Much Anticipated

I've gotten a few requests to post pics of the new place. Things have been very messy but we FINALLY have half the apartment clean (not decorated). I wish I had one of those cameras that you scan the room and it takes a super long picture, but I'll have to make do!

When you walk in the front door you are walking into a hallway and on the left is the living room entrance. You probably can't tell, but it's super awkward with how much space the fireplace takes up and trying to position the couch with the TV so...we just had to float the couch and make the giant walkway to the dining room a little smaller.

Our little coat closet behind the couch.

Other view of the living room. I love our new couch!! It is SUPER comfy! :)

Turn the corner and there's the dining room, laundry room, and kitchen.

Our laundry room/pantry. Yes the dryer is to the left of the washer. Weird? I think so. Apparently when the builders mirrored the model apartment they mirrored EVERYTHING.

Our brand new dining room table and chairs!! Love it!

View from in the kitchen.

Kitchen. It's surprisingly a pretty good size and there is tons of cupboard space, which is nice!

Our second bathroom aka Eric's bathroom. I'm sad that he gets our cute shower curtain but there isn't a tub in the master bath. I guess I'll live with it.

And that's all you get to see. All you're missing out on is a bathroom and two bedrooms. By the way, our bedroom is HUGE! But not too necessary cuz we keep all our crap in the second room.

This place is a nice size for us, but I don't want to do too much decorating because...we're going to move again hopefully SOON!! I hate moving just as much as anyone so that's why I want to do it asap. We're on a waiting list to get into little townhomes and join our new friends. People at church call it Mormon Village because it's filled with young mormon families, chiropractic students, and (random) old Russian peeps. It's like a little mini Utah minus the Russians!!

We absolutely love it here! The ward is so welcoming and we've already made a few friends (which isn't the easiest thing for me). So if I think it's a welcoming ward, then it is. It's a very different dynamic from Utah. People actually care that you're new and want to get to know you. I LOVE IT!!

A Love/Hate Relationship

As we've been in Kansas I have noticed a few things that drive me nuts:

5. The awkward layout of our living room.

4. The taste of the faucet water.

3. I get tired after 30 seconds of being outside because it's so hot.

2. There is so much freeway construction that our second and third back-up routes are also under construction. It takes so long to get to other cities.

1. Outside of our balcony are pretty trees, however, we can't relax out there because of the annoying chirping/buzzing sound of the critters. It's the most annoying sound I have ever heard. (I'll post a video of it later)

And this is a list of the things I love about OP:

5. There are green trees EVERYWHERE! It reminds me of Oregon :)

4. I finally have a pool again!! We haven't gone yet, but I have my pool toy all ready.

3. Our bedroom is huge and there is quite a bit of space in the rest of our apartment.

2. Every store we would ever need to go to is on Metcalf (about a block away from the complex). As long as I can get to that street, I can get anywhere aka I don't have to understand all these freeways quite yet because everything I need is in Overland Park.

1. We are one step closer towards Eric being done with school!

On a side note, I want to thank everyone who sacrificed their time to help us move. We are so grateful for you!! We seriously couldn't have done it without you. Thank you so much and we love each and every one of you!!

The Yellow Brick Road

Today was our first full day in Kansas since the move. But before we moved we had to do one last thing in Utah...

We visited the Hatch Family Chocolate Store! For those of you who don't know, it's the place that the Little Chocolatiers own (the show on TLC). We spent $8.09 on mediocre chocolate and not too much of it. We didn't get to see little people or get on tv because they weren't taping. A little disappointing? Yes. But I WILL keep going back until I see little people.

On Tuesday morning we started our drive to Kansas.

It was a very exciting drive. Here are some of the highlights:

There were miles and miles of these windmills. They were HUGE. We loved the change in scenery that they offered us.

There were lots of OZ signs. Hurray for Dorothy and Toto in Kansas.

Last but not least I saw signs for Ellsworth, Kansas. This was very exciting to me because I love that song by Rascal Flatts. One day we'll go. There's probably nothing there, but I don't care.

Today was a very productive day. Eric and I bought a dining room table, dresser, couch, and mattress. It was our first time buying those items so we took awhile and probably drove the sales people NUTS. I'm exhausted and glad that it's over now. We did, however, see the biggest furniture store in North America.

Driving up to this store gave a very similar feeling as driving up to Disneyland. It's like this huge magic kingdom full of furniture.

This is no mall; it's one store and it's way bigger than IKEA. Who would've thought that it'd be in Kansas?!

After shopping we were tired and STARVING. One of our sales peeps told us about a really popular BBQ joint in Overland Park, Jack Stack. It was our first time ever having real BBQ food.

Since Kansas is known for its BBQ, we had pretty high expectations. Our ribs didn't have very much meat on it and I don't think we're used to our meat being so well cooked. Maybe it's something that you have to grow up with to think it's the best. We liked it and all, but it wasn't the greatest thing we've ever tasted. Of course we'll keep on going to different restaurants. I'm sure we'll have a favorite in no time, whether it's the awesome Japanese Steakhouse we went to last night or not. Gotta love having nothing in the apartment and going out to eat!!

...had a very shiny nose...

It starts with a little inspiration:

Then you CUT:

And SAND:

And STAIN:

And PAINT:

And WAA LAAAAA!!!

Two new and improved reindeer!!
Mine's cuter. But shhhh...don't tell Eric.

One week...

We are moving in 7 days!! Well, technically sooner than that because we plan on starting the drive early Tuesday morning. Kansas is coming up fast but Eric and I are so excited to get to our new place and check out the town. I'm definitely excited to spend 3 weeks with my husband before I'm a single woman for the next 3 1/2 years. It's kinda scary that we are gonna start fresh with our lives. Eric is up for the challenge for sure because he is great at making new friends, and me...well, I think I'm up to the challenge. Crossing my fingers! I know we'll love it though, even if Eric is my only friend.

7 days and counting!

Owlzzzzzz

You guessed it! We got free tickets to go to the Owlz game last Tuesday and we took Sara, Spencer, and Drew along with us! It was a not-so-intense game against the WY Ghosts, but it was funny to watch #5 get angry every time he sucked it up.

I think Drew enjoyed his first baseball game EVER! He even got to wear an outfit to match the occasion. How cute is that!?

It was a beautiful night and I didn't get one mosquito bite!! But we didn't win Bingo either so that was a little disappointing. Maybe next time, if there ever is a next time. Go Owlz!