In Texas

We have been in Texas for about a week and a half and it has been terrible.  The kids have been sick (strep and ear infections) and Addison was very polite and shared her strep throat with me.  Needless to say, we are all on the road to recovery and are almost back to normal.  

The drive to Texas went amazingly well.  The kids were fantastic thanks to lots and lots and lots of help from Disney and Pixar:)  Addison asks about all of our friends in South Carolina and Georgia almost daily.  I don't know what we will do without all of you.  If she asks where Tyler or Daniel is one more time I may burst into tears.  

Matt is settling into his new job.  For the first time in ten years we had to think about insurance and 401K.  Pretty interesting being part of the civilian world again.  I didn't realize how much we were "taken care of" in the Navy.  Not that the level of service or care was always spectacular but it was always already done for you.  

We have officially sold our home in South Carolina to Cartus.  Cartus is the relocation company that is assisting us in our move to Tennessee.  The great part about this is that even though the new home owners don't close until the 29th of August we have already gotten the equity out of the sale!  

Our new home in Tennessee is absolutely gorgeous.  The cabinets are in as of yesterday and Matt says that all of the appliances were there in boxes as well.  We have paint on the walls, the wood floors have been finished, there are sinks and faucets and supposedly we will have countertops sometime this week or early next week!  I cannot believe how quickly things seem to happen once the ball starts rolling.  The builder was even talking about the sod getting laid pretty soon.  We will be in our new home in no time!  I hope you all enjoy the pictures and I really will try to keep everyone updated more often.  Now that we are settling back into a routine hopefully I will have more time to keep in touch!

It was bound to happen eventually

Addison has an ear infection.  Needless to say, we are not happy.  The poor kid has been hacking away since Wednesday night and even though her doctor said it was nothing to worry about I still knew that something was up.  She woke up with a fever and coughing so hard that she started to gag.  After 2 hours of waiting in urgent care we got the diagnosis.  Her first ever ear infection.  She is taking it better than her mom and dad.  We are bending to her every wimb and she is starting to catch on.  She even asked for, and got, Taco Bell for lunch.  I am really glad that we decided to cancel the trip to Georgia though.  If there is one thing I hate more than a sick kid is the emergency room in Kingsbay.  We were pretty bummed out that we won't be seeing Gabe, Amber and Tyler one last time before we leave but at least Addison can recover at home.  

We did discover on Thursday that Michael is a full 4 ounces heavier than Addison.  The baby brother is now the "big brother".  The kid is a chunk and one of the happiest babies I have ever seen.  He is even playing quietly by himself because Addison is trying to catch up on some sleep after coughing all last night.  

We have a huge week ahead of us with the movers coming and driving to Tennessee and then to Texas.  Plus we have so many people to say goodbye to that we don't have any idea how we will get to everyone.  Just so everyone knows, we will be at Buffalo Wild Wings next Thursday night for a goodbye dinner.  I think we will have a ton of fun and anyone who wants to show up is more than welcome!  I really hope we have a chance to see you all before we go!

The Wait is Over

For all of you who have been keeping up with us through our blog you will be happy to know that the house finally has a contract on it!  We got two offers this weekend and had a signed contract by 6 o'clock Saturday evening.  I cannot tell you what a huge relief this is for all of us.  Not only did we not want to have two mortgages but we needed to sell this house in order to release Matt's VA eligibility so that we could get a VA loan on the new house.  In case anyone doesn't know, you don't have to pay PMI on a VA mortgage and it saves us tons of money each month:)

In other news, we spent the weekend at Scott's lake house.  It was our last chance to enjoy the peace and quiet of Lake Wateree near Rock Hill, SC.  It was absolutely beautiful and incredibly hot.  We could barely keep Addison off of the "spaceship", known to everyone else as a jetski!  She ran and played and swam all weekend long.  Michael was very close behind.  He has taken two steps in a row and I have a feeling it won't be long until we can't keep him down at all.  I think that all the fun we have had this summer at the lake has almost convinced us that one day we need to have a house on the water.  Watching Addison run down to the dock and Michael take an afternoon nap while floating in the lake has me convinced that they are truly at home wherever there is water.

The move and travel plans have been finalized.  Dad is going to be flying into Atlanta on August 8th and we will pick him up and head to Tennessee to stay the night.  We should leave bright and early (actually before bright and early) for Texas.  I am hoping that if we leave early enough the kids will get a few good hours of sleep in the car before breakfast and we can get a few hundred miles of highway behind us.  It should take only one day thanks to the DVD player in the new minivan:)  I am still not sure how long we will be staying.  After talking to our real estate agent in TN it seems like we should be closing on the new house by the end of August rather than early September.  I am anxious to get into our new home so that we can hopefully be settled by Michael's 1st birthday.  That's right, I said Michael's birthday!  Can you believe he is already almost one?  Where does the time go?

I can't wait to see all of you!  I will write and update again soon!

It has been a week

To update everyone.  

We just reduced the price of our house... Again.  We have had several showings scheduled since the price change and now the only thing left to do is pray that it all works out.

We will be spending our weekend at Scott's lake house.  This will be the last trip up there since we are out of time and the house is being sold.  Addison and Matt are both really looking forward to the jetski!  I am really looking forward to trying out the new vodka that supposedly tastes like sweet tea.  We may be in trouble with this one if any of you have ever accompanied me to Sonny's you know what I am talking about.  

Next week is full already.  Monday is laundry and recovery from the water and sun.  Tuesday night is dinner with friends.  Wednesday is Matt's getting out of the Navy lunch and ladies' night.  Thursday is the last chance Matt will have to play poker with his buddies.  Friday is Matt's awards ceremony and who knows what the weekend will hold.

To update you all on the plans for our travel arrangements to Texas.  Matt is going to be starting at TVA on August 11th so unfortunately he will not have a chance to get to Texas with us.  The kids and I should be there the week of the 11th for sure.  How long we will be staying is going to depend on the builder of our new house.  

That is what is happening here.  I hope all is well there (wherever "there" is for you)!

Weekend Update

We are enjoying our last few weekends in South Carolina.  We spent Saturday afternoon with Traci, Eric and Daniel at an indoor bar-b-que.  The problem with doing a bbq in SC in the summer is that it is just too hot to be outside.  So the kids enjoyed the air conditioning and the toys while the grown ups enjoyed tons of food.  

It looks like someone is interested in our house.  The realtor says that they like our home the best but the location may make them choose something else.  Our realtor is in the process of convincing them that living here has some real benefits (the schools, the small subdivision, the low HOA fees).  Everyone please keep your fingers and toes and legs and eyes crossed that we get an offer.  It seems like this move has snuck up on us and we are seriously running out of time.

The movers are coming on August 7th to pack up the house and they will be loading the truck on the 8th.  We should be going to Tennessee that weekend followed by the journey to Texas!  I think we may have a lazy Sunday since we have been going like crazy.  We will try to have some time with all of our friends here in Charleston before we go because you will all be missed like crazy.  

The Waiting Game

We are still waiting on our house to sell.  As much as I love this house I am super anxious to see it go.  There are so many things on hold until the house sells.  We have had all positive feedback from realtors showing the house.  I guess it is probably just a matter of time now.

On a more positive note, the house in Tennessee is beautiful!  We picked out all of our paint colors, lighting fixtures, carpet, cabinets and countertops.  I cannot believe how quickly the house is coming together.  Everytime we see it I am amazed by how fast they can build a home.  

The movers should be coming to pack us up the first full week of August.  We are still working on the specifics of who will be going where and when.  It really depends on when Matt needs to start at TVA.  It does look like the kids and I will be in Texas in time for Grandpa's birthday (maybe even Grandma's!)  We can't wait to catch up with all of you then:)

Going out of town...again!

Well folks we are headed to Tennessee for the weekend.  

We are in the picking out everything phase of building our home and we need to get it done sooner rather than later since Matt will be up there and I will probably be in Texas at the beginning of August.  Addison is excited to see Travis and go swimming in the hotel swimming pool.  If I weren't so excited to pick out all of our stuff I would be dreading the drive....okay, I am dreading it a little already.  

Matt and I will let you know when we have finally decided what to do about living arrangements.  Maybe we will be seeing you all soon!