simply livin’ it up
This week will mark a month’s time since we moved in with the Reagens. We have all been really enjoying ourselves and the kids have had a blast. Our kids and the Reagen kids are together all the time, and Mari and Hope are even sharing a twin bed. Lucia has been having a blast at the Reagens’ and playing with Clara and Audrey across the street. Our time here will hopefully be coming to an end this week, but it has been fun!
Well, he have our truck, and we are ready to buy an RV, but we are stuck! Our truck is in the shop this week and likely won’t be ready until early next week. Once we get the truck back we will be ready to make our move! We have been enjoying our time at the Reagens’, which makes this transition a little easier.
This past weekend we traveled to Cincinnati to help out Holly and attend my cousin Kelly’s wedding on Saturday. It was a fun visit, with plenty to do. We also had the chance to celebrate Mari’s birthday with the Hyland clan.
Mari turned twelve yesterday! She is definitely looking and acting more “grown up” lately. We were in Cincinnati for her birthday, so we had the opportunity to do some different things. On Friday, the day before her birthday we headed to Sunlite Pool in the afternoon and then the Reds game in the evening. My cousin Kelly was married on Saturday, her actual birthday, so after a day of wedding we had the Hyland clan over to Mar-Mar and Be-Bob’s for dinner, cake, and presents.
Mari continues to be a multi-faceted individual, who enjoys reading, soccer, and playing with friends. This past year she learned how to play the tuba and was one of the top tuba players in her 5th grade band. She is sad to take the year off as we hit the road.
She is still an early riser, usually getting up around 7 or 8, before the others. She enjoys toast and cereal for breakfast. Ham and mustard continue to be staple ingredients for her lunch. I would say that pizza is her favorite food, but we are Skyline for her birthday dinner with the Reagens.
Favorite song: Superhero by Coldplay
Favorite color: Blue
Favorite food: Pizza
Favorite band: Coldplay
Favorite book: Harry Potter
Favorite sport: Soccer
Favorite movie: Ghostbusters (the remake)
With a trip previously scheduled for Cincinnati, we decided to leave a day early to pass though Grand Rapids, Michigan to check out an RV. The RV was a bust, but luckily Grand Rapids is just a short drive from Grand Haven. We were in Grand Haven long enough to eat dinner, walk along the boardwalk, play in the lake for a few minutes, grab some Pronto Pups, eat some ice cream, and watch the musical fountain. We made it to our hotel in Benton Harbor by midnight, leaving us just a few hours to Cincinnati.
Today we left Des Moines at 8 to head to Sioux City to pick up a 2001 Ford Excursion (our tow vehicle) and an RV in Sioux Falls, SD. Things worked out with the Excursion, but not with the RV. 🙁
The Excursion is definitely a change of pace for us, and it needs some work; that made for an interesting ride home. The craziest part was when we were filling up the tank in the Excursion and as it neared the top diesel started spilling everywhere. I guess there is a hole in the fuel hose. I will add that to the list. . .
For the record, we have been driving a 2001 Mazda MPV for about the past 10 years. The replacement vehicle we purchased is from the same year and actually has even more miles on it.
We made it home around 10, tired and worn out from a long day. The Reagens are out of town so all of the kids slept in the same room as us. As we were going to bed Rose said, “Goodnight, Elliot. I love you.” That was definitely the highlight of the day.
Today we celebrated Rose’s 2nd birthday. We celebrated a day early because we have big plans for tomorrow (more to come on that). We had a birthday party at lunch time with the Reagens and Mimi & Papa. Susan made a nice chicken salad lunch and the perfect cake for Rose’s summer birthday.
Rose at 2 continues to be a sweet, snuggly kid. She is up at around 8, with the other kids, takes a very consistent nap from 1-3, and then goes to bed between 9 and 10, with the other kids. She loves to sing, dance, and play outside. Her favorite song is the O’Reilly’s Autoparts jingle (O-O-O-O’Reilly’s. . . Autoparts). She also loves to sing all of the songs from Bean Sprouts and Hallelujah, and the modified version not to be named. She eats eggs and sausage with me every morning for breakfast and also enjoys yogurt and all varieties of berries. Mari tells me that strawberries are her favorite food.
It was a crazy, emotional day today. Susan, Erin, and her mom went to the house this morning to clean. They were there for a few hours, getting everything perfect for the new owners.
All of the Lieslands went over after Rose’s nap, to say goodbye. There were a lot of tears shed. We also had one last visit and popsicle with Rick & Donna, our closest neighbors ever.
By dinnertime it was time to transition to the traditional May 29th affairs – our 13th anniversary. Erin & Nate watched the kids so Susan and I could go out to dinner. We ended up at Cool Basil – table 13!
For the past month we have been moving things out of our house, by either selling them or giving them away. This morning we gave away our final items and then it was time to get real about the move. We moved about half of our remaining possessions into storage and the other half will come with us on the trip.
Andrew had his final orchestra concert of the year tonight. Just like Mari’s band concert 3 weeks ago, I couldn’t make it because I am in Cincinnati for work. Susan tells me it was a good show.
