27.
Every birthday I've felt the same.
With maybe the exception of turning 18.
But seriously, this birthday I feel different....
Older.
Hmmm...
Maybe because we're in such an adult time in our lives right now.
No, we're not having kids and we already did the marriage thing.
Chad has a stable job (not tending horses, but rather a secure job)
and I am going to finish my Bachelors... maybe be the oldest student in some of my classes...
But there is something about buying a house that is so huge.
So long term.
So adult-ish.
It's nerve racking and exciting and makes me feel older.

My birthday was a blast though...
It was drawn out (which I love)
Several weeks prior I saw my family in Wisconsin and they threw me a birthday party.
The only thing missing was my Aunt making me a pie.
Every other birthday when I was home (which is rare) she would make me a pie of my choice.
I always wanted Banana Cream Pie or Coconut Cream Pie.
Omnomnomnom.....
Anyway that was really fun and enjoyable..
Then the Saturday before my birthday I celebrated with Chad, my brother Matt and friends at Olive Garden.
Then on my birthday Chad took me to dinner and a movie...
That night Colby called and got the "last word" before the clock turned everything into a new day.
And I still have a package coming in the mail from my best friend.... and another gift coming from Chad....
So yeah... It's been a good long birthday.

Looking forward to all that is to come.

Oh my gosh, why have I not been posting?
It's not like my life is nearly as boring as it was a few months ago...
Busier for sure....

Hokay....

Um, we accepted an offer on a house we really want tonight.
Yay!!
It's pending inspection and appraisal, but if those two things go well then Chad and I will be official homeowners in about a month or so... Seriously crazy!
We are a tad nervous.
It is a huge decision.
We are both excited.
We officially have had ENOUGH of apartments...

This is the house.
As Colby would say, it has "rap music" playing during the slide show. lol

We got two new kitties, as you may have seen from the recent post about yawning.
BTW -
Everytime I try and make "yawning" into a current plural-type verb...(aka: Yawny or Yawnie, as in "oh wow, I am so yawnie!)....Chad comes along pretending to play the piano like Yanni.
I seriously could die laughing every time.
Guess you'd have to be there to believe me. lol

Anyway, these Yawny kittens (Chad imitating piano playing in background) are now sisters to Pita.
That's right.
I went to Wisconsin and got my kitty back!
Pita is home and she is LOVING being away from pug puppies who terrorized her.
She definitely is needing to adjust to her new baby sisters... but much better than pug brothers by far!

You'd want these angels:

Over these brutes any day:

Wisconsin was a fun week, btw.
I spent most of the time with my Granny, but I got to see everyone else quite a bit as well.
They even threw me a picnic birthday celebration thing.
I will be 27 on Monday.
I am getting old, but as long as I am getting old with Chad I don't mind!
Yet.

So school starts in 11 days!
I am crazy nervous and excited!
This is the most credits I have ever taken.
Plus, my one online class is only the first 8 weeks meaning it is DOUBLE TIME.
So the first 8 weeks are going to feel like I am taking 18 credit hours (in terms of homework at least)

Here are the classes I am taking:

MW:
Earlier American Literature & Reading and Writing Non-fiction Prose
MWF:
Introduction to Language
TU/TH:
Photography 1
Online:
Introduction to Literature

Yay!

Okay, that is all for now. Bedtime! Goodnight, Internet world....

Yawns.
Yawning.
To Yawn.

Hey... I don't know if you know this...

BUT...

You know how yawns are contagious?
You know... that deep inhalation of air followed by a quick dispersal?
Yep.
That thing.
Right there.
You just did it.

And you know how you yawn when you're awakened out of a deep sleep or nap?
It's like you were so cozy and content and then suddenly you're awake and your lungs are fighting to catch up with your new heart rate, brain function and physical movement....

Oh yeah.
I just yawned again just thinking about it.

Anyway.... I bet you didn't know that these post-nap yawns are also HIGHLY contagious to kittens.
Yup.
Kittehs.

See for yourself...

Oh yeah.... those were all induced by Chad and I "fake yawning" into our cats faces until they produced the desired results. These all took place in a matter of 2 minutes or less...

And you have to admit it was worth it.

One more time on this one because it makes me lulz....

Welp... We are 65-70% packed and loaded.
We are 95% clean (Chad needs a shower)
We are 100% mentally and emotionally ready.
This has been a long time coming.

Goodbye Virginia.

I will miss your ocean.
I will miss your scenery.
I will miss your plentiful job opportunities.
I will miss the people I met through you.

I will not miss your property tax policies.
I will not miss Chester, VA.
I will not miss your traffic and over-crowded areas in general.
I will not miss the feeling that everything is so temporary.

It is time to put down roots.
Hello, Kansas City....:)

We did something incredibly awesome and ironic on accident.
It may sound trivial to you, but it is amazing to us!

Lemme preface...

The past two years we have basically NOT been shopping for anything overly large, unnecessary or awkwardly shaped.
We have been doing this because for the past two years we have been moving everything we own on the East Coast in nothing but our vehicles.
No Uhauls.
We have been doing this quite a bit, as you know.
So purchasing things has become an item by item decision.
We see something we want... Is it necessary now? Or can we wait until Kansas City? How big is it? Is it heavy? Will it fit in the car with everything else?
It's saved us some money, but it's been exhausting.

To add to this...

The past few months we have been trying to use up everything perishable and not wanted on a cross country move.
I have been grocery shopping based on what can we eat and use up before we move, so that the cupboards are completely bare the day of the move...
I have been cleaning and doing laundry in such a way that we have little to zero cleaning supplies to pack up and take.
We have been trying to basically "use up" as much as we can, so as to lighten our load for the trip to KCMO.

SO...

What did we do on accident that is incredibly awesome and ironic??

When we moved from KC in Jan of 09 to Washington DC, we had to buy paper coffee filters because our pot at home has a metal filter.
No big deal - you get so many hundreds of them for about $1.
We don't make coffee on a habitual basis - some days we like it, others we're fine....

The incredibly awesome and ironic thing is that we bought just enough coffee filters and consumed our coffee at just the right rate of consumption that we now have just the right amount left before we get back to KC and don't need them anymore.

We have 2 weeks of coffee filters left.
We have 2 weeks on the East Coast left.
Had we been off by even just a few days, we would have either had to not drink coffee on days we really could have used it or spend another $1 to buy about 400 coffee filters... 393 of which we wouldn't need for coffee.

I find this amazing!

My mom is having surgery tomorrow.
There are some risks and complications involved.
Say a prayer for her, if you would...

So Chad called me today from his work and wanted me to help him test out this work/software/thing...

So we tested all the functionality of it.
When he finally gave me permissions in the software as a "Presenter" on the whiteboard, here is what I contributed to the presentation:

As he would say, "Boom goes the dynamite."

These first two really show their unique personalities...

lol

Pig tails!!

SO tired they are literally falling asleep as they eat...

Holding hands... <3

They love looking at themselves after I've done their hair... total girls.

All dressed up!

Yeah I am seriously gonna miss them like crazy... Everyday I go to work and ring the doorbell, they come running and giggling. They greet me with the biggest smiles... They are so excited to see me. They are my girls.

Three weeks from today we will finish loading up our cars to the brim and then some and start heading west.
Chad will predictably start singing the one line he knows to "Go West Young Man"
It will be great.
I heard a song on the radio that made me think about this past season of our lives and the season to come.
I've heard this song before, but it took on new meaning...

Here are the lyrics:

"She was staring out the window of their SUV
Complaining, saying, 'I cant wait to turn 18'
She said, 'I'll make my own money
And I'll make my own rules'
Mama put the car in park
Out there in front of the school
And she kissed her head
And said 'I was just like you'

You're going to miss this
You're going to want this back
You're going to wish these days
Hadn't gone by so fast
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you're going to miss this

Before she knows it
She's a brand new bride
In her one bedroom apartment
And her daddy stops by
He tells her "It's a nice place"
She says "It'll do for now"
Starts talking about babies
And buying a house
Daddy shakes his head
And says "Baby just slow down"

Cause
You're going to miss this
You're going to want this back
You're going to wish these days
Hadn't gone by so fast
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you're going to miss this

Five years later
There's a plumber
Working on the water heater
Dogs barking, phones ringing
One kids crying, one kids screaming
She keeps apologizing
He says "They don't bother me.
I've got two babies of my own.
One's 36, one's 23.
It's hard to believe...

But
You're going to miss this
You're going to want this back
You're going to wish these days
Hadn't gone by so fast
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you're going to miss this
You're going to miss this
Yeah you're going to miss this..."

"You're Gonna Miss This" - Trace Adkins

It's really surreal to think that our two years of traveling is about to be over.
I couldn't be more excited, but this season definitely had it's fair share of amazement!
Of course, it's easier to dwell on the negative...

- We had to pack up and move every 5-7 months or so.
- We couldn't make friends easily because we kept moving away.
- We couldn't easily find a home church to get plugged into for the same reasons.
- We couldn't have animals of any kind without having to pay a hefty non-refundable pet deposit every time we      came to a new place - which was a lot!
- We we're further away from friends and family, so it was difficult and expensive to visit...
- I had to put off finishing school...
Etc...

However, I realized after hearing that song that so much good has also been a part of this journey!
So much that is so specific to this type of season...

- We got to see a lot of places! We've basically been permanent tourists for about 2 years, so everything is fresh and new and exciting. Seeing things from Virginia Beach to all the Smithsonian Museums to National Parks and Monuments.... We've had so many "firsts" it's been fun! It's been an experience very few get!
- We got the benefit of Chad's job paying our rent and utilities, which gave us the rare and unique opportunity to take all the extra money to pay off our credit card debt and student loans! It's been so freeing not having any of that hanging over us anymore!
- It's just been Chad and I for the most part and we have grown so close. We've learned to live together. We've learned to consider the other person's needs and wants. We've dreamed together and been each other's best friends. What better way to spend the first two years of your marriage?

Anyway, I think that as much as I look forward to the future and all that God has planned for us, it's still nice to reflect on what we've had here and what a blessing this season of our life has been.... I truly feel blessed in every way and wouldn't trade these past two years for anything!

* * *

For your enjoyment:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBDN8yWyNYU

(Sorry, embedding was disabled for this video, but it's such a great song!)

- There is no problem that cannot be overcome by force.

- If it moves, DESTROY IT!

- Piloting any vehicle is simple and requires no training.

- One lone "good guy" can defeat an infinite number of "bad guys"

- Make sure you eat all the food lying on the ground

- You can break things and get away with it

- You can push other vehicles off of the road and get away with it

- If someone dies, they disappear.

- If you get mad enough, you can fight even better

- You can operate all weapons without training

- No matter how long you fight, you can always fight again

- Death is reversible only for you!

- Ninjas are common and frequently fight in public

- Whenever big, fat mean guys are about to croak, they begin flashing
red or yellow

- You never run out of ammunition, just grenades...

- All women wear revealing clothing and have great bodies

- Shoot everything. If it blows up or dies, it was bad.

- Don't worry if your vehicle crashes and explodes. A new vehicle will
appear in its place

- A thousand to one odds against you is NOT a problem.