Today is the day! Yesterday we spent hours getting everything all packed up and loaded and today we're cleaning the house and waiting for daddy to get home this afternoon. Then we'll get on the road. It's been a great almost 3 months here in Colonial Beach, VA. We spent Wednesdays at a local pottery studio (and coffee shop for mama and girls), Fridays at story time, and Monday nights at the Dockside Restaurant. Not to mention our many trips to the Westmoreland Berry Farm, Westmoreland State Park and the great playground 2 blocks away. Monday we took our last trip to the beach and enjoyed swimming and some nice hot weather. It's just been great. I'm thankful we could be here during the springtime when the weather is nice, but the town is not too crowded. In the summer the population explodes!
Some things I have learned on this trip about taking an extended vacation...
1. Bring your own knives. The knives at a beach house will be terrible.
2. Bring a toothbrush holder so the toothbrushes aren't lying all over the sink.
3. Bring a crock pot and electric skillet
4. Don't bring too much! Bring only what you NEED...and then get rid of 1/3 of that. As we've been packing up to leave I'm kicking myself for bring so much!
5. Bring your own vacuum...i'm so glad we did!
Some things we've made with no oven...
1.chili
2.spaghetti
3.meatballs or meatloaf in the crock pot
4. chicken breast in the crock pot
5. soup
6. burgers and hot dogs on the grill or skillet
7. pasta salad
8. burritos or tacos
9. breakfast for dinner (eggs, bacon, french toast, sausage, etc.)
I've learned to be at peace with more mess and clutter. We have toys and books but no shelves to put them on. Our house is small and I've learned that small houses mean the mess is much more noticeable. For 3 months we've eaten at a table meant for 4 people. It's been cramped, but I got over it. It's really not that big of a deal and it will just make me more thankful for our big table when we finally get to our new home. Same with our tiny kitchen and 1/2 size dishwasher.
I"m so very thankful we chose to come with Dan. I believe that whenever we're able we should stay together as a family. There will be so much time in the future when Daddy will be deployed. And we were able to enjoy this wonderful place because of it! Have I mentioned that the Navy payed for it all? There was not enough room at the BOQ for Dan so they gave him an allowance to stay out in town. It covered the cost of our beach house so we didn't have to use our tax return as we had planned. God is good!
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