Cycled in again

The kitties had arrived on Friday night and we adopted them on Saturday. We played with them and fed them milk and cat food, brushed them (I had no idea you could brush a cat) and took very good care of them. Tuesday night they made me feel super guilty while I was painting the laundry room. They sat in the window sill and watched me and even took a nap there. Wednesday Eric went and bought a house and a bed for them because "you can not just keep those cats in a box in a tree, they need a house." When he got home we had to tell him they had not been around all day and unfortunately we have not seen them since. We are still deciding if we should get more and try this again, or return Eric's purchases......

We had a good week with school and a productive week with painting (no pictures yet, still a work in progress). We even made time for a tail gate party and a Cambridge Trojans football game Friday night. (It is so weird when I am in Nebraska I think I see Michigan people and the same way around in Michigan.) Then Eric went all out and even went with us to "Herritage Days Parade" on Saturday morning!

We left Sunday morning for the trip home the roads and the traffic were good, the girls not so much. The first time we went I planned for weeks for the ride, the second trip a little, this time not so much and it showed. The girls were carried to their car seats at 4:00 a.m. Gently tucked in with their precious blankies, and snuggled in with their pillows. One would think they would fall back asleep at such an hour, they know now how long the ride is, but ohhhhh nooo. They talk and laugh and I hope in silence that the chattering will stop and they will fall asleep. I do not put a movie in because I figure they for sure won't sleep but I may change that way of thinking. We drove through the McDonalds drive through at 4:43 a.m. and were greeted by a chipper woman telling us the drive through would not open until 5:00 a.m. and the girls thought that was just crazy. We broke into the snacks we had packed and hit McDonalds again in Iowa. They were a little quiet around Lincoln but I am not so sure they slept.

We stopped at a gas station and thought it looked like the perfect photo op. Then our high light of the trip, The Worlds Largest truck stop! They climbed in two of the trucks and played around and took their picture by the third. Then they got to choose a stuffed animal can you say, spoiled????? I was thinking this would stop the bickering and fighting but the animals spent more time up by me than with their new owners. I will be rethinking my strategy for the ride home.

We made it back just in time to catch the tail end of Grandpa Brouwers birthday party, it is good to be home and see family!

First week of school, new hubby, and new kitties

We started our first week of school this week and it went way better than I had expected. The girls have the morning rountine down pat and are usually ready and waiting for me. I have bribed with "silly bands" but it is worth it. We have a pretty good system, routine figured out and have even done some extra things like making "buckets" to go with some of the books we have read. It has been fun for me to see some progress in just a week with Kylie and her reading and Karinda with her math facts. It has not been without incident though. Kylie told me she would much rather talk than do her math worksheets and Karinda was frustrated with her math and stormed off because I wouldn't give her the answer, the tricky part of being mom and teacher I guess, but I would love any suggestions anyone would have with that little problem.

Monday and Tuesday were also filled with trips to Kearney to get Lasik done for Eric, it was quite painful the first night but he said he would do it again in a heart beat. He is a rather high maintanece man.

Friday night the girls were playing at their friends and 3 little kittes came into the yard, on Saturday morning they were still at their friends and we somehow adopted them. But....they have always wanted kitties, have kept them busy, and they are really cute. They have named them Puma (black), Cinnamon (lighter calico), and Calie (calico).

The girls also got signed up for girl scouts this week and are very excited about meeting some new girls and doing some fun things. As far as the house goes, blinds are up, bedrooms almost finished, some furniture ordered, and ceilings are painted, so things are coming along.

We are ready for another good week of school, Heritage Festival in McCook next weekend and then making the big trek home.

Oh and Yes, we made it to Nebraska again

Sorry about no update for so long, it has been very busy here, we hit the ground running and have been on the move ever since.

I will start at the beginning, I packed the car to the brim with all I could get in it, vacuum and all, and then picked the girls up from school at about 4:30 on September 2 and we headed on our way having no idea how far we would make it that night. I wish I had taken a picture of how full the van was, there was hardly room for the girls. Fortunately I packed pillows and blankets around theirs seats so they were actually pretty comfy and I was pretty organized so we had everything we needed within reach. Other than the spoons I couldn't find in the Chicago area and of course Kylie had to have a yogurt and she had to have it now, funny how that always happens with heavy traffic. We hit storms in West Illinois and I could have packed it in there, but I called "weather man" Uncle Arlen to see how long they were going to last and we figured I only had a half and hour left so we went on.

We made a stop at the I-80 truck stop and it was quite a hit. There is 1 full size semi truck and trailer in the store and two more trucks. We were just walking around looking and someone told us we could go in so the girls got to pretend they were driving and got to see the beds inside, it was really pretty cool, they have already asked many times to go back. There is a store there too so I am pretty sure they are planning their next purchase.

After the truck stop they put on their pj's and Benji the movie in and they fell asleep. I told myself I could make it to Council Bluffs and then see how tired I was, was stopped there to get gas and the girls woke up, so we went in to use the bathroom and chat with the police men in the store. I am sure they thought, "who is this crazy lady with these kids?" but they were really nice and chatted with the girls. After the stop I felt pretty good so we went on and I eventually called Eric at 5:50a.m. to let us in, he apparently wasn't expecting us so soon!

The girls have been having a good time, asking to play with their friends constantly and getting to play with them a little. The first week was a little rough with all the kids in school, mom needing to get things done and settled and being on break, so no school stuff to do. By Wednesday they were so anxious to do school we did a school day and it went pretty good and that way I had an idea of what I needed to do to get ready for the next week too.

We spent the last two sundays at the lake. They were both hot and the first Sunday was busy but after the holiday everyone packs it in and is done boating so this past week was really quiet and really nice. The first week we took our "adopted brother" Chris and our friends the Millers came out later so the girls had someone to play with. This past week we went alone and made some pretty sweet sandcastles, forgot my camera of course. Both weeks we saw cows right by the lake, I know I am wierd, but I love it! We also saw Pelicans, yup, pelicans and cows together on the lake and NO CAMERA :( Hopefully this week!

Monday was the first official day of school and the girls had all their things done and were ready and waiting for me downstairs on time, its funny when you don't need to get in the car to leave, they are on time with no reminders of what needs to be done. I was thrilled, and school is going much better than I had ever expected. They are pleasently wonderful children when you give them your undivided attention, I think it will be a good year.

The house is coming along, all the floors are in and look awesome, counters are in and I love them! There is still a lot of painting to do and I really want to wait with pictures for the "big reveal" when it is all done, so stay tuned.

This week was especially busy making trips to Kearney for Eric to have Lasik, the first night was painful and he wore his "sunglasses at night" so it was pretty funny. Overall it went really well and he can see 20/20 and is thrilled.