We're Here!

It only took 2 short flights for us to get here at Offutt AFB. We've loved everthing, except that they don't have FMO loaner furniture here, so far. The night we got here, Steven took a taxi to a local car dealership and bought a truck. That alone has been a huge blessing for us. We've been running around since. Our first morning here Steven went out to get his in processing check list and check out his new squadron. When he got home he dropped a small bombshell, they don't have loaner furniture here. Since we've lived overseas for most of his career we are used to having to wait a couple of months for our belongings and vehicle to catch up with us. Apparently when you PCS around the states your stuff goes along with you so there is no need for it. Without loaner furniture, we'd live in an empty, 4-bedroom house. We managed to find some klik klak futons so we can use them as couches and beds, but man was that a shocker for us.
On our first trip to Target we missed a turn and had to turn around in the local VA home. They happened to have to have a tank sitting out front. We had to stop and take a photo for Papop!



We were so excited when we saw this outside in our yard! We were hoping to see some snow here :)



I was having a serious lack of caffeine issue, so we stopped at a local coffee chain and got some coffee. Ruby has decided she has a taste for coffee so she tried to get the very last drops out of the empty cup. She kept saying it was yummy in her tummy just like Yiayia's coffee.



A beautiful sunset. And if you look closely you'll see a water tower in the back, we live across the street from it.



We took Sophie to get her haircut and when we went to pick her up she had hair bows in her hair. Steven kept saying, "What did they do to my dog?" And the fleece she has to wear most days, our little Turkish bichon frise does not like the cold Nebraska weather.




I forgot to take a photo on the 27th so here's a filler photo instead. This was on the 24th. Literally seconds after Lilly got out of school and into the truck it started snowing. It was pretty much white out conditions. It stopped after about an hour and then the sun came out again and melted it all. It was pretty while it lasted!



I found this idea on Pinterest. When you use green onions, don't throw away the roots. Put the roots into some water and they will grow back. You'll never have to buy green onions again and even I can grow them with my black thumb and all!



Ruby has been pretty sick for a week. When we got to the doctors she had an ear infection, but she did try to stay happy even when she was feeling her worse. She saw me pick up my camera and asked if I could take a picture of her. I obligingly complied. She really is too cute!

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See I told you even I could grow green onions!



We checked out the thrift store on base. Even though 99.9% of the stuff wasn't for me, Steven did find this for me. It's a Pentax 110 with all the trimmings. It's pretty dirty on the inside so I don't think it will work too well. But for $15 it will look great on my shelf :)



Ruby looking a lot better after starting the antibiotics. She's too much. That twinkle in her eyes, it's her rottenness.



We stopped to check Menard's one day. It is like Home Depot on crack. Seriously, it had electronics, furniture, paint, flooring, window treatments, outdoor things, lumber, automotive things, tools, clothes, food, and so many more things. It was nuts. Steve and I could have stayed there all day, happily! It was nuts!



Like I said, we are loving it here. We are so close to Omaha and it's easy to navigate the area. In the next couple of weekends we plan to go to the zoo, which is only 15-20 minutes away. The girls are so excited. And Lilly, she has been loving school. She's still trying to get used to the longer days, but she has really been enjoying it. Now we just need our things and my car to get here, ha!

-K

Oh boy! This is going to be a LONG post.

We are finally in Nebraska and in our own home again! It's so great to be home again, but with all the craziness I am so behind in blogging! I have about a month's worth of P366 photos to post as well as everything that goes along with a move half way across the world, so please bear with me while I try to catch up.
One night before we left we went to getting something to eat at the bowling alley on base. Steven loves those arcade games that you try and grab a stuffed animal. Every time he sees one he has to try it. This time he won a monkey for Sadie. She loves it, but it was one of those really cheaply made stuffed animals and the butt seam immediately so Daddy came to the rescue and sewed it back up for her.

The weekend before we left we took some time to go to the movies. We went and saw the new Muppet movie. It was so cute and we all loved it. Before the movie they actually had a few of the Muppets there so the kids could take a picture with them. Ruby ran right up, Sadie patiently waited for her turn after Ruby, and Lilly decided she was going to be shy and not take a picture. We managed to convince her to take the photo because she would have balled and thrown a fit when she realized she missed out on something great, it's just what Lilly does and does often. Ruby wanted to keep Kermit and take him with her, but she reluctantly gave him back.

Lilly's last day of school was bitter sweet. As excited she was to get on the plane and leave, she was equally sad. We did our best to cheer her up and thwart off a panic attack. And yes, she does have panic attacks so we have to be really careful with her. Once she's started, it's really hard to get her out of it. Steven asked her if she'd like Papou to bring her something special when he picked us up at the airport, and she said, 'A Dr. Pepper?'. Bless her little heart because she definitely pulled some of Steven's heart strings with that one :)

This year we had the greatest Valentine's Day we've ever had. I really don't know if Steven will be able to ever top it ;) We got on a plane and we headed back to the states! It was awesome. We were able to find some cute little bumble bees that we attached to the girls backpacks. We filled them with chap stick, lip gloss, and some spending money. The were thrilled. We are completely blessed with kids who are the greatest little travelers. They've endured days of traveling with out a stop, long flights, short flights, international flights, and long car rides. They are the best. We arrived at the Passenger Terminal early so we had time to eat some breakfast and hang out in the family room a bit. Ruby was sweet enough to take a picture with me :)

We were thrilled to get to my parent's house in time to celebrate our sweet niece's 2nd birthday! She has the biggest personality and is just so much fun to be around.

We also got to meet and spend time with our new nephew, Logan! He is such a sweet baby.

We were blessed to be able to take a night and go out on a date. We have made a sort of tradition of going out for dinner at Carraba's when we're in town. The food is so good there!

There's a really great McDonald's in Allentown. I know it's a McDonald's, how great could it be. It's really all about the play place. It's music themed and the girls love playing there, so we stole our niece Phia and headed there. After lunch, playing at the play place, we ordered Shamrock Shakes and headed out again!

I forgot to take photos on the 19th and 20th, disappointed about it but hey we've been really busy. So I found a couple of other photos to 'stand in' for those days. The first one is of Phia at Best Buy. We were looking for a protective case for Steven's cell phone.

This one is of our new TV obsession, American Pickers. We love shows from the History channel so this is awesome.

And sadly we had to leave. Before we got on the road, we stopped at Dunkin Donuts. The adults got coffee and the kiddos got Munchkins. Ruby improvised a new way to get the powder off the powered donuts without actually eating the donut. Girl loves her some sugar!


Now that catches up on all the days before we got to Nebraska. All of those photos and days will be in another post. But so far, we love it here :)

-K