Scrapbooking!

So, there was a decent amount of stuff we brought to Altus with us that I insisted was 100% necessary to haul because I would need stuff to keep me occupied while there. Mitch was not happy that I had a few boxes worth of scrapbooking materials, another huge box with my sewing machine and supplies, a box of old family pictures to organize, and a box with multiple books and journals. I reiterated that he was going to be busy with learning to fly the C-17 and I wouldn't have anything to do. Subsequently, if he didn't want a bored and whiny wife, I needed my stuff. My usual bargaining chip with things I want to do that make Mitch's blood pressure rise, is that I will take care of it all; I will pack it, lift it, move it, etc. Luckily for me he was at SERE (survival training) while I did most of my packing, so my entertainment boxes made the cut. Win.

Fast forward a couple months...
I hate being wrong. I will admit it when I am, but I loathe to do so. When it came to my attention that our time is (finally) ticking away now (not fast enough), I realized that I hadn't touched any of my things I just couldn't imagine my life here without. Oops. In a (very) motivated act of preserving my dignity, I got busy. I had planned on making a Cleveland Browns blanket for my sister for Christmas, but I got side-tracked by my trip to Washington. I whipped out my machine a few weeks ago and finally got it made for her. One thing down!

Part of my disinterest in working on my scrapbooks is that we don't really have anywhere for me to do it. I am the type of person that cleans my dishes as I go, so not having a space to organize my supplies was horrifying. I decided to suck it up and spread out on the living room floor while Mitch was at work. The scattered spread was enough to make my eye twitch from organization withdrawals. Eventually I got a system going with the help of some envelopes in substitute for drawers to complete my makeshift workspace.

The scrapbook that I am currently working on was originally intended to document pilot training for Mitch. I had started it and given the beginning stages of it to him as a welcome home gift when he got back from initial flight training. It has since morphed into a documentation of both of our lives since our AF journey began on graduation/commissioning day. I am not the most talented scrapbook-er, but I really like how it is turning out so far. Just putting it together has made me emotional as I reflect on the last couple years. I still can't believe that this is our life. It's amazing to me how we (as a human race) ever think we can plan for our futures. If you would have told me that we would be here and living this life even a couple years ago, I would have laughed at you. I feel extremely blessed to have had all these amazing opportunities because of Mitch's career choice. I hope that these pages I am sharing convey the joy you can find in life when you stop planning and just see where you end up. :)

So, moral of this story...I have maintained some of my dignity and also have been super productive the last few days. Next up is working on my t-shirt quilt and probably some more scrapbooking. I may just admit defeat on the books I meant to read and journals I was supposed to keep...you win some you lose some.

Thank you to all of our friends and family for making these pages as special as they are by sharing our life with us! :)  Here are some of the pages I've been working on :)

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Home for the Holidays

Fortunately because Mitch is still in the training world, he had the opportunity to take time off around the holidays and go home to Ohio. It was the last time we were going to make it to Ohio before our move out west, which made it even more bittersweet than it already was. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to stomach being home without either of my parents there, but I couldn't handle not being with my sister during the holidays more than that. So we loaded up the car and 16+ hours of ice and rain later, we finally made it.

Driving straight through the storm :(

Ice build-up on antenna

Yep, that much ice on the mirror

Pups enjoying their first hotel stay :)

Are we there yet?

Couldn't have been more directly in our path.

We had a lot of fun while we were home and were able to fit a lot into a short amount of time!

Great sign at the liquor/party store at home :)

Decorating Kait's mini tree to keep up tradition!

Christmas Eve <3

My two favorites <3

In their Christmas sweaters to brave the Ohio cold :)

Napping with dad at the lake house :)

Getting to meet our new twin nephews :)

New Years Eve :)

My love <3

Going home turned out to be even more difficult than I prepared myself for. I love my family and friends, but Ohio doesn't feel as much like home without my own "home" to go home to. I am so grateful for everyone that opens up their home to me when I am back, and I do know that I have places to go, but it will never be the same. It was also super emotional because this time of year last year was the beginning of everything that happened with mom. I kept saying to Mitch while we were home that I just felt like I was alone in a crowded room. I kept waking up in the middle of the night from nightmares of last year, which was very unsettling and exhausting. When I'm not in Ohio I feel like I don't have to face the physical reality of her being gone as much, so being there was helpful for more closure. I'm kind of grateful to be away from Ohio for awhile now, though I will miss it a lot. I think us settling down in a new home, in a new town, and starting over will be extremely helpful in my healing process.

Anyway, I didn't mean for this post to be depressing! Our time in Ohio was fun and we were so grateful to spend time with people we love. Thank you to all for making the trip more bearable with your love and support. We hope that everyone will come visit once we get settled! :)

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Trip to the great northwest!

This is a long overdue post, but better late than never! Get ready for a ton of pictures!

Last month my sister met me out in WA to spend a busy weekend house hunting and squeezing in a little fun. We had a whirlwind few days there and we got to see a ton of houses that helped Mitch and I discover a lot about our priorities when buying our first home. Even though we didn't put any offers on houses we saw, it was really awesome to get to know the area anyway, not to mention to see WA for the first time! We tried to do some sight-seeing but the days were really short while we were there (sunset a little after 4:30pm), so we didn't have enough light to really explore in the evenings. We did end up trying out a few delicious local restaurants, visiting the zoo for zoolights, and taking a trip to Seattle for dinner and a little exploring.

Pretty views on the flight to WA

First view of WA :)

Our first local meal - The Cloverleaf Tavern :)

Most interesting house award--hot tub in the floor...haha!

<3

Trying beer from a local brewery!

Our second local meal - Masa

A bit rainy, but we didn't care :)

Merry-Go-Round fun!

So pretty, the picture doesn't do it justice

At Buckley's in Seattle, they had flags from everywhere!

Another amazing meal

We decided to sight-see from the car, haha

Silly dog at Starbucks :)

Mt Rainier! We only got to see it one day, but it was beautiful!

Black Bear frozen yogurt shop, so amazing

Sir Reginald, at the airport collecting letters to Santa :)

Awesome sunrise on the way home

I had such a great time hanging out with my sister, even though it was a little stressful at times. We made some good memories and had fun despite the pressure to see tons of houses in a short amount of time. 

Since we didn't find a house to buy on the trip, we are in the crazy but exciting process of buying one we have never seen in person before! Our realtor has been awesome and we are basically trusting him (plus the inspection and appraisal) to ensure we made a good choice. We are crossing our fingers everything continues to go smoothly and hopefully we will have a house when we get up there next month!

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