Mark is back in the US, kids are in Ohio, the countdown begins!

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Still busy...had a week with the kids and no camp which was nice but less productive for me in terms of projects and packing. We spent a fun few hours at the beach one day. I feel a little guilty when I'm not doing stuff for the move, but sometimes you just gotta take a break.

Mark is home! He came back Friday night in time to see my dad who just left this afternoon. Mark was understandably exhausted, but we did manage to go out to dinner Friday night. It was great that he saw my dad, and sad that he just missed seeing the kids who left for a week in Ohio on Thursday. The kids are visiting Mark's parents all week. On Thursday, Mark and I drive to Ohio to get the kids and leave one of our cars and some of our stuff we want to have put away while we are gone. We are flying back from Ohio on Saturday to save time...since at this point our departure date is 7/30/08. This may change...I almost didn't write the date down, but I figure if you are an avid reader, you are aware that the logistics are complicated and subject to change. This week we have to go request, and hopefully get visas for travel to China. I'll explain that whole saga later.

My dad, the kids and I had a great dinner with Julie and Quinn this week. It was the last opportunity for the kids to hang out with J&Q due to overlapping vacation schedules. We all had fun, but the whole time I was thinking how hard it is to say goodbye to people we love so much and have been able to see regularly...these goodbyes are really hard.

My dad and I were so busy these last few days. I don't know what I would have done without his help. We got a lot of house repairs done. He spent a couple days with the kids before we drove them to meet their Slaven grandparents. After driving to Angola, Indiana and back on Thursday, we headed straight to Lowe's to buy supplies. We repaired my leaky tub faucet...I had to run down to the basement, turn off the water, run up 2 flights, do stuff, run back down, turn it on, run back up, check, etc. about 20 times. There were many issues and we had to call Kohler customer service, but we finally did get it right and the drip is gone!! I also mixed cement and fixed a crack in the basement wall and floor. That was kind of fun. My dad did a bunch of projects on his own and coached me through some that I did independently. I cleaned out the garage and the garage attic which was about 100 degrees. We had so much junk up there, and in order to fit our car in the garage, we need a cleaned out garage....so I first purged the attic above the garage, and then with my dad's help I moved all the garage stuff up to the attic. We have a pulley system a previous owner rigged up, so we were able to hoist the bikes, and our bike trailer up that way. I was up in the attic, which is dark and hot for what felt like days. The garage is gorgeous--well as gorgeous as garages can be. I had some aches and pains for a day but am doing okay now. Things are getting more ready each day.

It's good the kids are away having fun and staying busy because packing up the house is time consuming and also hard. I got a lot done with them here, but my productivity level has increased greatly now that I am just focusing on the move. Mark and I spent last night putting lots of plastic bins up in our attic. We've lived here 9 years and I have never been in the attic of our house! Attics freak me out a little, and ours is not finished...just a bunch of boards and insulation--but it's big and a great storage area. After working for a few hours, we went out to dinner (at about 10pm) to our favorite noodle shop in Evanston. Might be hard to believe Mark picked it after a month in China, but he did.

As I said, the goodbyes are hard. I have been gearing up for this stage of our journey but the realty of leaving is really hard to face. We have a great life here. It's very comfortable and easy. So, I have a new mantra...when I get worried and start imagining the what-ifs and how-will-we scenarios I say to myself' "it will be good for the blog". I wanted an adventure. I got one! Now I have to live it and hopefully love it for the change and growth potential it will offer each member of my family.

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Photos

Nathan, Bella, Emily, Lily
we had a beach day with our very close pals.

Comments

[Geeze]

countdown!
Thanks for the update and photos Suzanne. Everything will be fine and you will be in Shanghai before you know it! Exhausted of course, but so exciting Wow! Love you tons, Geeze

[Dad]

Handy Suzanna
Suzanne is a very determined plumber. She went through the first home plumbing class: "Make every mistake until it works" class. She absolutely would not give-up as we tried every way to install this thing. We did find many ways NOT to do it.It seems men mostly go to these classes. Now my Suzanne has been there. She picked right up on the cement work. That must have been from her prior pottery experience! I'm sure the house will appreciate all her efforts when it begins to miss the sounds of the Slaven family. Suzanne's focus on getting things done will help her on her adventure. I can't wait to read about it. -

[Linda]

house repairs
That IS the silver lining of life's hassles...the fun of writing about them. Love your blog, Suzanne.