The Long Awaited Update

Where to begin? Well, to summarize, it’s been a whirlwind since we arrived back in the States. We flew back from Madagascar, made a trip to the east coast, and had graduation--all within 2 weeks. Kai made us all very proud having accomplished this huge feat spanning 4 years. A few weeks later you could find us packing up our home and moving across the country…again.

The Move:

We packed everything up into a Penske and started for the Northeast. New England to be more specific. Many tears were shed in California before leaving all the great friends we made in our 4 years and our family that will be greatly missed.

We sold our 2^nd car—an old GMC Jimmy, trailered our Honda, and all three of us piled into the bench seat of the Penkse truck. This made for a very eventful trip. 3000 miles on a bench seat is, well…unlike anything else I’ve done before. We talked, laughed, sang to some favorite songs, played classic road trip games, and listened to The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo audiobook that was a little more weird than we’re used to, but had a very thick plot and an unexpected villain. Unfortunately Kasen was stuck in his car seat for most of the trip, which produced a nasty diaper rash and very car seat adverse child. He was such a trooper though and has such a positive attitude in spite of all the changes going on around him. We saw beautiful sights coast to coast and stopped over in Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio to see friends and family that we haven’t seen in a loooong time. Such fun times!

The Job and Area:

Kai started working and loves his job so far. There are many promising qualities about the office he’s working in and he is absolutely in love with the area.

This past weekend we ventured out and saw some of what the area has to offer. We drove by houses built in the 1700’s (just down the road from where we'll be living), explored some of the natural beauty outside, and went window shopping in a very quaint old town not far from here. We also happened on my dream house. Pictures to follow.

The Home:

We are moving into a wonderful house with plenty of room. From the outside it’s beautiful and set on 35 acres with a stream bubbling just behind the house. Kasen has an enormous playroom inside and so much to do outside. He is absolutely loving discovering the great outdoors again. We caught a glimpse of this side of him in Madagascar and now it can be more fully developed here. The house has much more room inside too. 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, a study, family room, living room, and 3 car garage. It's nice to have space! It does need a little tlc though.

The Discovery:

While moving across the country we made a discovery. It’s so complex that I think I need to devote an entire blog post to this one thing when I actually can wrap my mind around it. So stay tuned…

The Current Situation:

Right now we’re living in a hotel until the house is ready. It should be ready in 2 days and it can’t come soon enough. There is no glamour in hotel living and I am soooo ready to have a house to clean and organize, meals to make from scratch, and room to spread out. To say the least, this start has been tough for me because with only one car at the moment, I have been stuck in a hotel room with Kasen for large portions of the day (and if you know me, you know this is pure torture). We have taken the stroller and ventured out to new places, but are limited to walking distances from the hotel. Needless to say, we are shopping for another vehicle. If you have a suggestion, please share it!

P.S. No pictures have been posted because our camera cord is packed. Pictures will follow later...