Our Apartmernt

So Now that the summer is almost over and we will coming home in a few weeks, I thought it was finally time to show you all a video of our cute little apartment. hahaha

So a word of warning....it is very messy. and the next day i scoured it! And now it is spotless....even a few days later. I debated redoing the video but thought not to since this is life. And really all I was trying to do was give you all an idea of where we have been living this summer.

That being said....here is our apartment...................

And just so you can get an even better idea of what it looks like here is the floor plan..........
It is the biggest apartment they have. But still smaller than my house....but not by much. So we have been very comfortable this summer. I am very grateful for that. It is almost 1400 sq feet. And the rent on this one is between $1710- $2035 A MONTH! WOW! Smaller than my house (and probably most of yours) with a significantly larger payment! So glad that I don't have to pay it!!!

About the girls here...

So first let me say I have been hard at work editing pictures so that I can post them soon for you all to see. Now I want to tell you a little bit about some of the other APX wives I have met here.

Jennifer- Jenny & Zach are the ones that got us out here in the first place. They live in Coolidge as well. So I haven't really met her while out here...but I had to list her as well. Jenny has a little girl- Alli- about Ephriam's age. They play well together. And Addie loves playing with Alli as well.
Kacie- Is one of the managers wives. She is really sweet. She came and picked us up from the airport when we arrived and I REALLY appreciated it! She has a little boy the same age as Ephriam. His name is Braxton. Eph & Brax don't really play well together. But Addie LOVES him! She calls him "big Braxton" (you'll find out why in a minute) And she is expecting her second child in January 09. And even though she doesn't feel her best she still tries hard to coordinate activities for all of the wives to do together!
Stacy- Is the other managers wife. Kacie & Stacy are sisters-in-law. Stacy doesn't have any children. But she is still one of Addie's very favorite people. Why? Because she has a puppy- Max. Max is a westie and the most adorable. Addie loves to call Stacy on the phone to see if she can take Max for a walk. Stacy is so patient and loving towards Addie! She is sooo accomidating and usually lets Addie walk Max if she's not busy! A couple weeks ago some of the wives went to a fun park. Stacy asked us to watch Max for the day. Addie was in heaven! Another word about sisters-in-law: from this family there are 4 siblings and a few cousins...all out here together. HOW FUN!
Vicki- I didn't meet Vicki until I had been here for over a month. I met her by responding to a text she sent out about needing a shirt hemmed. Vicki is the head tech's wife. She is also the Office Assistant. She works full time. So unlike a lot of the other wives she doesn't get to do nothing all day. Vicki stay in the office all day, every day and so if she wants to have friends they need to come to her. This is what we do....until the kids get restless and I need to go. But she is so kind to them and as a mother (and friend) I appreciate it! She is very giving and sharing and LOVES to do things for others.
Hailee- When Ammon first got here they had to give our apartment to another family so Ammon had to stay with another guy who was still waiting for his family as well- Chris is Hailee's husband. So I automatically loved them because of what Ammon told me about Chris. Plus I had already met Chris when we went to Idaho for Ammon's training. Hailee is soo cute! She reminds me of my sister, Ginny's, friend Macy. Just cute and always happy! She has a son, Braxon, that is about 8 months old. Addie calls him "little Braxton". guess she just cant hear the difference in those names.
Melissa- has 2 boys. Her older boy is 3 and LOVES Addie!!! Luke cries every time Addie has to leave. A few weeks ago Melissa went to visit her family and every day Addie would ask if Luke was back yet. She misses her friends and cousins soooo much and there are not many children for her to play with here. They were gone for 2 weeks and she asked about Luke EVERY day! Melissa is always smiling. She has such a great smile. And she doesn't hold it against me if I forget to call her so the kids can play!!!
Megan- & Melissa are also sisters-in-law. I am envious of the girls who have family out here. Megan works at the mall....just to pass the time. (she has no children) The first time I saw her I kept staring at her. She probably thought I was crazy or something. But I was trying to figure out who she was. I thought she might be my sister-in-law, Calli's, sister Lisa. She looks SOOOO much like her. Megan is also one of Addie's favorites. She is so kind and sweet...not just to me but to my children as well. But now Addie has a new reason to love Megan......she just got a puppy on Sunday. So all I have heard for the last 2 days is "can you call Megan and see if we can come over now?"
Francine- is one of the tech wives as well. There aren't too many of those. Most of the techs are single guys. Francine has 4 children. I just met her recently. She actually had children that are Addie's age. She loves to play with them. Even the 10 yr old! We have only played with them a couple times though. They are also from AZ. Francine I don't know very well yet. But she is soooo nice. This is the family that got our apartment at the beginning of the season.
Lindsay- aslo works in the office. And is also a favorite of Addie's because she ALSO has a dog. And she is so cute. So I met her by going to the office to visit Vicki. At first I thought she probably hated me because Vicki and I would sit and visit the whole time she was there working. Come to find out that is part of the reason she is there- so Vicki can have a break! So it was not a problem at all. Lindsay is a huge sytycd fan too. She gets off work after it starts. So she tivo's it and we go over and watch after she gets off work. And yesterday I found out that she also LOVES "Calamity Jane" and Doris Day! I always knew she was a kindred spirit!
Sarah- is also a rather recent acquaintance. I wrote a post about calling her, blah, blah, blah. Well it seems we just enjoy each other's company. I have come to think that Sarah is just a more liberal me. We have so much fun together. And we don't do anything! We work out together- which is good for me because hopefully it will help me get in the habit so I can keep it up when I come home. And after we go swimming...almost daily. So the kids are getting dark & so am I! And she loves my kids. That is a big plus in any friend! Especially those without children. Her husband in Ukrainian and also speaks Russian- which is great for Ammon! They are also a tech family.

Well- there are A LOT more and I could probably say a bit about each one of them. But these are the girls I know the best. It has been an adventure getting to know new people. Especially since I don't do well in these kind of settings. I have a really hard time getting to know people. But once I know them you'll have a hard time getting me to shut up! Some of their blogs are on my side bar and you can see who they are too. Under APX friends. Such a fun group to be with. And not a ton of drama....which I LOVE! And of course it's just like I thought....... I'm, by far, the oldest! But that doesn't mean it has to be a negative thing!!! (though Sarah is creeping up there! haha)

WE'RE ONLINE!!!!

YAHOO!!!!!! Yes- that is right.......I am sitting in my own home, at my own computer, online! I am soo excited! Now maybe I can get around to updating you all on some of the stuff going on here. But first let me say that it is 8:30pm- my children are both asleep, my home is not a TOTAL disaster, and I am happy.

I have finally made some friends here and couldn't be having more fun. We have gone and seen a few things. We are expecting visitors in a couple weeks- my sister Randi & her whole fam. And (though not entirely fun) Ephriam has learned how to climb out of his bed! :( Today was the first time this has been a bit of a challenge though. He realized he could do it repeatedly. I put him back in bed 11 times! Little stinker! However, in a way, it is still happy. It means I have an intelligent, healthy baby boy...that is growing up way too fast. And you have to be thankful for healthy children that are progressing at a normal rate. Addie has made more friends than I have- mostly with all of the ladies here. Anyone who has a dog is automatically her best friend. You would think my children had never seen a dog before the way they react to all the dogs they see here. And one of my new friends, Megan, just got a new puppy yesterday. So what did I hear all day today- "Mom, can you call Megan if we can come over!?" Funny girl.

Yesterday we drove 2 hours to go see the Luray Caverns. They were really neat...and big. I took a ton of pics. That will also be posted later. I think that what I am going to do is post all of the pics to my pic blog "in a snap". Since I have so many to catch up on then I think that will be easier. SO you will have to look for those. There is a link on my side bar. But there are no new pics there yet......so hold on for a couple days. And if you want a glimps of some of the fun girls/ friends I have been hanging out with here in VA look on my side bar under "APX Friends".

Better get going. I have gotten in the habit of having no internet. And so I have not even spent that much time on the computer. A bad habit I had before I left. I am determined NOT to let this contraption rule my life again. SO- while I am sooooo excited to have the internet, & will still post as often as possible, and am sooo glad that I can know what's going on in my world again, I will NOT spend as much time doing it.

YAY YAY! glad to be here again! Keep looking for more fun stuff!

Back so soon?

YES!!!! I made it to another computer. So I am here. Just living life...still. Nothing too exciting. Spent 3 hours at the pool yesterday. That was great. Made a new friend. Sarah, and her Ukrainian husband, just transfered here from another office. She is very nice. And I was actually the one that initiated it!!!! I stepped out of my comfort zone and called her to meet her. I was so proud of myself. So we met yesterday. We ended up visiting for like 4 or so hours. It's ok though. Becasue it's not like I have anything else to do. I guess that's one of the good things about being out here. There is LOTS of time to visit. And any of you that know me well know that I CAN VISIT! I LOVE to talk. so it was fun!

That's about all I got for now!

HELLLOOOOOOOO......

Well Ammon didn't have a meeting this morning. So he has the kids at the playground. I am at the clubhouse catching up on stuff. This is the first time I have been on a computer with internet since the last post. I am finding that YES life does go on without the internet. But slowly. We are having fun....mostly. It has been an adjustment for me. But I am learning to cope. Now that it is getting hotter and the pool is open.....I am getting just as dark as my children! :) Only they are getting darker too. Guess I'll never catch up with them. Oh well. It was never my life's ambition anyway. We have gone and done a few things. But not much. Usually during the week we choose a place that we will go to on Sunday after church. We have fun. Mostly becasue we are spending family time...not because of where we go. I hope you all are doing well. We may not have internet at all this summer. This is something I have had to resign myself to. So if not I will for sure tell all about what happened when we get home. I am keep a VERY detailed journal all about it. Even my not so good days. :) Hope to get back to a computer soon. But if not Have a great summer!!!

Real Quick......

just wanted to let you all know that we are here. all is going pretty well. apartment is nice. feeling at home. i'm at the library doing this. don't have internet at our house yet, but hope to any day. will post more when we get it. trying to wrestle kids and keep them qiet while typing is hard.... more to come soon......hopefully.