June 3
Moving on, vacation was lovely and incredibly stressful! Friday, May 21, David took the dogs to the kennel and we headed on our way at 8 am our time. We live on central standard time which is an hour behind most of Michigan and Indiana as well as the east coast. We traveled to Charleston, WV, and had a hotel room in the Marriott Hotel which is right downtown Charleston. We went to dinner with David's Mom and step-dad, Mike, and then we took the kids swimming, which they absolutely Love! Saturday, we went and visited with David's Grandma, Tootie, went and got us girls nails and toes painted for the wedding and John got a Mohawk which I think is super cute. It was David's cousin, Shanna, wedding. It was really nice, the ceremony was quick, we blew bubbles at the bride and groom and then had a nice time at the reception before we went back to the hotel to pack up for the next day and took the kids swimming again. The pool in the hotel was like bathwater. And the hot tub was scalding!
Sunday, May 23, we left to Savannah, Georgia. I've always wanted to see Savannah, it's one of the Top 10 Most Beautiful Cities in America. It is pretty. The Spanish moss trees are amazing (I'm sending you pictures) and there are a lot of pretty old homes and this gorgeous fountain in the middle of this park (pictures being sent). We got there late afternoon, unloaded everything and then rushed out of the hotel to go to Tybee Island which is where the ocean is. It's about 15 to 20 miutes away from Savannah. It was nice, the kids really enjoyed the ocean, mostly picking up seashells which we have a bag full of. David and Blythe went in further and jumped in the waves while I stayed on the beach with the twins. Afterward we went on the recommendation of the hotel lady to Bubba's restaurant on our way back into Savannah. Bubba is the brother of Paula Deen, who is a famous southern cook. The food was just okay and then it started storming pretty bad so we headed straight back to the hotel. Monday (your birthday), we left early on and went around town looking for the fountain that I'd seen in so many pictures when I googled Savannah.
Savannah is only 4 ½ hours away from Disney and the kids still didn't know where we were going. They didn't even believe when I told them we were going to Florida. They did really well on the trip, though there were very frustrating times as well! About ½ hour away from Disney, I broke the news to them and they screamed and carried on for a few minutes and then it was back to normal. I totally expected more giddiness from them, but hey you take what you can get! We got to our resort around 2 and unloaded everything and headed over to Hollywood Studios, which used to be called MGM Studios. It was pretty cool, the kids had such a blast. We saw an Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular Show (I'm sending you a picture), played in the Honey I Shrunk The Kids Playset, danced with some characters at Playhouse Disney, rode a Star Wars ride and a Toy Story ride. I'm trying to think of what else we did, but I'm blanking out right now. Oh, it started raining for a little bit when we first got there, which is typical for Florida weather, like every day there would be a rain shower for 20 minutes then it would go back to heat! We got to the park a little bit later on but there were special open hours just for Disney resort guests from 7 pm – 10 pm. We were all exhausted as we headed back to the room for the night and exhaustion is the key word for the rest of the trip.
The next day we went to Magic Kingdom which was just awesome. Seeing the Castle you see in the opening of all the Disney movies is really cool. We rushed off to ride a railroad ride that usually books up really fast and you have to get Fast passes to ride it later on without a horrific wait (Fastpasses are you use your resort card or Disney pass and you get a ticket to come back at a certain time later in the day, like 2 hours later, and when you come back you get to skip ahead, fast passes go real quick!). The girls were totally freaked out by the ride and John and David and I loved it, but only John and David rode it again. We hurried over to Splash Mountain which is a ton of fun. It's a log ride with a 50 foot drop where you get wet and along the way you see a story of the Brer Rabbit and the wolf that's after him. It's really cute and we all rode it 2 times. On our way to those rides we saw Frontier Donald Duck and John is the only one who would go up to him (as the characters are in full body suits so it freaked the girls out). We went over to Fantasy Land and rode It's a Small World (super annoying songs), which is a boat ride through all of the different countries and it has all these dolls from different countries singing and dancing. Then we got a fastpass for Peter Pan's Flight as the wait was pretty long. Everyone really enjoyed that ride too, once we rode it. It takes you through the movie on a mini ship. The girls wanted to ride it again but we had so much to see! We went in and saw the PhilarMagic show which is hilarious and really good. It's a 3D show, similar to Fantasia, but this time Donald Duck takes over the orchestra and it goes a bit haywire. What's great about it is that in a spot where Donald gets wet the theater actually sprays water at you. And when it's windy the theater fills with wind. It was one of my favorite things to do.
Afterward we went to Cinderella's Golden Carousel and there was Mary Poppins, Bert and a Penguin, so we stood in line, got the kids' autograph books signed and took pictures and then rode the Carousel. Dumbo was right next to it, so we went there next and it started pouring rain. They kept the ride going (unless it starts lightning they'll keep them going) and they asked if anyone wanted to ride in the rain. The kids and I raised our hands so we stood in the pouring rain and waited for our turn. Like the previous day it was done by the time we got to ride and we were all soaking wet but dried quickly because of the Florida heat. We stood in line next for the Winnie the Pooh ride, which the girls really enjoyed and then headed over to Tomorrowland to eat and then ride the Buzz Lightyear ride. In the line we saw Buzz Lightyear but he left soon after and there was still quite a line to see them. The characters only stay in one spot for 20 – 25 minutes before they are moved or given a break. Most of the characters (other than the Princesses and Mary Poppins) are in full body suits, I can't imagine how hot that must be for the person inside. After than we went to Toontown and the kids got their face painted, John was a hero, Grace a princess and Blythe a swan. They are amazingly talented with that face painting, they do it so quick too! Afterward we walked back and rode Splash Mountain for the 2nd time and then went to Adventureland and met Pirate Goofy, just timed it right as soon as he came out we were right there. We then rode the Aladdin magic carpet ride and then took the bus back to the hotel to get ready for dinner.
Dinner was an absolute blast! We had dinner at the Grand Floridian Resort, a restaurant called 1900 Park Fare. We were going to take a bus back to Magic Kingdom, then ride the Monorail to the Resort (like a subway above ground) and then ride the Monorail back to Magic Kingdom, but we swam and then was running late so we took the car. The dinner was a buffet but included the characters of Cinderella , Prince Charming, the two stepsisters (Druella and Anastasia) and the evil stepmother (Lady Tremaine). They all were Fantastic! All of them came to the table and spoke to all of the kids and then we had pictures taken with them. The Prince asked John if he was a Prince or a pirate which John said he was a pirate and then switched later on to being a prince. Grace told Cinderella she loved her and thought her dress was pretty. Blythe loved it too. It was soo much fun. Cinderella and the Prince danced a Royal Waltz and Cinderella tried hugging the stepmother and the stepmother was like, get off of me! It was really funny. One of the stepsisters would scream a time or two. It was one of the best times and the kids loved it. Since we drove, we didn't stop back at Magic Kingdom as the traffic is horrific I've been told after the fireworks, but we could see some of the fireworks in the car on our way back to the hotel.
The next day, Wednesday, we went to Animal Kingdom. We got up early again and headed over to Animal Kingdom and rushed to get a fastpass for the safari ride and then the Kali River Rapids ride which is like a white water rafting ride. We saw a show called Flights of Wonder that had real birds from around the world, there was a woman with an owl announcing the show outside of the seating area, and it convinced me to go in as it reminded me of Grandma Jo. The show was fantastic and all of us really enjoyed it. We then rushed off to watch Finding Nemo the musical and got another Fastpass for a ride in Dinoland called Dinosaur which we were told should not be missed. Finding Nemo the Musical was very cool. Follows the movie and is puppets and people, singing and dancing. I'm glad we saw it. We then went back to the hotel and relaxed by the pool before we headed back to Animal Kingdom where we had a late lunch at the Tusker House which is right in Animal Kingdom. It was also a buffet and was David's favorite. Mine was 1900 Park Fare (above). There were no characters, but I had the kids give David his ring (I'll explain this later) and then when we left, the parade was going on and the kids and all of us were fascinated! Afterward we went on the safari, which we did twice. It is so cool, they have created a reserve right there in Disney and African animals roam free, we saw giraffes, elephants, wart hogs, rhino's, longhorn bulls, hippos and crocodiles (totally freaked me out, the crocodiles, seeing one in person is just freaky!) Afterward we rode Kali River Rapids and I got completely DRENCHED! It was a ton of fun and we ended up riding it again after we did another safari, I was still wet from the first time and got wet some more but David got the drenching the 2nd time. All of us were wet, but it's really refreshing when it happens! We went over to Dinoland and rode the Triceratop Spin ride (kinda boring) and then we went and used our Fastpass for Dinosaur. Now I have to tell you, I screamed and had my eyes shut for most of this ride and Grace was almost frozen petrified with her eyes opened, when I would open my eyes to check on her and Blythe's eyes were also closed. It was completely freaky!!! You basically are in a car and it's being sent back to the time when the meteor hits earth and kills the dinosaurs and all these dinosaurs come popping out at you in the dark. I was almost traumatized from this ride and David and John Loved it! John actually got a ginormous Dinosaur in the gift shop. Us girls were absolutely horrified!
Well we left Animal Kingdom after that and headed back to the hotel, we decided to go to Downtown Disney as there was a store called LegoLand down there as well as other places to check out so we drove down there and within 5 minutes I lost my little camera bag which held my driver's license, all of our hotel keys, all of our Disney passes and my credit card. Well needless to say I was a wreck and I left David, Blythe and John at LegoLand, took Grace and combed back our steps to the car, searched the car and then went crying to the hotel registration desk. As I had no identification other than a parking pass they had someone meet me at the room to let me in and I tore it apart looking for it. I couldn't find it and I was just sick so I went back to Downtown Disney to get David and the other kids and then we all headed to Disney's Lost and Found. He called TRex (the restaurant we had walked by on our way to Legoland) as they have a separate Lost and Found and they had my stuff. I was sooo thankful, and my credit card and everything was still there! Whew! We went and eat after and then to the Disney store where the girls got necklaces and John and David got lightsabers.
The next day, Thursday, our last day at Disney, we had breakfast at 10:40 in Norway at Epcot so we packed up the car and had our Disney resort hold our luggage and headed on the bus to Epcot for breakfast. This was our other character meal with another Cinderella, Snow White, Ariel, Belle and Sleeping Beauty (Aurora). The buffet had cold items on it and the weirdest things like smoked herring and salmon (blech for breakfast but that's what other countries eat in the morning, ew!), but also lots of fresh fruit and then the waitress brought us eggs, bacon, hashbrowns and sausage. The hashbrowns were the best. They were made with some kind of cream or something, delicious! After the breakfast, the kids ran around in this area at Epcot where water comes out of like potholes. These pictures that I'm sending you are my favorite from the trip. I love their faces as they run through the water! It gets so hot in Florida and it's great to be able to cool off with any kind of water! We went and stood in line at the Epcot Character Spot (inside wait, most of the stuff is like that which is pretty cool). The kids got autographs and pictures with Mickey, Minnie, Donald Duck, Pluto and Goofy. They loved it! Then when we walked out Chip n Dale were next to it, so we stood in line and the kids really enjoyed them, they were funny, and all of the characters complimented Johnny on his way cool Mohawk. We went and rode the Finding Nemo ride and sat in a show called Turtle Talk with Crush (the sea turtle from Finding Nemo) and then we had ice cream and left Epcot to go back to the hotel to swim for a little bit before we headed out to St. Augustine, FL.
St. Augustine was only 2 hours away from Disney and we got there when it was getting dark, so we had a terrible dinner at the Mexican restaurant right across the street and then played in the pool and hot tub for a little bit before going back to our room for some Phineas and Ferb cartoon watching. I love Phineas and Ferb. I don't know what kind of tv programming you all get in there, but I'm telling you, if you get the Disney channel at all you should check out the show. It's really funny and David and I watch it sometimes without the kids being around! The next morning we got up at the ungodly hour of 6 to go collect seashells at the ocean (about 10 minute away from our hotel). We headed back, had breakfast and then packed up the car for the long haul to Nashville, TN.
I don't know if you watch the news or if you'd heard of the flooding Nashville went through in April, but when we were there the only thing that was still shut down was Opryland and the mall right next to it. The hotel guy said that Opryland was like ground zero for the flooding. I don't tend to watc the news, I find it way too depressing, so I only know a tiny bit about the flooding and have only seen a couple of pictures. I liked Nashville but it's not somewhere I'd be rushing to get back to. David and I don't drink and downtown consists of bar after bar. There are musicians on the streets and the city is amazingly clean, which was even more surprising after the flooding just a short time ago. We walked downtown and took some pictures, ate at a BBQ joint called Jack's BBQ that was really good and headed back to our hotel for some more swimming! I was honestly swum out, but I did get in the pool for a little bit and David, Blythe and John took turns trying to jump the farthest in the pool. All the kids wear lifevests, I wouldn't have it any other way. John would barely get in the water when we first started our trip and by the time we left Nashville he was jumping in. It was nice to see. David is awesome with the kids, you can tell he loves them and they love him too! We stayed in Nashville 2 nights, mainly because it took us Forever from St. Augustine, FL to Nashville, TN as it was a Friday on a holiday weekend (Memorial Day weekend) and in parts the traffic was horrific, like Atlanta.
Sunday morning we packed up everything and made the 7 hour drive to home. It was sooooo nice to get home and see or baby girl puppy, Aspen, our big boy, Jet, and all of our cats (now 5, I know crazy!!) Most of all it was soooo nice to sleep in our king size bed again! We are used to sleeping that way now and every hotel room except for 1 had double beds, which felt like I was falling off one side! So we get home and David starts a load of laundry and our washing machine is broke! Grrr!!!! So I call this repair place and they come out, the guy asks me about 6 times about our dogs, which were outside, (he then tells me he's been bit 3 times by dogs), then he tells me that the repair was $300!!! Well David said let's just buy a new one, plus he said the guy was so full of shit! He unplugged our timer then said it was that and David took me downstairs after he left and showed that the timer works fine, its when it's supposed to be spinning, only the center thing spins and not the bucket. So we went to BestBuy the next day and ordered a front loading washing machine that was on super sale and we go to set up delivery (being told that it would only be a week) and it can't be delivered until June 24! Shoot me!!! Well not really, but seriously 5 people generate a ton of laundry and so today David and I are running to the ghetto Laundromat close to our home to get everything clean in one haul and then we'll probably have to go one more time before our washer gets delivered. Our dryer is still working and I'm hopeful it stays that way!
So today is Friday now, and I plan on printing this and getting it into the mail to you today (June 4). I have to pick up the pictures from Walmart which I will do sometime this weekend and I'll take them to the post office on Monday and pay for them to come to you, so expect those in a couple days after you receive this long ass letter! Please be sure to let me know if you get the postcards I sent you! Did I tell you that I start my math class for summer session on Monday (June 7). I'm going to take pictures of campus to send to you in the next letter. I have been in David's office this morning and just ran out with Debbie (his mom) to get the pictures and then also to pick up a calculator for my class. I have to have a certain one and they start at $130!!! Eek! Of course I have no clue how to use it lol, but I'm sure I'll figure it out by the end of this class. I have 3 more math classes to take for my degree and the calculator will be useful in each one. And then I'll sell it! I have the pictures and separate envelopes for pictures to send to you. A few of the pictures came out grainy which is a bit irritating but most of them are really good. I hope you enjoy going thru them!
Mom emailed me today about the guy hitting you from behind. That had to be so scary. I've been emotional about it all day, just thinking about you. Mom told me you also told her that you are seeing people and talking to people aren't there. I know you wrote that to me in your letter and I'm glad that you are getting help for it in the place you are in now. We've been through a trauma with Dad dying so suddenly and we each will be grieving over it for a long time. I get anxious when I am getting ready to go to sleep and also check on my kids all the time. I have horrific dreams sometimes too. I appreciate that you talked to me about it and know that I do understand and I don't think you are crazy, or one of my favorite lines, cookoo like cocoa puffs! I think you are grieving and having a hard time being alone in your grief. Anytime you need to talk to me or put words down on paper, know that it'll stay with me and I will understand and always love you. Just know that you are almost out of there and I've been thinking that if you have to live in Michigan when you get out that you move to New Buffalo, Michigan, which is literally 10 minutes away from me. Here in Michigan City we are right on the border of Michigan and Indiana and I would love to have you that close. If you can transfer to Indiana, then I think you should move to Michigan City. It's lovely here, and it's wonderful to be right here on Lake Michigan. I would even want you to move in with me if you needed to at first, though hopefully you'll have money left to be able to walk out buy a car, rent a house while you look for work. Just something to think about.
I will pass along the info that you are in Muskegon to Russ. I'll try to make it up there to see you too. I asked David if he would come and he said yes, so how do I get that paperwork? I have to fill out for myself and have David do his. They only let me in when Dad died because of the circumstances. Let me know next time you write or talk to Mom about how we can get the paperwork.
I'm not sure if I sent you a picture of a ring, I'm trying to think if I did. I don't show I wrote you after David and I got engaged, but here let me give you the story. David and I know we will be together until one of us dies. We get into fights, sometimes not talking for a couple of days. Our fights are always over some kind of miscommunication. Never anything big, sometimes I just don't want to talk to him until my temper has settled down. Then I can speak calmly. And it's over really stupid things, like I can't remember our last fight and usually by the time my temper has settled down I can't really remember why we've fought in the first place. Neither of us in the beginning wanted to get married again and I am still okay with being together in a committed relationship, but there are benefits of being married and I love David and I want to be with him for the rest of my life and marriage has been creeping in our minds for awhile. Well David said that he would buy me a ring after I bought him a ring. We've spent a lot of time looking at rings and finally David found one he liked so I went in a couple days later and bought it. And then hid it in my file cabinet. I was planning on giving it to him at Disney and I showed Blythe and kept it a secret until we got into a disagreement and I told him when I was angry about it. Well fast forward to Tuesday before we leave for vacation and we were talking about our communication and what we needed to do to make it better and just a really good talk. I was doing something, I don't remember what, but he was in the kitchen eating cereal and he told me to grab the kittens (I sent you pictures before, both are girls we found out so now they are named: Esme and Candace (from Phineas and Ferb, Blythe named her) from the bed and so I did and I was like ok, Let's go watch Biggest Loser (do you watch that show? Such an inspiring show!) and he laughed and told me I was blind and I turned around and saw the jewelry box. I was shaking and I opened the box and totally freaked out as it was the ring that we both loved! Well I ended up having the kids give the ring to David at the restaurant in Animal Kingdom (Tusker House). Blythe handed it to them and Grace asked if David would be their step-dad. It was really cute and now we both have our rings!
Well David and I set a wedding date of 6/2/2012 actually on 6/2/2010. I woke up that morning and thought of 6 * 2 = 12 (month, date = year) and we have 12 in our family including all of our animals. So we are going for it. I want to get married at the gazebo here in Michigan City right near the beach and then there is a Senior Center that can be rented that's right on the beach here at Lake Michigan. I've always wanted a beach wedding and I'm bound to have it. I stopped yesterday about reserving it, but I can't reserve it until January 2011 for 2012, so I have it written down to do that. Next time I go to the beach I'll take a picture of the gazebo and the Senior Center. David and I also already talked and we are going to video tape the wedding so you can watch it if you want to when you are out and also we are going to renew our vows in a ceremony when you get out, so you can be there for that.
June 13
Well it's Sunday and I'm lying on the couch watching Tropic Thunder. Have you ever seen it? It's funny. Robert Downey Jr. plays a black guy and he's really funny in it. You should watch it if you get the chance.
Well I sold Dad's car yesterday. It was sad for me. I know it's just a car, but Dad used to call it his Cadillac. Of course it wasn't a Cadillac, but he said it was the closest he would get to one! I'm going to buy a Nissan Pathfinder once the estate is disbursed. It's a 7 passenger 4 wheel drive SUV. I get totally scared driving in the snow and so the 4 wheel drive should be great in alleviating my fears of snow! I've been looking online for months at the Pathfinder's and I'm excited to be able to get one soon hopefully. I'll send you pictures of what I get when I do. Maybe by the end of June. That'd be great.
I started my Algebra class on Monday. We meet 3 times a week; Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 1 to 2:50 pm. The professor is a younger guy, I think its first year teaching. You can tell he is nervous and his teaching style is different than my first math professor last semester. We are recapping on what I've already taken in the 064 class last semester so I'm feeling fine with it so far but we are going over 9 chapters in 6 weeks or so. June 7 I started and July 29th is our last class.
I had to return my camera as it totally messed up but I got another one and I'm going to take pictures of campus tomorrow.
I took a couple pictures when we are at the beach this weekend. I haven't printed them out to see if they turned out but I will. I love living close to the beach here by Lake Michigan. I took the kids on Friday to the beach for a couple of hours and then Saturday we went again but the wind was coming off the lake and the lake is still really freaking cold and it was freezing even on the beach!! We only stayed about 20 minutes! BRRRR! Oh I'll try taking pictures of the gazebo I'm going to reserve for David and I to get married at next time I go to the beach.
Today we took the kids to see Marmaduke at the theater. Really cute. Very kid friendly and the kids loved it. Blythe said when we were leaving she wanted it when it came out on DVD. Oh I just looked up above my head and the two kittens are lying on the pillow on top of the couch. Super adorable!
June 15, 2010
Hey bud! Well I didn't print this out yet so now I'm going to finish it up (Tuesday night). Right now Blythe, David and I are lying on the couch with the animals watching Two and a Half Men. Totally hilarious show, have you seen it? I highly recommend it!
Tomorrow I have my first exam in Algebra. I feel pretty confident because in Spring semester we just went over from Chapter 1 to Chapter 5 and so I've just done this. So I'm hoping that I do well on this first exam. I have the exam tomorrow and should have my grade on Thursday so I'll let you know!
Tonight we had karate and we broke cement with our heels! Well they had 2 spaced pieces of cement that a few of us girls tried and could not do and then they put one piece of cement down and I broke it! It was way cool! I'm going to send you a picture of the cement, I wrote my name on it, date and heel so I can remember my first cement break! David broke the 2 spaced pieces of cement. He is so good at karate!
It's supposed to be nice for the rest of the week, it's been kind of rainy for the past few days. I'm looking forward to taking Blythe to the beach. Saturday Mandi is having a luncheon at her house in Jackson. She and her husband Jordan and Michael just moved there from Illinois. Grandma and Grandpa Siewert will be there as well as Uncle Rick, Mom, Dad, Jason and all of us. Well David may have to work. I'll make sure to send you pictures next week J.
June 22
Well it's Tuesday afternoon and I'm forcing the kids to have quiet time while I get some stuff done! This morning I cleaned a little bit and then Scott's wife, Jessica, came over with Savannah and we all went to the beach and then to the splash park by the beach, kind of like huge sprinklers on cement. It was a lot of fun! I'm including pictures, of course! My favorite line of the day was from Gracie who said, "Mom I don't need sunscreen, I'm skinny." Haha, of course what she meant was that she's tan and she never burns. She and Blythe are both like that. It still was funny and I made her wear sunscreen anyway because it was supposed to be 90 degrees out. It was high 80s for sure but it was definitely hotter on Friday than today.
Well last week I think I mailed you the letter right before my Algebra exam, the first one of the semester. I got 100% which is awesome! Just need to keep that up J. The test was only 16 questions and we had worked on a Review Test the day before and it kind of mimicked that.
Last Friday, Blythe and I went to the beach with a friend of mine that just moved 15 minutes away, which was fun but I got burned! I think it was defective sunscreen because David used it Sunday and also got burned! Well after we got home it started to storm really badly and we lost power and then the tornado sirens started going off so Blythe and I went into the basement and I went up twice to get the dogs in the basement with us. We were down there when David got home. He totally makes fun of my petrified fear of storms but I can't help it. They are scary! We all went to karate still, and I was wound up from the storm and more were supposed to be coming! Power was out for the night so we packed up the dogs and headed to Debbie's house which is across town and still had power. We slept in her very uncomfortable double bed and got up early to come home so I could get ready to go to Mandi's house for lunch.
Mandi's house is nice and big. They live in Jackson, MI right now though they may be moving yet again as Jordan (Mandi's husband) is still working 12 hour shifts 6 days a week and never sees Mandi or Michael. I took lots of pictures and I'll send them along. GG & Pops (Grandma and Grandpa Siewert) were there as well as Rick, Jason, Mom and Dad. David had to work and Blythe ended up going with Mom and Dad so I came home and David and I hung out for the evening. We went to the gazebo we are going to get married at and watched the sunset on Lake Michigan.
Sunday was Father's Day and a bunch of people were posting this on Facebook. I did too. I thought it was appropriate. "Yellow roses grow in heaven, Lord pick a bunch for me, place them in my daddy's arms and tell him they're from me. Tell him that I love and miss him, and when he turns to smile place a kiss upon his cheek and hold him for awhile. Because remembering him is easy, I do it every day. There's an ache in my heart that will never go away."
We got up at 5 am to drive to Terre Haute which is about 3 hours away so David could buy a motorcycle. He's wanted one for quite some time and I'm not a huge fan of motorcycles but he found a really good deal and he's thoroughly enjoying it! I don't like riding on bikes but I went around the neighborhood with him on Sunday when we got home and hopefully I can get used to it enough to ride around town with him without totally freaking out. It's basically a street legal dirt bike and that's exactly what he was looking for. He's driving it to work for the past 2 days as well and took the kids on it around the block this morning. The kids were still in pajamas and all of them really enjoyed it! John was pretty PO'd when I made him get off the bike.
Sunday David and I also went and saw A Team in the theatre which was sooo good! I wasn't sure how it would be and I was very pleasantly surprised. If you get a chance to see it, watch it. I'm going to buy it when it comes out on DVD. We also went to dinner at a Mexican restaurant I heard was really good and I was not impressed. Neither was David, which was a bummer but oh well, now we know!
So David and I have been looking for houses and we made another offer on a house this weekend. It's right down the road from us, well around the corner and right down the road from us and has 3 bedrooms, an almost completely finished basement, a detached garage and a parking spot up front too, everything is really nice. The guy that owns it is going into the ministry and is moving about 20 minutes away. He's been really helpful and just wanted to wait until the house had been on the market for 10 days before he accepts our offer. We are meeting his wife tomorrow and then on Friday if no one else has made an offer then he will sign the offer and we'll be moving in July! So cross your fingers for us… Only 2 more days!
This coming up weekend we are going to Bad Axe to visit GG and Pops. I'm so looking forward to going to Lake Huron and getting some doughballs!! YUMMMMMMM! J
Tomorrow I am taking John to get his Mohawk recut as his hair is growing in pretty quick and let Grace get blue in her hair. Blythe got purple last week but you can barely see it. David took her, I wish I would've went because they didn't do it right. Frustrating! Also, we are taking the kids to see Toy Story 3 in 3D and if there's time going to get a child's motorcycle helmet for the kids to use and a helmet for me, if I can get comfortable riding around town with David.
Okay that's it for now. David and I need to make dinner for the troops as Blythe has karate in an hour and then it's our turn for some "hot" karate!
July 11
It's Sunday morning and John and I are the only ones up in the house (except for the animals). John is watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Today is our packing day and picking out paint day so it'll be a busy one once everyone else is up. I've already packed up a lot, but there's more to do! We are officially moving next Saturday, July 17. We've rented a U-haul and Debbie is having the guy that mows her lawn help and then Scott, Jessica and their friend, Rob, is going to help too. I'm so excited!
Well I know I didn't write you last week and so I'll get you caught up. We made that offer on the house on Greenwood Ave and the seller's did accept it. We are closing tomorrow. The house is 3 bedrooms, 1 bath, nice fenced in yard, detached garage and additional parking in the back. It also has most of the basement finished so we are putting my desk and David's weights and maybe a futon with a tv down there. The bedrooms are all on the one side of the house, David and my room is the front one, then John's and then the girls.
The girls want their room pink with purple stripes (this was after they bickered for quite some time on a pink or purple room and I suggested the stripes), John's room will be blue and then our room is going to be in the lavender family. Once I pick it out today I'll scan what colors we picked out so you can visualize it. Tuesday I'll take pictures before and then I'll send you pictures of after we've painted. The house really needs no work, but I want to paint so they are "our" colors. The living room I've really been struggling with what to paint it but I think it'll be in the blue/green family. I found these awesome lamps that Blythe says looks like a peacock feather at an Estate sale that are now my inspiration for the room! The living room opens into the kitchen/eat in dining area so it needs to be complementing colors. We want to paint the kitchen yellow and then put up a chair railing (basically a trim piece mid-wall to separate). David suggested the yellow and I think yellow for a kitchen is very cheery! All of our appliances are white and cupboards so I think it'll look really sharp. The bathroom is the only thing we aren't painting, it's like a deep red and really pretty! Plus it has a one-person Jacuzzi tub in it! Omg can't wait!! J
I also ordered some wall decals and bought some for the kids at Menards when they were on sale. Wall decals are like wall stickers, they've become pretty popular. They don't damage the walls and they have a wide array of quotes, custom order, pictures and different things. John wanted Diego (cartoon explorer, cousin to Dora) so I got those for him and then ordered a world map decal from Ebay. John is always asking questions as to where we are, how close it is to China etc. So he'll love the world map and it'll go really well with the Diego decals and blue walls. The girls couldn't just choose one of course, so they chose their own. Grace got Hannah Montana and Blythe picked out horses. Blythe LOVES horses. Their room will be pink and purple and we'll have to figure out a way to get the horses and Hannah to go together. I think I'll put the Hannah's in one central location and then spread the horses like running around the room. Then I also got butterfly decals for them to have them flitting around the room with the horses. The room will have a lot going on, but it's what they want!
For the rest of the house I ordered a quote for the living room that says "Together we make a family" and then I custom ordered one for David and my bedroom that says "I mean it" which is our thing. When I say I love you and he says I love you, too, I then say "I mean it" and he says well I mean it too. LOL. Sounds silly but we both do it to each other so I thought it would be cute above our bed as a decoration. And the last thing I ordered was 2 blossom trees that are wall decals, one pear blossom (it has white flowers and branches) and one cherry blossom (branches and then pink type flowers). I can't wait to get them up on the walls, but I just ordered them so they won't be here for a couple weeks. They are pretty cheap on Ebay and I ordered multiple from one place so that I only get charged shipping once.
It's been a bit overwhelming, packing, getting ready for a move, school, work and cleaning. I started working at Debbie's office a few part time days a week, and I also clean her office, her home and then I started cleaning a condo on Friday. I'm also meeting with a guy on Tuesday to clean his house once a week. This math class I'm in is getting harder and we are done as of July 29, I just need to sit down with it and go over it over and over it until I get it. I have a test coming up on Wednesday, so except for painting I'm going to be studying!
So the last weekend in June we went to GG and Pops (Grandma and Grandpa Siewert's) for the weekend. It was a lot of fun, the kids really enjoyed the visit and so did GG and Pops. I'm sending you pictures (got a call from Walmart saying my pictures are ready to be picked up). They loved all of the animal decorations they had around the yard and spent a ton of time playing hide n seek out in the yard. Saturday we took them to Lake Huron, but I thought it was going to be cooler than it was so I didn't bring their swimsuits, which was a bummer because it was way hotter there. We played around and there was a rib fest going on so we ate at that and then played on the playground before going back to GG's and Pops.
We went and saw Toy Story 3 and during the movie they stopped it and made us all go into the bathroom as there was a Tornado warning and they were saying there was rotation spotted like 3 miles away. I freakin HATE storms and was totally wigged out, but all was fine and we got to go in and finish the movie, which was cute. David, Debbie and I went and saw Eclipse when it came out and was super disappointed. I don't know if you know about the Twilight madness, Edward, Jacob and Bella. I am a fanatic about the books, they are brilliant and I've read them thru 2 full times and then read parts a 3rd time, but the movies all blow. The second one, New Moon, was the best so far but they've all generally been disappointing. I'd rather take the time to read the books than watch the movies, hands down. The 4th book, Breaking Dawn, which is by far the best, they are making into 2 movies so hopefully they will be good. Holding out hope they get that one right!
Over July 4th we didn't have any of the kids, so we didn't do much. We watched Knight and Day at the theatres, the one with Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz, which was cute. We went and saw fireworks at Long Beach which is here in Michigan City. I took pictures and am sending to you. Tonight it is the Michigan City fireworks, which I just remembered, so we'll be sure to take the kids to that. J Going to be a busy day!
Okay well I'm going to get some coffee and get started, otherwise I'll sit here all day and get nothing done. Well that's not true, but if I get a late start and have so much to do I'll start feeling overwhelmed!
July 14
Hey bud, well I hadn't printed this out yet so I'm adding to it even though I should be studying for my Algebra exam which is in 3 hours! I'm at the office with Blythe and just cleaned other than vacuuming the rugs and cleaning the conference table, but there is a meeting in there right now so I have to wait til that's done.
Well Monday we signed the paperwork and my new address is 217 Greenwood Ave, Michigan City, IN 46360. David, the kids and I picked out paint color for the house on Sunday and I love the colors! I'm taking before and after pics so you can see what we are doing. The girls chose pink, with purple stripes, John chose a very bright blue, David and I have a color that's in the purple family, our living room is like a sea green/blue and the kitchen will be yellow. Blythe and I started painting her room Monday and then yesterday (Tuesday) Mom came over and we finished the girls' room (other than purple stripes), painted John's room and my room as well. They look great and I'm thrilled! David and I started in the living room last night and painted almost all the walls, just need to touch up today and then paint one little section. The living room is huge and we need to move the drop cloth over there before we paint to protect the floor. I have my Algebra exam today and after class I'm going to finish painting the living room, do a 2nd coat on the hallway which is just a cream color and then start in on the kitchen. David is going to tape the stripes and then Blythe and possibly her friend, Angel, will be painting the stripes while David and I work on the kitchen. I wish I would've painted the kitchen first because it's going to be a bitch to paint around the cabinets and counter top!
My body is killing me today. I'm so achy from painting and moving stuff. Every time we go over we load the Pilot with stuff from the house and then we've been taking it to the basement in the new house. I still need to pack the kids' room somewhat at our old house and make sure everything else is packed so hopefully we'll be done with painting today or tomorrow mid afternoon and then tomorrow evening and Friday I can focus on getting everything packed and ready to roll in anticipation of the Uhaul move on Saturday.
I'm really looking forward to decorating the new house! Monday we are having a family meeting and creating a chore list for everyone. J Okay well I'm going to force myself to study for Algebra exam, I'm nervous about it but not really. I'm sure I'll be super nervous later on!
Oh yeah, I am going to Walmart either today or tomorrow to pick up the pictures. I'll mail them separately!
July 29
Okay, where to begin… Well we moved. July 17. It was so freakin' hot that day too. This summer has been full of them. Of course I'd rather have it be hot than cold, so I'll stop complaining about that! J Anyway, that week was pretty stressful, just trying to pack everything up. You don't realize how much stuff you've accumulated until you have to box it all up! I'm planning on having a garage sale sometime in August to try and sell off stuff that we don't need or use. Of course depending on everything, it may be next year, but I'm shooting for August! J We rented a U-haul and Scott, Jessica, Jess' brother and one of their friends, along with David and I moved our house and then I started organizing stuff in the house while David helped Scott and Jessica move from LaPorte to our old house on the same day. Poor David! He had it rough! After that, he had to drive back to LaPorte and show some houses. I had organized a ton of stuff and Debbie had a guy who mows her lawn come over and start putting stuff together for us, which was nice. He put up blinds, put up our bed frame and bed, put together our dining room table and helped set up our above ground pool. He's a nice kid.
Oh, but before we moved…. We painted the entire first floor of the house, besides the bathroom. The bathroom is a really pretty shade of red, so we left that but painted the entire house. I've ordered pictures but I did Home Delivery option which means they won't be here for another week or so. It was like $10 more for the one hour photo so I decided to just wait and send them to you once I get them thru the home delivery. But I'll tell you now what we did. The girls' wanted pink and purple and both were pretty insistent so we did pink and purple stripes. We painted the entire room pink first and then did the purple stripes last after every room in the house was done. Blythe helped out too, and she was a great help! We started painting on Monday evening, and Mom came over on Tuesday and helped finish painting the girls' room, John's room and our bedroom! She was a huge help!
John picked out a bright blue for his room, which I thought was really loud, but it turned out awesome. It's really pretty, I can't wait for you to see it! Our room is a deep lavender. It's very calming and beautiful. David picked it out, which surprises everyone since it's in the purple family. I'm in my room right now and I love looking at our walls! The living room is hard to explain. A couple people have called it aqua, and it was in the green palettes of color but it looks blue. It's called Ol' Swimming Hole and I'm not sure what color I'd actually classify it as but it's my favorite color in the house. I think. J
The kitchen is a light lemony yellow, which is really pretty. I dreaded painting the kitchen so I saved it until last. It ended up being the easiest room to paint. We had two of my friends from PNC over, Heather and Maggie and they helped paint the living room, the 2nd coat in the hallway (oh I forgot to tell you that's a pretty cream color) and then Maggie had to leave at the beginning of the kitchen but I was thankful for their help. Our cupboards and cabinets are white in the kitchen so the yellow looks really good against them.
I took pictures of the progression of painting so once I get those I will send them on to you right away! I think they should be here by next Friday. I know I told you in the previous letter about the wall decals and I have the kids' up but not anywhere else in the house. The girls' room looks great with the horses, butterflies and Hannah Montana. I stuck the butterflies so they look like they are flying up to the ceiling and then on the ceiling to the closet. I love it! We had to have a contractor that Debbie knows (and Anthony's (our helper) brother), Jimmy, over as when we put the bunk beds up in the girls' room the ceiling fan in that room was right in line with the top bunk and I don't want to take the chance of hurting one of the kids. We got a new light fixture for them and he came over and put it up and then moved the ceiling fan to our room, which is awesome because we didn't have a light fixture, only a lamp and a light switch that controlled the switch that had our lamp and our tv plugged into it. Jimmy has been also a huge help in that John's window broke (really old windows) and he came over on a weekend and put a new one in because I was afraid that it could shatter on him or one of the kids if they knocked into it. The windows were on such a good sale that I bought more and he's put those in as well.
So we are loving living here. I think every day how much I love this house and I'm so glad we moved! There is still sooo much to do. We had Anthony pull out a dreadful hedge and some bushes up front and last weekend we got some plants and planted them up front. That was much longer than we expected as there was a layer of mulch that had to be removed, then a layer of gravel and then a layer of stones! But the new plants look great, which you will soon see (pictures). This weekend we are not really planning anything other than on Sunday we are putting together the wood playset I had ordered thru Walmart. It was $30 more than one of those metal weak looking things so I'm super excited to get that up. I want the kids to be able to play in the back yard (it's fenced in). They absolutely love the pool (though there was a snafu with the saltwater system that generates chlorine so you don't have to put shocker stuff in it, it didn't get here until yesterday so they haven't been able to swim for a few days since the water has started to get cloudy). Debbie just found a patio set that we are picking up on Saturday for free! And it's super nice! Rectangle table, 4 chairs, one lounger! Woohoo! J
We are pretty good at being organized on the 1st floor, other than in our room and then I have this hutch thing in our kitchen (I got it at a garage sale for $25) that I've just been throwing shit on, but the basement definitely needs some organizing. We have the garage too that we are going to put some storage stuff in from the basement, once I organize more. The basement has finished walls and I picked up a carpet remnant at Lowe's for dirt cheap for a play area/eventually a lounge area down there and then my desk will be down there as well. It's down there now, just not set up. We have a separate laundry area which is nice though I need to mop down there since I used the utility sink to clean all our paintbrushes etc and there is some dried tinted water on the floor. With the fact we've only been here 2 weeks, the basement looks awesome, but it needs to get done, preferably before I start school for fall (August 23) so that's a goal. A dreaded goal but a goal still the same. I'll take a picture of the basement as is and then send you progress reports on a weekly basis til it's done!
Today was my Algebra final which was no fun! Every test I've received either 100% or over 100% due to the Bonus Question our prof would put on our tests and I was over 100% in homework as well but this Final was Rough! When I did the Practice Final there were 8 questions I just flat out didn't know how to do! Because the class was only 6 weeks they jam too much material in it and the students pay the price! 8 chapters in 6 weeks! Eek! We learned the stuff for Chapter 10 the day before the final. Our professor gave us hints on the blackboard which seriously saved my ass on 2 questions. Overall I think I did okay, but I will know for sure on Monday. The last couple weeks class has been intense because we've been rushing through the material so I'm so glad to put that behind me and will be careful what I take in the summer from now on!
Oh, my birthday was of course 9 days ago (when writing this letter). We were going to go to the Deep River Waterpark that's only about ½ hour away but the forecast called for thunderstorms all day so we postponed that and went to Chicago on the train instead. The kids had never rode the train to Chicago and it's cheaper to ride the train then drive there and pay for parking. We left at 8:30 and took the train to the Shedd Aquarium which is really cool. The kids really enjoyed it (I took pictures, also will send those to, next week). After that, we went to the Disney Store where the kids all got a Perry the Platypus stuffed animal. I'm not sure you have access to the Disney Channel but I'm telling you Phineas and Ferb is one of the best shows to watch. Even when David and I don't have the kids we'll find ourselves watching Phineas and Ferb! J After that we went to The Cheesecake Factory which was scrumptious and then we headed back on the train to home. Unfortunately the train we got on only went as far as Gary, Indiana so David's mom had to come pick us up as the next train wouldn't have been there for another hour and a half! The kids were being terribly bad behaved and I was at my wit's end. Once we got to our car Grace got a very well deserved spanking and then I made all the kids go to their room and I was crying and all upset. I want to have a good birthday and have them be good on my day and I was super upset that they couldn't do that for me. It was irrational, but it was what it was. I forgot to tell you what I got for my birthday. David got me a very pretty ruby and diamond heart necklace and Debbie, his mom, got me some ruby earrings. Also, Mom gave me this beautiful bowl that has the color of my living room in it. It's on the bottom shelf of my tv stand in my living room right now. I love it. Blythe took one look at it and said "That's going to get broken." LOL. Well I hope not! J
I've been working at Debbie's and David's office 3 half days a week. It's nice because I get done what needs to be done and then I study or do homework or play on the internet and answer phone calls as they come in. I'm going to become a realtor but the classes are only in the evenings and I have an evening class this fall so I'll wait until the Spring semester and do it then. David and I are going to team up! We want to use his last name, since that'll eventually be my last name, in some advertising. His last name is Angus (not sure you know that), like the beef or like Angus Young (AC/DC guitarist). So I'm trying to brainstorm some creative marketing for when that happens. David thinks I'll be a good real estate agent since I'm sales oriented and talk a lot. J
Next week on Wednesday I'm taking the kids thru Sunday to Aunt Wendy and Uncle Tony's house in Iowa. It's only 3 hours away so not bad at all! I think I'm taking Aspen with us as well and David is going to stay home to work and Sunday he has his physical exam to be a fireman. He had taken the civil service exam earlier this year and now has this physical exam and then an interview. I'm very confident he will do what it takes to do this as it's a dream of his and I though I worry about him being a fireman and rushing in while others are rushing out, I support him and his dream. I'm looking forward to going to Wendy and Tony's. I went there last year over Halloween which was a great time. They have an in ground pool that I'm sure the kids will just adore and never want to get out of. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures!
Tomorrow I'm going to buy my books for the Fall Semester so I avoid the rush. The week before classes the lines are insane to buy books! I had to wait last semester but this time I'm going to get them early. I told Blythe she could sleep in (she loves to sleep in) and then after that we have to run to the bank and to PNC to buy books. Then hopefully the pool will be back to clear and maybe I'll finally get in the pool! It's warm but I hadn't gotten in it yet!
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