The House

We arrived at the house we rented in the evening and waited for the owner to text the key code to us so we could enter. We settled in and decided to go grocery shopping at about 7 pm. We needed to stock up for the week and eat some dinner.This is the ladder to the loft - yep it's like a ladder not stairs. The boys tried to go up but the height bothered them. So it was mom that slept up there every night. 

It seemed as if this was an office at some point. The front of the house is on a one way road that is a state highway that goes through town.

Oldest got his own room.

Small bathroom.

We slept the first night and I woke up before everyone else (like I usually do). I didn't want to wake anyone so I went out the back door and drank my coffee and called my mom who was in the hotel down the street from us. We talked about our drive and our trip to the local Safeway store. After a few minutes she said "Now that you've stayed in the house one night let me tell you what your aunt and uncle said about it." I paused because I couldn't imagine what it could be. She said that a while ago there were some ladies arrested there because the business that was there was doing more than massages. We had a chuckle. I made sure to tell the hubby about it to warn him because my aunt would probably bring it up. She did not bring it up around us our our boys which I was thankful for and I do not think the boys knew about it. Later that week we had a family get together at my aunt and uncle's home. Earlier that day the hubby and the youngest had gone to the park to play and the oldest and I were lounging around the house - I was in my robe. I heard a knock on the back door and I thought that maybe the repair man was there because the owner had texted that she was sending someone to repair the dishwasher and washer/dryer combo unit. I looked out the peephole and there was a man standing on the porch, his truck was parked in the driveway and it looked like he was a maintenance worker. I opened the door with my oldest towering above and behind me. The man said, "Oh I guess this is not what it used to be." I said, "No, it's not." He apologized and left. I told my aunt once we arrived at her house for the get together. I kept praying over the house each day we were there, help us leave a good mark on this house Lord.  

The Car

Ha ha!! Yes the hubby loves old movies and he likes the movie "The Car". I thought of it after I typed the title of this post.

Anyway, as I stated in my previous post we reserved a full size car. When we arrived to pick up they were out so we automatically got an upgrade to an SUV well it's more like a crossover. A Hyundai Santa Fe Sport. We were excited for more leg room for our boys. It is a cute car and easy to drive. Not that good for long drives because the seats are firm and you have leg room but not wide leg room. We left early about 4:30 am and arrived at our destination at 5:30 pm. We stopped once for a meal and a few times for restroom and gas. The traffic out of the city was bad and it took us an hour longer than I had planned.

We packed as much as we could and too much because I like to be prepared for any weather and with snacks for my three guys. See that grape Crush? That is the hubby's favorite and it's good we brought it because not one of the three grocery stores had it. 

It was interesting driving a new vehicle and finding out what all the buttons did. We thought that it was a good idea to try out a vehicle before we start seriously looking for a new (to us) one. There are a lot of vehicles with this body style Ford, Nissan, Toyota, Buick, Chevrolet just to name a few. I have seen a lot of them around town and we know that this is not the type of vehicle for us. 

Vacation Planning

It all started back in March. The hubby asked me what I wanted for my birthday. I said I wanted to go on vacation to Northern California where a lot of my mom's family resides. We haven't been there in 13 years and I wanted to see them and have my kids experience the County Fair. He looked at me and said, "Let's go!"

We discussed the specifics, where we would stay, how we would get there, how do we pay for this. I had been researching for a few weeks and starting to put away some money in hopes that he would agree.

Firstly I thought that the hotel in the small town that my uncle lives in is a great hotel, we'd stayed there last time we were in town. But with two nearly grown boys with us this time it would be VERY cramped and we all like our own space, well except for the youngest he wants to be around someone all the time. I looked at VRBO and asked on facebook if others had used them. I found several and one house in particular that would be the same price as one hotel room. I asked a couple of questions, received an answer and after a few days the owner offered a discount. The hubby said pay for it now.

Secondly I looked into renting a vehicle because our youngest vehicle is 18 years old. We like to use Avis and my sister in law suggested we go through Costco to save. Costco saved us $60. Hey, that is a meal out. I reserved a full size car hoping that they would automatically upgrade us to something a little bigger.

Thirdly, I saved and saved. When asked what I wanted for my birthday from our relatives, I said money or gift cards. I used that to pay cash for our expenses while we were there.

We were so excited. We didn't tell our children until a few weeks before we left. We wanted school to be over and Vacation Bible School to be completed.

The past month - a preview

Okay so much has happened the last five weeks that it may take several posts to get it all out there.

1 - We went on vacation for a week.

2 - We came home and were resting.

3 - The MIL went into hospital with A-fib.

4 - The MIL came out of the hospital and has been with us for nearly two weeks.

5 - The oldest started band camp.

I hope to post about each event with pictures. Well, vacation pictures.

Here are a few to whet your appetite.