Biding Our Time -or- Life with the Sullivans

We really shouldn't complain about being delayed repeatedly in closing on our new house. Living here again has been pretty nice. A place where children and animals thrive on a diet of fresh air, open space, chores and organic/whole food. My kids are pretty happy. So are Jupiter and Pluto. Sorry for so many pictures, but here you go.

That's Noble dashing through frame (he always seems to be the streak in my photos).

The ever-present shot glasses. Used to administer daily doses of Mom's elixir of health.

I Think Child-Birth is The Only Comparison for This

I'm physically and emotionally spent
We've been going full out for 2 solid days, finishing up the move-out. It's been tiring enough for the past 3 weeks...but this push to the end has been really draining. My mom worked side by side with us for 8 hours today. (Mom, I want to be like you some day. You can still work circles around anyone I know.) I couldn't stop sobbing as we looked around at the house before locking up. So many good times at that little house...

We're probably still a week out on the new house. (Red tape = the ENEMY.) Actually though, staying at Mom's and Dad's little slice of heaven here in SoJo for a week seems like a well earned reprieve: company in the evenings while Mike's at work, being here when Holly and the kids return from Mexico (how fun is that for the cousins to live in the same house for a few days just as they're reunited), no home owner's responsibilities (momentarily), Jessie won't need to be driven to the barn... I can feel my nerves unwinding now.

Today also happens to be little Grace's 8th Birthday. We didn't have time to do much with all that was going on. She requested sushi for lunch (her favorite) - so I managed to drop some off to her at school. We had dinner at Mike's parents' tonight where we ate pigs-in-a-blanket (her other favorite) salad & tapioca pudding with a birthday candle in it. Grace is everything tender and sweet. We love her so much.

The Modern Move

This is how it's done...

There's been so much going on around here we've hardly had time to breath. We closed on our old house Friday - and the clock began ticking for us to be out. Also Friday we had the Pods delivered. Saturday bright and early a crowd of teenagers from the neighborhood showed up and started loading everything in sight, literally. They loaded a whole pile of stuff intended for the D.I. and the basement door we'd taken off it's hinges to make bringing stuff upstairs easier. We were grateful for their enthusiasm, but had to go digging through the Pods afterward to retrieve and repack. Next came the big guns from the Elders' Quorum. Originally my plan had been to load a few of the heavier furniture items along with all the boxes on Saturday...and take our time with the rest since we have until Wednesday AM to be out. But, since the boxes were all loaded, the men got to work loading ALL our furniture. 

Mike's Mom watched Sully all day, and his Dad & my parents helped load. Also, Bendy and Roy (as ever) were front and center.

The lonely remnants of our life here.

Jessie said it doesn't feel like home anymore. I think mostly because it's so uncomfortable: no chairs to sit in, food choices are slim as we try to clear it all out, no beds, living out of duffel bags and boxes. Wish us luck this week - there are still a million things to do. And THANKS everyone for the help.

It's weird to see the sum of your material life stuffed into a couple of Pods on the driveway.

Another Feather for Their Cap

Today National Geographic published their press release on the Chiapas project (link below):

Pyramid Tomb Found: Sign of a Civilization's Birth?

I'm seriously giddy with excitement for Holly and Bruce. (You guys deserve all the best.)

Here are Bruce's photos for National Geographic (you've got to see them).

Hitting The Archaeological Big-Time

Mike in front of the pyramid at the Chiapa de Corzo site earlier this year. The grid marks the intended excavation for this season.

Bruce (kneeling at left) supervising the excavation.

My brother, Casey, put it aptly last night as we all gathered around the speaker phone at my Mom's, listening intently for the latest news from my sister and brother-in-law in Mexico: "We're all living vicariously through you guys." We listen as Bruce describes tombs and offerings, precious artifacts, the delicacies and dangers of international archaeological politics...and then we return to our Sunday pot roast, feeling just a little bit boring.

My sister will be the FIRST in line to tell you it ain't at all glamourous. In fact she's anxiously counting down the days till she can board that plane home with our little niece and nephew (Bruce will stay another month or so finishing lab work). But today SHE might even categorize as a payday - long in coming.  The New York Times featured an article today about Bruce and the site in Chiapa de Corzo from an interview they did with him several weeks ago. We're looking for National Geogrphic's write up in their Latin America newsletter soon. There have been so many exciting discoveries recently that they've had to keep under wraps because of their agreement with National Geographic. But finally Bruce is receiving some of the recognition that has never come easily to them. He's been doing important work down there for a couple of years, "affiliated" with BYU, but without an actual job.
I know. Don't get me started. Only in academia...

Anyway, check it out. Also, if you read Spanish & you're interested, you can look at these press releases from the Mexican archaeological institute, INAH and the Mexican noticias.

Saying Goodbyes

We've spent the last couple of days getting together with friends from the neighborhood to have our closure. We are going to miss everyone.
The kids had a last hurrah with their buddies Friday night / Saturday AM. Thanks to Todd & Kim for hosting the boys (& Dads) - I know it must have been a riot. Saturday evening the Forsythes (generously) had  a crowd over to their place for a going-away BBQ (Thank you both!). We really enjoyed this last chance to hang out with everyone before we're no longer part of the furniture around here. (By the way, thanks Kirsten for taking most of the pictures for me.) After the BBQ we got out with our good friends Stein & Michele for a movie. Always great.

When I think about the fact that we're only moving a few miles away, I wonder if our sad goodbyes are overkill. But then things are never really the same when you leave the neighborhood. You know how it goes.

I thought this mob of kids would break this poor hammock (or the tree)...

...but the rope swing was almost as popular.

Only half a dozen or so were injured (ha ha ha)

As a side note, Mike went to mow the lawn at the NEW house Saturday, before he mowed our lawn here. A fundamental shift in focus. It's really happening.

Baby Brother

Basic Training - U.S. Army - Fort Benning, Georgia

I got this from my mom this morning. We haven't really heard from him in the week since he reported. He's not bad looking without hair. We think about him a lot.

We love you, Sean.

The House AGAIN (if you're sick of hearing about it I'll understand)

I know it might be boring to hear about the house again. (It's wearing a little bit thin for me too.) Believe it or not, there are other things happening in our lives. But, here are a few more photos taken today while we were there with the flooring guy getting measurements. Mike took about a million pictures, playing it safe since this story surfaced in the news. We're most likely looking at the 19th for our close dates.

Looking down the long narrow back yard.

We couldn't figure this out at all... is it a landing strip?  Actually, the word on the street is that there's a high pressure aquaduct behind that fence. That's not dangerous, right?

Why is it that EVERY house we looked at had the obligatory Disney Princess bedroom? I have girls and I still don't understand. It will soon be a thing of the past...along with that very PINK carpet.

Double shower heads just wasn't enough... (the third is for...?)

The view from the shower...(Go ahead, we've been laughing too.  It IS humorous that the best view, the one with the temple, is from the bathroom.)

Basement family room.They went nuts with that mustardy color. EVERYTHING in the basement is painted that color. Except...

the horrible home theater room painted in vampire red and black.

Stair well to the basement.

The rameumptom (i.e. the deck to no where) - missing about 2 feet of railing, with a cement slab 15 feet below. Death trap. Top of the priority list of fixes.

Here's a better picture of the house from the street.

The House Unveiled

OK. For those who've asked (and those who haven't), here are some quick snaps I took of the house while we were there this afternoon. Not the greatest quality (I was being bombarded with excited questions from the kids: "Mom!!!! Mom!!!!! Mom!!!!").

This picture taken from the driveway - not the best angle.

One of the giant boulder walls in the yard...Noble's dream.

Looking into the great room from the kitchen

The Kitchen

Sorry I didn't take more photos (like I said I was kind of preoccupied). But this will give you an idea. Some specs: 3376 sq. feet, 5 beds (one will be used as a library/office), 3 1/2 baths (one is totally shoddy - will need work), 0.4 acres (large, beautifully landscaped, but kind of a strange lot configuration), 3 car garage (which will be nice since there's no shed for tools & stuff), basement family room, basement kitchen (which was totally stripped by the previous owners) & a weird home theater room that I want to take a sledge hammer to. So - there you go. A quick summary of the house.

The Suspense Has Ended

The way I spend my days...packing up.

We received word today that we were the high bid on that house we were sweating about. (!!) We're looking into next week, possibly the week after that, for our big move. Check one thing off our list. Now we have a place to go.
Even though we're only mid-way through the moving process - we have a lot of people to thank for helping us out. It means a lot to us. Even my little brother, Sean, who left last week for basic training in the Army, is helping us out long distance. He's lending us his truck while Mike's is in the shop.

The garage converted into a storage unit.

You Never Count Your Money When You're Sittin' At The Table...

In the past several weeks we've had an education in the high stakes world of buying/selling in real estate. More than once I've felt like I was in a poker game calling out my opponent's bluff, making my own blind bets. Tomorrow we will find out if our biggest gamble will pay off. The bidding ends tonight on the house that sits at the top of our list. We just had our realtor up our bid... because we're not the cool customers we wish we were. The process of bidding on foreclosed properties is harrowing. We have no idea what the other bids are - or even if there ARE other bids. So, there's a possibility we're just bidding against ourselves, ratcheting up the stakes for no reason.

It's a big psychological game.

I'm not so good at psychological games. If you put me on Survivor Island, I'd walk off (or swim, as the case may be) before anyone had a chance to vote me off.