Our Move to Alabama

After seven weeks of being apart we finally got to see Brandon today.  He had an eight hour pass, and it was wonderful to spend that time together.  Here we are in together in our new house,  

 And here is Brandon with his mom.  She came with me and has been a big help with the kids during this move,

So let's talk about the move.  The kids and I left Fort Hood on Tuesday and made the three hour drive down to my sister's house in Houston for the last time.  I'm so glad we only had to travel that far.  The Honda was full of all the last minute things that had appeared as I'd cleared out the house,  So it was nice to have a chance to organize all of that before making the long drive to Alabama,

On Wednesday I took the girls to get haircuts from one of Lindsey's friends who has and in home salon. 

Charlotte got her's cut to her shoulders.

Lydia took the stylist up on her offer to get her hair shampooed.

And then she got her's cut.

She said she'd had a dream that her hair was really short so that's how she wanted it.  I think she looks like Maria Von Trapp from the Sound of Music. She loves it.

We had a nice few days hanging out with Lindsey and her family.  One day Veronica decided that the living room floor was a great place for a nap.

On Thursday the kids and I drove to the Houston Hobby Airport to pick up my Mother in Law, Jacque.  We got there a little early so we had enough time to go in and wait for her.  This brought back memories of waiting at the airport for my grandma.  Except that back then we could wait at the terminals and see the airplanes.

Jacque arrived and Charlotte and Lydia were so excited to see her. Derrick and Veronica weren't so sure.

On Friday we started the drive to Alabama,  We said goodbye to Lindsey and her family.  I was totally in denial about the fact that we probably wont visit them at their house for awhile.

Our first stop was the first rest stop over the Louisiana border.  It was really pretty.  We had a picnic,

And then went exploring on a boardwalk that was by the visitor's center.  It led through a swamp.  Lydia said the trees were spooky.  Jacque was enchanted by the Spanish moss that hung from the trees.

The boardwalk had some pretty views of the lake.

Derrick was funny and wanted to wear his blanket on his head.

When we got off the boardwalk we saw an alligator's head poking out of the water.  We were all impressed to see one in the water.

We kept driving.  It was a pretty good drive until we got stuck in rush hour traffic in Baton Rouge.  We had to slowly crawl up the Harbor Bridge,  That was scary!  We could feel the bridge sway.  I didn't like that.

But it did look cool,

Eventually we were out of the traffic and on our way at a good speed again.  We crossed into Mississippi and got out at that rest stop.  This was supposed to be a picture with everyone but Lydia stepped in Fire ants and Veronica started running toward the parking lot, so we lost the photo opportunity.

We drove a little bit more to our hotel in Biloxi.  The kids were so excited to get out of the car.

We had yogurt and hot dogs and other snacks for dinner.

We stayed up watching HGTV for a little bit and then went to sleep.  Charlotte shared a bed with Jacque and the other three were with me.  Good thing I can sleep in little spaces.

The next day we had breakfast at the hotel and then were on our way.  We drove for four hours.  We left Mississippi and entered Alabama, then went into Florida before heading north and going into Alabama again.  Soon I was seeing signs giving us directions to Fort Rucker.  It was so exciting!

We stopped for lunch at a McDonalds in Daleville which was just down the road from the Fort Rucker Gate.  And then we went on post,

My phone was dead and I wasn't sure where we needed to go to find the housing office.  So we said a quick prayer and then just kind of drove around until we found it.  A lady was waiting for me inside and she took us over to the house so we could see it to make sure we wanted it.  Of course we did so Jacque stayed at the house with the kids while I went to sign the paperwork.  Then I came back to my new home.

I took a lot of pictures of the house, but none of them really do it justice.  This place is huge and beautiful.  You all know that I loved my last house, but this one is even better. I honestly never dreamed of living in a house this nice. 

Here is a little tour.

This is what it looks like from the front door.

There is a little window that looks into the kitchen.

 The living room is large,

And next to the living room is a formal dining room.  We are definitely going to need to get a rug to go over that carpet.

And here is the kitchen.  I am in love with those cupboards.  I love dark wood.

This is the laundry and storage room that is next to the kitchen.

The bedrooms are on the other side of the house.  We have four bedrooms again, but they are all larger than the ones at our last house.  They all have ceiling fans too.

This is the bathroom.  Even it is bigger than the one in our last house.

And then there is a hallway that leads to what we have started calling the "Master Bedroom Wing."

You can't really tell how big this room is, but it is huge.  Like our king size bed is going to look tiny in this room huge.

We have a beautiful window and then a door that leads into our master bathroom.

This is when things get ridiculous-nice.  The bathroom has his and her sinks.

And a his and her closet.  I'm pretty certain the Master bedroom and bathroom are bigger than our entire first apartment.

Ourside we have a giant covered patio,

We have a back yard with gate in the back fence.  And behind our house we have this amazing park.  You should have seen how fast Derrick ran to the park when we first went back there.

We enjoyed the house for a while and then we went to find a Walmart.  Charlotte was asleep by the time we found one.  So I just laid a blanket down in the cart and she stayed asleep while I piled groceries around her.  I took this picture so when people ask my why I have so many kids I can tell them that I like to buy them on sale at the store.

Today we woke up early and got ready for church.  At 8:00 we went to the Wings Chapel to attend the LDS services that Brandon goes to.  He was waiting for us at the door and came out to the parking lot when we showed up.  He said, "Excuse me Ma'am.  Do you need any help?"  And I said, "Yes, but only from you."  The kids all got excited and started yelling "Daddy" and giving him hugs.  We went inside for the service which didn't even last 45 minutes (Why can't that be an option everywhere)  I think we almost doubled the meeting's attendance.  

After that Brandon was able to come home with us for 8 hours.  The kids had so much fun showing him the house.  And he kept getting lost in it.  He kept having trouble finding our room.  

He took the kids to the park a few times and everyone had a great time.  

 Sadly, 4:30 rolled around and it was time to say goodbye.  But it's only a few more days until he graduates and there are lots of fun things happening to lead up to that.

I kept telling Brandon, "I'm so glad you are here."  And he kept saying, "I've been here for a while, I'm glad you are here now."

And that is very true.  I've been looking forward to this for almost two years.  And I am finally in my home at Fort Rucker, Alabama.