I have been trying to change up this blog, but thought that it'd be better to start a new one. Our new blog: http://thehaddockhomestead.blogspot.com
I think it should be quite amusing to watch our new adventures as "country folk"!
Showing posts with label Missouri. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Missouri. Show all posts
Monday, February 27, 2012
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Packing, Packing, Packing... and Saying Goodbye
The past week or so has been devoted to packing up all our needed possessions. I have been sorting through our stuff, deciding what goes with us and what needs to find a new owner. Not fun. It is hard and horrible, but we simply do not need so much. My mom has so much stuff there already! I could not feel at ease with a cluttered "new" place. So tomorrow is an action-packed day devoted to packing up my kitchen. Ugh!
I am so sick of boxes!!!
Last night was a "farewell party" for our family. I thought it was very sweet that someone (Sharon Roundy) would be willing to plan it for us. I have to admit it was a little embarrassing to have all the focus on our family, but my kids could not have been happier. We've truly loved this Ward!
We have been here for nearly 8 years and our kids have grown up here. When we moved in this house, Dallin was 5, Aubree was almost 3, and Zoe was almost 1. Cole and Emma came later. We have seen our own children grow up beside all their buddies, kids we will always adore. Through Primary, Scouts, Elders Quorum, and Young Mens, Dan and I have been able to get to know the wonderful adults and youth here and learn so much! We will miss them all!
Today was the last day of church here for the kids and I. I was sad to say goodbye, but glad that I have a reason to visit from time to time. When I am in Texas, I'll just have to stop by!
We visited my dad's after church today. It felt so weird to be moving so far away form dad, Luz, and my little sister, Anjolie. I felt awful when we pulled away from their house. My sis looked so sad! She loves the kids and I so much! I hope she has a chance to visit us on our farm!
So for tonight I am trying to stay positive about the days ahead of me. I have a feeling that I will not be so positive in the morning. Packing is in my future!
I am so sick of boxes!!!
Last night was a "farewell party" for our family. I thought it was very sweet that someone (Sharon Roundy) would be willing to plan it for us. I have to admit it was a little embarrassing to have all the focus on our family, but my kids could not have been happier. We've truly loved this Ward!
We have been here for nearly 8 years and our kids have grown up here. When we moved in this house, Dallin was 5, Aubree was almost 3, and Zoe was almost 1. Cole and Emma came later. We have seen our own children grow up beside all their buddies, kids we will always adore. Through Primary, Scouts, Elders Quorum, and Young Mens, Dan and I have been able to get to know the wonderful adults and youth here and learn so much! We will miss them all!
Today was the last day of church here for the kids and I. I was sad to say goodbye, but glad that I have a reason to visit from time to time. When I am in Texas, I'll just have to stop by!
We visited my dad's after church today. It felt so weird to be moving so far away form dad, Luz, and my little sister, Anjolie. I felt awful when we pulled away from their house. My sis looked so sad! She loves the kids and I so much! I hope she has a chance to visit us on our farm!
So for tonight I am trying to stay positive about the days ahead of me. I have a feeling that I will not be so positive in the morning. Packing is in my future!
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
A Missourian Holiday
Just thought I'd give an update on our holiday travels and such. We left for Missouri on Friday, Dec 23rd and returned home on Sunday, Jan 1st. The actual loading of the moving truck was a total pain in the rump with a moving truck rental reservation getting screwed up by the nearest rental facility. That set us back a good 5 hours. But we got there despite the fiasco.
We arrived (Mom and I, driving in separate vehicles) close to midnight. There was not any snow, a blessing in disguise. I must admit my first few hours in the house were not happy ones. It was cold. And ugly. And I was so super tired. And we brought our pup, which annoyed me. Not fun.
The next morning was cold and we had a truck full of stuff to be unloaded. Our odd new neighbor, JR, helped us unload, allowing us to be fully unloaded by lunchtime.
As the day wore on, we ventured outside to view the property and that made the "what did we do!" feelings go away. A bit. I had been feeling overwhelmed by the amount of updating needed (floors, walls, etc). And the dirtiness. And all the stuff to be unpacked. And the FLIES. There were so many, many FLIES. Thousands of them. Buzzing around everywhere. GROSS! But looking around at the beautiful property and thinking of the possibilities made it bearable. Ish...
That was Christmas Eve. Christmas day arrived with a Charlie Brown Christmas Tree, filled stockings, and a few presents under the tree. The kids were delighted that Santa found us there. But I was sad that their Christmas presents were few and that awesome new sled that Grams bought each child went unused. We were fortunate that a kindly new neighbor came by with a Smoked Turkey (home raised and home smoked, cool!) that made our Christmas dinner a delight. Yum. Church was great. The Branch is super friendly and excited to have us.
The rest of our visit was a lot of unpacking, cleaning and organizing, sending kids outside, cleaning up doggie "messes", cleaning up FLIES... It was chaotic, but fun. FYI, if you are potty-training a pup, don't go on vacation IN THE CAR to a cold place. For some strange reason, the pup will choose the carpet inside to the frozen grass outside. And then you are stuck re-training when you get home. Weird.
We visited an animal auction (Dan went to 2), checked out the local area, learned about Pamida stores (a mating of a Dollar General and a Wal-Mart, LOL), saw a lot of Amish people, got to know JR a little too well, and made friends with the horses down the street. And the kids had their first "this is how you play outside" and "this is how you climb trees" lessons. Sad, but true.
The flies, the FLIES, THE FLIES! Seriously Mom and I were near a breakdown from those nasty suckers! In every room. Buzzing near your head. Going down your shirt... Thank heavens a nice thorough bug fogging of the entire house has ridden mom of these buggers. For now...
Now we are home. I miss the place a bit, surprisingly. LOL. I am currently able to shop anywhere I wish within minutes (its an HOUR to Target from Gentry!), but the desire isn't there. I was very glad to be home, though. Walking into my home was such a delight. My floors were so FANCY (compared to old nasty linoleum and crusty shag carpeting)! And my own BED! FANCY!!!
I am missing my Dallin really badly. I am setting up a Skype account, so I can see him each day. Hopefully that'll help. I have to tell myself it isn't gonna be too long. I may be venturing up with Emma in a month or so for a visit.
We arrived (Mom and I, driving in separate vehicles) close to midnight. There was not any snow, a blessing in disguise. I must admit my first few hours in the house were not happy ones. It was cold. And ugly. And I was so super tired. And we brought our pup, which annoyed me. Not fun.
The next morning was cold and we had a truck full of stuff to be unloaded. Our odd new neighbor, JR, helped us unload, allowing us to be fully unloaded by lunchtime.
As the day wore on, we ventured outside to view the property and that made the "what did we do!" feelings go away. A bit. I had been feeling overwhelmed by the amount of updating needed (floors, walls, etc). And the dirtiness. And all the stuff to be unpacked. And the FLIES. There were so many, many FLIES. Thousands of them. Buzzing around everywhere. GROSS! But looking around at the beautiful property and thinking of the possibilities made it bearable. Ish...
That was Christmas Eve. Christmas day arrived with a Charlie Brown Christmas Tree, filled stockings, and a few presents under the tree. The kids were delighted that Santa found us there. But I was sad that their Christmas presents were few and that awesome new sled that Grams bought each child went unused. We were fortunate that a kindly new neighbor came by with a Smoked Turkey (home raised and home smoked, cool!) that made our Christmas dinner a delight. Yum. Church was great. The Branch is super friendly and excited to have us.
The rest of our visit was a lot of unpacking, cleaning and organizing, sending kids outside, cleaning up doggie "messes", cleaning up FLIES... It was chaotic, but fun. FYI, if you are potty-training a pup, don't go on vacation IN THE CAR to a cold place. For some strange reason, the pup will choose the carpet inside to the frozen grass outside. And then you are stuck re-training when you get home. Weird.
We visited an animal auction (Dan went to 2), checked out the local area, learned about Pamida stores (a mating of a Dollar General and a Wal-Mart, LOL), saw a lot of Amish people, got to know JR a little too well, and made friends with the horses down the street. And the kids had their first "this is how you play outside" and "this is how you climb trees" lessons. Sad, but true.
The flies, the FLIES, THE FLIES! Seriously Mom and I were near a breakdown from those nasty suckers! In every room. Buzzing near your head. Going down your shirt... Thank heavens a nice thorough bug fogging of the entire house has ridden mom of these buggers. For now...
Now we are home. I miss the place a bit, surprisingly. LOL. I am currently able to shop anywhere I wish within minutes (its an HOUR to Target from Gentry!), but the desire isn't there. I was very glad to be home, though. Walking into my home was such a delight. My floors were so FANCY (compared to old nasty linoleum and crusty shag carpeting)! And my own BED! FANCY!!!
I am missing my Dallin really badly. I am setting up a Skype account, so I can see him each day. Hopefully that'll help. I have to tell myself it isn't gonna be too long. I may be venturing up with Emma in a month or so for a visit.
Monday, December 19, 2011
Gonna miss my Dallin...
I am supposed to be packing right now... We are getting ready for a trip to Missouri. mom is moving up this week, so we are going with her to help out AND have a little vacation in the snow. I am sad because we decided that Grammie cannot stay there alone. We are leaving Dallin there to keep her company.
I have mixed feelings...
I know he'll be fine and so will we. And I am glad that he is so excited about starting school up there. He has had a hard time in school here with bullying. We are hoping that a move to the country will help that. A little extra time with Grammie alone would probably be beneficial for him, as well. She is good with him.
But, he's my (very large) baby. And I will hate being away from him.
For now I am trying to find him some warm clothes and pack up his belongings. I still need to get a warm coat, boots, and other things together. Not fun. But necessary.
Wish me luck!
I have mixed feelings...
I know he'll be fine and so will we. And I am glad that he is so excited about starting school up there. He has had a hard time in school here with bullying. We are hoping that a move to the country will help that. A little extra time with Grammie alone would probably be beneficial for him, as well. She is good with him.
But, he's my (very large) baby. And I will hate being away from him.
For now I am trying to find him some warm clothes and pack up his belongings. I still need to get a warm coat, boots, and other things together. Not fun. But necessary.
Wish me luck!
Monday, December 5, 2011
Moving to Missouri...
Dan's company was planning a big move to Phoenix, AZ next summer and we were supposed to follow. But we had doubts. We had been wanting a farm, a lush and green farm, for so long. Moving to AZ seemed too far from what we wanted. So we bought a 40 acre farm in rural NW Missouri. Naturally. (Mom was in on it, too.)
We (Mom, Dan, 3 kids--2 stayed at Grandpa Segovia's--, and I) drove throughout western Missouri for a "trip" in October. Basically we just wanted to look at some of the properties we had been looking at online. One particular property caught all our eyes. Gentry, MO. We just needed to know if it was truly as nice as the pics and worth the asking price. (2500 sq ft home on 40 acres, listed at $115K)
It was love at first sight! We visited the property and knew we wanted to make a bid. Thank goodness the bid was accepted! We closed in November without any problems and currently are owners of a farm. Now we just need to move out there.
Dan is taking another position within the same company that will allow him to work from home with some travel. That will allow us to be in such a rural area (town with a population of 99). He needs to stick around in TX for a few more months to smooth things out. I think the kids and I will move over Spring Break (mid-March) before heading out. Mom is going ahead the end of this month. Dan may need to stay behind a few weeks after we go. Not sure yet...
Okay. I am super excited to have my dream farm! The house is in good condition, just needs decorative updating (stuck in the early 70s). There is a barn and nice garden setup. There is also already a hen house/run. I am drooling over my garden area (approx 5000 sq ft) and all the animals we will be able to have. Dog, rabbits, and chickens first. Then milk sheep, pasture pigs, and a milk cow. Maybe even some milk goats. Must. Wipe. Drool.
Self-sufficiency! Finally!
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