Moving With Ease... kinda, sorta, in our own round about way

Well, we managed to make to our location here in Auburn, Ala-BAM-a safe and sound, and without mangling each other too much. Luckily, no duct tape was needed in order to maintain order with the younger kids; they seemed to handle everything with ease.

Dang! You should have seen Toni move the 20-shelf bookcase when we asked her.

Bawhahahahahaha!! Gotcha!

Our last day at our old house in Florida did not end without several "hiccups", of course. Somehow, "someone" managed to lose 5 hinges that were needed to hang the cabinets doors back up. That meant me going to Home Depot a half an hour before I was to leave in order to make it to the real estate office before they closed so I could pick up the keys to the house so we wouldn't be sleeping on the front lawn!

I was so exhausted at that point that I managed to buy the wrong hinges. That left the hubs going back to Home Depot about the time I was crossing the state line.

May I also mention that our cat, Chowder, got so freaked out about our moving that he bolted from the house at the precise time he was to be put in his cat carrier.

He's still there. I hear he's hanging with some white cat now as well. We have several neighbors watching out for him and feeding him until the hubs returns to get our belongings out of storage and bring him, and them, here so we can actually sit on something other than pillows when we eat, and possibly send Chowder to a cat therapist after all this.

I did want hardwood floors in our new house, right?

Oh, and the clencher is that all that meat and frozen stuff that the hubs just bought at the ultra-expensive Publix market, got LEFT in the freezer in our old house. The electricity was due to be shut on Friday and I was in a panic to get the twins to get their friends moms over there (since we had to leave the backdoor unlocked because Chowder figured how to get in the house via the fireplace damper), to get it out before it was spoiled. Luckily, our next door neighbors raided our fridge while we were gone, LOL!

Thanks again Christy! Bon Appetit!

I must admit after I said my goodbyes to my daughter's best friend, Emily, and her sister Margaret, I was in complete hysterics for an hour while driving Toni and Nia to Auburn. I really hated leaving my 4th daughter and her family behind. I could tell she didn't want us to leave because her second hug was a very long, very hard one. That is why we decided while on our second round of school shopping today, that we are intent and determined to convince Emily and her family to move here.

Get prepared Christy!!!

The house is great! The location perfect! We are 2-3 blocks from Toni and Nia's school, and Nadia and Julian.... well, they will be taking a bus or either getting up an hour early to walk it! See, there is only one middle school here and it's not next door like the rest.

I guess I'll be hearing those stories from the twins how they had to walk 30 whole minutes in the cold to school.

"Bawhahahahahaha" - I can hear my *depression-era* mother saying as she's rolling on the floor in hysterics.

I love the house - (didn't I say that already?); it's bigger, more space, hardwood floors, and a nice pool in the backyard that looks like it hasn't been cleaned in.... 6 months?

I can't complain though since I am writing this while overlooking my wooded, private backyard that has a wonderful workshed and huge greenhouse, which I plan to take full advantage of very soon. Just as soon as I send eviction notices to the wasps that are currently living in there.

You know what I'll be doing this week before I die of *whinitis* that the kids have contracted since they woke up Friday morning and wanted to go swimming in it. I can't tell what they've been going through since they have literally had NO TV, NO internet, and NO swimming source in...... 3 days.

Frankly, it's a good thing since they discovered what their imaginations were put there to do in the first place. EnterTAIN themselves!

Honestly, I thought I would dread the move back here since we left here to move to Gulf Breeze.

Long story, long, long, long, stupid story!

I have found that this is really a wonderful place that was taken totally for granted when we lived here. The kids are actually very happy to be back, and there is the most AWESOME organic health food store here that is HALF THE PRICE of Whole Foods.

I literally went in today after fighting the masses on the only tax-free shopping day Alabama had, and I kissed EarthFare's floor cause the place is SO stinking awesome!

CHRISTY!! You HAVE to see this place! You HAVE to move here just for the grocery store!

The move was good, the house is great, the amenities that have developed here in the two years since we've been gone are A++, and all-in-all, I can say it was a good decision to come back.

Even though all we have right now are our mattresses, clothes, and a few lounge chairs, plus the fridge full of yummies from Earthfare today; we are happy and excited about what lies ahead here.

Now excuse me while I got chase Toni and Nia down as they think it's a GOOD idea to throw diced peaches at one another.

Just to remind you if you don't already know, Auburn is the home of the Auburn Tigers football team. Just be prepared to hear about that too.

Go War Eagle!!

2009 ArtFest in Fairhope, Alabama on Sunday....

God I'm tired

Next, we decided to really wear the kids out by getting up early and going over to Fairhope, Alabama for their ArtFest. It's one of the top 100 art festivals in the country. Frankly, there is never a reason not to visit Fairhope in my humble opinion. It's one of the last few vestiges in small town living. The energy there oozes with such a creative spirit that my children instantly changed from cranky tired to a vibrant and giggly brood in the back of our van the moment the city limits sign is passed. Nadia went into a new "valley girl" character that I had never heard of before.

"Oooh, MAH GOOOD - it's like a totally narly parking spot daaad!", she blares out.

"Let's like park IN the water, so like no one will park near our car daaaad! Like we could just park at the top of the hill and like watch the car roll, and it would like just SPLASH and we would like be paaahhked dad and like no one can tow it away. Like don't you think that's a totally cool idea?" she humorously rambles.

Kurt is laughing so hard that he is just about to drive over that cliff and I have to yell him back to reality and make him stop staring at Nadia in the rear view mirror and start looking at the damn road - CAUSE IT'S A LITTLE ROAD! At least he doesn't have to pee like a Russian race horse afterwards cause we have a long freaking hike to the festival.

Anyway, WE'RE PARKED already and here are a few shots Nadia and I took at the fest. Now some of the art is what I thought was original and not "cookie cutter" art. You know, it's like the same stuff you see at every - single - art - show, that it makes you feel like most of these art festivals are like scenes from the movie Groundhog Day; they repeat over and over and over and....?

Most of the artists were pretty cool about my taking pics and putting them up here, but I must say that one lady was pretty snotty about the issue. I explained the whole long-winded vooden to the lady, like how I would take her business card and make sure credit would be put by her picture, and yada, yada, yada, yada!

She looks at me from a half groggy-assed cat nap and says "Noooooo - I don't THINK so."

SO! SHE"S not in this - BLAH! Even though she had really cool tribal masks made of colored glass that had been melted in a kiln. Never seen anything like it - and we won't see it here either! Bi-otch!

But here some pics of our day at the 2009 ArtFest in Fairhope, Alabama. I would have added more if Nadia hadn't put her damn thumb over the lense in half of them, or cut half the picture in two. Must have been the heat getting to her; or the fact that her dad refused to let her buy a snow cone (????) It was not a great day to get her started on photography lessons. I couldn't get any pictures of her because she spent most of the day sulking cause she didn't get that damn snow cone!

Okay, let's just get the basic entertainment segment out of the way. We always have the ballet dancers, and always will.

Nia politely named the head dancer "Parolina".

Now where the hell she got that name God only knows cause I have yet to see it in any Disney film.

And of course there is food, and more food,

and yet more food.....

But this is what my husbands thinks will feed a family of six!

No wonder Nadia is pissed off about the snow cones!

Toni is completely mesmerized by watching various artists at work. We had to sit a spell while she watched this guy.

GOT FISH!

This is art for that avid hunter in your family. Oh Uncle Geeeene!

This was some pretty cool stuff by a woman who designs come from her dreams. If you are interested in her stuff, or anyone elses's, just click on the image from here on down, and it will go right to their website.

Here is another artist doing something quite a bit different. These are drawings on scrap pieces of tin roof. Very simple and very raw. It speaks a thousand words without every making a sound.

Julian gets tired........

I put the boy to work. Well, at least Toni liked it!

THEN

Nia decides to have a meltdown because she can't walk around without shoes on!

NO, I am not on medication, I just did it with the iPhone somehow.
Though at this point I wish a had a glass of wine!


REALLY cool stuff this lady had!

This was a wonderful way of using old architecture and combining it with art and dried flowers. This is definitely the NEW country look.

I felt at this moment my feet needed to be in the art show

Though they didn't win any awards today, I still love my new shoes!

And just when you thought you couldn't find anything else to do with that antique silver you own.

These were a few metalworks designs that I really liked. These were some of the pics that Nadia stuck her thumb through, so please go check out their websites for more info.

AAAND.... (think of the movie Twister).

And, of course the picture that Julian had to take because he is always thinking of his mom....

So there you have it - our big day at the festival. Next week I have the County Fair on my calendar. Oh that will be a hoot'n nanny (I actually heard that word this weekend!). If I live through the kids Spring Break this week, then I'll get back to you on the fair.

It is now time for me to collapse in a looooong coma now.