Goodbye, Hello

The time has, finally, come that I feel safe in sharing our news. I've alluded to this a couple of times when I thought the time was quite near, not meaning to dangle. I've had emails and comments asking (1) if I am pregnant (it would seriously take an act of God), (2) are we adopting again (nope, Emi was our first and last, and really ... how could perfection be duplicated -- no pressure Emi, lol!), and (3) well, there is no three - those were the guesses.

What actually is happening is that we are moving. To South Carolina (anyone out there in Aiken, SC or Augusta, GA area? if so, drop me a line?!).

We have lived here two years and while we love it, we've come to realize that this is the wrong side of the States for us. Everyone we love is on the other side. Just to visit a grandparent takes at least a day of flying, and visiting friends is an annual thing, at best. We decided last summer that we needed to make a move. Jeff sent off applications and in February he was offered a job. And then, things started to drag out. I won't bore with the back and forth, but last week he finally got the official paperwork he had been waiting on. We can list the house (yikes, oh joy) and start the process of moving.

Jeff is still with the federal government, so while it's a job change, to them it's not. The really nice thing about this is that they move you (oh yeah, baby!). There is absolutely no way we would have moved so often if we had had to pack and move ourselves. The packers are due the week of September 7th, and we will be hitting the road on September 13th.

Hitting the road? Why yes, we were told that we were going to be driving. From Washington to South Carolina.

Yep, you read that right ... driving. Jeff, me, Emi (who will be 31 months) and Max (14 years and six pounds of car-hating Yorkie) in a really small car. Yeah, trip of a lifetime. Funny enough, I am looking forward to the drive. I think it will be fun, as long as we keep a sense of humor and realize that there will be good days and not-so-good days. We have a plan in place, but also know that we will have to punt from time to time. Emi and Max both can only take so long in a car. That is actually a good thing, as it will force Jeff and I to get out and walk around every couple of hours - something we are not good about doing for ourselves.

More details as we have them, just wanted to share our exciting news with everyone!

Library Grand Re-Opening

I hustled around like a mad woman this morning to get Emi and I out the door by 8:30. It didn't happen, but we did finally leave about 9:10 - which, considering that I didn't even get INTO the shower until 8:35 is saying something (I am notoriously slow when it comes to showering).

About a year and a half ago (give or take, let's just say it feels like forEVER) our main library closed and moved most of the books and staff to a temporary location while they revamped the original one. Today was the day of the big unveiling. Yippee! I had found out there was to be a parade going from the temporary location to the new fancy location, with ribbon cutting, cookies and ... who knows what else. But I thought the parade would be fun and while the ribbon cutting and speeches were happening, Emi could just run around outside.

Best laid plans.

Come to find out, no one I asked knew about a parade. As the ribbon cutting time came closer, someone shouts out ... "here comes the parade!" Okay, it was cute, but parade? No. A bunch of kids, someone said it was a camp but I don't know for sure, about 5-6-7 years old walked from the temporary location to the new (old) one. Carrying the last books to make the move back home. Cute idea, but I got suckered into the whole parade thing. Heh. Oh well. Emi had her cookie so she was happy.

While we were waiting for the ribbon cutting I realized it was going to be awhile, and it was going to be inside. Yeah, silly me ... open a building, one would think the ribbon would be across the front door? Nope. Emi and I went inside, found seats and ate cookies (Emi had both, hahaha, no surprise there).

Some old bat (apologies to the few nice old bats that might be reading this ... Hi Mom!) sat down beside us (btw, I didn't think "old bat" at the time). I smile at her, Emi grins her cookie encrusted sweet smile at her. And the woman says "oh, are you her mama?". Yes. She then says "your husband Oriental"? My answer "No, and he's not Asian either". Confused look. At this point, it's still a nice conversation even if she doesn't know the terminology, many don't and frankly I didn't feel like getting into it. However, then she drops the bombshell. "Oh you poor little dear, you are one of those poor little orphan girls from China that no one loved."

Uh, huh.

I gather up our things, ticked beyond reason. But I just could NOT let that go. Yeah, I know. I should have.

Me: "Ma'am, actually, she was and is very much loved. We have no idea what her biological parents had to go through, but most likely is was not an easy choice to let her go. I am sure her Chinese parents grieve every day for this sweet little girl. I hope you wouldn't say something like that in front of a child who could actually understand what you just said."

Not my proudest moment, and before anyone kicks me, don't bother. I've been doing that all afternoon. I was sure she meant to be kind, meant to say something positive and didn't. It probably came out wrong and she's feeling doubly bad - she put her foot in her mouth and I slapped her about it.

I moved us to the other side of the room, red faced and embarrassed. Ready to go home, but Emi was honestly enjoying herself and really had no idea that something had just happened. However, a few moments later another woman came and sat next to us. She said she had overheard the conversation (my heart sinks) she says that that woman is known in the community for saying hurtful things all the while smiling. She called them cotton-covered barbs ... perfect term! I told her that after what I said I felt terrible, I was raised better than that. (Polite, be nice to our elders, etc.) She said not to give it another thought, many that overheard it were applauding that someone actually gave that woman back what she had coming.

Sure, it sort of made me feel better, but not really. While she is a meanie, the next person who says something like that may not be and may honestly be trying to say something nice. I need to find a way to "correct and protect" without harming. Emi is going to look to me for my responses, and I need to work on them. I think it's just that when we are out and about, we rarely get any comments except "she's darling, sweet, delightful", etc.

Moving on.

The speeches, thankfully, were kept to a minimum. Emi was a complete champ! She had, of course, plowed through those two cookies like we never fed her well before the start of the speeches. There was no way out of the building at this point, it was standing room only. But she was still doing okay, so we just sat and waited. She charmed and laughed and clapped her way through the speeches, and really did amazingly well. In fact, after, several folks came up and thanked her for sharing her smiles and enthusiasm (see? this is what we usually get!).

They finally cut the ribbon and everyone streams in. Emi and I go in, return books, find new ones, check out and leave.

We were sitting outside on one of the benches, Emi running around being well, Emi. She'd come by for fly-by hugs and/or kisses. Then, she crawled onto the bench, into my arms, grabbed my cheeks between those sweet, sticky fingers and pulled my face to her for a kiss. Then, pulled it down so we could rub noses (pretty much typical for Emi). She smiles, laughs, claps and runs off. I love this little gal so much my heart just bursts. I still can't believe how lucky we are, to parent this sweet (mischievous) little (imp) girl.

A nice old man (see, I don't call all old(er) folks old bats!) sat down next to me and said "What a delight she must be. I have been enjoying watching her play and stop long enough to give her mama kisses."

Yeah, he ended our outing on a positive note.

P.S. Had the camera. Took no pictures. Typical. I did include some of the library that I 'lifted' off their blog. It is a pretty spiffy building. Nice to see tax dollars going to good use.

Seattle Fun

Finally, photos! Emi and I had a good time in Seattle, but as with every trip, it was a learning experience. We got on the road later than planned on Wednesday morning (Miss Emi woke early and decided to 'help' with my shower!). We made the trip uneventfully and arrived around 130 (longer than I had thought as Emi needed more run-around time than I had planned for). Unfortunately, she decided to nap about 20 minutes before we arrived at the hotel. I had my book ready, so we just sat in the parking lot while she slept. That meant that we didn't get to the zoo until close to 3pm (I had rearranged our trip as rain was expected for Thursday). Sadly, I didn't clue in to the fact that winter hours had taken effect, the Woodland Park Zoo closes at 4pm during the winter. Oh, and there are no discounts on entrance fees for late-in-the-day visitors. Adults are $11.00 and under 3 are free, but there was NO way I was paying $11.00 for less than an hour there. Seriously ticked me off. But, there was nothing I could do - I could pay and go in, or not. So, we didn't but I just didn't have the heart to pack Emi back into the car without any running around time.

So, while it was chilly, I walked us over to the Rose Garden that is next to the zoo (part of the zoo?) and let her loose. Oh my. Did she ever have fun. I honestly snapped pictures as fast as I could, but that gal was just too busy to mess with silly ole mama wanting a pretty picture! Many of the roses were done for the year, but there were a few here and there that were still mostly blooming. I decided to try to take some pictures a la Lythrum and they didn't turn out too badly.

And, here are the sweet Emi pictures ....

Much too busy to smile ~ See my new tooth?

Running along all the wonderful paths

Blink! ~~ Is my hood still on? (She loves hoods!)

Gazebo ~ Fountain

Playing in the gazebo ~ Picking up ALL the leaves

Sweet Sweet Girl

Yes, there are a lot of photos. I am thankful I got all these (there are many more that are too blurry), as I got very few of our next day's outing.

By the time we got back to the hotel, we were pooped and ready to be inside. We had a quick dinner, some snuggle and reading time and then off to bed. For both of us! Good thing, as Emi was up EARLY the next morning.

Thursday we woke to the rain I knew was going to be there. We had breakfast, shower/bath and packed our backpack for the day. The Seattle Aquarium doesn't get the greatest reviews but I thought it was a very nice little aquarium. Sure, there are bigger and fancier ones, but this one had a lot going for it. It was, however, packed with school kids. I knew it was a possibility as one reviewer had said to go after lunch as the schools tend to do their field trips in the mornings but afternoons don't always work out for us as well. We had a great time, but it was hard to take photos in there. No flash photography, so you had to pick and choose areas where you could get enough lighting. With Emi going all over the place, that wasn't going to happen. That and the fact that I wanted to share this with her, not be looking through the view finder the whole time. Choices.

The first thing we saw when we got there was a diver in with the fish. I think that might have freaked her out a bit, as she stood behind me and peeked around. He kept waving at her and then tried talking to her (very cool, by the way!) but no go. She wouldn't go near the glass. Drat, now that would have made an awesome picture. But here is the diver:

We (okay, I) waved goodbye and off we went to see more. They have quite a few pools where you can gently touch the creatures. Since Emi is still working on gently, we by-passed those. There was so much to see and do, I do think she got a bit over stimulated. That was one of the reasons I choose Seattle over Tacoma (which has a larger zoo/aquarium, I am told) and I think I made the right choice. While it was still a lot for her, it was much less that it could have been. One of the things that fascinated her (and me) was the jelly fish exhibit. There was an arch (looked like it was made out of really thick glass/acrylic) that you could walk under. The jellyfish floated around and around, hard to explain but so awesome. The photos honestly do not do this justice.

We spent quite a bit of time in the dome, but photography in there was horrible. Not one photo turned out. We both loved it, she had to stand RIGHT at the glass with her little hands pressed against it just watching non-stop. Entranced, completely. We also saw the seals that were playing outside in their pool. Total fun, floating on their backs, washing their faces, splashing with their tails and sitting in the rain preening. Emi ate it all up, mimicking everything they did. Sadly, we too were in the elements (outside, but covered - sides were open) so I didn't want to get the camera out. We didn't get too wet, but damp. And so worth it. I had to drag her away and to me, that equals a baby girl having the time of her life.

Funny enough, the stuffed animal she choose at the end was a river otter. We didn't see them (not sure how we missed them, we saw everything at least twice in about 2 hours or so). I think she thinks it's the seals that she loved and that's fine with me. She was tickled with her little otter and I loved watching her have to make a decision. She could pick one, and only one. I didn't really think she'd get that, but we'd come across another animal and she'd pick it up. I would tell her 'one' and hold up a finger. She'd look back and forth and hand me back the one she didn't want (as much). I was darned tootin' proud of her. No theatrics (and she can toss some good ones, let me tell you!), no whining, nothing. Chose her river otter each time and was happy happy with it. Still drags him around (by the tail, poor guy - we are going to have to find him a tough guy name).

All and all, even with all the rain, a good trip. I look forward to hitting Seattle again maybe in the spring and taking Jeff along. Maybe a bit longer trip (easier with another set of hands). But Emi and I did really well and had a really great time.

Yet another adventure

My first and last post on the election: We have a new president. I felt more strongly this time around than in years past. I have to wonder, is it because of Emi? Usually I pay enough attention to know who I am voting for and why, and even a bit about the other person(s) running to know why I am not voting for them. But this time, I took a more informed path than before. I truly feel, without a doubt, I voted for the right person. It was an interesting night, one I would have enjoyed watching more of as it unfolded but with Danger Girl running all over the house, Jeff packing and me trying to ... something had to give. TV was it. Thank goodness for the Internet.

On to other topics! (I have SO had enough politics for quite awhile.)



By the time most folks read this, we'll be on the road (I hope!).

Jeff is heading to Tampa for work, so Emi and I are going to drop Max off at his wonderful boarding place, and then she and I are driving to Seattle. We've lived here for 18 months and have yet to make it to Seattle. Oh, there have been trips planned, several in fact. The first one we foolishly planned for the week after our return home from China. Jet-lag and all. HA! We bailed on that one. Then there was the one for Chinese New Year. Snow. In fact, so much snow that in the mountains that there were reports of folks getting stranded. Yikes. Okay, home we stayed. Then there was the time that I was going to meet up with a friend but she ended up having a crazy schedule that wouldn't mesh - which in turn ended up being a good thing as I ended up ill, so ill I wound up in the hospital. That would have been fun trip. Not.

So, Seattle has always been a 'we want to go' but something always kept us from going. This time, however, we are going. Sans Jeff, but still. Plus, if Emi and I enjoy ourselves we can take him next time.

I kept being told by locals that from where we live to Seattle is 5+ hours. Except that, when I checked both maps.google and mapquest they both gave times of 3.5 hours. 3.5 hours?! Heck, I can do that in my sleep ... but I won't, I promise, I will stay awake. :)

We are only going for a few days, I did learn from our Portland trip. I have two outings planned, very Emi outings. We are driving in today, and after stopping by the hotel to (hopefully) check in, we are going to the Seattle Aquarium. I have heard varying views on this (yes, it's pricy) but Emi is just entranced right now with fish. Any fish, even the fish tanks at Petco, etc. So, when I saw this, I knew we had to go. If we never leave this room, it will be worth the ticket price. I can only imagine Emi's face when she sees this (and yes, I am remembering to use the camera this time!).

On Thursday, we are heading to the Woodland Park Zoo. This is another that has had different views posted (btw, TripAdvisor is a great resource!). It seems like a good fit for us, and with the map that I printed ahead of time I can pick and choose areas that I think Emi will be interested in (she is also seriously into animals since our train trip).

That's it. Two outings. We are going to drive home on Friday morning with a quick swing into a cross-stitch shop (one would think I was shopped out by now!). I need to get some fabric for some of the projects I got while we were in Ohio. I am going to play this last stop by ear, if it doesn't seem like a good idea I am going to blow it off.

I am pretty excited about this trip. This is probably our last adventure of the year, and most likely it until after the snow is over (we live on the other side of the mountains from all the fun stuff!). No laptop on this trip (Jeff has it), so signing off for now.

Cheers!

A Good Week

I frequently say that I don't know where the week goes. And often I don't, but this past week I do. Emi and I played ALL.WEEK.LONG. And it was fabulous. We were at the park (the same one from my Father's Day post) almost every day. We had a picnic lunch there one day, but the other days we just went for our walk/run and enjoyed the cool breezes coming off the river. Our usual walk is now Mama pushing the stroller (with child in it) on the way 'there' (wherever there happens to be that day). Then we sit in one of the swings for a bit, maybe have a snack and definitely have some water (this gal drinks water ALL day long ... we should weigh a full diaper sometime). We swing, chat, talk about what we see (we worked on bird last week, as the seagulls were sure Emi was going to share whatever she was eating ... NOT!). She repeated, sorta, the word a couple of times but has yet to repeat again. Ah well, talking will come in time and then I will beg her to be quiet! {smile} After the break, Mama again pushes the stroller ... while trying to keep up with Miss Emi who is now on the loose! Mama's only *very* strict rule is that Emi is not allowed on the grass between the walkway and the water (well, and not rushing up to dogs, but Emi doesn't know that yet, Mama just picks her up for now). Mainly as, if she is in the grass and stumbles it would be too easy for her to keep rolling right into the water. It's a safety thing, and Mama is quite strict about safety. Something that Emi is learning even at this young age. Other than that, she can run on the other side of the walkway in the grass, run on the sidewalk (and yes, we've had a few scraped knees, she will learn) and met some pretty fun people. She spent almost 30 minutes one day last week with two gals (about 17 or 18) who were sitting on their skateboards talking to their mom and her friend. While I chatted with the ladies, Miss Emi got over her shy and had the time of her life with the two gals *and* their skateboards. She was able to get across to them that she wanted to stand on the skateboard while holding their hands and then wanted to walk from one skateboard to the other, without touching the ground. She squealed with delight when they understood what she wanted. Got down, clapped at them, got back up and did it ... again and again and again. Wish I had had the idea the snap some pictures of this, darn it. But she so enjoyed herself and I enjoyed talking with adults!

Note: The photos are from Tuesday the 17th, and yes, it's all about the accessories.
Just ask Emi.

The other thing that we did last week was to visit the County Clerk's Office. We even took daddy with us! That is the first step in the readoption process here in our county (and as I've been told, each county in Washington has different steps/requirements). Now that we've filed our paperwork and been given a case number, we can schedule our post-placement visit with our social worker. We have a court date in late July when (one would hope) Emi will be declared ours, again, and she will receive a Washington State birth certificate. After that, we will get her passport (which we could have done before this, we just choose to get her State ID first instead) and then ... ta da!, we are done! She had a great time in the clerk's office, charming all the ladies and even the grumpy guy who came in to pay his speeding ticket. After that, we dropped daddy off at work and went to lunch (daddy didn't have time that day). Then, back to the park! A great day.

However, by Friday we needed a day to just be. Laundry was piling up (how could two and a half people go through *this* much laundry?!), the house was in shambles and Emi was missing her toys. While she loves to go and do, she also loves to play with her toys. When we would get home each day, no matter what time, she would greet her toys like long lost friends and play play play (too cute). So, Friday was spent catching up. Mama with the house and Emi with her toys. Another good day.

Saturday, Jeff and I tackled some more of the house, working on my Before & After project along with a couple of other projects (a run to the recycling center to drop off a bunch of stuff and a run to the Goodwill drop off truck, with another run planned for today). I realized (and made the correction on my post) that BooMama was giving us a month to get our lists done, not the week I thought (duh Kiy, reading comprehension!). So I decided to do each thing on my list a bit more in depth. Forever ago I purchased three (to start) large plastic stacking containers with lids. One each for Christmas, Fall (Fall, Halloween & Thanksgiving) and Spring (Spring & Easter). As we were working on item #2 on my list, I would add things to the boxes. It's something I have wanted to do for months and I am quite pleased to have that project done! They are now in the spot where there boxes were, as right now I don't want them in the garage. But at some point my goal is to have everything that is being stored in containers like that, and labeled! Emi helped and played with her toys, so she also enjoyed the day. Although I think today, while we hope to get a few more things done, we are also going to try to get to the park. Daddy needs to be walked, after all!

Y.U.C.K.

So it's not a big secret I am not a fan of snow. On the other hand, Jeff loves it. Of course, he didn't grow up with the mess and ick so what does he know? :)

THIS is what I woke up to, at o'dark hundred (4 am) this morning:

These were taken standing at the dining room window looking out into our back yard. YUCK. Oh, I said that already, didn't I?

BTW, was anyone wondering why I was awake at 4 am? Little Bit was so, so was Mama. She had her first set of vaccinations yesterday, luckily only (only?) four. She was fine all afternoon and evening, but then she is already on Tylenol for those pesky teeth that keep bothering her but refuse to actually show up. All I want for Christmas is my two front (lower) teeth? :)

But, awake and raring to go at 4am she was. So a diaper change, dose of tylenol and a bottle later (with Mama hoping that bottle would put her back to sleep ... NOPE!) we were in the office playing with toys on her blanket. This is a child desperately trying to play ... while feeling horrible and cranky. Poor baby. I knew she wasn't feeling great when I offered her her most fav food in the world (at the moment) ... strawberry yogurt ... and she pushed the spoon away.

Okay Little Bit, Mama hears you. So at 830 another diaper change and another bottle. This time it worked and she was out cold! Also, if we are going to buy the ultra expensive formula, you'd think she'd have the courtesy to actually *drink* the bottle, wouldn't you? Three sips and asleep. With her little hands fisted in my nightgown. Was that telling me Mama, hold me, don't put me down? I thought so, and so held her and rocked her until she shifted positions and let go. As much as I don't want her sick/not feeling great, I cherished that time. I know all too soon she will be a 'big' girl and not need her Mama to rock her.

Well, we are snuggling in here in our little home. Between the YUCK (oh, I mean snow) and Little Bit we are staying close to home and just hanging out.

Little Bit, trying so hard to play ... but finally giving up.

Carefree Days

Yesterday ended up being a big day, considering that all we had planned was setting up the crib toy (getting desperate on the sleep thing!) and maybe doing a batch or two of laundry. However, when Little Bit decided that blowing off her morning nap was on her agenda, we decided to go an outing was the thing to do.

First stop, introducing Emi to a bit our our local culture. One of Jeff's favorite places in the Tricities area is the Atomic Brewpub & Eatery. Funny enough, as he doesn't drink beer. Sadly, they don't have their own website, so I had to scour the Internet for details. Needless to say, with what Jeff does for a living, this place is right up his alley. The food is good - pub food, which he likes and there are a few things that I can order ... but their Homemade Potato Soup is to die for! But it's more the atmosphere that we go there for. Address

After charming the staff and patrons, and completely destroying four packs of saltine crackers and scattering the surrounding area with crumbs (we are still unsure if she actually ate any) we were off to our next adventure. Jeff's office is only a few blocks from Atomic so we thought we'd invade visit them for a bit to show off Little Bit. She was on her best behavior, and of course everyone fell in love with her (I mean really, how could they not?). :) She was even invited back for the Holiday Party, Jeff and I attending is optional.

Our departure was good timing as Little Bit was ready to head home. We stopped at the library for a quick drop off/pick up (which, honestly, was my main reason for the whole trip). Just that morning I had received an email from the library that my copy of Creation in Death was available for pickup. Whoooooohooooo! If you have never read the series and like mysteries, cop stories, futuristic or all of the above this series is a must read. And I don't just say this because of Roarke. But oh my heavenly goodness, if you only need one reason to read this ... Roarke could be it. Think Pierce Brosnan, accent and all. Total swoon. Oh, and start at the beginning. It's worth it. The way the characters change and grow is wonderful. Nora Roberts/JD Robb is one of my most favorite authors, ever.

Then, to the musical demands of Miss Emi, we headed home. She never did fall asleep in the car, but clean diaper and a bottle later, she did get about 45 minutes of nap time after all. The rest of the day was spent quietly, well, at home at least. Entertaining Little Bit and keeping Max's fur out of her tight grasp.

MIA

Me, that is. There most likely will not be a whole 'lotta updates here for a bit. Email? Thing of the past. At least, for now. Jeff is currently fighting, daily and sometimes hourly, with Verizon. Truth be told, they were his last choice for our Internet Provider, but it all actuality, his only. They own the DSL line that all the other companies in our area "float" on top of. So, while we could go with someone else, we'd just be paying them AND Verizon. He is looking into other sources (cable is a no-go here, we can't get it), but he doesn't have high hopes.

So, if you send me an email and I do not respond, know that I am not (NOT) ignoring you! I will check and send emails when (if) we have a connection. But right now, we can go hours (and sometimes longer) without a connection.

The joys of moving. Good thing I am never ever ever doing this again. Unless Jeff is offered Europe. :)

Quiet Partner II

So, I was sitting here in the kitchen at the laptop as our office is still a jumble of desk parts all over the floor. For the time being, the kitchen is the office. Oh joy. I cooked a nice dinner (first in the new house), pork loin steaks, rice noodles with a totally yummy Asian sauce (Update: found and linked! will have to see if I can put my hands on the actual recipe and post it) and frozen peas. Hey, when I go all out, I go all out (haha, frozen peas ... but I love them and they are technically a vege)! So, after the nice dinner, I tidied up the kitchen and started the NEW and totally beautiful dishwasher (oh my, it is SO purty!). Sitting here for awhile, reading blogs and basically lolly-gagging as I didn't want to open yet another box. When I realized I never heard the dishwasher running. Rats! I must have not actually pushed all the right buttons to start it (serious learning curve on this thing). So I look over, it's on the dry cycle. Hmmm, but I never heard it. So, I opened the door ... nice shiny clean dishes. Talk about quiet. I am in love!

P.S. Remember when we were kids and folks on game shows got SO excited when they won a new dining room set or a new stove? Now I get it.

EDIT: I started a Q&D Blog for my recipes: Kiy's Recipe Box

Moving Weekend

In the fall of 2005, we moved from Japan to Albuquerque. Not a planned move, but move we did. At the time, we were lucky to find something in our price range. What we found was a two-year old home, very nice in a nice-enough neighborhood, but not necessarily in a great area. We sorta knew that at the time, but it was either that or buy a townhouse or rent an apartment. Looking back, well, looking back you always see what you "should have done". It was a pretty house, almost brand-spanking new, with more landscaping than the other houses in our neighborhood had. But still. Albuquerque. No (almost) rain. Desert conditions that would not support a lot of grass, trees, flowers.


So, instead of grass, 90% of our "lawn" was pretty-colored gravel and plants that could easily survive weeks without any water. Jeff liked it, as to mow our tiny piece of lawn in the backyard he was able to get one of those push mowers. No gas, Jeff powered! He could also do the whole lawn in about 5-1o minutes. Max also was able to enjoy grass for the first time in about five years (no yard at all in Japan) and I loved being able to sit outside in our backyard and look at grass and a couple of smallish trees. Perfect, but we decided we wanted more here.


"Here" is the Tri-Cities area of Washington. We found the perfect house for us. Lots of grass (poor Jeff, he's going to need a 'big-boy' mower) and lots and lots of trees. Gonna need a few rakes too! It needs some work, we knew that going into this. But we decided grass and trees with work on the house in an older neighborhood far outweighed no landscaping at all (or newly planted trees and seed-lawn) with no work on a new house/neighborhood. We love it, even though there have been moments of frustration (what move doesn't have that?). We are spending the weekend moving out of our "corporate rental" two-bedroom apartment. Compared to our last move, pure luxury as we lived (for the same 2 1/2 months) in a hotel suite. Fun, let me tell ya (or not!). But, we got through it, both times and finally moving. For the very-last-time. With any luck! We have decided that we are done moving. That this area is truly wonderful, beautiful with warm welcoming people living here.
We have found home.