And now, onto the good stuff

Or not....

We are having issues with the bank and the house. We put in an offer, which they accepted, and were ready to close on the 22nd. However, they were not. Long story short, we ended up having to cancel our previous offer, and submit a "new" one. By new, I mean the exact same offer, just new closing date. Well, this time the bank rejected it. Didn't counter, didn't say we need to think about it, just rejected it. Which, is very suspicious to me since it was the EXACT samw as the one before that they had taken and were working towards closing on. I just don't get it. We have also been having issues with the listing agent on the house, and my suspicion is he just didn't submit the offer because we hurt his feelings somehow. Anyway, I went and looked at a few new houses yesterday, and found one that was nice, but not nice enough to offer again.

So, since we have been back now for 5 weeks and have spent several of them in hotels, we are thinking about moving into a short term lease for an apartment, and then, just taking our time and makeing an offer when we are totally comfortable. I hope to have a mailing address soon, and to be able to unpack a few things atleast. I also hope to be able to cook an actual meal and to have a bedroom door. No, not for that reason. So, I can put the girls to bed and stay up past 8 o'clock myself. Up to this point, since we are all sharing one room, we have been putting the girls to bed and then hiding in the bathroom (the only door to close) until they fall asleep. Then, we can come outside and watch tv silently with the captions on so as not to disturb them. Oh well, such is life.

So, that is my story and I am sticking to it. We are getting ready to head to Pa's for the weekend while Justin is gone to TN this week.

Justin's 26th birthday is coming up this next week too. He will be such an old fart :)

Also, the computer is back in the shop, yet again, to hopefully correct what we originally sent it in for over 5 weeks ago. One day I will have a computer again. And not be living in a suitcase. And have a mailing address. One day... {Sigh}

Last, but not least

A little update.

We are now in Ga, where Justin has started his new job as Assistant Project Manager. He is a quite busy with all the new responsibilities he has, but I have total confidence that he will do just fine once he feels more confident. He has already taken his first "Business Trip" up to the job site in TN. He has a laptop, a blackberry, business cards, a name plate, an office with a window. You name it, he is doing great!

We have been floating between hotels, extended stay hotels and family and friends since we got back almost a month ago. We have eaten way too much fast food, and I am getting tired of it.

We looked at something like 25 houses in 2 days, and thought we found one. It isn't perfect, but it has ALOT of potential, and ALOT of space. It is huge!!! We put in an offer, and they actually took it. However, it is a forclosure and there is a lot of red tape involved between the bank and the VA loan we are getting. It is really confusing actually. We thought we were closing on Friday, and since the house is empty, we could move in on Saturday. However, now we are not so sure. The listing agent for the house is not being very professional, and he isn't returning phone calls, so, we actually don't know where we stand. We may not close on Friday... And, if that is the case, I would hate to start all over again.

So, I guess, we will just wait and see what happens. And, as soon as I get my new address, I would be happy to pass it on to those who care. Sorry for being gone so long, but I finally have access to the computer and internet, so, I am seemingly back from the edge of the world. Enjoy!

Graduation

Justin graduated Magna Cume Laude from Auburn University's Building Science Program on Aug 9, 2008. We are all very proud of him and all the hard work he put into it. He even got his 2 seconds of fame as he walked across the stage infront of the whole University's graduating group!!! Yeah for smart people!!!

In all his graduating glory!!! Notice the honor cord?


I didn't get a good picture of him shaking hands (not that this is a good picture), but he is in the middle walking back to his spot. (Again, notice the cord)


And waving.


In front of the sign.


The family in front of the sign.


In front of Samford Hall.

Cruise Ship Pictures

These are pretty self explanitory.

This is a picture of our boat, the Navigator of the Seas, from the bus window.




These are pictures of pictures they took of us as we got onto the boat. I was too cheap to pay something like $35 a print.



This is a picture of our cruise room. One view from the door, and the other from the window.



Everynight when they would come in to turn down the covers (yes, they did that) he would leave our towels folded up in some cool design. See if you can tell what they are. He frequently used things of ours lying around to add to the design.




And this is a picture of Justin. They had a cool old car on the boat. He just fits.

Rome

Then, we motored all night until we landed in Rome.

Pictures of the ruins of the Coliseum. Yep... Its a buncha rock :)



These are from the art at the Vatican Museum. We also got to see the Sistene Chapel, but you can't take pictures in there, so...




This is a picture of a double decker train in Rome. I'll bet that one had a/c.


And this is a picture of the cool light fixture in the restaurant we ate at in Rome. I ate real Italian Fettecine Alfredo, and it was pretty good. Oh, and I ate Italian Pizza the day before in Florence, and I liked the American version better.

Florence & Pisa

We got back on the boat, and motored all night until we got to Pisa and Florence, Italy the next day. We got to see the Building Justin is writing his thesis on, the Florence Cathedral, and spent a lot of time on trains, which were NOT air conditioned. They need to learn more about that over there!!!


The Leaning Tower of Pisa.


This building was painted. Looks neat!


Shutters that open up and out.


View from the top of the Florence Cathedral.

Cannes

After we got aboard the ship, we boated all night until we landed the next morning in Cannes, France. We didn't really know what we wanted to do there, but we walked around a bit. Since we are both licensed scuba divers, and we rarely have the chance to go without children, we went SCUBA Diving in FRANCE!!! So cool! We didn't get any any good pictures of that, but we did get some other stuff while we waited.

This is a beach sculpture... Neat, huh?


This is a guy carving people out of wood. He is working on one to the right. Neat!!!


A small fish prep station for one of the hotels. They branch out and have a private area of beach right across from them.


Whoopi's hand print at the Cannes Film walk thingy.


Fiona.


Spidey.

Barcelona

So, I finally got some pictures from the cruise, a computer, and internet access. It is amazing how hard some of these things are to get all at the same time. But, I am guessing that is a blog for another time. Here are some pictures from the first day in Barcelona.

This is a picture of me after travelling for 24 hours. Yeah, I know, I look like I really want my picture taken, right?!?!


This is a picture of the outside of the hotel we stayed in Barcelona, Spain, before we left on the cruise the next day.


This is the hotel room.


This is the view from the hotel room. Beautiful, eh?


This is a cool sculpture thing in the port at Barcelona before we got on the ship.