Kansas U Football Game: A Catch Up Post

You know what goes with college football and road trips? Lederhosen. At least that was the case for our college football-roadtrip in October...

While we are here at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas for Honey to complete a master's level program required of him by the Army, my ambitious husband is also getting a separate master's degree from nearby Kansas University.

Since he is a student at KU we headed out watch them in a college football game! The main campus is located 2-hours away so we decided to make a weekend out of it. It would be Parker's second college football game since he went to a game at West Point in 2012 when he was 5 months old!

A gentleman that my husband flew with when he was stationed in Germany, lives near the school and was having an Octoberfest party at his house before the big game. (That's where the Lederhosen came in…) Here is a review in pictures of our weekend and Parker's second college football game!

We got there around dinner time and went immediately to fill our bellies and then to bed! We had a big day coming up!

The next morning, Parker was appropriately dressed!

First stop was the Octoberfest Brew-Ha-Ha! The german food was quite good! My husband was an old pro at naming the dishes. It was all new to me...

I didn't get any pictures of the party scene but there were several gents dressed in full German attire! They were even drinking from authentic beer steins. For a minute I really felt like I was in Germany!

Parker was unsure about this new cuisine...

Finally it was game time!

Parker had a great time! He watched some of the game, played with his truck on the bleachers, snuggled with me and eventually, took his afternoon nap!

Even though KU lost, we had such a great time together!

We were so exhausted that night that we just ordered take out and got comfy. A great way to end a fun weekend making memories in Kansas!

Finding Our Tennessee Home

It feels like a lifetime ago that we were in Tennessee for a week playing house hunters, looking for the perfect home for our family to live in when we return to the south in a few months. It feels like it was so long ago, of course, because that was the week before little Grant Henry made his debut!

We returned home from our trip on Saturday evening and Grant was born the very next day on Sunday evening, March 23rd! Thank God he waited until we were back at home!!

Even though it feels like it was ages ago, it has only been three weeks since we were there. Buying a house! Parker, our little road tripper, was all smiles as we headed down the road. The drive should be 8 hours but of course we had traffic, potty breaks (traveling with a pregnant lady!), and diaper changes. We drove 6 hours the first day and then three the next. These two were wonderful backseat companions!

How many bags does it take for a family of three plus a dog? Don't answer that...

When we were finally settled into our hotel suite we got to playing with trucks immediately. Here Parker is making his "truck sounds"...

Each morning we had breakfast in our hotel room:

And then we took off to look at houses. And we saw A LOT of houses!

To be honest, it was exhausting! (Aren't they twins in this picture?!)

After looking at houses for days, we narrowed it down to a final two. For such decisive people, Honey and I could. not. decide. which house we wanted to make an offer on. We finally concluded that one house was low risk - the owner would probably accept our offer quickly - but the other one, was riskier - we felt it might be harder to get everything we wanted.

So since we had a back up plan, we decided to go with the riskier house, and make an offer. After all, if they rejected our offer - or wanted more money - then we could just go back to the low risk house and call it a day! We truly loved both homes equally.

The house we made an offer on was new construction but we wanted quite a bit more done than they were planning to do. We wanted a circle driveway, stamped concrete, all granite counters (they were planning granite only in the kitchen and master bath), sod in the backyard, more hardwood floors, gas stove, double vanity in the boys bath, just to name a few. Our agent suggested that we put every single one of our wishes in the contract. That way if the builder wanted to negotiate, we could strike the things that didn't matter too much to us.

To our absolute amazement, our offer was accepted as is! They agreed to everything we wanted and we found ourselves under contract with this house:

It's not much to see right now:

But it has everything we wanted! The house is four bedrooms, with three full baths, a big bonus room, great outdoor patio, big yard, spacious garage, master on main, and a keeping room off of the kitchen.  We love the floor plan and can't wait to see it all finished!

Because it is new construction, we were able to pick out all the extra details! We spent the next day running between different shops to pick the paint, front door and garage door, indoor and outdoor lighting, appliances, flooring, and granite.  

It made for a whirlwind trip and one that we will never forget! We had so much fun shopping for houses and picking the one that is just perfect for our family. Then we had a great time shopping for all the finishing touches and meeting with the builder to go over decisions he needed made and finalizing all the extra details.

I don't think anyone was happier than these two! 

It feels great to own a home in Tennessee again, right where we belong. For now. The route we left on brought us right back…

"I miss my Tennessee home; I've been away way too long. I can't see this world unless I go, outside my southern comfort zone."

- b.p.

Home Is Where the Army Sends Us

Coming from a girl who lived in her hometown her entire life until a man in uniform whisked her away to parts unknown, this hometown girl knows that the meaning of home is not a house with four walls.

But don't worry, this is not a mushy post about home is where the heart is and all of that, this is a post about our actual home. Well, our next home, after Kansas.

You already know that we are only in Kansas for one year. We are here for my Honey to complete one year of school required by all officers of his same rank in all military branches. He is also completing his master's degree. (He's been busy. To say the least...) And if you saw my post in September about Where We Might Go After Kansas, then you know that we had a top five list of potential options.

From Germany, to Colorado, to Savannah, the Snowden family was dreaming big! The idea and the promise of adventure was looming before us and we were excited about the options. Of course since we are an Army family, the decision is not exclusively ours. The factors that go into deciding where we go next are very similar to non-military jobs. Honey is an aviator (one reason he looks so good in that uniform!) so we are first limited by locations that need pilots that can fly what he flies. After that there are things like qualifications and job availability, just like a normal job.

As my husband began looking into what was available at the places on our "Top Five List", it looked like we had some exciting decisions to make. Generals from these different places were flying in to meet with students, like my husband, and Honey's schedule was filling up with interviews. It was pretty exciting!

Then something happened that we didn't see coming whatsoever. We got a call from the unit that my husband was in before we came to Kansas. The one in Fort Campbell, Tennessee. They had a job and they wanted him to take it. We talked about it but there was not much of a decision to make.

This was an easy one for us because we already love that unit. They are not like the regular Army and their unique situation fits our family so very well. Then of course, going back there is like going home for us. After all, that is where we lived after we were married. That is where Baby Parker was born. And out of all the options available to us, it is the closest one to both of our families. Since we will be returning with a teeny, tiny, newborn baby, being close to family will be a fabulous blessing!

Honey accepted the job and we celebrated that the decision was made and we would be returning to Tennessee. Back to one of our favorite parts of the world of course, THE SOUTH. Home might be where the Army sends us, but the south? Well that just feels the most like home to this Army family!

We are traveling back to Tennessee in a few weeks to shop for homes. A home that we expect we will be living in for at least 3-4 years with the possibility of more. And that? Never sounded so sweet to me!

Silent Sunday Picture Dump

We are just settling back into our normal, well normal-for-us, routine following my parents visit and gearing up for Honey's parents to visit very soon. {{Yeah for grandparents visiting!}} I'll be posting soon about all our adventures while Twinkle and Bing were here but for now I'm sharing a few snapshots of life recently in this "Silent Sunday" post. I hope you're having a great Sunday!

The beautiful National Cemetery located on Fort Leavenworth. So peaceful.

Parker Bear and I with Bing! We had such a great time exploring while they were here!

 I love this church! It's like a gingerbread house, er, church!

 How cute are Twinkle and Bing with Parker??

 Oh you know, just standing around!

 Having so much fun picking up the rings at swim class!

 They loved joining us on our nightly wagon ride. Parker so enjoyed having them!

 Every morning Honey gets Parker Bear up before he leaves for school. I come in a few minutes later to nurse him and get him ready for the day. I love that these two get this special time every morning!

 Twinkle helping Parker dry off after swim class!

 His expressions crack me up!

 Best vantage point for sure!

 What could be better that swinging in the sun?

 Love this one that Twinkle captured. The hands! He kills me!

 Dining al fresco!

 Parker was able to read Twinkle and Bing a bedtime story. (This was taken on our overnight trip to Abilene!)

 So much fun checking out all the sights!

 When taking 16 month pictures it is important to take the time to stretch. 

 More to come on how Parker is doing in physical therapy but I had to share this picture of him with Mrs. Erin, his physical therapist! He adores her!!

That's all for this edition of Silent Sunday! I hope you have a great week!