I think we may actually get one car in the garage.  Maybe.  It was 2004 the last time that happened.  It will be amazing to be able to get into the car without getting wet when it's raining :)  I am getting ahead of myself.....we aren't quite there yet.

When we first moved in we noticed ants in the kitchen.  I could never find an actual trail, they would just appear everywhere.  An exterminator came out and it looked like things were a little better and then I noticed some ants in the dishwasher.  Yikes.  Out came the exterminator again.  That was about 2 or more weeks ago and things were ant free.  Then I noticed them on my laptop....in the living room.....ewww.  Chris checked it out and said there were some crumbs inside the keys.  That's odd....I would never eat near my computer (oops).  A day or so later I notice they are on the couch and Chris pulls up a cushion and they are in the cushions!!!!!!!!!  Now this is the couch that was in the basement where the boys sit.  They are not allowed to eat or drink on the couch but since they never do what they are told....I'm guessing there is something sweet that has dripped down into a crevice and the ants have found it.  We immediately put the couch in the garage.  I don't do ants....or any other bug.  In the end...we figured out that they are coming up out of little spaces between the boards in the wood floor.  The exterminator, who is now a family friend (I may even friend him on facebook...we're buds)  because he is here all the time, came out again.  He sprayed some more and gave me some gel to leave out to kill these evil insects.  I have all of the furniture cleared out of the living room and we are mostly hanging out upstairs now.  Yes, I'm that crazy when it comes to bugs.  I may move back downstairs tomorrow.  Maybe...we will see.

I can't believe I just wrote a short story about ants.  If you are still awake....we had more happen than just an ant infestation this month.

We drove up to Johnson City to leave Mason with Aunt Tammy and Nana.  We had not been up there in a year and it was so good to see everyone.  We got up very early the next morning and headed to Maryville to leave for the mission trip in Greenville, SC.  It was great to see everyone and it was Tucker's first time on a youth trip or doing any kind of mission trip.  Some of their friends who they thought were going ended up not going and the boys were not happy that I was making them go anyway.  After all, it was not really supposed to be about hanging out with their friends.  It was supposed to be about serving others.

We stayed in the dorms at North Greeneville University.  That area of the country is absolutely beautiful and the weather was great the whole week.  I was chaperoning the girls so I didn't really see too much of the boys except at meals and during the worship service.  In my group we went and held VBS at a spanish church.  It was amazing to see the youth teaching all of the children about Jesus.
Shane's group went to an inner city apt complex to hold VBS.   Shane has gone on several mission trips so he is an old pro by now.
Tucker's group went to a rec center to play games and hang out with inner city kids.   According to Tucker they were a pretty wild group.  I don't think he expected the little ones to use the F word so freely.  Kind of an eye opening experience for him as you can imagine.
We were in our mission groups from 10 am to 3:20 everyday and most of the other time we were in bible study or worship....but we all did get to have a little time to just hang out and have fun.
It was a really cool experience and I hope we get to go again next year!

 On the way up to South Carolina

 I think Shane is okay that he is the only older boy on the trip.  What do you think?

 Shane and Hannah....I have been trying to arrange a marriage for years.

 Tucker, Su Mei, and Shane

 Awwww....aren't we sweet?

 Su Mei and Shane

 Shane has been friends with these girls since first grade....and now they are all seniors.

 Hannah and Shane on the way home.

 The gang right before we left.  We are pretty sure Shane's phone is laying on the ground somewhere around there.....still.  Glad we have insurance.

 Sad faces

Silly faces

We got back to Maryville and drove straight back up to Johnson City because we missed Mason!  Okay....I really, really missed Mason.  Now... his brothers claim they didn't but I know better.  Mason was just fine without us.  I'm not sure he had time to miss us, he was busy running to the library, going to see movies, watching his cousins play softball.  Hard life.  Mason got to go with Aunt Tammy and Uncle Rick to a 50 mile race in West Virginia.  He thought he was pretty cool!  

Uncle Barry found a great deal for us on a used car for Shane while we were there.  Shane had to drive it all the way home from Johnson City, TN to Huntsville.  That is 5 hours!  About 4.5 hours longer than he has ever driven by himself.  Tucker rode with him the whole way, which I am sure he thought was too cool, and they followed me.  It was uneventful and we made it home to see Chris who was a little bored after a week home by himself.

I am having a horrible time finding doctors for all of us.  The only pediatricans who are taking patients are female and I think boys should see male doctors.  It is just hard to pick doctors when I don't have any references.  I have to do that to get them registered for school so I better hurry up!

Mason and I have big plans to go check out Cars 2 tomorrow.  I hope it's as good as the first!

Sweet Home Alabama

We did it!  For a couple of weeks there I wasn't sure I was going to make it out with my sanity.  I think my hair is coming out from stress (really!).  Literally, I'm a little worried about my hair.
I was really nervous about the movers.  I have heard all kinds of stories about them taking forever and taking 2 hours for lunch.  Our movers never stopped moving!  They packed and loaded the truck in one day, it took 11 hours, and they didn't even stop for lunch.  We grabbed some Subway for them and they all grabbed a sandwich and kept moving.  We sat down all day and were exhausted from just watching them. They were joking around with us and it was a good day. The head mover was a smart aleck and I love sarcasm, so we got along very well.

I did not think they would get all of that stuff on the truck.  At the end they had to pull out this "shelf" from the bottom of the truck and built a tower of our stuff on the outside.

We stayed at the house until about 10 pm and cleaned and cleaned.  Tucker spent the night with his BFF Austin in Florida and went to school the next day.  We figured since there were special circumstances that we would give in this time.  The rest of us went to stay at the Holiday Inn for the night.  We got up and the boys went to school and I went to work.  It was the last day of preschool so I felt like I needed to be there that day.  Chris got the big job of finishing the cleaning.  He did a great job...that place was spotless.  A whole lot cleaner than when we moved in!
Tucker got home from school.....with about seven 13 year old boys coming over to say "bye."  Our neighbors the Swails came to say goodbye to us:(  Shane's friend Ashley brought him home from school.  Then we drove off from the place that holds way more bad memories than it does good memories.  Alleluia!
We spent the night at Chris' apartment and got to the new house about 8 a.m.  Ahhhh....we are here!

 Hanging out while the movers do all of the work

 Mason played legos around the dolly

Here it is!

Now the fun begins....unpacking.  Shane transfered with Publix and called them as soon as we got here.  We arrived in Alabama Friday night and Shane started work at 7 a.m. on Sunday morning.  He didn't waste any time getting to work.  The boys got all of their rooms done the first day.  Shane and Mason did all of their rooms by themselves.  Tucker had to be "encouraged" to do his ;)  

Mason has already made friends.  There are kids his age all over the street.  Shane is working with other kids his age that go to the same school and I think that will help him.  We are just waiting for Tucker to put the PS3 down for 5 minutes and go outside!  I've even already made a friend...I'm sure it is because of my winning personality.  Which, by the way, is completely different from Charlie Sheen's "winning" personality.

Chris and Tucker went back to Florida for a deep sea fishing trip with Chris' TN friends.  Shane was invited but didn't want to go :(  Tucker caught the first fish and also the 2nd biggest fish of the day.  He caught 7 Red Snappers.  Chris only caught 4.  They got to see a 6 foot shark up close!  Very cool for Tuck's first trip.  

He is so proud.  We grilled them and ate them last night.  They were so good but Tucker wouldn't eat them.  Pickiest eater ever!

Shane has his ACT on Saturday....we pray he does well the first time!  We are taking Mason to JC to stay with Aunt Tammy while Shane, Tucker and I go on a mission trip with our church in TN.  Shane has done this several years but Tucker and I have never done it and are really excited!  We will be back home the next week and the Kelly's might be coming to stay with us.  Yay!  There will actually be room for visitors in this house!