we're in NC now. =)

well... after not posting anything for 2 months, i'm not sure where to start. A LOT has happened in that time!

we went to WA for christmas. the boys were troopers on the several plane rides it took to get us there (3) and back (2). it was super snowy while we were there, so i didn't get to do as much as i would've liked to, but we were able to spend a lot of time with family and that's what matters most! =)

we got back from WA at 11 pm on 1/6 and the movers came to pack up our house at 9 am on 1/8. shane had to drive back to NC early on the 7th to be at work by noon, so the boys and i were there alone during the packing. it took them 9 hrs to pack and load the truck and i had to hold teagan that ENTIRE time, to keep him from getting in the way and/or crawling out the front door. trevin did extremely well for a 2 yr old in that situation... only about half a dozen time outs. =) then, the boys and i stayed for 2 nights in the empty house while i touched up paint and packed up all the small stuff the movers wouldn't take (which was quite a lot!).

on the morning of the 10th, i put the last of the boxes into the car, hitched the boat up to the back of the toyota, straped the kids into their carseats and wrangled the dogs into their carriers... and then at noon, it was good-bye VA, here we come NC! we looked like the beverly hillbillies with the boat packed full of stuff on the back of the toyota (which was also filled to the max), driving down the freeway at the lightning fast speed of 60 mph. =) lots of stares, honking and not-so-friendly hand signals. =)

we made it to NC with only one stop (thank you God!) and pulled into the driveway at 8 pm. (FYI- it's normally a 4 1/2 hr drive, but with traffic, our dinner stop and the slow speed, it took foooreeeveeer.) shane was already at the house and helped drag in the neccessities while we started settling in. which went surprisingly well.

the very next day (1/11- for those keeping track), the movers called and they were able to show up at 10 am to deliver our things. to be honest, i was sorta hoping for a day off, since we had enough with us to make it through another day and night. but the stuff arrived... and we started unpacking.

it's now feb. 11th and i can't believe we've been here a whole month! it's gone by really fast. we're mostly unpacked and what remains in boxes is just small stuff waiting for a proper home and the art that needs to be hung up. the boys have adjusted well. they've been able to stick on their old schedule with only a few slight changes. they used to go to bed at 7:30 and wake up at 9, but now it's down at 7, up at 8:30. although, i'm working to change that back as i'm not a morning person! =)

shane's been busy doing pre-sniper school. it's a 2 week course and today is day 8 of 10. he's doing really well and has been asked to go to sniper school. he's really excited to do it and i'm really proud of him. it's a tough course with a really high drop rate (meaning most guys don't make it through the course), but he's still in it and doing well. =) if he accepts the offer to go on to sniper school, he'll be going through an 8 week course at a nearby military installment. he's still not sure if he'll have to stay on that base or if he'd be able to come home at night, but i think he'd be home for weekends. so, i guess it's not that bad. although, it's sorta ironic that we're finally all here as a family again and, of course, he's not staying around! =) this weekend, most guys are off sat, sun, mon and tues. but, if he starts this school, he'll be back to work on monday for the begining of this 8 wk course. but i guess it's good to just do it now while the offer stands and the knowledge from his pre-sniper course is fresh in his head.

as for me and the boys, we're just doing the same old thing in a different place. =) it's really nice to be so close to the stores if we need to leave the house. it's no longer an all-day 6-8 hr ordeal. we're now a 5 min drive to the grocery store compared to the 50 min drive we had in VA. =)

it's been unusually cold here and we haven't got out much, so i haven't made many friends. but i've met a few ladies and i'm hoping to get out more once it warms up and hopefully i'll meet some ladies here in the neighborhood.

it actually snowed here on the 20th. which is really rare and hasn't happened for years. we're right by the beach, so i packed up the kids and drove them to go see it snowing at the beach. teagan slept through it and trevin's too young to realize it's unusual for there to be snow at the beach, but i thought it was pretty cool! trevin and i built a snowman out of the frozen sand/snow mix. =) we also built a little snowman in our yard and now everytime we go outside trevin asks to make another one. silly boy. =)

well... i can hear both boys are awake upstairs, so i suppose i should go set them free from their cribs. =) our desktop computer is still in a box since the movers broke our desk in the move and we have nowhere to put the computer for now. it's the one i use to upload pics. so, i appologize that i can't post any pics to go with my little story here. but i will do that as soon as we get a new desk and unpack the computer. =)