Random bits of life....

Lots happening here and yet I feel like no matter how much I work and work, it still looks like I've been standing still.

It's official.  We are moving. 

Has the house sold?  No.  Unfortunately not. 

But, the time has come for us to head north and begin our life in Ohio with Rich.

The movers come next Monday.  We'll unload the truck on Tuesday.

We are frantically packing it all up, but with SO many little extra hands it's often 1 step forward, 2 steps back. Thank heavens I stay up after they finally drift off to sleep.

My sweet ward has been so gracious and amazing. I mentioned in the RS newsletter I could use boxes. Every day, and often many times each day, I look out and find a new stack of boxes on my porch left there for me. It's a tiny miracle every time.

We are leaving behind furniture to stage the house, so we won't really be completely leaving.  We'll need to come down on the weekends to mow the lawn, dust the house and check for any creepy bugs or items that might deter a potential buyer.  This house will now be our 'summer home' instead of Rich's lonely bachelor pad he calls home Monday- Friday.

Today, I emptied out my wallet and bill cupboard and called a zillion different places changing our address.  Just when you think you've got them all, you realize you missed a few.

I canceled our Kentucky phone service, Internet, alarm, lawn service and changed State Farm agents.

I even called our beloved Veterans Elementary School and informed them we were not coming.  I just couldn't do it in the spring.  Just in case.  I seriously felt like I could cry. 

It's hard saying goodbye to things you truly love.

As for Cincinnati, I am set to register the boys in school in Anderson next week and the girls are on a preschool waiting list for two possible classes.  I hope one works out. If not, we'll just have to set up a little preschool around our kitchen table and take lots of field trips while the boys are away.

Last Thursday, Friday and Saturday the boys went to the John Calipari All Pro Camp here at UK and rubbed shoulders with John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Coach Cal, Patrick Patterson and Eric Bledsoe.  It was a show and we all ate it up.  It also was a racket, but I am sure they figure 'why not, if we can'.  I have hundreds of pictures I need to sort through, but a post will be coming.  Highlights:  The girls, Zach and I getting a picture with Coach Cal and the boys doing the John Wall dance along side with John Wall himself.  Memorable indeed.

I had a slight addiction issue last week.  With the World Equestrian Games just a few months away, the city came up a public art project, called Horse Mania 2010, which incorporates 89 full-size fiberglass horses and 50 foals decorated by local artists and Lexington school children and they stashed them around the city.  Rich was sweet to drive us around to look at them a week ago Sunday while we had an open house.  We saw a lot of horses and I took a lot of pictures of these beautiful creations.  But this was not enough.  Since we were going downtown to the basketball camp, I had the perfect excuse to take the crew around to search for more horses we had yet to see.  Hours and hours of endless driving and me darting out of the car to snap a photo and we managed to see 83 of the 89 horses.  Don't believe me?  Well, I have a very well marked map we used to find each one.  Mapquest.com on my computer is full of Lexington addresses I had to look up to find.  And I have photographic evidence of each lovely work of art.  It was like a treasure hunt and I had to find each gem.  Yeah, all this might make me a bit compulsive, but I'd call it dedication. 

With my time in the Bluegrass rapidly running out, I loaded up the kids and took a little day trip down past Elizabethtown, KY last Wednesday and had lunch at a little cafe I've been dying to visit.  We all had a great time.  We also visited the Patton Museum at Fort Knox and saw a bit of E-town.  Again, I have many photos to choose from, but I hope to get post up of our adventure soon.

It is nearly Zach's first birthday (shocking!), so that means the Cincinnati Bengals training camp is going on in Georgetown.  We visited there last year on the last day of summer vacation and I went into labor while I was driving home.  I'm taking the kids there tomorrow to see the team practice and get autographs.  Terrell Owens signed a one year deal with the Bengals so he'll be an exciting addition to the autograph line.  Chad Ochocinco and Carson Palmer will also be signatures they would love to get.  It'll be hot, but a great event nonetheless.

There you have it.  We are alive, well and surrounded by boxes, Sharpies and packing tape.  We are still getting out here and there to keep our sanity and trying to make fun memories along the way.  Life just keeps rolling on.  And we are ready for what lies ahead.