Mother's Day and Aerospace Museum

Mother's Day this year, I wanted to go to the zoo and hangout in Sacramento. However, while driving down the 70/99 highway towards Sacramento, we came to a traffic stop. Absolutely no cars were moving in either direction and it was almost impossible to get around, as everyone was trying to. Later that day I found a small snippet about a semi that over turned and smashed into a bridge and broke apart on both sides of the highway. It looked like a horrible mess, but thankfully everyone survived.

When we started to try and head around the traffic jam, we ended up heading inland towards Roseville/Lincoln area. Before we knew it we were in the area. We decided that we wasted too much time trying to get around the mess that it would be pointless to go to the zoo. Instead we traveled over to the Aerospace Museum in McClellan, Ca area. It is free for kids under 5 and military ID holders are free as well. I was excited because this meant we still could get out and enjoy our day, but we wouldn't have to pay for anything.

We had not been yet, and so we were shocked with how much of a variety of airplanes and other internal parts. I was blown away with how much hands on and educational items their were for the kids. They also had a great room upstairs for the kids to color, and play with toys. It was a nice break after running around to all the different airplanes.

Take a look and see:

Sitting in a real pilots seat!

This was outside, look at all the airplanes!

You could walk through a few.

A small T-bird just right for the kids.

This is the play room/coloring area.

Overall, it wasn't the day I had in mind, but it turned out great. I really enjoyed the museum and it feels great to know that I can add one more unique place to see, to our list.

If you are in the area and want something fun to do, you should definitely check out the Aerospace Museum.

Discover Away,
Sarah

February Giving Thanks, Week 4

February 22:
     I am so thankful for the family and friends that did show up to my big boys 2nd Birthday party today! I have been working a ton for this party am so glad that at least some of our friends and family came! Brian had an awesome time, and he always loves to see his friends and cousin!

Birthday boy enjoying the pinata!

I always enjoy making the cake and cupcakes, decorating is one of my favorite things to do for the parties.

February 23:
     Today was the best day in a very very long day! I am so thankful for a mommy and daddy kid free day, at..... wait for it..... DISNEYLAND!!! It was the BEST day ever. I think my husband and I really needed it! A thank you goes out to my mother-in-law and father-in-law for taking the kiddos for the entire day.

A drink or two for us!

Yep, thats a tower of terror selfie being done!

February 24:
     I am thankful for a husband who is willing to get up with our kids, while I am passed out and hungover from a long day of drinking and having fun at Disneyland. My knee and leg is killing me today, so I am thankful for a husband who is just up and ready to go! Thank you honey!!

February 25:
     My little guy turns the big 8 months old today. It's an amazing experience to reflect on, having a child. Today, I am thankful for just that, to be able to create a human being with my very own body. It's an amazing experience, but a challenging one as well!

February 26:
     We are back home, in Northern California, from our vacation in Southern California. I am so thankful for each and every chance we get to go down there and see everyone. It's always thousands of new and wonderful memories.

Passed out on our drive back home.

Sleeping like a baby, oh wait he is one!

February 27:
      Its amazing how far my husband and mine relationship has come. We literally can discuss, talk, and agree (or agree to disagree), all without getting angry, loud, or aggressive. I am thankful that our relationship has become something that we work on, learn to grow, and always kiss each other with love. Its the best feeling ever!

February 28:
     Today, my husband is taking his test (to rank up), and I really hope he does well. I am so thankful he has this opportunity, and will hopefully (crossing my fingers, and knocking on wood), that he makes it. Good Luck Love!! 

Beale AFB

We have arrived!

We arrived Thursday morning and by noon we had our keys to our house in hand! We spent the night on cots and the boys were in the pack-n-plays. It was like camping in a nice clean brand new home. Yes I did say BRAND NEW HOME! They just built the homes and are slowly renting them out! We had snack food but not really anything to cook, and so of course, we just did drive through food (yet again).

Down Stairs, camping out with our crazy mess!

When we woke up Friday, we cleaned up and got ready for the day. Our TMO was arriving some time in the morning around 8am. We waited about 20 minutes after 8 and we received a phone call saying the driver and crew were lost on base. My husband jumped in the car and drove off to find them. Around 9am they all finally arrived and the long process began.

New dinning room and kitchen.

The largest garage yet!

My worst nightmare came true, stairs!!!

 We started out with the simple walk through of the house and where we wanted everything to go. Of course thats usually the important information for them because then they can make piles of boxes in the areas where your furniture wont be placed, right?!? I noticed they really could care less when I was telling them exactly where all the large furniture items were going to go, so I knew right then and there this was going to be a fun filled day. Then, the guys got to work unloading the crates. One by one our items came off the truck, loaded into the house, and checked off the long list.

Helping me check items off the list. He is in the swing, but the swing is not assembled, LOL!

As lunch started to approach the guys started to rush through the last crates. We noticed more and more damaged items. They also were placing random boxes all over the place (we didn't realize this until after they had left for the day). Our list was still not fully checked off and we were missing a ton of stuff. After all the crates were emptied, the head guy made a phone call and of course they found another crate that had our name on it.

The first crew then packed up: fast, very very fast, and headed out. Nothing was put together, none of the beds had all their pieces, and tons of stuff was still missing. We ate lunch, the boys took a nap, and about an hour maybe more, the second truck showed up. They started to unload items, and we realized even MORE stuff was broken. Not only that but the previous head guy with the first crew was telling us to check stuff off that he "knew" he brought in. When the items came of the second truck I was checking numbers off and of course they were already checked off. When all was said and done, ton of items and boxes were missing. We were pretty upset and again these guys were trying to rush off and not set up anything. I pretty much nagged them and begged them to put the items together so my two children (remember they are both under 2) could sleep in their beds. Finally, after the paper work was done, the beds were put together and a few large items were built.

When we started to unpack a few boxes and get the boys ready for bed we noticed their beds weren't put together the way they needed to be. So, we spent the next hour fixing their beds. Then finally the boys were in bed. We spent the weekend unpacking and putting stuff away. We were pretty upset as we started to notice A LOT of damage. Our large dresser is broken, our bed is broken, our recliner is broken, our fold out table is broken, tons of wood items have HUGE gashes of wood missing or scratched, shelves are broken, and theres extremely expensive military items missing as well. The moving company that packed our stuff in NM loaded it into a large truck, not crates. When it arrived in Cali it was taken off the truck and loaded into crates. That is when we feel the most damage happened. The moving company here in California was Colonial.

If your military and you are given an option to use Colonial or not, PLEASE do NOT use them! We are missing so much stuff, high priced items are broken or damaged, and even some of our Military items are missing. Please do everything you can to NOT use that company!

Our stuff was thrown everywhere and placed anywhere they wanted to put it. Stuff was down stairs that needed to be upstairs, and stuff was upstairs that needed to be down stairs. Boxes that were marked master bedroom were found in our dinning room. Items that were marked office were in the craft room when it should have been down stairs. We are still digging through stuff, and were still missing important items and half our stuff is just not in the right spot. Its more frustrating then ever. Also, the movers brought in our dryer through the front door and scratched the front door so bad. Did I mention this is a BRAND NEW HOME! Then after the guy comes out to my husband and asks him if he has paint or a pen to cover it up... SERIOUSLY?!?! No, we just moved in, the house is brand new and you think were just going to cover up the damage. I DO NOT THINK SO! We will be filling a claim against them as they not only damaged our door but they damaged our banister and walls as well!

Scratched side rail to one of the cribs! NOTE: I made teething guards for my kids, so this is NOT from chewing, as I made sure the cribs were fine when we left NM!

 Click HERE to see the teething guards I made.

The laminate was torn off almost every panel on this bookcase.

This is a book shelf... no longer can use it, its broken from one side to the other.

Same bookcase, another book shelf, damaged badly!

 This moving company did not care about us at all. They even unloaded stuff, called the numbers, leaned the items against their truck and then TOOK items with them! We noticed we marked our ladder as being here, and then we realized a week later its nowhere to be found. We know we saw it come off the truck, we saw it, we checked the item as here, but its nowhere in our home! I can't even believe how much stuff is gone. Its mind blowing. With three moves under our belt, we know what to expect, but this; this was just way too much!

How do you do this? This is mind blowing to me.

The back of this unit is pushed in, completely damaged! The drawers on the other side helped fix the back, we pushed the drawers in and the board moved somewhat back in place, still doesn't look nice!

End tables in our living room!

Because you know, this is how I pack photos... ass holes!

My thread holder was beat up pretty bad!

inside a box, these are cards and other items from my sons 1st year of life. They were all NICELY placed into a box and organized. He took them out of the box and chucked it into this box. Now the items are bent, and wrinkled, as well as no longer organized. I am pretty upset at this one!

 I hope tomorrow is a better day, but after a week of opening boxes with broken or damaged items, its getting exhausting!

Happy packing,
Sarah

PS: Theres more damage photos, I just didn't want to post ALL of them! If you want to see more photos of our damaged items, let me know. I will gladly load them up on here for you all to see!

Another New Adventure

You might be thinking that our new adventure is becoming parents of two boys, but in this case your wrong! New Mexico, Cannon AFB has been a VERY different experience from living in Okinawa, Japan at Kadena AB, to say the least. The lifestyle, the housing, the "friends", the co-workers, the neighbors and even the stores/purchases are all very different. I was excited, after four years of living in Japan, to finally be moving closer to home and family. New Mexico, how bad could it be? Not horrible right, I mean California was 16-18 hours away! We could plan a trip home every year, family could come see us, etc.

Our home in NM, July 2013

Well, we arrived in New Mexico in July 2012. Not too long ago I know. As we settled in and started to get use to NM, we planned a trip home to California, for our sons first Christmas (so we could be with family). We also were announcing our second baby, on the way, while we were out there. It was a big, exciting trip! When we came back to NM, we were sad to be back, away from our family, but also because the weather was freezing cold, the dirt and dry air were torture on myself and my son! My son got extremely sick, and started coughing a lot. After many weeks of dealing with myself and my son being sick, we decided a trip back to California for our sons 1st Birthday was in order!!

My mother, myself, and my son at Knob Hill, in San Marcos, California.

My son opening gifts!

Day 3 of opening presents!

Leaving California, and clicking family photos!

For the two months between Christmas and our sons 1st birthday I worked like crazy, to get everything ready for the little guys big day! I sewed daily, made packing lists, cleaned, and found someone to watch our cats! It was on, we were heading back to California, again! Another 16-18 hours in the car, but this time I was close to almost 20 weeks pregnant! The trip wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, as I knew I was going to struggle driving and what not, but we made it back. California, family, baking, setting up for the party, Brian turning 1, a Disneyland trip, and then back to NM. It was a quick two weeks, but worth every second. Also, while back in California, our son was so healthy, and so was I. My husband however, not so much! He toughed through it though, so that we all could enjoy our time!

The dessert table! I made the cake,the cupcakes, and the banner! (That will all be in another blog post!)

The Birthday boys 1st birthday cake and a few cupcakes! Our theme was monsters!!

Getting ready for the cake! I made the bib and the crown (again another blog post!)

Digging into his cake! YUM!

Our 3 day trip to Disneyland and California Adventure!

March, April and now May! Yep its been a crazy (almost) year here. I am now 33 weeks pregnant, expecting our second son any week now! We just got an email a few weeks ago, it simply said "check your military email, as you have an assignment waiting".... wait, what? Did that email just say what I thought it said? YEP! It said we had an assignment and we could either accept them or not. My husband and I jumped out of our chairs, ran to our desktop, where he logged onto his military account and we checked the information! There it was, in all its glory...

BEALE AFB, CALIFORNIA!!!!

The actual email, with the assignment!

Oh My Gosh! It says California! No freakin way. We just got one of our Base Of Preferences (BOP)! Now I should mention after our first trip home my husband was trying everything he could to get us orders out of NM, because of how sick, drained, and well everything else we didn't like about NM. My husband tried to cross train with no luck, he applied for every overseas job opening available to his job, and he applied for BOP! We were shocked our BOP got approved! We are over the moon excited to begin our new journey in California, and plan to have family and friends visiting often!

My husbands enlistment was ending this December in 2013, and because of that part of the assignment agreement was that he had to re-enlist! So, he re-enlisted, and we are staying in this crazy, exciting military life for another five years! I can not believe it! Our next journey, our next adventure is back to California! Oh how exciting.

Now that its May, and our bundle of joy, Jared (hopefully) will be here sometime in June, that only gives us July and August after Jared man is here, to pack up and head west! We have to be in Beale not a day before September 1st, and not a day later then September 30! We are excited to take some time off too and head out to see family and show off little Jared man! I can not wait to see what Beale will hold for us!

Photo taken around 32 weeks, by my wonderful husband!

So, thats our exciting news, and I can't wait to close this chapter of our lives, and move to our next! Ill do my best to keep up with my blog, and post pictures as we travel and move, so be sure to come back and stay connected!

Everyday is an adventure,
Sarah

Its an All American Kind of a Day!

Today I spent working on a promotion cake for a cake order. I was lucky enough to have a coffee in the fridge (thanks to my amazing husband), and a happy little guy (my son) who was willing to eat, nap and play without too much attention! The promotion cake is one I have done before, so making it this time around was a little easier. 

My day was simple, work on making icing for the cake, get it covered and decorated. The fondant work seemed to take up just as much time, if not more, then the icing. Which was exhausting! My son and I woke up around 8:45am, we had breakfast, and then I began to work on the cake order. I was able to finish the cake by the time my husband walked in the door from work, at 5pm or so. I have to say it was perfect timing!

Heres the sneak peek I have for the cake. I will photograph the cake tomorrow and ill hopefully get around to posting the full cake photos then. 

I have to say I love making cakes, decorating them, and being creative, as well as trying new things. However, making the same style cakes over and over again kind of bores me. I can only hope that each opportunity I have to make a cake will be a fun adventure! 

On the other hand, I have been busy these past few weeks getting items ready for my sons birthday party in a few weeks. I recently made a monster pajama eater. I found the tutorial, thanks to an amazing friend of mine. Heres all the details as well as the tutorial: Monster PJ Eater Tutorial

I attempted this guy:

I think he turned out okay! Especially since this was my first time sewing a zipper in! I know, huge success there! It was even my first time using my zipper foot and trying to figure out which one it was. That was fun! I can only wait now until my sons birthday to see if he likes this little guy!

Tomorrow, after the cake is delivered and out of sight, I hopefully will be able to make a maternity dress for my baby shower next month! I found a great tutorial here: maxi dress tutorial and all I can do is hope I dont some how screw it up! The fabric I got was on sale, and the sale has ended, so I just hope the dress turns out ok. Also, I am going to use a t-shirt, as its still kind of winter. Not to mention ill be in California for my shower, so if its hot or cold a t-shirt is the best way to go. 

Well, everyone thanks for joining me on my cake/sewing adventure today! Please come back tomorrow and check out the dress, cake, and anything else I have time to make!

Sarah