Happy New Years Eve! We are just hours away from welcoming in the new year and I couldn't be more ready to take on 2014. So many (more) changes for my little family, and a lot of new adventures ahead. Today has been a busy one, we put in our 30 day notice for our Texas home, reserved the u-haul, purchased plane tickets, and more! Ava bug and I leave for Washington in just two weeks! Everything has gone by so incredibly fast, I can't believe I'm finally going back to my home state after three long years. We're in the process of getting everything set up with the new house, looks like the move in date will be a few days after we arrive in Washington. I am so nervous about flying without Justin, and Justin driving with Cooper without us. We have never done anything like this apart, and I don't like that we won't be seeing him for a few days. All in all it's what's best for our family, so I'm trying to just get on board, and be optimistic. We start packing today, (Which won't be hard) Once we got the call about the compassion reassignment, we stopped unpacking, and just kind of let everything we didn't need stay in boxes. The kitchen is the only thing we are really going to have do to work on, which is fine with me. I'm a little nervous about being in my second week of courses while all of this moving is going down. I did it while we drove from GA, to TX. but that was a much shorter time to be without internet, and in our new home. I'm not requesting a break, so hopefully things will go just fine.

I wanted to do a fun little " Look at 2013" video (classic Leilani style), so take a look at my past year and all the wonderful moments the Howland family experienced:

2013 was one heck of a year, and I have high hopes that 2014 will be nothing short of amazing for the Howland clan. I hope everyone is spending tonight with the people that care about most in this world. I know I will be. We bought party favors, 2014 tiara's and even fireworks to bring in the new year. The best part about this year? I get my midnight kiss. Make sure to stay safe and warm! and once again, Happy New Year all!

♥- Leilani

Washington Bound (almost)

I can't believe I am writing this, but everything has managed to work itself out. Justin signed his 4187, and will be receiving his orders for Fort Lewis, WA. within a few days. I am so, so happy that human resources with the Army was so accommodating and helpful with our unique situation. Justin doesn't have to sign into this installation, but he is permissively (temporarily) signed in (so glad he isn't using up his leave days). He's kind of just in limbo right now. We submitted all the necessary paperwork to close out our DITY from Georgia to Texas and we will be receiving the rest of those funds in just a few weeks. For anyone thinking of doing a DITY move, it is so worth it. I still stick by this, only because we had a headache free experience. With Washington being over 2,000 miles way from us, it looks like we may be doing JPPSO. I'm a bit nervous about this because of all the horror stories I've heard. When we left Washington for Georgia three years ago, we utilized JPPSO... but that was also before we built up our home, and actually had things we'd be upset about losing or breaking. I think it still might be a toss up.. Justin and I have a lot to talk about. It looks like we'll only be in Texas for another month or so, before we end up leaving. There are a few things we'd like to see while we are here, and I'm hoping we get to check out some of the sites. I definitely want to explore Austin. Apparently it's the only "blue" in a "red" state. I've only heard good things, and I've got some family down that way. Christmas has been on my brain a lot today. With my mom not coming, I'm going to have to find a way to make the holiday super special. I know we are taking Ava to see Santa this weekend! So stoked for that! It'll be her first time taking pictures with Santa, and the second time for Justin and I. It's funny because I remember Justin telling me, that he was never taking pictures with Santa again, unless it was for our kids. Crazy to think he said that only 3 years ago. We have been ordering Christmas movies like crazy, since abc family's 25 days of Christmas has been disappointing. I'm sure they run the same movies every year, it just seems like they are skipping a lot of classics.

 I'm excited about this collection! It has the Frosty originals, Rudolph, and a few more. Seven movies are included, and we haven't even made it through two yet. I can't wait to snuggle up to the fire, hot cocoa, and shiny Christmas tree lights, while we watch this. I love our Christmas traditions, and it has been an absolute blessing to have my husband home during my favorite time of year. I'm hoping since we actually own these movies, that we will bust them out each and every year, and hopefully Ava bug will be able to enjoy them as much as Justin and I do. Thinking about all that is Christmas has caused me to have a heavy heart....

Above all of the wonderful things going on right now, I'm just so thankful that my family is together. Even though I don't have a deployed soldier anymore, that doesn't mean that another family doesn't. Thinking back to how I felt last year without Justin... I would never want someone to ever have to experience that. It's lonely and scary, and emotional. So if you are reading this, thank a service member! They dedicate themselves 365 days a year, and without them, our freedoms wouldn't be what they are.

Alright all, it looks like I'm off. It's Friday, and we still have a lot to do in preparation for Christmas. I think i'm going to scout out a ham a bit early this year. I am thinking of making my own glaze, maybe "wow" my husband a bit. It's weird to think that come next year Princess A will actually be able to enjoy her mama's cooking. Still wrapping my head around the fact that I shall soon have a crawling, babbling, seven month old baby. I hope everyone has a safe, and festive weekend! 

 ♥- Leilani

Settling In

The last 48 hours have come, and gone in what feels like just seconds. The movers came on Friday morning, and ever since then, we have been super productive with getting our things unpacked. So far, I've unpacked my new office/Cooper's room. We set up our guest bedroom and we've set up Ava's room completely. We finished organizing the living room last night (had to adjust our furniture), and the kitchen is almost done too! Friday night, we stayed up late to set up the Christmas tree! It was one of the first things I did that made this place feel like home. It feels so good to get our stuff out of boxes. It wasn't even a full four days, but It was driving me crazy not to be able to get what I needed, when I needed it. Also, I would definitely recommend using movers to assist with your needs while moving. I know I said this before, but I mean it. It cost us a whopping, $300 to have piece of mind, and piece of mind is priceless! We didn't have to worry about lifting a finger. We used local companies each way, and I will only use local movers, for future moves.

Please ignore my tinsel on the bottom. This is Cooper's first Christmas tree Christmas (that was a mouthful) and he doesn't know how to feel about the glittery tinsel. 

We took the u-haul to the weigh station on Friday and we weighed in over 5,000 lbs for our things! I felt great about that. All of the moving incentives we were given, were based off of 5,000 lbs. If we had come in any less than that, we'd be owing the Army money. Looks like they'll owe us a bit more now. Even now that the hard part is over with this DITY move, I still wouldn't change my mind about moving ourselves.There was actually only one moment where I'd wished we didn't do this move, and that was when Justin cracked the u-haul mirror!

Before I go any further, let me just say, I never knew Texas was a cold state. Oh my word.. It's like in the 20's here. We have ice on our car, we have icicles people! I can't believe it. We have frost on the roof, on the grass.. it's just freezing! Okay, so back to Justin, he decided to get an ice scraper so he could get all the ice off the windows... Well the u-haul's mirror cracked in the process. I was freaking out! Justin had denied the insurance coverage for the u-haul (against my judgment), which meant we were liable for any type of damage. Luckily, when we returned the u-haul, the rep was super understanding. She said, "It's not your fault that windows ice over, and as a result they crack." Yeah, we lucked out there. We didn't have to pay anything extra on the u-haul, and I was ELATED about that.

I have been so impressed with my baby. She has been up later than normal (one night), she had to adjust to eating in her car seat (while in the u-haul), and she had to adjust to eating in her bumbo (Thursday night). We've had to haul her around in that car seat non stop since we left Georgia, and she has been an absolute trooper about it. I think the day we arrived in TX, we had a moment where I tried to put Bug back in her seat, and she wasn't having it. I didn't blame her, If I had sat in a cars eat for all those hours, I'd want a break too. Since arriving in Texas, Princess A has been sitting up all by herself for a good chunk of time. She refuses to sit back anymore, even while in her car seat. I love seeing her grow up. It's a beautiful experience, and I'm glad both Justin and I are witness to this.

Alright, it's Sunday, so you know what that means, right? FOOTBALL in Howland home, all day! Enjoy your Sunday all! Make it a great day.

♥- Leilani

Bright, Sun Shiny Day

My entire morning has been glorious. With Justin clearing, he's exempt from certain things that he'd normally be doing, like physical training. I guess the time interfered with a briefing he had, which gave me a whole 4 hours with him this morning, and for three of those hours, our daughter was sleeping. We never usually get time in the morning together (unless it's a weekend), and it has made me even more excited for forty days of leave. I was even able to do some yoga from home. I usually don't prefer to, due to all of Cooper's dog hairs covering my mat.

Today marks the start of a four day for Justin. Veteran's day is around the corner, I really can't wait to celebrate that! I think for part of the day we may explore a museum, monuments, something historic in Savannah. One thing about the South that I enjoy, is all the history. I took a trolley tour at the beginning of this year, and I learned SO much about almost every street in downtown Savannah. With Justin being such a history buff, I think it'll be a perfect way to spend our Saturday.

I think we are going to start buying boxes this weekend; We've received all this information about the dity (do it yourself) move, and now I'm overly excited to get started. I can't believe how much money there is to be made by moving ourselves. Not to mention the glorious feeling of knowing that our things won't be lost our damaged. Thanks to our trip to New York this summer, I'm not worried about driving with Ava in the car. She's such a good baby, I know this trip will be a breeze. If Fort Lewis, Washington is our next destination, I really want to take the road trip. Justin wants Ava and I to fly out, rather than road trip it with him. It makes sense, I just wanted to stick together, as a family.

Oh, I almost forgot! Day 7. I am thankful for online universities. If I weren't able to obtain my degree online, I don't think I'd be going back to school for awhile. I'm fortunate and very thankful that I get to stay home with my daughter, care for my home, and FINALLY get my BA in healthcare administration.

Looks like I'm off! Ava has been in a "don't put me down" phase, so I'm off to baby wear my bug, maybe take a walk in, enjoy this fresh air! Happy Thursday all!





♥- Leilani