2013's Last Getaway in America

Mark and I thought it would be great to get away for a long weekend as just the two of us since once we move to Africa we won't have that opportunity.  So for Memorial weekend we decided to visit his brother, Mike and our sister in law, Jessica in Chicago.  Strange to think of it as our last getaway in America in 2013, but knowing that helped us make the most of our time.

On Friday we flew to Chicago via Southwest, so nice to be able to take a 1 hour flight when a drive would have taken us about 9 hours.  On Saturday we met up with one of Mark's KA fraturnity brother, Hardeep and his girlfriend, Katie, to grab some brunch at a Top Chef restaurant, Sable Kitchen & Bar.  www.sablechicago.com   It has awesome decor and a unique brunch offering.  It was great to catch up and relive some college memories.  After a long brunch we headed to the Museum of Science and Industry.  www.msichicago.org By far one of the best hands on museums I have been too.  Mark, Mike, Jessica and I toured the entire place for about 4 hours.  It was a great time and not too crowded so we could try out everything.  

Museum of Science and Industry

Saturday evening we headed to Stacks Bar and Grill in Valparaiso, Indiana.  By far the best sweet potato fries I have had in my lifetime.  They were actually sweet potato tots, but paired with a variety of dipping sauces went along nicely with my portabella mushroom sandwich which I shared with Mark in exchange for part of his hamburger.  Both equally as good and cooked to perfection.  The decor was great and you would never know where this restaurant is as it is hidden in an office mall so you feel more like you are going to see a dentist than grabbing a bite to eat. Highly recommend Stacks and look forward to going back.  

Sunday morning we headed to Le Peep Restaurant, www.lepeep.com, to have brunch with Mike and Missy, some of Mike and Jessica's friends.  The quality of food and service was excellent and once full we headed about 1.5 hours north to Michigan. My first time to Michigan and I had a wonderful time.  The small lake side town of Saugatuck, Michigan, is where we headed to do some eclectic shopping, grab some delicious ice cream at Kilwins,  www.kilwins.com and enjoy the lake view.  

Saugatuck, Michigan

The weather was perfect for a relaxing afternoon.  On our way back to Crown Point, IN, where Mike and Jessica live, we enjoyed dinner on the patio at Stop 50 Wood Fired Pizza in Michigan City, Michigan.  Surrounded by Ferrari's and your choice of Porsche we made our selves right at home, laughing a little too loudly but enjoying our time.  

Monday we spent the day relaxing at Mike and Jessica's home, complete with their very own Bert and Ernies (cats) to cuddle with.  A quick stop at the mall and a few dinners later we were headed back to Midway airport to take our short flight home to Kansas City.  It was a wonderful weekend and a nice chance to hang out with my in-laws and friends before our move.     

Cross it off the list

The countdown has begun and there are 16 days until we move to Africa!!!  Mark has booked our flights, thank you to Black & Veatch for providing 3 first class tickets, and we are set to leave on June 8th.  We have never flown first class before so this will be quite the experience.  Adalyn's first international flight and she gets to go first class, sadly she won't get to do it often as coach is more my price range.
Anyways, so here I am getting us packed and moving things to storage when I realize all the little things that have to be done.  Like cancelling our phones, which Sprint has made difficult with sending them back our phones to get out of paying our cancellation fees in their special package complete with us faxing our one way flight info to prove we are not lying.
Then I need insurance for our storage unit in-case burglars hit as I have found that storage unit insurance does not cover any weather related damage.  But who sells storage insurance, I have yet to find anyone so it looks like the storage unit facility has the upper hand on that one.
I took my car to CarMax just to see what they would give me for my wonderful car which I picked out down to the last detail in 2009 only to get my hopes crushed of getting a fair offer.  Nope, they were well below what every internet site (Edmunds, NADA, etc.) said it was worth.  I doubt they will be as friendly with Mark's so it looks like my dad will take on the challenge after we leave.  I am thankful to have someone in the car business to help us out.
Went to fill my prescriptions for the last time and to check and see if I can get the scripts transferred to South Africa, but CVS states they don't do that and even if I saw a new doctor in SA, I could not bring the scripts back to the US to get filled.  So I have the wonderful pleasure of finding the same doctors in two countries to prescribe me the exact same scripts while hoping they get paid by international insurance....but who can really complain, after all I signed up for this adventure and this is just part of it.
The cats have been adopted, so glad to check that off the list, as I was worried one would be homeless.  Now we just need to find a home once we arrive.  Glad to have people on board to help with that process as the jet lag may get the best of me for a while.
16 days will be up before we know it, and I am sure there will be several last minute things to add to my list.

Goodbye 1st Home

In March 2006, Mark bought our first home, as he was taking an assignment in Ohio and needed a home for his per-diem.  I was luckily enough to move in rent free in December of that year and put my personal touch on everything.  Mostly because Mark could care less about drapes and decor, but it was nice to start building our life while we were still dating.  Well here we are 7 years later moving out and getting it ready for tenants to move in.  Instead of selling we thought that we would rent it out as we have had experience with our rental properties downtown and given the market this was not the best time to sell.

I expected myself to be a little sad but given the level of excitement I have towards our new adventure, I don't feel sad.  I have wanted to moved for several years, either out of that house and close to the places we visit most, or to another part of the world to try something different.  I guess I got what I was looking for.  I will miss the catwalk, the proximity to highways, the small yard that did not take a lot of mowing time, bathrooms with high counters, laundry on the same floor as the bedrooms, the 2 story ceilings, the large windows, the fact that we got to pick out all the hard wear and colors (love hate relationship here, see below) and the open concept layout.  It was a great home for many reasons, but quite frankly we were ready to move on.

Love the open floor plan

First time home buying was a good experience and we have learned a lot. I now know not to pick a color for a house off of a 2x2 paint sample as I hated the color of our house inside and out the first time I saw it.  Even went as far as calling Mark in Ohio and telling him we have to pay someone to repaint the whole thing. Then there is the fridge that I insisted stuck out too far and made too much noise therefore we needed a new one, on top of the kitchen cabinets that had too unique of a stain for my taste.  At one point I was laying on the floor of our empty house crying and telling Mark we needed to sell the house and move.  Way over dramatic but what do you expect from a 22 year old.  Well the house colors did not change, the fridge stayed and the cabinets are one of my favorite things.  The saying, "you live, you learn" really came into play here.

Love my catwalk

I hope that our next home can provide some great memories and learning experiences as our last and one we can fall in love with all over again.

The Big Move Begins

So here we are, May has arrived and our big move to South Africa is coming up quick.  Just 2 months ago Mark got the offer to take a new position with Black & Veatch in the Pretoria office and we jumped on it.  Having always wanted to live overseas this was the perfect opportunity to test it out. 
In just one week we will say goodbye to living in our house, though will hang onto it as a rental.  Sell the cars, give away our cats, and pack what can fit into our suitcases to embark on this new adventure.  It's amazing how much "stuff" you can accumulate in 7 years in one house, but then again I am a pack rat.  I have never moved out of Missouri, let alone to another continent, but the planner in me is determined to be prepared.  After two fantastic farewell parties,

Country Club UMC 

Wessler Family

Walker Family