New Years, Snew Years...

Everyone has resolutions. I'd love to say mine include updating the blog more. Sorry, it's just not true. Life has been crazy for us and my time has been stretched thin. After trying for 9 months we finally have a house. The process has been a huge roller coaster. We won't close until February 10th and I will be holding my breath, crossing all my fingers and toes until then. I suppose it's time to backtrack...

We left Alaska July 1st and somehow the hubs talked us all into driving the Alcan. Yes, 3 kids, a dog, one massive trailer, the hubsters and I driving... forever... and ever. We didn't see as much wildlife as anticipated. A few bear, a few moose, a beaver (we think), TONS of horses, cows, and bicyclists. Yep, hardcore bikers. I couldn't believe how many people were literally in the middle of nowhere on a bike with a saddlebag or two. Canada was beautiful. It was so beautiful we got sick of seeing the scenery (I know, imagine that). Mountain after mountain, ravine, waterfall, river, mountain... all gorgeous... for about 2 days. By day 3 and 4 we were anxious for flat land. This may be in part to the most dangerous interesting roads this family has ever seen. It may have something to do with our slow convoy pulling our trailer up and down maxing our truck out. It may be for the simple fact that no one should ever cram 3 kids in a truck for a trip this long. Who knows, but by the time we reached the U.S. border we were just thankful to be alive. Here are a few more pics from our trip.

We to Sweet Home and spent time with family Oregon style. Next we drove to Idaho. After saying our goodbyes we loaded back up and started toward Vegas. Once there we immediately went to work finding a temporary house. We wanted to rent until our house went through which can take quite a while. We found a great rental in a good neighborhood, check! Next we looked at homes to buy. The hubs made a trip in April and after several offers nothing worked out. From that visit he had a pretty good idea about where we should settle down. Day 6 and 5,000 houses later we found the perfect house. It was love at first sight. We knew this house was a short sale which is a nightmare complicated process. We put our offer in knowing that actually getting the house might not happen. When you move the military gives you so much time in a hotel or temporary housing. On day 10 we were going to move into the rental. This would be the same day we would run out of temporary housing. Well, day 8 our realtor called to inform us that we couldn't move into the rental because it was just sold. What? We suddenly realized we had nowhere to live. The kids and I ended up driving back to Idaho and stayed with my sister. I'm sure she had no idea what she was getting into. Hubsters stayed in Vegas with a friend so he could still work. A month later we were able to move on post. Just for the record we hate don't enjoy base housing. We opted for a smaller unit so the wait time would be shorter. We kept all our stuff in military storage because moving was in our future. Why move twice if you can do it once right? Well, long story short... after months of going back and forth and being assured it was ours, we lost the house. We had our stuff delivered and got to work finding another place. The new house is 1561 square feet smaller than the other house so it's an adjustment. We are anxious to put our personality and love into it. Having a place that's OURS has been a dream for years.

While the house drama was going on we had the AF ball, birthdays, potty training, a new school, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Be prepared for picture overload...

We love and miss you all! Happy New Years!!!