Radio Silence

We have big news on the home front...

We sold our house. Yes, it happened fast and it's been a whirlwind since. Last Wednesday a couple came by with a Realtor, took a look at the house and that night, they made us an offer. We spent the next two days in negotiations and by Friday, we reached an agreement. By Saturday, the home inspector came. And now all that's left is the appraisal and signing all the final paper work. Next Wednesday and Thursday, we have movers coming. By the 31st, we could be sailing away from Alaska. :(

I say "could be," because that part is still up in the air. Technically we are not allowed to leave until June 1st. Which is great, except that the next ferry leaves on June 6th, which is the exact day that John is suppose to be taking a final for grad school. So either the AF allows an exception and we leave on the 31st, or his professor lets him take his test a couple days early, or we have to leave later. The leaving later is not the end of the world, however, it would greatly cut into our plans to spend 3 weeks in Europe.

Oh yeah, that's the other thing we've been planning. We are hoping to catch a military flight to Germany, rent a car and drive down to Italy and spend a few weeks there, then get back to Germany, to fly out and be back to WA by June 30th, when John has to report to the squadron there. Whew!

Sometimes I feel we may be a bit crazy. I don't know, what do you think?

So, all that said, I may be entering into a time of radio silence. Not sure how long it will last. Possibly until life slows down, which will be never, so this may be my last post...

Just kidding, I'll be back...

Eventually...

5 Months

Sorry this is a day late

The sun in shining

Little green buds cover the trees

There is a faint sound of a lawn mower in the distance

Could spring be here at last?

Happy Mother's Day

“Most of all the other beautiful things in life come by twos and threes, by dozens and hundreds. Plenty of roses, stars, sunsets, rainbows, brothers and sisters, aunts and cousins, comrades and friends – but only one mother in the whole world.”

Happy Mother's Day, Mom

Kristen

She has suppose to be practicing sitting up...

But she decided to throw in some gymnastics practice too...

Lesson Learned

So the lesson is this:

Don't drive on the highway with a flat tire

Yes, you'd think I would have learned this one quite a while ago, since I have been driving for almost 12 years now. However, that is not the case. Last Saturday was "change the tires day" (we get to keep them on extra long up here). That evening I had an event to go to, and although John said he was unable put air in the tires, I just went on my way without even considering filling up the tires on the way.

Now, in my defense, it wasn't all four tires, it was just one and the back right one, no less. So in order for me to notice this, I would have had to deliberately walk around the car and take a look at the tires. Did I think to do this? No...

So I went to my event and afterward decided to drive and fill the tire up. Well, the tire may or may not have already been flat by the time I was able to get air in it. Needless to say, the damage was done. I filled up the tire and proceeded to drive home.

In case you are getting worried, I did make it home. It wasn't until the next day that John noticed a bulge in the side wall of the tire. So he made and appointment to get it fixed (Tuesday).

Side note: we bought this car on Craigslist from a Russian man. He had a thing for fancy tires. So when John called to make and appt. to get the tire fixed, they assured us that they carried this certain tire.

So Tuesday rolls around and we go to get the tire fixed. Well, the guys at the shop start to put a different tire on the car (2nd lesson learned: you can't put a different brand of tire on the same axle). John quickly stopped them and asked what they were doing. Apparently, they did not actually have the brand of tire we needed.

Plan B: call around town and find out who carries this brand. Hmmm. No luck, no one had even heard of this brand before.

Plan C: look online to see how much it would cost to buy the tire and get it shipped up here. Hmmm. $255, ouch.

Plan D: take car to another tire shop and get both tires on the axle replaced. Finally a solution, but an expensive one.

Final Lesson Learned: take the 2 minutes it takes to stop and get air put in the tire before you drive 10 miles on a highway; in the long run, it will save you a lot of money.