 | Diary Navigation:
|
August 29, 2003
Hello everyone from Virginia! I know it’s been a while since I’ve written but moving across the country takes some time. Especially since we drove! I’m happy to report that I took some of my suggestions from my talk to me board and we looked for all 50 license plates. Guess what?! We found ALL of them! Even 2 from Hawaii and 4 from Alaska! It was a lot of fun to mark off the states and everyone had a great time with it. The last one we got was Delaware.
Other than the games, the drive was okay. The first day we drove through Wyoming to Rapid City, SD. That was a very long, hot, and boring trip. Sorry to all you Wyoming dwellers but I-80 is not the most exciting drive. Of course, it didn’t get any better once we got to South Dakota but it did cool off some. We made it just in time to see Mount Rushmore and see the lighting ceremony. I almost missed it because I was in the gift shop buying postcards. (I’m an avid collector…anyone wish to trade with me? Just write to me on my talk to me board.) But I didn’t miss it and the mosquitoes didn’t miss me. It was very patriotic to see the lights go up but I think the program was too long. Oh well.
Jeff and I camped that night and my parents kind of freaked out over it. They were all nervous that we’d be attacked or something but we weren’t. We were just fine, if a little hot. Jeff was woken up early in the morning by a rabbit near our tent. He wasn’t happy. But they did give us free pancakes that morning. Yum!
Our second day we drove straight through South Dakota up to North Dakota so my dad could go to his 50th state. Well, on our way, we got lost. A lot of roads were closed for construction so we kept wandering around following random detours. We did pass by a BEAUTIFUL field of sunflowers. I didn’t know that SD grew sunflowers like that! It was stunning. Each intersection we came to reminded me of the end of Cast Away with Tom Hanks where he stops and pulls out the map on his car. It looked just like that.
Anyway, we finally made it too the border and we stopped to take a picture of my dad finally going to North Dakota and getting his 50th state! Way to go Dad! We drove to Fargo where we were staying the night and stopped off at Target to pick up a few things. I went back to check on our car which we were hauling behind the RV and I noticed that the webbing on the tires had slipped off! I was shocked. It had slipped off the outside on one and the inside on the other so the only reason it was still on the dolly was by the axle. We were so blessed to have the webbing slip on the inside! I know God was looking out for our car. We re-hitched it up and said a prayer of thanksgiving and got to our campsite.
Again, my parents were really nervous of us camping but things turned out okay. On the way to the bathroom that night we found my dad’s cell phone in the road. It had fallen off his belt. Again, I feel we were blessed to have the Lord looking out for us. I know He was with us and helped us through the journey. There are a lot of bugs in Fargo and we’re starting to notice how green everything is. And humid! We’re not used to that.
From Fargo we drove to Milwaukee to visit my very good ttc friend Amy. It was great to finally meet her and her DH! We had such a good time talking and our dh’s enjoyed the Playstation. She’s due to have her baby soon and just looks fabulous! I got to feel the baby a little and see the baby’s room. It will be very cute when it’s all done. I just had the best time at her house. Thanks Amy! And contrary to Shari’s dh’s belief, no, we are not hardened criminals.
After Milwaukee, we drove through Chicago and into Ohio. We went on a little detour and visited Michigan a little. Very pretty. I could live there with the green rolling hills. We also went through Ohio and into Pennsylvania where we spent our last night. We had been calling the truck about our stuff and they made it a day early! If you ever need to move yourself, ABF is a great company. They were professional, fast, and nice. So anyway, we had to get up at 5 am to meet the truck here in Virginia and that made for a very long day.
When we got here, we checked in and saw our apt. It’s very cute. We have our own washer and dryer which I am so excited about. I hated using a Laundromat when we lived in Provo so being able to do my own wash when I want to is exciting. We have a nice big master bed and a smaller bedroom which is used as our office. I hope to use that as a baby’s room one day!
A few of our things got broken. Our kitchen table, our big armoire, our filing cabinet, and one cup. The kitchen table is in the process of being glued back together (just the rim on the bottom came off) and Jeff hammered out our filing cabnit (gotta love metal). Our poor armoire is kind of thrashed, though. I think it got bounced and the bottom came off and all the drawers got bent. BUT, all of my china was in it and it all survived. Jeff loves to fix things, being an engineer, and so he now has a project.
My family came with us to help us move and we were able to do a little bit of sight seeing while they were here. We went and looked at all the monuments downtown and I really enjoyed the FDR monument. Jeff’s favorite was the Jefferson monument. I can’t wait to be able to go to the Smithsonian!
We also went to Mt. Vernon which was my favorite. It seemed very personal and enjoyable there. We also went to Williamsburg which was nice but very touristy. I would like to spend more than a day there so that we can really see some of the houses.
Other than that, we’ve just been unpacking and spending our days at the DMV. Can I just say that I HATE the DMV? I think it’s so dumb that you have to bring in 3 forms of identification, not including your drivers license! We spent a lot of time there trying to get them to accept our Utah marriage license as another form of identification. It was on their list but of course they didn’t bother to tell us that it had to be notarized by the court in order for them to accept it. Grrr!!!! We found other things but we had to wait in line for 3 hours the first time and 3 hours the next time! But at least now we have our VA driver’s licenses and plate for our car. These plates are so cool. They have a little horse head on them and say Horse Enthusiast on the bottom. I love them!
Another cool thing here has been shopping for the little things that we need to complete our apt. Like lamps. This place does not have overhead lights in the ceiling so we had to get some lamps. We went to a 2 story Target that has a cart escalator. It’s very cool and I really enjoyed going up and down watching the carts go with me! :) Small pleasures.
The weather here has been really different. There are huge lighting storms and rain almost every day. I guess I’m not used to the rain because it sounds different to me. We also saw a firefly up close and that was very cool!
My parents left yesterday and that was really hard. My mom who never cries, cried! Which of course made me cry and my dad cry too. It’s hard to be this far away from my family but I think we’ll have a very good time.
Jeff went to an orientation yesterday at school and he likes campus and everything. I really hope he likes his classes.
On the ttc front, we haven’t been doing much this month. I quit temping because we were traveling and the time changes I just figured I would take a break from it. Besides, I think breaks are good some times! I feel like it rejuvenates my body and mind. I’ve also stopped taking my herbs this month. Again for the same break reason. I’m expecting AF in about 2 weeks now…right on my birthday.
Jeff and I had a nice little cry the other night about the baby that we lost. He or she would have been a week old this week. It hurts to know that that little life had a small chance. I’m glad that he or she had that chance, but I just wish that he or she could have lived and we would be enjoying our time with our brand new baby right now. I was really hoping to be pg by now. I think about that little baby every day and hope that we can add a baby to our family soon.
I think this is long enough! :) Just a few questions for my readers out there: How did you decide that it was the “right” time to ttc? And anyone have any names picked out yet? I do! Share them with you on my Talk to Me board or in my next entry. Hope everyone has a nice Labor Day!
Always-- Cat
 |  |
|
want to keep a diary on iParenting?
Authoring a diary on the iParenting network allows you to chronicle your family's story, preserving it for years to come. It's also a great way to get the most out of the iParenting community. Click here to start...
|
The iParenting Media Awards program helps parents find the best products for their families. 
