Steele Family: Bee City

I'm sad to report that I've lost my camera. After downsizing and organizing over the last two weeks, I've had no luck in finding it along the way. I will post pictures from WA when my Dad gets home and can email me the photos. Thankfully he had downloaded my photos from my camera onto his computer before we left WA.

The last few weeks have been very busy and exciting! Gabriel turned four years old! We had a huge birthday party for him at Rolly Pollies, a local gymnastics place. He loved it! Pictures to come once I get them from friends who took photos at his party since my camera is MIA. We also found out we are expecting a baby girl. My wonderful friends here threw me a baby shower last weekend. Thank you friends for coming and for all the wonderful girly gifts! Pictures also to come once I get them from friends who took pictures for me.

This week we've been preparing for the packers and movers to come to our house. While I wanted to put up a sign this morning on our front door that proclaimed, "Movers, Movers go away! Please come back on Monday!" My husband reasoned, what I knew already, that we could not do this because it may make the Department of Defense upset with us and it would also waste our tax dollars and our friends' tax dollars. Fair enough. The movers and packers were able to proceed. Since we have been questioned by many friends and family about the moving process in the Navy; I will tell you it is honestly very painless! You schedule a few days for movers and packers to invade your home, they pack everything usually very well, and then they load your items into their moving van. Then they schedule with you when you want them to unload your things at your new duty location. We are very lucky to be taken care of! What I dread is saying goodbye to local friends here, packing our suitcases for the road trip to Newport and explaining to the kids (whom we had prepared months in advance for this time) that we are moving. Honestly, the kids and us are taking it well. Our dog Thomas is not taking things as well. He had anxiety the moment we started packing our things, this may be because when we packed our bags in December to visit family and friends in Washington state we left him with a friend locally for 16 days. While our friend spoiled him rotten, he still remembers we left him. Not to worry, Thomas you will be going with us. You will ride in the truck, and I will drive with the kids in the car. I like and love the kids... Thomas I love you too, however you do not wear a seat belt and I do not like your roaming in the car. It "drives" me nuts.

So what is one to do when movers invade your home? You buy them pizza for lunch, give them a small tip and treat them well. It's the right thing to do... It also helps insure that your stuff will be treated and packed carefully. So far it has worked every move.

When your home is invaded by movers, you should also be grateful that a good friend threw her son a birthday party at your children's favorite outdoor location and invited your children and yourself. While my husband stayed with the movers, we went to Bee City after school! Thank you Christine! We had a great time. Bee City has a menagerie of llamas, bees, goats, emus, deer, lemurs, other monkeys, turkeys, rabbits, and more along with a large reptile building. The boys were in heaven... They love Bee City (which we have visited several times living here) and liked the cupcakes, singing to Griffin, playing with friends, feeding animals and visiting the reptile house. Below are photos from the afternoon taken with my iphone and then transferred to our computer at home and uploaded onto the blog. Next mission: to figure out how to upload photos directly here using the mobile device application.

James loves animals. Particularly the new bunnies at Bee City. He named this one "Jumpy" and wanted to take it home. While I'm grateful for a child who is an advanced reader; he read the sign that the bunnies were for sale for $10 a piece and begged to take "Jumpy" home. I reasoned that it may be impossible to bring a bunny on a road trip right now. He has been talking about those bunnies all night. He is now asking for a bunny when we move to WA in the fall.