It Looks Like We Won't Be Shipping Anything

Today Keith and I took one of the 55 gallon barrels to ship it to Dominica. DHL wanted over 1000.00. We said "No Way". The stuff in there isn't worth that much. So we went to UPS and they wanted over 3000.00. That is outrageous! It sounds like nobody ships by boat anymore. We checked with USPS and they no longer ship by boat either. So I think we will just take what we can carry on the plane and that will be it.

I am enjoying my time off of work so far. It doesn't really feel like I'm not working because we have been so busy. We have been busy cleaning the house and packing. We had some people come over today to look at the house and then we have another open house this weekend. Hopefully we will have some good luck.

Last Friday night I met up with a friend, Steph, for sushi, at a restaurant called, Seven, in downtown Minneapolis. I hadn't had sushi in so long that I"ve forgotten how good it is. Now I am looking forward to my next sushi meal.

On Tuesday, we went with Jim, Becky, and Beth to the Como Zoo in St Paul. The girls did well considering they went without a nap until the ride home! Alex especially liked the Orangutan mommy with her new little baby. Click below for pics:

Como Zoo with Alex and Beth

Romeo Has A New Home

Today Romeo went to our neighbors house to live. We are all little sad. Some more than others. I think he will have a good home. They have a dog that will give him some exercise and everyone that knows Romeo knows that he needs some exercise. He is a super size cat! They are going to keep him in their house for a few days before letting him back outside so he will hopefully remember where his new home is.

This past Sunday we headed to the cities to do some shopping. We were looking for some Keen Shoes and new clothes to take to Dominica. We stopped at REI. Which might be are last stop. They are way overpriced. A pair of Keen shoes at Scheels in Mankato is 79.00. They are 100 at REI. Plus their clothes were very expensive. So we decided not to buy anything and took Alex to the Mall of America and the Nickelodeon Theme Park. As soon as we started to walk through the theme park Alex was on the edge of her seat. She saw all her favorite characters, Dora, Diego, Backyardigans, etc. We went on two rides, the carousel and a blue's clues ride. She seemed to not like either of them too much. She was a bit scared. I think she may have been too tired. Next Monday is Alex's last day of daycare. They said they are going to miss her! I'm sure Alex has no problem staying home with Mom everyday.

After the mall we stopped by my aunt and uncles house for lunch. My cousin and her twin sons were visiting from California. Alex had a fun time playing with her cousins. Especially, Maddie. She wanted to follow Maddie everywhere.

I have some pics from Sunday. Click on the pic below to see more pics.

Mall of America and Lunch with Cousins

We are having an Open House this Weekend

Unfortunately our house hasn't sold yet. We lowered the price a little bit and our Real Estate Agent is holding an open house for us this Saturday and Sunday. So now we have a lot of work to do to get the yard looking good and we need to clean out the garage (which is a big task). I am working on cleaning out the mud room tonight. Keith will be busy tomorrow and friday. We still have the two closets to put together in the bedrooms downstairs and we need to clean out the two storage areas down stairs. We also have a three stall garage with no room to park a car! We are borrowing a truck from my work tomorrow so that should help.

I put in my two weeks notice and my last day of work will be next friday. I was worried because I thought they would just have me leave and not stay my two weeks. So I guess I am lucky! They like me! :) My boss is extremely sad to see me go. They wish I could stay! But I'm excited to experience life in a different country.

I also have to turn in my cell phone. My cell phone has also been my work phone and they have paid for part of the bill. Unless I want to open another contract I can keep it. But since the phone won't work down there I'm just going to turn it in. I think we will get a skype phone but we are not sure yet. We could just wait to get a phone when we get down there. So everyone will have to start contacting Keith's phone to get a hold of me starting next friday.

Also, some recent news! We just sold our 1998 Isuzu Trooper on Ebay. I was so excited. We've had this Isuzu for 10 years and we are a little sad to see it go.

I have some new pics below. Click on the pic below to see them all.

At the Beach, Park, and our Backyard with Alex

July 4th Weekend and Dominica

We have our flights booked to Dominica. We are leaving Tuesday August 19th. We fly on American Airlines from Minneapolis to Miami, and then Miami to San Juan, Puerto Rico. We'll stay the night in Puerto Rico and then fly to Dominica the next day at noon. We had to book a round trip flight for our Visa. So we are coming back on December 18th. I think Alex will miss her friends. I hope we find other families there with children about the same age as Alex.

This weekend both Keith and I worked. On July 4th, when Keith got off of work at 7pm we drove to Woodbury to watch fireworks with his family. Then we headed back home about 11pm. Alex was sooo tired and had never stayed up that late before. She slept in the next day until about 10:15. So now her sleep schedule is all screwed up. On Saturday Alex and I sent swimming at Spring Lake Park. We went again today with Keith. Click below for pictures of our weekend.

July 4th Weekend