An American Weekend

"Well, um, actually, a pretty nice little Saturday. We're going to go to Home Depot. Yeah, buy some wallpaper, maybe get some flooring, stuff like that. Maybe Bed, Bath, and Beyond. I don't know. . . I don't know if we'll have time!" --Frank, Old School

Home Depot, to me, is your typical, suburban Saturday afternoon activity. You go and pick out your project for the day and then return home to your own personal slice of Americana and work with your hands, get dirty, and feel like you've actually accomplished something by the end of the day. Well, after 5 years overseas, Jonathan and I were able to have our own little American weekend. We STILL don't have household goods (yep, almost a month now) but we figured, well, if we can't enjoy the INSIDE of our house, let's at least try to enjoy the outside. So Home Depot, here we come!

My first line of business was to get some plants for the front of our house. The landscaping is pretty nice out front, but I wanted some touches to let people know that the Wrights lived here now. I wanted something low-maintenance and drought-resistant (in case I got a little too distracted with a newborn baby to remember to water it), but still pretty. With limited options, I chose a few cactuses and a desert rose plant.

You know what I've discovered? I do NOT like trying to re-pot cactuses! I was wearing leather (LEATHER!) gloves, and I still got continuously got poked trying to plant these suckers. You can't really tell from the pictures, but the needles are a beautiful yellow color, and they will eventually flower later in the season.

This is my desert rose. I'm hoping it takes off and gets more blooms because the flowers are actually really pretty. This, however, was only one they had left, and I think I'm going to have to give it a lot of love before it really takes off. . .

Although not high on our priority list, we did get a swing for the second story balcony. We'd like to eventually get some plants and other furniture up here, but for now, this swing will do. It gives us a bit of privacy, and I'll be able to sit out here and rock Baby W. to sleep when he gets here. . . while admiring the lights of the Las Vegas Strip. ;)

Jonathan's project for the weekend was our backyard. We wanted a nice, cozy sitting area where we could relax (and throw Oskar's ball around the yard). I picked out the furniture, but Jonathan put it together and chose all the plant accents for the area. I think he did a wonderful job. It's the comfiest place in our whole house at the moment. ;)

Speaking of Oskar, he was not left out of the weekend's festivities. We bought him a little inflatable pool for the backyard. Now, it's no pond to swim around in (in fact, he can stand up in it and still touch bottom), but it's somewhere he can cool off from the intense Nevada heat. His favorite game? Throw his ball into it and he'll fish it out.

Mid-shake. . .

So the outside of our house is ready for visitors. Maybe by the end of this week, the inside will be too. ;)

Hiking While Pregnant

Oskar and I are kind of having a rough transition to life in Vegas. For starters, it is just way too hot. Because he's so low to the ground, you have to add 10 to 15 degrees to the air temperature to get what it really feels like to him. And for me? Well, I'm carrying 20 extra pounds and an internal heater, both of which turn me into a sweaty, whiny mess in a matter of minutes when I step outside. Dry heat or not, 105+ degrees is HOT no matter what the level of humidity. Jonathan has put up with our tantrums graciously, but I think he had had enough this past weekend. He suggested going up to Mt. Charleston, just outside of Vegas, for a little hiking. I must have stared at him like he had lobsters coming out his ears. Me? Hiking? I'm 34 weeks pregnant, and you want me to go HIKING? I can barely make it up the stairs in our house without wheezing (embarrassing to admit, but very true). True, he confessed, but it's a good 20-30 degrees cooler on the mountain than it is down here in the valley. The words had barely passed his lips, and Oskar and I were in the car. Let's do this.

After stopping by the visitor's center to get a map, we scoped out the "easy" trails. We were both a little concerned about the possibly of pre-term labor while hiking up the side of mountain, so we figured it would be best not to push it. As we started out on our first trail, it seemed do-able. . .

Beautiful views, cooler temperatures. . . Oskar and I were pretty happy at this point.

And then the trail started to slope upwards. This isn't the best picture, but the climb was STEEP. Easy trail, my butt. I literally had to stop half-way up and sit down on a fallen tree to catch my breath. It was humiliating. I have always prided myself on being a pretty healthy and active person. I try to eat right, and I love running and hiking and other physical activities. And now here I was sitting on a stump wheezing and downing a gallon of water as my husband and dog trekked on ahead of me. It was a new low.

Luckily, they waited for at the top of the hill so I at least got to see this sight. . .

Coming back down the trail was fine. I was in the lead, on fire, and ready to go. More trails, I cried! Jonathan quietly suggested we drive to the top of the mountain instead. Sad to admit my fat laziness, I agreed. Once at the top, we were rewarded with this view. Yep, we're definitely in the middle of the desert.

As we started to descend down the other side of Mt. Charleston, I convinced Jonathan to give me one more chance. I found a trail on the map that was supposed to be on level ground and was only a mile and a half long. I could do it, I swore. No whining, no pre-term labor. I had to redeem myself. My husband knows me way too well and knows I would pout the rest of the day if he didn't agree. . . so we stopped and began another hike.

It was still in the 80s (better than the 100s that it was below in the city) so I was hot and sweaty in no time, but I was not going to let it stop me. I got out of breath often, but I never stopped. The scenery was gorgeous, and I was going to enjoy this time with my family if it killed me, dang it.

By the end of the 1.5 mile hike, I was thirsty and sweaty and exhausted, but I made it! No stopping, no wheezing, no feeling sorry for myself. Granted, my view on the hike looked like this most of the time:

Jonathan in the lead, Oskar dragging behind (he was wheezing at this point too), and me in a distant third, but all that matters is that we made it! I hiked on a mountain at 8.5 months pregnant without going into labor or having a heart attack. Success! But next time we head up Mt. Charleston, I think I'll let Jonathan carry Baby W. . . I've put in my 9 months already. ;)

Our New House (and Ride)!

Things are moving right along here in Vegas. We've already gotten our new "family car" and found a house, although we won't be moving in for a few more days. Our household goods are "in port," but it will take about 10 more days before they reach us. Unfortunately, the Air Force won't pay for us to stay in lodging that much longer so it looks like we'll be in our new house and sleeping on an air mattress soon. Should be fun since I'm 8 months pregnant. ;)

Anyways, the first thing on our "do-to" list was to find a car for me. We still had Jonathan's truck from before our time overseas, but I no longer had my car. Why was a car our first priority? Well, with Jonathan working at least 30 miles away, it would be a BAD THING if I went into labor without a way to get to the hospital. In addition, sitting at the hotel while he was in-processing was way too boring. I actually missed being able to walk everywhere like in Korea (but trust me--you do NOT want to walk around the area near Nellis.) So by the end of day one in Vegas, we had our new car, a 2011 Ford Escape.

Next up, the house. The housing market in Las Vegas is absolutely horrible right now, and everyone was pushing us to buy. But, for us, renting was just a better option. We simply did not want the stress and hassle of buying a house at this point in our lives when all we really need is to get settled QUICKLY before the baby comes. So, anyway, after looking at several houses, we settled on this one in Providence. It's as far northwest as you can get in Vegas, which will significantly cut down on Jonathan's commute time (although it will still be hellacious.) The house itself is 3 bedrooms and 2.5 baths; smaller than what we had originally planned on getting, but honestly, it's the perfect size for this stage in our lives. And, for anyone who knows how obsessively clean I am, I need a smaller house so I can still keep up a "Jenn level" of clean after Gherkin gets here. ;)

Here's our sub-division. . .

It's on Quindio Street (pronounced 'quin-dee-oh' for all you midwesterners like us who can't pronounce these strange southwestern words). . .

Here it is from the outside. . .

Front door is off to the side. We definitely need some plants to spice up this area. But what grows in Vegas? A cactus, perhaps?

Our garage. And no, Jonathan's truck does not fit inside. He's going to have to take off his brush guard . . . and he is very sad about it.

Immediately to your left after entering through the garage is our laundry room. Yay to no more insanely loud fan-thing whenever you want to dry clothes!

Looking back towards the garage entryway. Laundry room on the right in this picture and the ".5 bath" is on the left.

The dining room has an OKB door in the wall! We can't get him to use it (although we've only tried once) and Jonathan is terrified that if we leave it open (it has a piece that slides across it and locks so we can close it at night) rattlesnakes will get in, but it was a big selling point for me.

Kitchen. Finally. . . counter space!

Living room. Ignore the dust floating in this picture. The house is clean but, as I've said, it needs a good "Jenn cleaning."

The backyard and patio area. Small, but it has grass and trees. . . the only house is our sub-division that has it. Another HUGE selling point for me. At least Oskar has somewhere fenced in where he can outside when he gets the urge. No more elevators and 4 walks a day just to go potty!

More of the backyard and patio area. . .

The front entryway, including closet and stairway. . .

Upstairs is the guest bedroom. Not quite ready for visitors yet, but it will be soon!

This will be Gherkin's room. I LOVE the window!

Small loft-area upstairs that will our "office." Okay, so it will really just have our desk in it, but that's enough. :)

Guest bathroom. . .

This is the upstairs landing looking out from the master bedroom. The guest bathroom is to your immediate right with the loft-area right behind it. Guest bedroom is off to the left, and Gherkin's room is straight ahead.

Master bedroom. . .

Master bathroom. LOVE the separate shower and tub, as well as the fact that the tub is HUGE and is next to a window. It's crazy the things you get excited about after living in MFH for two years. . .

More of the master bathroom. The doorway you can see if the mirror leads to the toilet area.

I wish I could get a more accurate picture of how HUGE this walk-in closet is, but I can't. This is just one side of it and then it curves to the right for even more space. I am so excited to have room for my clothes again!

The balcony outside of the master bedroom. . . another HUGE selling point. We're planning on getting some plants to give us some privacy along the side. I want to put a hammock up here and snuggle with Gherkin and Oskar during the cooler winter months out here. :)

View from one side of our balcony. . .

View from the other side of our balcony. You can't tell from this picture, but you can actually see the Strip from here. A nice, safe way to enjoy Vegas. :)

So that's our new house. Hopefully we'll be in it soon, get our furniture, and be ready for visitors! :)

Heading West!

Our longest visit home (but what seemed like the shortest) inevitably came to an end; the Air Force was calling us west. So we packed up Jonathan's truck with our stuff (and really. . . how did we get so much stuff?!), grabbed Oskar, and hit the road for a 3 day trek to Las Vegas. First day: Illinois, Missouri, and Kansas. . .

Oskar was the navigator for the first day. "Where we going guys?!"

Crossing the Mighty Mississippi. . . we're officially "out west!"

And Oskar was over the trip by this point. . .

Entering Kansas, the longest, most boring state in the U.S. I'm sorry if anyone from Kansas reads this, but you have to admit. . . there is NOTHING in Kansas.

This is the extent of what we saw in Kansas: fields and wind turbines. That. is. it.

Day one went quickly, and we made it all the way to Hays, Kansas before stopping for the night. The next morning, we got up and hit the road again, driving through an even MORE boring part of Kansas (is that possible?) before finally reaching Colorado.

We made a stop in Denver to visit one of Jonathan's friends before heading into the Rocky Mountains.

We ran into some crazy weather and then an accident that forced us off of I-70 and up a steep mountain road with NO RAILING along the side. I was too scared to even take pictures.

Because of the factors listed above, we only made it to the edge of Colorado on our second day, stopping in a little town called Fruita. It wasn't until the next day that we realized that stopping here was a good choice; there was absolutely NOTHING for 106 miles past that point. Utah is literally a wasteland. . .

By the third day, Oskar was completely over it. I think he was beginning to think we were going to drive every day for the rest of his life.

But can you blame him? There wasn't a whole lot to see in Utah. . .

Although even MORE inclement weather made for some interesting scenery for awhile. . .

Blink-and-you'll-miss-it: We were in Arizona for 23 miles.

And then, FINALLY. . . NEVADA!

Oskar was still not impressed, but the Nevada sun got to be too hot for him, even inside the air-conditioned truck. He gave up on sleeping ON the pillow and crawled underneath it to get some shade.

In my mind, I pictured Nevada to be flat and ugly. While I wouldn't exactly call it pretty, I was pleasantly surprised by the mountains.

We finally exited the interstate, popped over a hill, and there it was: Las Vegas. . . covered in haze and smog.

Welcome to Las Vegas. Bluh. We later found out that the local weatherman called this a "cool down." Yuck.

After arguing with billeting about losing our reservations, we finally got settled into an off-base, pet-friendly hotel. And not a moment too soon. My poor almost 8-months pregnant body was rebelling against the 3 day car trip. I had cankles (read: my calf and ankle merged into one body part) and my toes looked like baby carrots (according to Jonathan). It didn't help that I had cuts on the top of my feet from trying to break in a new pair of sandals. If you only saw this picture of me, wouldn't you think I weighed 200 pounds? Gross.

But anyways, we made it here safe and sound and in one (slightly larger) piece. Now the real adventure begins. . . house hunting!