Our California Adventure-Over

When we first started out on this California adventure we said things like…

-it’ll go fast

-we’ll talk daily

-it’ll be worth it

-the kids are young and will be fine

-blah

-blah

-blah

Truth is- the money is there, the kids actually did great. We talked and facetimed almost every night.

But we quit.

Turns out we’re really not cut out for distance and actually like going on more family adventures, rather than just once a month.

We were able to accomplish half our two loans left. Once Mike gets back to work,  well take our savings and pay the GMC off. As for the trailer, we both agreed that we can pay that off in 2 years as long as we have daddy home.  When we first started out on our debt free journey we’ve always said #debtfreeby30. Well we are only 26 so I’d say we’re doing pretty dang good!

I’m so proud and happy Mike has decided to come home. The timing was a mutual decision but coming home early was all Mike and I’m thrilled. He loved the job and the crew but didn’t want to be away from the kids any longer. I got the easier end of the deal, I get to see our monsters daily.

Mike will come home late Saturday night as planned for Christmas break but only this time with the truck and trailer to stay! Best Christmas gift!

He’ll go sign the books next week for local 77 and will most likely still have to travel but he’ll be home every Friday night like normal.

Funny how money and getting out of debt seems so tiny compared to missing out on family time… I’m very much looking forward to having our missing piece home.

Thank you for the support over the last 2 months. It was tough being a solo mom but with good friends and great family, we survived!

Merry Christmas Everyone! xoxo!

Week One

We survived week one.


Which is exactly how it felt here, survival.


Hey I said I would never sugar coat this lifestyle. If I start doing that I have no business blogging.


Mike on the other hand is having way too much fun, I swear I'm not that bitter. Trust me it would be ten times hard if Mike was calling complaining about work, been there- heard that.


Mike is loving work. He found out he actually knew a few guys and has been having the time of his life. His commute to work is suspended in a harness under a helicopter. Flying over trees and the transmission lines they're working on. I have a video but am too impatient to load it. Basically its him "woohooing" for 90 seconds over trees.


His schedule is 13 days on 1 day off. He's happy and I'm happy. We have a total goal amount we would like to meet and than Mike can come home. With those kind of hours I'm hoping that means we'll be together soon!


The kids and me... Well we're surviving. The kids seem to be doing fine. Wesson loves talking to Mike for a few minutes before running off to do whatever and Kimber just wants to eat the phone.


I think the roughest part this week was realizing how much is on my plate now. These 8 months really spoiled me with having Mike home during the week!


I laid in bed Tuesday night hearing the neighbors take out their trash and remembered I didn't. Now I was throwing on boots and taking the trash out at 10 pm.


Forgot to buy formula at the store, loading the kids back up to run and get some.


Yard work, all on my plate now. Mowing the yard is not as much fun when there is snow in the forecast!


The hardest part of your husband being your best friend is once he leave you're best friendless and kinda alone.


I miss cooking dinner too. Which surprises me. Or its just the dinner conversations Either way I love cooking and finding new recipes well with a newly found picky eater and a baby who just picks, my food critics aren't great and arguing with the 3 year old to eat the "spicey food" doesn't count as conversation.


I'm hoping that survival mode was just the adjustment week and before we know it the days will be flying by. 


One bonus of the Grinch... ahem I mean Mike not being home is I get to start decorating for Christmas earlier. My Christmas houses are already up and I have a feeling I'll fully cave before next week. Also I'm fully loving watching Christmas movies hehe

Mike is off to Cali!

Mike left this morning for California. Most details of our California plan have changed, typical. Last week his ILB general foreman told him they weren’t going to be able to transfer any of the guys on the crew to down there. Up here the company is International Line Builders but down there is a sister company, that I can’t remember the name of. Anyways they can’t just transfer guys back n forth. Oh well no biggy except Mike left earlier than we had thought!

We got an extra-long weekend together carving pumpkins, trick or treating downtown and celebrating Kimber’s 1^st Halloween. We were also lucky enough to have my parents offer to take the kids overnight so we could go to my brother’s Halloween party. We dressed up as an ice cream man and ice cream cone. It was a blast!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also got busy filling the camper up with a few freezer meals, breads and cookies. Mike hasn’t needed the trailer since early this year so we had to move all our camping stuff out and the work stuff back in. Let’s be honest it’ll probably only look like that for another week! ;)

Yesterday Local 1245 had 15 “standing calls.” Standing calls means there are jobs to be filled asap. That once Mike gets down to the hall he can basically pick from any of the standing jobs available. Pretty awesome! Mike was excited about all the jobs available and now I’m just anxious to see where he’ll end up!

As for me and the kids, we’re already filling up our days to make time move faster! Lots of strollers & smoothie classes, preschool events, church events, a few play dates and of course mommy nights out!

Our goals are on our mind and we’re ready to tackle this new adventure!