by jcastles | Apr 24, 2013 | Family, Moving, Uncategorized
So our 2nd day here we ventured out to the big city of Seattle. Wow was I wowed!! I know that pot is legal here but to see people just smoking it on the lawn and walking around with bongs was quite surprising! Homeless people on corners asking for money or weed was also a site to see.
As we walked through the Public Market we saw many flower shops all selling my favorite flowers (Tulips!!) for cheap cheap!! As we continued we saw something we’d ONLY seen in the movies a fish toss at a fish market! They said something, tossed a giant fish to a person behind the counter, then yelled something else. It all sounded so fun!
We also got to witness a bicyclist crash….real hard! I don’t know what the deal was but he was coming down a hill so fast he yelled out “Oh Shit”, ran the light, nearly got hit by a car, then crashed at the bottom of the hill. So many people ran to him we couldn’t even get there to help so we just went on about our way but wow! The hubbs thinks the guys breaks went out but who knows. All I know is it sounded like his timing was off. He did get up btw and seemed somewhat ok.
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by jcastles | Apr 22, 2013 | Family, Moving, Uncategorized
So now we’re semi settled in Seattle, Wa. It’s Monday April 22nd and so far things are getting back to normal. We let the kids have a few days off school but we plan to register them tomorrow. I think that will help with my 8 yr old’s attitude about moving from his home….Texas.
Even though we’ve only been here 3 days we’ve done a lot! We’ve driven around just looking at the scenery….OMG it’s beautiful!!! I’ve never seen such gorgeous flowers! And the tulips are absolutely beautiful! It’s my favorite flower and they are so many here. And for a dozen it’s only $10!! I just might have to get a vase to have some at our temporary housing, lol!!
So I was worried that we’d forget stuff in our gazillion bags we brought….well we haven’t really forgotten anything we need but a blanket. I love to cuddle on the couch with it in the evenings so now i’ve got to talk the hubbs into getting a blanket. We’ve had to go buy a few things to make life easier (stuff that wasn’t really necessary, but we can’t seem to live w/out). Like a pizza cutter, measuring spoons, laundry baskets…basically stuff I couldn’t pack on the plane but didn’t think I’d miss it so much, lol!! Luckily there is a Target, Walmart, Big Lots, and a Dollar Tree so I was able to get stuff pretty cheap. But you know how they say “Everything’s Bigger in Texas”….yah it’s true!! Even the kids were like this is a little Walmart, lol!!!
I can’t wait to do more exploring but today we’re staying close to home to help the kids get back into a routine for school and so they’ll stop driving us crazy about wanting to go home….they’re not really the adventurous type, lol!!
Here are some pictures we’ve taken so far! Jayson showing his “Monkey” the clouds, Kennyth chilling on the iPad, the pets made it, Jayson on the shuttle (he thought it was cool he could stand), all our luggage, lots of scenery, the Ferry (neato!!), weird little house and playhouse we came across, some downtime at the park, and more scenery! So much and so much more to see and do!
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by jcastles | Apr 20, 2013 | Family, Moving, Uncategorized
Today is moving day! We spent last night at a good friends house and shortly after we woke up I got word that the movers were at the house. That’s when I went “shit just got real”!
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I wanted the kids to experience seeing their stuff go on a big 18 wheeler so we rushed through getting ready and boy were they surprised to see it.
Remember when the trucks were all green with a big yellow stripe down them with Mayflower written on them?! What a nice logo change, lol!!
It’s so strange seeing your stuff go in a big ole truck knowing you won’t see it for a month. You wonder if you got everything you’ll need for that month or not. You wonder if something will happen to it and it’s goodbye! It’s just crazy!!
So tomorrow morning April 20th we fly to Seattle!! With the bombings going on in Boston it does make you worry. But i’m sure we’ll be fine.
Well more pics to come later!.
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by jcastles | Apr 14, 2013 | Family, Moving, Uncategorized
Today I cried tears of joy and sadness. I made a trip to my home town (only an hour away) to see my second Mom Arlene (close friend of my Mom/family). When I got to her house and saw her I literally ran out of the car and hugged her so tight and cried cried cried (these were the tears of joy)!! I hadn’t seen her in 4 years and before that it was 3 years at my Mom’s funeral. 1.5 hours is NOT enough time to catch up with someone you hadn’t seen in 4 years….just incase you were wondering.
When I left her house I went to the cemetery to put some flowers on my Mom’s grave. I don’t know when I’ll be back to do it again so I wanted to make sure I did it one last time. I also put a rose on all my family members graves while I was there. Here is where my tears of sadness came about.
After that I went to the funeral home office to visit my Aunt Mary (she works there). I hadn’t seen her in a while and every time I go to the cemetery I always check to see if she’s working to give her hugs.
It’s so strange leaving the state you were born in let alone leave the state you’ve lived in for 33 years! Although I’m ready for it it’s still hard to leave what you’ve known for as long as you’ve been alive.
I will deeply miss my family and friends but I’m so thankful that facebook will keep us connected. So if your ever in Seattle let me know and we can meet up for lunch or something!.
by jcastles | Apr 10, 2013 | Birthday Parties, Family, Moving, Uncategorized
Yesterday was my son’s 9th birthday party. We had it a few weeks early so he could enjoy it with his friends since we’ll be in Seattle on his actual birthday. He had a blast!! We don’t normally spend as much as we did yesterday on a birthday party but he’d been wanting to go there for years so we finally bit the bullet and did it. Since the move is next week I’m so glad we opted to pay for everything. I’m WAY to stressed to be planning and baking.
But i’m starting to feel the sadness for my kiddo. This is the first year he’s made “real” friends! He’s already got friends that are all teary that he’s leaving and it’s not even happened yet. We feel so bad for him yet we know this is the best thing to do for our family.
I know we’ll all look back and know we made the right decision but it’s so hard to leave a life you’ve known for 33 years.
The Darkside won!
One of his best friends
Their faces are awesome!
Another one of his best friends.
by jcastles | Apr 4, 2013 | Family, Moving, Uncategorized
So it’s feeling more real every day. I’ve now picked out company housing online, met with the movers, and notified the kids schools that the 19th of April will be their last day.
We also decided how we will get to Seattle. We wanted to drive but in the end we decided to fly. Although it makes things easier it also means all the cleaning supplies, pantry foods, and any additional items I wanted to bring with us now can’t go. Our things will be in storage for up to a month so unless it’s a sealed never been opened food package it’s not a good idea to store. The movers told me yesterday that spray paint and most cleaning supplies can not go with us. So yah, that’s kinda where it’s gonna hit the pocket book.
We’re hoping to be out of here by the 20th and my 8 yr olds birthday is April 30th. So instead of having a party with friends he doesn’t know we are giving him his party this weekend. Luckily the only thing I had to do was send the invites and get a cake. I opted out of doing any party planning this year and he’s very happy. He’s been wanting a Main Event Party for a couple years now but they’re so expensive it’s been out of the question. We’re still stretching to get this one done but it’s his last birthday in Texas with his friends…..so yah, we decided it was time.
This weekend we plan on purging some more and getting things organized to be packed. They won’t insure it if we pack it so we’re going to let them do it all, lol! But I might pack my underwear drawer….that’s just weird having someone pack it, hahaha!!.
by jcastles | Mar 29, 2013 | Family, Moving, Uncategorized
This afternoon I went through the boys rooms with them and got rid of tons of stuff! Well actually it’s in our garage in the garage sale stack. Kennyth’s (8 yrs) room was easy. We seriously trashed more than we put out to sell. His toys consist of legos…lots and lots of legos. He has his legos, his older brother’s legos, and his uncle’s legos…so yah, we have legos!! Jayson’s (4 yrs) room was a little harder. He doesn’t play with most of his toys because his favorite toys are things you can line up…he doesn’t really play with his cardboard castle kit. He mostly had clothes that needed to go. So off to the G-sale pile they went!
Once the hubbs got home we tackled the garage….well partially tackled it. We went through a few things and trashed quite a bit there too. But we mainly wanted to map out the garage into a few stacks. We have a G-sale stack, a freecycle stack, and a spot for some couches that are making their way to our house on Sunday for the oldest kiddo.
So there it is….day 1 of organizing.
Now i’m off to top off some chocolate pies with cool whip for my brother and his girlfriend that are visiting tomorrow.
Yes…..I’m still entertaining at my house before we move…i’m crazy!!.
by jcastles | Mar 24, 2013 | Family, Uncategorized
So you know how I said a couple of weeks ago that I have a crazy life….once something starts going good it changes. Well that’s happened AGAIN!!!
In less than a month we’ll be packing up and moving half way across the United States!! We are currently located in Keller, Texas. We will be moving to Seattle, Washington. Yup, that’s right…you read that correctly!
My husband got a job with Amazon (yes that cool awesome website you order stuff from)!! Since we rent our home it’s an easy move for us! We’ll most likely drive it while all our stuff is being shipped to a storage unit in Seattle. We want to drive it because well with our family we need a lot of stuff. Even though flying and getting it over with would be nice but it’ll be our chance to make it an adventure. We’ll get to stop look at things on the way that we’d never get to do if we didn’t drive it.
Stay tuned for our moving adventure!!
Our Journey
by jcastles | Mar 21, 2013 | Family, Uncategorized
Do you watch things that go on in your neighborhood? What about if you take the same route to work/school/etc? Well I am one of those people. I notice if something is different, odd, or just not right. Even if it’s not something huge and I can’t quite pick out the difference at first but I notice it.
I remember when I was like 14 years old I was at my neighborhoods community pool catching some rays on a hot summer day and I noticed a little boy walk into the pool area….all alone!! He looked like he had some kind of mental disability and was probably about the age of 3. He walked around for a minute or so and finally jumped in the 3 ft water. Instantly he started screaming and trying to tread water and before I knew it I was in the water dragging him to the 1ft (he was a chunky lil kiddo too–probably 60 lbs!). A few minutes later I was sitting with him making sure he was ok when a lady came running down the street screaming in panic…sure enough her lil boy and got out of the house w/out her knowledge (at the time me being a teenager I was thinking how do you not know your child is out!! but now that I have kids boy do I know how now!!). Luckily he was fine and all was good. But for some reason this lady was just happy that her boy was ok….she never thanked me but I now know sometimes you just can’t thank a person right away because all your worried about is your litte boy. And I’m ok with that.
In our neighborhood I kinda know when people get home from work and if somethings different I always wonder if they’re ok. Like my neighbor, she’s an older lady and when I don’t see her leave to run errands, see her out watering her yard, or picking up acorns (yes every acorn!) I worry….is she ok?!! Then at the end of the street I noticed something different in the yard….a flag with a picture of a dog on it. I know it wasn’t there before this one particular day. Does it mean they got a dog and thought he/she was cute enough to put on a flag in their garden or does it mean they just lost a best friend and wanted to remember him/her every day. I dunno but it sure makes me wonder.
Then the one thing that’s bugged me for a while (reason i’m writing this) is everyday I take my son to school (20 min drive) for almost 2 years now I’ve seen this old couple walking. And it’s a good 4 mile round trip walk they do btw! Anyway, I see them every day! Sometimes I see just him walking or just her walking but mostly they’re together or it’s just him walking. Now she doesn’t look to be in the greatest health so when she’s not walking I wonder if she’s ok. Then if days go on and he’s walking w/out her I really wonder. Sometimes I think maybe she has cancer. She’s frail looking just like my mom was and when she had chemo treatments she couldn’t do much of anything for a few days after so the thought of her having cancer kinda fit.
Well I hadn’t seen either of them for a while so I thought ok maybe they’re taking it easy for the holidays (it was around Christmas). Then after the first of the year we missed a week of school due to the flu so I obviously didn’t see them. As soon as we went back to school mid January I saw the old man walking….solo. Then I started to feel that thing….did she die?!! For weeks I didn’t see her. I really wanted to stop the car and ask….is your wife ok? But the few times we’ve made eye contact I’ve waved and got nothing in return…so I think…am I crazy?! I see these people every day…they’re a part of my life (I know…corny!!) why couldn’t they wave back. So the days went on, the weeks went on, and so did the months. In the mean time I started taking a new route to his school (construction cleared up and I found out it was faster). Then yesterday I take my old route for some reason and there it was! I saw them BOTH walking together!!! The smile it put on my face was just priceless i’m sure.
I know it’s probably weird but that’s who I am. I just notice things. I usually check out the window before bed to see what’s going on in the neighborhood….it’s just who I am.
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by jcastles | Mar 18, 2013 | Family, Uncategorized
So just when things get pretty normal and easy going we add something to the mix! This time it was another dog!! But she’s absolutely wonderful! Lot’s of fur….but wonderful!
Meet Brandie!
She came from a Rescue and is so loving and sweet! She is great with everyone in the family and the little dog loves her bunches too!
Here’s the latest pic of our 5lb cutie (Tucker)!
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