We made it!! I was very worried about the getting here part, and it ended up not being a problem at all. The kids (and the dog!) did great on the plane. We got "home" about 1am, and the kids did a quick few laps around the house before settling in their new rooms. They both love their rooms, Matt did a wonderful job on them, and they were very happy so see some stuff that they recognized.
Matt had Tuesday off, so we did some grocery shopping, a little sight seeing and just general settling-in. Wednesday Matt went to work but we met him for lunch. When we got back the front door was open! I had put the chain on the door, but it was open to the chain and the door frame was detached from the wall like somebody had tried to muscle their way through the door! Scared me to death and Matt immediately came home from work to look through the house. He took the rest of the afternoon off for us to change the locks and reinforce the door frame. That was almost a week ago, and I am still looking around corners before I enter a room, and looking out into the dark in the backyard to see if I can see anybody. It's amazing how quickly your sense of safety can be taken away from you.
Have you ever seen the 1986 movie "The Money Pit" with Tom Hanks and Shelley Long?
If you haven't seen it, you should. It is hilarious. But doesn't seem so funny when you are living it. We thought our new house was in good shape when we bought it (granted we only saw it twice before we signed the papers), but it also got a clean bill of health from the inspector. We have found out differently since moving in. Things are just falling apart every time we turn around. Screws are missing in things, cabinets and windows don't work right, doors are falling off their hinges, etc, etc, etc. We have heard from the neighbors that the previous owners were not very good at taking care of their stuff, and unfortunately we are suffering the consequences of that.
The washer and dryer were supposedly in working order, but with my first load of laundry I noticed the washer smelled bad and the dryer screamed like a banshee. We decided to just replace them. Granted I get pretty new machines, but we were not counting on that expense.
On Saturday night we were just getting the kids in the bathtub when the water started running BLACK! YUCK!! About 15 minutes later we had NO water coming out of the faucets! Apparently nobody in the plumbing/well field works on the weekend, so we were up the creek for the weekend. We got to know our neighbors really well as they let us use their shower and fill our toilet-flushing buckets from their hose. Today the well guys came out and pulled out the pump. It was corroded and filled with gunk and not sucking water anymore.
$$$$ later we have a new pump and wiring, and running water again. Whew! The first thing I did when they pulled out of the driveway was run the dishwasher and then take a shower! It's still a little brown, so we aren't drinking it yet, but it's better than not having water at all!
Another horrible thing is the MOSQUITOES!! I have never seen so many in my life!! We have all been eaten alive! But it doesn't stop the kids from wanting to play outside (although it stops me!). You know it's bad when a church makes fun of the situation ... the marquee down the street says "Noah should have swatted those two mosquitoes!"
On the positive side the trees are beautiful! And they say it will get even better ...
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| (sorry for the power lines) |
CC's hair is ADORABLE! The humidity and her agree very well.
On Sunday, when we were unshowered and grumpy, the kids had started to pick up on the stress and so we needed to get out. We went to one of the many springs in town to fill our water bottles...
...And then to a park to run around, stretch our legs and just have fun.
Since we didn't have water to cook or wash dishes with, we ate dinner out and did some more walking around town.
We are very close to Vermont, so there are many Ben & Jerry's stores around...
Then the community park to chase the ducks...
Sunday night some sweet neighbors stopped by to introduce themselves and see if we needed anything, and a family from church did the same about 5 minutes later. We had dinner with them tonight, and K had the best time rough-housing with their 3 boys who are all around his age/size.
I have neglected to take any pictures of the hard-work that Matt put into the house. But I will hopefully do that soon if we are not too busy exploring and meeting new people!
Things can only go uphill from here. Right?!?
