Double, Double Toil and Trouble..

Happy Halloween everyone!!

We have been busy this weekend celebrating the holiday.. and yes.. they celebrate Halloween here in England too! Haha..

We started off Friday with our pumpkin carving and seed roasting.

The puppies wanted to help me!

That's better!

Everett cutting the top off his.. that's as far as he has gotten...

My finished product!! It's a cyclops.. haha.. We didn't have the best tools this year so I couldn't be as creative..

In the dark..

Everett washing off the seeds so I can cook them : )

On Saturday we had to do a lot of Everett's homework.. He roped me into helping him...... haha.. Then at night we headed off to the Halloween party at his co-worker's house.. We went as hillbillies! I later found out at the party that it is a curse to dress up as a pregnant lady... So if legend stays true.. we may be having a little bundle of joy sooner than planned... stay tuned to see how that one turns out.. haha!

It was raining so I had to keep my pumpkin inside...

Our costumes.. I forgot to put my robe on for this picture...

Close up of Everett's face...

Everett added his lovely sideburns and beard with my waterproof eyeliner... soooo it's still there today.. haha!

And for actual Halloween.. we have just been hanging around the house.. as much as I love trick or treaters.. I hope we don't get any because I just realized that we don't have any candy to hand out!! Our babies did get in their costumes just long enough for me to take a picture... they were pretty unhappy with me as you can tell..

Kacee was a Chipotle burrito..

Dallas was supposed to be a ghost.. but HATED it over his head...

My poor dogs.. Haha...

I have also uploaded recent pictures of the puppies on facebook.. Click the link below to go there and take a look!

More Puppy Pictures!!

I hope you all had a wonderful Halloween too!!

Answered Prayers!!

Through this time of nonemployment, I have become quite a calm person. I used to be Miss Reactive who freaks out over every little thing (I'm sure many of you are chuckling and thinking of a time recent or not in which I have over reacted a bit..), but now that all my stress is gone.. I have but a care in the world! I didn't really realize this until a few weeks ago when I was working out at the gym and Everett came over (because it is right across from his building on base) to let me know that we are being kicked out of our current place a month before we are allowed to move into our next place. Now my typical reaction would be "OH MY GOD WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO??? WE WILL HAVE NO WHERE TO LIVE!! WHAT ABOUT THE DOGS?? HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME EVERETT????" Well... not so in this case.. all I said was, "Ok.. I'm sure it will all work out.." I think Everett was more surprised by my reaction than I was because I received a really confused look and then he backed away a little freaked out..

If there is one thing I have learned in this few months of de-stressing, and probably the months or years of stress before them, it's that when you trust in God.. He will take care of you! He has proved that to me numerous times throughout my life, and I think I'm finally getting it.. 24 and a half years later...

So in our plan to work it all out.. we decided that I would go home for a few weeks, and Everett eventually decided to join me.. this left us with the only one choice for the dogs.. to kennel them.. Now I wasn't too excited about this, but while I was at the vet I found a brochure for a really nice kennel. They would be able to stay in the same unit, and the people let them out daily for individual attention and social time. They will also be going through a little training while they are there.. This made me feel a little better that they would be receiving a little love and attention while we are gone, but I know that I will miss them!

We had it all figured out, so I finally got brave enough to post a blog about it.. bad idea.. because once I broadcast anything... it allllll changes.. haha!

Yesterday I called Everett while he was at work to see if he had gotten a hold of the lady about when our house was to be completed.. he hadn't yet, but he DID have some really great news! His flag football team is currently number 1 at Mildenhall.. and with only a few more games left in the season, they are pretty much unbeatable.. If they do win, they get to go to the championships.. IN ITALY!!!! I was so excited because that is the place that I want to go really really bad! Then he told me the dates... November 11-14.... great... when I'm supposed to be going home... Well we don't even know yet if they will go, but if they do.. sorry.. I'm going to Italy! haha... And then I will be home from the 15-29! Which means THANKSGIVING!!!

So we got that taken care of, then the lady calls back about the house... And gives us that bad news.. It won't be ready until December and possibly January..... Yeeeeaaaahhhh.... Not happening! So Everett calls me up to tell me to start the search again.. This just irked me a bit, but I had been feeling this coming, so I  had spent the last couple days just seeing what is available.. Well I looked up what they had just posted that day, and there was one from Newmarket (where we currently live and don't want to leave) in our price range!!! I looked at the pictures and even though there may be a few painting changes (blue and yellow may make great wedding colors.. but are NOT good kitchen colors.. haha) it was perfect.. So I called Everett back up and told him with absolute confidence.. I have found our house!! He set up the appointment to view it just a few short hours later...

Driving up to the house I thought great.... here we go again... The houses looked kind of shabby... and we had plenty of experience looking at shabby houses... none of them good... We made it up to the house and were greeted by the current resident and her two adorable little girls, British accents and all! It is nice getting a tour by the current residents because they live there and will tell you the truth! She ushered us in and we started on the main level.. Walking in the entrance hallway to the right is a full bathroom, coat closet, and storage closet.. To the left is the rather large living room.. The wallpaper in both rooms is not the best.. but not the worst of what we have seen.. (Worst: Think bright purple with a very odd pattern... in the living room...) Then she leads us to the kitchen..... which is a definite selling point in the house.. it has not one but TWO full sized refrigerator/freezers.. now this may sound odd to Americans that I get excited about this.. but here in the UK they consider a dorm fridge to be a normal sized fridge.. so having two full sized is super luxurious! Not only that but they are built in so they look like cabinets!! So is the dishwasher and washing machine!! The stove is electric.. which most people here prefer gas.. NOT ME!! And it is all touch screen.. so it's really cool! Also, the current residents have taken the liberty to already paint the kitchen a normal color.. so I don't have to!! We joked a bit about the previous color scheme...

The dining room is connected to the kitchen, separated only by a bar area.. The dining room has all sorts of storage cabinets in it and is very roomy!! Both of these rooms have doors leading out to the rear garden (as they call it here) which has a nice deck, a stone BBQ area, and a yard with an actual garden in it! Plenty of room for the puppies.. and the best part is that our next door neighbors also have two German Shepherds!!

Going up the stairs in the hallway takes you to the bedrooms, there are four bedrooms.. three of good size, one that's pretty small.. And the best part about this.. they are all fitted with CLOSETS!! Another luxury here in the UK (they normally use wardrobes.. like in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe..). And then another great part is the main bathroom upstairs.. it has double sinks, and a full shower/bath.. AND enough counter space to make anyone jealous!!! The counters go around the whole room with the exception of the wall in which the bathtub takes up!!

Now it is kind of an older home, which is the reason for the shabbier looking outside, but the whole inside has been renovated and looks really great!! Plus, with it being 150 pounds under our monthly housing allotment, we are going to try to get them to throw in a gardener to make the outside look super nice (and to keep the plants alive since I have a brown thumb..) So of course we fell in love, but hadn't heard back from the landlord on whether or not we could have pets.. but considering the current people had a puppy.. we were hoping we would be OK..

Well... Everett got the call this morning that we and the puppies are APPROVED!!!! We couldn't be more excited!! We got everything we wanted.. including location.. which we didn't think was possible after our months of searching.. but like I said before.. God gave us what we wanted... he just made us be a little more patient about it!! Click on the link below to go to the website I found the house on and you can see some of the pictures of the house!

Click here to see our house!!

Now the only downside is that the current people (who are moving to Melbourne, Australia) won't be moving out until the 15th.. and we have to move out of our house on the 9th.. so there is a week of time in which we will be in limbo... BUT the lady was super nice and is willing to work with us if we need to move some of our stuff in a little earlier since their international movers will be taking their stuff on the 9th and 10th!! So it looks like the week of the 8th through the 15th just got even busier for us!! We are definitely going to have to figure out our priorities.. but we decided that no matter what we are STILL coming home!! So you don't have to worry about that!!

Whew.. what a whirlwind week!! Can't wait for the weekend so we can relax a bit!! And party for Halloween!!!! That reminds me.. I still need a costume......

Well.. that is all the updates I have for now!! Have a safe and Happy Halloween!!!!

There's No Place Like Home!!

So it sounds like my 3 clicks with my ruby red shoes have worked! Everett and I will be coming home for a while in November!!!! : ) I thought it was only going to be me, it is looking like he will be able to get the time off to come with me!

Now this is the military.. so we can't be 100% sure until we are actually there.. but I will be flying home military around November 8th and then flying back to England around November 22nd. I most likely won't be there for Thanksgiving.. We decided to spend that with just the two of us since Everett wouldn't be able to stay in the states that long, and it's not too fair for him to have to be here by himself for the holiday.
Everett will be flying out commercially on the 11th and then returning around November 22nd as well. Because military flights aren't always a guarantee, he decided to go the commercial route to be sure he gets back to work on time!

We are so very excited to come back for a visit! It already sounds like we are going to have a busy time while we are there, but are going to try and fit in as much as we can! As of right now I am heading off to Kansas City the weekend of the 12th for our annual Opening Hunting Weekend shopping trip. Also that weekend in Kansas City my good friend from high school is having her wedding reception, so I am SOO happy to be able to attend both events!! Everett plans on hunting as much as he can while he is home since he can't do much of that over here!

Other than that.. no new news over here! We are still waiting to hear on our housing for sure.. I'm hoping Everett figures that one out tomorrow!! Also, Everett is responsible for getting my command sponsorship through so that I CAN go home!! A lot of waiting on Everett... he needs to get with it!! haha.. I really want that command sponsorship though.. I've already had to sit out on trips to Greece and Spain : ( Fortunately there will be more opportunities in the future so I'm not miss TOO much!

Alright.. I need to get to bed! Can't wait to see you all soon!!!

Growing Pains

So it has been a quick minute since I have last posted, which can only mean that life has been pretty boring over here.. haha.. Mostly I have just been waiting for things to actually happen before I update (like our housing situation), but I figured I could update you about some of our other changes.. Like our growing puppies!!

Kacee and Dallas continue to make life very interesting for us. They have adapted really well to our home, and are pretty much done potty training, which means I can now start training them in other areas!! They love to go for runs in the race horse training fields (called The Gallops).. which is a good workout for both mommy and puppies!! Every time we go, they get compliments from every one we pass! They socialize really well with the other dogs, and don't even need to be on a lead because they follow me so well! Everyone is impressed with how well behaved they are and how beautiful they are. They are still sleeping quite a bit, but are getting more and more energy everyday!

What I am most surprised about is how quickly they grow!! When we got Kacee she weighed about 7 pounds... Three weeks later she is up to 15.5 pounds! Dallas is even worse.. He was about 9 pounds when we got him, and he is up to 20 pounds... He is a VERY solid dog!!

They went to their last vet appointment of the year yesterday, and I was told that I spoil my dogs a little too much... Especially my little girl.. Dallas is pretty independent.. definitely not a snuggler! He would rather be sleeping on the floor than on the couch (which is probably a good thing!).. Kacee on the other hand is an attention whore, for lack of a better term... She always has to be close to you.. Recently she started this thing where she literally hugs my leg with her front paws.. I asked the vet why she does this, and he said, "You know how toddlers hug their parent's leg when they want to be picked up... It's very much the same.." So basically  I don't have a puppy.. I have a toddler......... But it's hard for me not to pick them up.. I'm going to be sad when I won't be able to do that anymore!!

They attended their first slumber party on Thursday! My friend Margaret invited me and Nichole over for a girls night and since Everett was supposed to have a middle of the night flight I had to bring the puppies with me... Their crate is too big for the car, so they had to go without for the first time which really scared me because I didn't want them peeing or worse in Margaret's house! I did bring the child's gate with me and we locked them in the kitchen.. Not too surprisingly... They slept for the better part of the night since I took them to Everett's football game before, and they got to play with all the kids at the game (my favorite thing.. built in puppy sitters!!) I slept on the couch downstairs so I could be sure to take them out every few hours to ensure no accidents.. and they did great!! Not a single mistake inside!!

Besides going to the Gallops, they LOVE going to Everett's football games on base! It's a really great place to socialize them with kids, since there are so many! They have done AMAZING with the little kids.. they have been in contact with kids aged only a few months to about 10 years old.. They even did great when this insane little boy kept trying to pick them up by their hind legs, and when a toddler was pulling on their tails.. It always makes me a little nervous because if something were to happen it would be my fault, but the parents don't seem too bothered and some even want their kids around the dogs.. so that makes me feel a little better! They will definitely be kid ready when we have a few of our own!

Luckily they have not torn up our house yet... Kacee isn't really a chewer, but Dallas is..... He will stop when you tell him to, but if they don't have any of their own chew toys around.. they will get your shoes!! I have really been working on that, because there is nothing worse than a chewer... They understand which toys are theirs, but every once in a while they like to push my buttons...... One thing I find really funny that they like to chew are rocks... yeah... we have THOSE kids......

As most of you know, we will be moving soon due to the fact that our current home does not have a yard for the dogs... There are only two patches of grass on the property, and they are right by our front door... There are two things that I hate dogs doing, chewing and digging... unfortunately.. our dogs are showing signs of digging.... They dig the heck out of our two patches of no longer grass, but now dirt because of all their digging... I'm not really sure how to end this problem, so any help or advice you have I would appreciate to know before we do get a yard.. I don't want them to tear it up!!

Alright.. now that you feel like you know Kacee and Dallas, I guess I will end this! The next time I post will probably be when we find out about our housing!! OR when I get command sponsership.. which SHOULD be sometime next week!! OR when I find out if I get to come home in November or not!! Lots of possibilities!! Keep checking back for updates!!

Weekend Update!

So... A LOT has been going on in the last week! First, we got our puppies!! Our beautiful Kacee and handsome Dallas were picked up last Friday from the breeder, and we couldn't have been more excited! In one day I got my husband back and my two babies!!

If you would like to see pictures of them, I update from this website all the time: Click here for puppy pics!

Our first big goal with them was of course potty training.. We didn't have a crate the first few days, so we locked them up in the kitchen.. which was NOT a good idea considering every time we got home or woke up the kitchen was filled with pee and poop.. yuck! I finally convinced Everett we needed a crate and that problem has been solved ever since! My wonderful little boy has had very few accidents over the last few days.. my little girl however is a completely different story... She just doesn't seem to get the concept.. I take her out every 20 minutes, and as soon as she gets back inside.. she goes on the floor... UGH!!! I just gotta keep consistent, but I wish she was as quick of a learner as her brother!

Another big update is that we finally found a 2nd car!! We were looking before Everett left for Iceland, but all we got were dead ends so we kind of gave up for a while. Since he was back, I knew I didn't want to be stuck at home all day, so I went online and found a nice Ford Explorer that I showed to Everett.. Well we went to look at it today and he loved it so we will be picking it up tomorrow!! Finally something that is going our way!!

On to things that aren't quite going our way.... So since we got the dogs, I have kind of been pushing Everett to look into moving into a house that has a yard (or garden has they call it here). He really didn't like the idea of moving, but we are currently being pushed out of our house, so it looks like I will be getting my way! See, Everett started renting this house from the older gentleman that lives next door. This used to be his racquetball court that he converted into a house. Well his wife just died in December, so he decided to sell both his house and this one as well to another couple. This new couple called Everett up to sign a new lease on Monday. His old lease said we could have pets, which is why we got the dogs, but this new lease said that he is not allowed to have pets. When he saw this he said he was going to have to think about it and refused to sign as his old contract is not up until November. They claimed that they would allow us to have pets, but then they sent over the realtor yesterday and she said we could stay but the dogs would have to go. Well... we aren't getting rid of our dogs, so we are in a huge search for a house at the moment.

We went looking at these really cool houses yesterday, the location wasn't really what we wanted as it is kind of far away, but the houses were SO cool! The building is the former village elementary school, so it has flint walls and gothic windows, but they completely gutted the inside and transformed them into 5 brand new houses. They were very roomy and we fell in love with one of them. We still wanted to think about it because the location wasn't what we really wanted, but as soon as we got home, we found out the house we wanted was already gone : ( That was kind of a let down.. So now we have a bunch of houses that are options, but we are finding that a lot of them don't allow pets, or don't want 2 large german shepherds living in them... so we are praying that we find the perfect one! But we don't have much time!! I'm asking for lots of prayers that the perfect house will show up for us.. and soon!!!

That's about all the excitement here! Everett was lucky enough to get pretty much all of last week off, and he will have Monday off as well, so it's been nice having him around all day! He has been having class all evening though, so I still only get half a day with him : ( Yesterday I went to the Lakenheath Bazaar with my friend Margaret, didn't really find anything I had to have so we went to Pizza Express for some yummy dinner and wine! We went to the one in village of Ely that has this beautiful cathedral which Margaret informed me has been in a couple of movies including "The Other Boleyn Sister". Since it was so late, it was closed, but the outside was very cool! I can't wait to get to see the inside!!

Well I guess that is all for now! I will update you if we find a new home to live in!! Until then.. Cheers!