With Mavis in tow we made a quick trip over to Port Aransas. (We had to hire a car due to the fact that Mavis was leaving soon, we were all going stir crazy and our feet were sore from walking everywhere! Our minivan took ages to get here - such a long story)
We were really lucky as there was minimal traffic to get the ferry across and got there in next to no time. We did a little touristy shopping and then a trip to the beach. Since we've arrived there has been a real onshore wind and even though it is quite nice, it is quite blowey (what the?) so the bay and the gulf/beach has been a little choppy.
So rather than risking Syd's fury at getting sand in her shoes (oh you should see the drama a bit of sand can cause!) we decided to take a small walk on the pier.
The other side of the pier was a place that you could camp on the beach. Several RVs and campers had set themselves up quite nicely and were fishing from their campsites. Quite cool.
How gray is my man? Hereditary, stress or me? Who knows?
The end of the pier. A little to the left was a young fella who caught his first catfish by himself. He was so proud and managed to pull it up (the pier is about 30 ft above the water) all by himself. His dad had one to get more bait so he was there all alone doing this with noone to share it with. So we made sure to give him a big clap. He was so cute with his big grin.
Speaking of cute grins...
Ok, to some of you this may not be that interesting but a couple of weeks back we got rain.
So, let me set the scene for you. We had heard on the weather report that hail was a possibility so we thought that we could try and get the car into the garage. The very full, single garage that I hadn't quite gotten around to sorting out at that time. As I got in there it started to rain. Now remember, we've been living in Vegas for the last seven years where 4 inches of rain per year is the norm so it has been a while since it rained longer than 20 minutes at a spell.
It rained for 2 hours and we got three inches! We were stoked but also very surprised at how the house coped with rain (now remember we were told by our insurance company that we needed a new roof and when the quotes that came back were exorbitant - think $8,000-$10,000 we agreed to increase our premium total for the yar and stay with roof we had!). We learned a lot with several leaks at the join in the sunroom and how the water runs off the roof to sit in the backyard!
So much fun and oh so boring but we're not out of the drought just yet. At least we know what work we've got to do before hurricane season.
The collection receptacles at one point.
Yay - the lowest point of the backyard is on the paving. How lucky are we?
Ok, it's boring and I promise that I won't post anything more about rain until it's interesting. Perhaps a tropical storm?
I know it's been a while so rather than try and catch up chronologically I plan on just blogging on some random events etc and hopefully I'll catch up that way!
So...
Today marked the beginning of the second week at daycare. The girls do have quite a reaction to going to "school". On the one hand they are quite happy to go there, nodding when asked if they want to go to "school" and play with the girls and boys, even showing us the way to their classroom when we walk in. The flip side is that when they get into the classroom and realize what is next to happen (i.e. mummy and daddy leaving) then that is where the clingy tears hit. We try not to create a scene and disrupt the other kiddoes who are already there and say goodbye with a kiss but the tears are quite dramatic. Yes, it's nice to be loved so much (at least I hope it's love) but I've learned already not to turn around and get eye contact as the expression on their face is so heart wrenching. It's like they're accusing me of abandoning them!
So, have I managed to get much work done in the time that they are in "school"? It's three days a week (M/W/F) from 9.00am to 2.30pm. So yes, I am. It helps make up for this past weekend's complete lack of a daytime nap for Sydney! Yes, the kid went from 7am to 9.30pm, two days in a row and surprisingly had minimal meltdowns! Today she napped though - which I'm sure was most pleasant for Ms. Pam and Miss Ashley.
I've realized that I am not ready for no daytime nap just yet. Especially when it's only one child!
Anyway, here are some piccies of their first day - so cute!
Kendall is in the orangey top and Syd is in the turquoise one. Their hair has grown so much and both have really cute curly pony and pigtails!
Now you may be wondering about the splotchy background on the brick behind Syd. Well we want to paint the house and are testing colours in the different light. Since the piccie was taken we have actually painted several other colours up there. (Update: Final colour choice is a creamy colour for the main body of the house and a deep grayish blue for the trim. It should contrast nicely and with the green of the gardens at the front.)
Now I would like to point out the window boxes foliage. I am not a fake flower/plant fan but I have left the previous owners "decor" choice in the window boxes due to the fact that a) the house will be painted soon and b) we actually face west so the boxes will get quite hot and I'm trying to figure out a plant that can tolerate its roots to be housed in a shallow, hot box! Suggestions greatly appreciated please!
BTW - Both girls absolutely adore dogs and cats and Syd is pointing to next door's dogs as they are barking and she's getting a kick out of it! At least she's not rushing the fence!
I know it's been a while but obviously a lot has happened since my last post. It's late so I'm going to make this short and sweet.
First we had the conference in Long Beach which actually went quite well. The hotel was average and not really designed for kids but the trip out and back went really well. The actual conference responsibilities were shared by us both and where it could have been better (the conference hall was huge and had no "vibe") it was still successful for us. After returning to Las Vegas we got ready to move and it was very draining on both of us. Mavis was a great help and the dogs were really stressed, it seemed the only ones who were unaffected were the girls. It actually snowed on the day we were moving. Can you believe that? Hail sized snowflakes for 45 minutes. Crazy for April and even crazier when I've got boxes of things in my driveway ready to be packed. Things got wet and it generally was so messy. I wasn't happy with the chill that I got either. Yay, nothing beats sniffles and a temp when you're moving!
Anyway, back to the story - Storm pulled a "Storm" on me and decided that we were going to go a day earlier than planned which really put me into a place that I wasn't prepared for. I had mentally planned out the last days in Vegas and it's surprising how much I had planned for that last day. Oh well. I lost - we left on Wednesday.
Storm handled the RV really well and it liked him back. The girls were fantastic and really coped well with the environment they were stuck in for the 3 days. The dogs also seemed to do well (car sickness drugs really helped our spewy Oscar) and even though Rudy was troubled by the change in scenery as long as he was with us it was OK. We drove through fires, severe wind and deer and hopefully never have to do it again too soon.
The house and neighborhood.
We got to the place and I really have to commend the photographer that the real estate agent who sold the house had hired to take the piccies. Things looked really much longer in the photos - like the driveway for example. (The RV just fits onto the driveway now so it's not staying here at the house after the car arrives). Don't get me wrong the house is quite spacious - more so than the house in Vegas but it was smaller than what I had envisioned from the photos. (Maybe I should get the same photographer to take photos of me - the height/weight ratio may look better!)
Anyway, within 1/2 hour of arriving and unpacking the RV, some of the boards that Storm had stacked outside of the garage fell down in the wind. A huge spout of water erupted from the area and I thought that he had knocked off the top of one of the sprinkler heads (forgetting that we don;t need a sprinkler system down here). Well it wasn't a sprinkler (as previously explained it was the water main coming into the house. Yes, Storm managed to shatter the main water source to the house. Luckily enough three neighbors came to our assistance with phone numbers of plumbers (welcome to Hicksville we only work weekdays and certainly not Friday afternoons!) and after 4 hours of no luck with plumbers, two rides to the hardware store to get the products to fix it. Talk about 11th hour and we were able to wash our hands, feet and flush a toilet after it all. Hot showers would have to wait (remember Storm pushing up the leaving date? Well I had organized for the gas to be put on on Monday not Friday so we had to boil water in a tin kettle and small saucepan for kids, baths, face washing and washing up.)
Now I wasn't prepared for a couple of things when we moved in.
1) The colours and finishes on the walls. I'm not sure what was going through the previous owner's minds when they made the decisions they did but man we had some work ahead of us.
2) We had a 6-month settlement on the contract and I think they moved out once the contract went unconditional and as a result - the bugs took over where they left off. I couldn't let the girls touch anything inside for a good day and a half (it took me that long to boil water and clean it all off!). Crazy yukky.
3) A nice surprise was that the previous owners left their working fridge. I was expecting to have to buy a fridge and a washing machine straight away and not having to get the fridge certainly helped the budget (on the flipside was that we also had to buy a new dryer - go figure the washing wasn't drying well in the humidity and the dryer we brought with us - well it was a gas dryer not electric. I know - why didn't I think of that before I made Storm and DV carry it out and then pack it in the trailer? I don't know!)
4) The gloriousness of the sunroom. This was the reason that we bought the house and my gosh it is so worth it - a really lovely place to start the day, spend the day and finish the day. Can you tell I love it?
5) The roof. This is an update from news received today. Yes, before the insurance company will insure the roof we have to have it replaced! The quotes so far have been interesting to say the least and certainly not something that we expected to have to do so soon. (Must have killed a holy man in a previous life!)
6) The fact that we're in a small town in a dry community and having to get used to the fact that services are not as good or as plentiful (my landline telephone story is a learning experience), that we had power outages quite regularly (it ain't even hurricane season yet!) and the fact that we can only get tequila/vodka or anything liquor based at one shop in town. Welcome to Hicksville! I love it!
Apart from those few observations and not having the minivan (at least it's on its way now!) life has been pretty good. I have no regrets about moving and still have a few things to still get sorted so any real enjoyment still has to wait a bit but I cannot wait to get back into a groove.
P.S. - We had our first BBQ/dinner party last night. Our next door neighbours (golf playing CC copper and bartender wife with 2 yr old daughter) came over with their doggy (cute and surprisingly Rudy just loves him - even letting him sleep on him on the couch without flinching!). A good time was had by all. She sure knows how to make a good margarita!
P.S.S. - I have some piccies that I need to post and will do so very shortly.
Well, {obviously - considering my previous posts} we're in the 2nd last week of our countdown. This time in two weeks we'll be in L.A. with Storm doing his pre-conference mutter {I hate conferences...why do we do conferences?...I hate this...and so on and so forth} with Nanny Mavis seeing her girls for the third time in their lives. And of course that means that this time in 4 weeks we'll be in the house in TX. No furniture, fridge and eating take out on camping chairs but hey, we'll be there and we'll be together, starting again.
So this week has been busy. My hair got a new cut and colour which was supposed to be fixed...{yes I don't like it and have been wearing a ponytail ever since} but since my hairdresser got sick this weekend I am going back in tomorrow for a fix-up. Cannot wait as I look like a goth!
I'm almost finished up with the post-production on the annual audio event. This year was really difficult due to some major rearranging that I had to do with many speakers work's. I think I'll handle the organization next year as Storm didn't advise them what we needed with every audio. No exceptions! I'm not sure how this year's will go down with our customers as it's quite difficult to get through. Either way, my most frustrating part is over with and now it's just the gussy-ing up that I need to complete.
The girls have been crazy this week. I mean, unbelievably crazy. Why they have to touch everything, all the time {in spite of us telling them not to, of course!} is just mind blowing to me. Kendall has now taken to touching whatever she wants to touch - let's take the bin for an example, and we're not just talking about touching the outside, this girl likes to get her hands dirty! - she will look at either Storm or myself with such a look of...challenge! She knows she's doing wrong and defying us by ignoring us but she'll be such a buggar and keep doing it just to yank our chain.
As for our little Syd...she is just the same but she has also discovered the little piece of fun that is running in the other direction! Yes, Storm found this out the hard way yesterday with both Kendall and Syd running in different directions in Target. Very scary as they - especially Syd - are enjoying being chased and with only one parent in charge it's certainly a challenge keeping them in the same direction. I wish that stores would stock two seater shopping carts. If we can keep the girls entertained and contained it would be much easier to run errands. Either that or they could listen and obey mummy and daddy. Oh well, we can live in hope.
At least their eye teeth have cut {finally - it feels like forever!} so they're not as whiney {but that is a matter of opinion if you ask Storm} but they are both shoving everything and anything in their mouths to help the teeth come through. The drool is insane and I really have to watch what they're putting in there! I cannot wait for the teeth to all come through! Sigh.
But on the flipside. Both girls are such a joy and really fun. They're both super affectionate right now and with their senses of humour are really rockin'. I really enjoy being their mum {even though they won't say my name or anything for that matter - oh except for woof, woof!}
Update on the pups - poor Rudy doesn't know what's happening. He worries so much and has stuck to Storm and I like glue in case we go anywhere without him. He's not happy and I'm sure that his trip to Aunty Marilyn's when we go to L.A. won't help much. Oscar is Oscar - like one of the guys up at the dog park says - he's the happiest dogs he's ever seen. Gotta love them.
So, it's another busy week this upcoming week with the girl's heart appointment, a couple of other appointments for me and our going away party on Saturday. I've also got to complete the rest of our conference decor {requires some sewing, printing and CD production!} and some other administrative stuff for the accountant in prep for the quarter end {not happy that it's all due when we're on the road!}.
Fingers crossed I'll get some more sleep and knock it out of the park! Woo hoo!
P.S. By the way - I am super bummed that Kylie is finally coming to Vegas but it'll be in May and we won't be here. Kylie is up there {almost with Madonna!} in my must-see artists! 7 years in Vegas and she picks now! So not fair!
There is something so cathartic about cleaning out your stuff.
This weekend held the last of the garage/rummage sales. I packed up the car and headed to a local school with the leftovers from the garage sale held here at the house last week. Didn't sell as much as I would have liked but I still made a bit of moola to put in the ol' pocket though so I was happy.
Now I left the scrappy pieces there at the site as a charity was going to come and pick up stuff and brought home about 3 totes full of stuff. Today, I spent the afternoon getting it all ready to go to the Salvos tomorrow. I like the Salvos, I think they do real good for a lot of people.
Gee's it feels to good to have a lot of stuff gone and out of the way.
Another thing I can cross off my list - woo hoo!
On a separate note: this is a beautiful time of year in Vegas. The weather is divine and most importantly the windows are open and fresh air is a-boundin' through the house. The girls are just loving being outside and playing in the sandpit and on the swing. They're having so much fun. So are we...just by watching them.
Only 5 weeks before I get to see this view again!
Sigh...
I cannot wait until we build on this little piece of turf and wake up to this view every morning. In the meantime we'll have to settle and ride our bikes around a couple of streets from our new house to this block of land to get there. We'll be sure and take our fishing poles and throw in a line. This bay has wonderful red fish fishing and we're banking on crab pots too!
Mmmmm...grilled fresh fish and boiled fresh crab. Yummmmmmo!
I'm so excited.
