grandma Adams stance . I do it too.

Almost 23 months.

After our yardwork we put our feet up and enjoyed the backyard. Back out front we had one final thing I wanted done. We have a 10 foot stretch on the roof that pine needles collect along. With no ladder we've been ignoring it. Finallywas time to do something. We taped our small rake to a dusting extension rod. Don't judge, as I'm sure our neighbors were. Wish we had pictures of this. Sergio was able to get about a quarter of them down from ground level. Then from Hannah's bedroom window about half of them. So he suggested backing our suv up against the house and standing on top. Brilliant. This part I got to do since I weigh less. Really I just wanted a chance at these pine needles. Success. This some how led to washing the car. After all that, we came inside, turned on Snow White, and fell asleep in a big family pile on the couch. Nothing like a hard days work and a good ole nap.

We Are Moving

We've been on the run
Driving in the sun
Looking out for number one
California, here we come
Right back where we started from

Hustlers grab your guns
The shadow weighs a ton
Driving down the 101
California, here we come
Right back where we started from

On the stereo
Listen as we go
Nothing's going to stop me now
California, here we come
Right back where we started from

Peddle to the floor
Thinking of you more
Gotta get us to the shore
California, here we come
Right back where we started from

I don't think I could be anymore clear or obvious as to where we are moving!!! CALIFORNIA! Well maybe other than to mention which city. No not Orange County, and yes that is the theme song from the show OC. So which city? SAN DIEGO!!! Sergio will be stationed at NAS North Island on Coronado Island. I can't even begin to tell you how excited we are. As soon as I feel like I've processed how exciting this is, then I think of more reasons it's totally awesome. Like today we were driving down the street and I said, "Rubio's".
Sergio asked, "Where? You see one?"
"No, in California."
"In-n-Out. Carl's Jr."
"Rico's."
And yes this continued on till we got to the store.

Other than our favorite food places we so dearly miss, oooh Del Taco, we have so many reasons to be blessed by this move. Most of all family!!! All of Sergio's family live within a days drive now. My family are all in Southern California, not to mention my parents are in San Diego. I'm excited for all the family gatherings I get to hear about but have missed out on. While Sergio left the Bay area 3-1/2 years ago, where he grew up, it has been 7-1/2 years since I left home. If we make it home by Easter, not counting on it, but hopefully Mother's Day, both will be a first with the family in 8 years. Like right now Sergio informed me my parents and brother are having dinner at another favorite, Captain Keno's. Haha, thank you facebook check-ins for informing me as to their where about, and reminding me of wonderful Friday nights to come. By the way Hannah loves Captain Keno's spaghetti! I have been fortunate to make a trip home every year, but as we all know it is not the same as living there. So yes I'm ready to push the peddle to the floor and get us to the shore.

Disclaimer: We are not hustlers with guns, but it's part of the song. What can I say!?!
Admission: Yes, I was a fan of the OC.

Most of you already knew by now we are moving and that this is not an April's Fools joke. Maybe it's an April's Fools week? No we are not that cruel, nor would you want to speak to us again if we were.

Since I'm having trouble including pictures when posting from iPad I will post some pictures later.

Sent from my iPad