MMM Moving is harder than it looks

I think we are beginning to crack.
Moving is harder than we remember. You would think that this being our 6th move in 4 years we would have it down.
But no.
Add Jonathan working 12-15 hours a day, being sick and having to leave work during the day to attend to the internet install, sprinkler repair( plummer), cable guy, air conditioning guy, piano mover, appliance delivery person...all on different days, with different ETA's such as 8-4, 9-11, 12-4 etc...add the working in the opposite direction 25-40 minutes and this hasnt been fun.
We are working on issues with the new house after work, along with finishing up the packing of the little stuff, clothes, kitchen and the things that cant easily be boxed as well....
we are hanging in there, but its still overwhelming. Saturday we have the truck coming, my mom and sister cleaning the house behind us as the new renters will be moving in hours after we depart.
SO fun! But really isnt moving supposed to be crazy stressful?!

I will say that after countless sleepless nights( months of sleepless nights) due to the barking dog next door I am looking forward to a quiet, full 8 hours of sleep in a few days. ( im not kidding...my visiting teacher was over yesterday and said she was awake most of the night from the dog as well- and cant imagine how we have been dealing for months)

The kitchen in the new house is coming along. We are about 60% done...just countertops and backsplash left.

We have two rooms painted, and our master bedroom painted- but I dislike the color so Im not sure what to do at the moment...I a bit tired of painting...thats the update.

****this is the light we ended up going with for the entryway fyi****

Painting!

Its official...we closed on the house earlier this week and its been a bit of a scramble. Conversations about what to do in the week before we move in. Given the overall amount of work its seems a bit daunting at the moment, but we agreed that the kitchen was our first priority. I will be posting pics as we go along, however for now the camera is packed and it will be cell phone pics when I do post.
Anyway my research made me inclined to do a face lift on the original oak cabinets as they were good quality and we didnt want to have to replace them if possible. Painted cabinets seemed to be the way to go and with some inspiration on black and white kitchens that is the direction we went.
Now I realize that painting cabinets is laborious. A time suck and painstaking with the details and process. What I didnt account for is the multi step process that would take many days to finish. We are on day three and only about 30% done. My back aches, my hand shakes now, and I have come to realize that while some poeple dont mind painting I am not one of them. It brings me back to Kindergarten and the frustration I felt with having to color within the lines. Sitting still, attention to detail. Those that can sew, or craft- I get why painting or doing either of those things is great! You have these wonderful finished projects that you have the patience and talent for. Um...this is why I have no problem paying other people to do those things often at a much higher price.
I just hope that when all is said and done the cabinets( and the rest of the rooms in the house which will also be painted in the next week) I am still alive.
** oh to my sisters that commented about my crazy light wish...not to worry...I did find a very reasonably priced light fixture...Not blue though.

Lighting for the new house

In buying this house-- it has a lot of things that are great...and some not so great things. One of those is the lighting. The fixtures in the home are all the brass 1990's fixtures that MUST go. I recently purchased a chandelier for our dining area that I love, and will be keeping for the new house. However in the foyer/entryway I have been looking for something spectaular! Blue being my favorite color every time I see something that I like I save it in a file for inspiration. Well here are some of the ideas I have....

( dont ask for sources as I have no idea- just would randomly find images on lighting websites )

Now realize my deliemma when I find out that not only all of these are priced at 2000.00 dollars or MORE-- and obviously are out of my price range...its hard to go back...nothing I have found in the price range that is acceptable compares! Its so sad. I can get a home depot run of the mill lighting fixture...something that is blah....or I can splurge on something like this right? RIGHT??? I seriously dont think I can talk Jonathan into blowing our limited budget on a light fixture...but a girl can dream!

4th - WY

The 4th was full of highs and lows…We got out of dodge and went camping with Jonathans family up near Lander WY. Having been there before I knew where we were headed and that the boys would have a great time. The camp site was near a little lake and there would be lots of exploring to do.

Saturday night we decided to go into town to see the fireworks. Now this isn’t the cities fireworks display- no- it was a private residence( a dentist and member of the church) who puts on this show. It seems that the entire town of Lander is in attendance…missionaries man the free ice cream and watermelon handouts, hundreds if not thousands of people gather on this mans property for the show. It lasted several hours with a reenactment of some 18th centry redcoats and militia men demonstrations, full on history lesson, flag raising, prayer and a good hour at least of fireworks. I must say…the fireworks in all was the best ive ever seen. I kept thinking- how in the world could this man afford what must have been a half a million dollar display? Im sure there are lots of donations, but still it was unbelievable!

We literally were seated right under the fireworks- could feel the heat from the explosions and I felt on more than one occasion while watching, how lucky we were to be there.

While Saturday was a good day- Sunday things took a turn for the worse…it seemed as if the mosquitos decided to hatch and swarm with vengeance intent on eating us alive. No matter how much deet that was sprayed there were always at least a dozen or more mosquitos around your head buzzing or biting. We took the boys who were restless and not very happy to town again for some McDonalds and a quick hike. However back at camp things never got better. We ate dinner quickly and I took refuge in the tent as soon as possible with the kids and missed out on some good campfire chats.

By Monday am I think everyone had enough of the bugs and while die hard campers we are, we had reached our limit. We quickly packed up camp and headed home. It was good to be back in the comfort of our own beds that night especially after a sad incident of Elijiah having a headache and getting sick…..

All in all, some good memories, but next time I think we will wait a little longer in the season before heading back to that particular spot…..