Starting to feel more like home

The first year here, I hated it. I think it was in anticipation of Scott leaving for Iraq, and all the massive changes that we went through those first months (newlyweds, moving, intro to the Marine Corps life, working from home, learning to drive a stick shift if I want to go out...). I remember our only true big fight out here, which ended with me yelling "I want to go home" and running up to our room for the rest of the night.

We have come a long way since then. And now this really does feel like home, and I can't imagine moving anytime soon. Of course, it all depends where our jobs take us, but as long as I can stand this job I have the luxury of moving anywhere and keeping it. That is a convenient things as Scott continues his soul searching for his true calling.

Kara asked me the other day how the job planning was going, and that she didn't want us to move, since they are trying to get back here in about 2 years. I said "We just got our backyard done, we're not going anywhere anytime soon!" And I truly believe it, because we are enjoying our house so much more now that the yard is not a disaster.

Just last summer, I thought of this house as a place to live and nothing more. I was not attached to it, and I didn't even like it. I was getting tired of it - and we actually talked about renting it out and moving into another house that we liked better. But now that the yard is done, we have eaten almost every dinner outside. And Scott comes home most of the time to me sitting outside reading or playing with the furry kids. I think Chewy loves it out there, and Bear is coming around. I think it might have changed the acoustics because he barks a lot more when he hears people walking behind the house. He barks in the wrong direction though - maybe the sound is bouncing off the walls in a different way. And he can't dig holes anymore! That is the best part.

So, last time I went home, everyone thought that we should do our yard ourselves. We considered that for about a week - and I am so glad that we didn't go that route. We got one company to come and do the pavers, and another to put in the turf. The entire job took about a week (3 days for the pavers, 2 days for the turf) - with lots of jackhammering to remove the old concrete, and sawing to put the pavers in. We kept the sprinkler system live so that we can water down our fake grass, and they put in a new drain in the pavers and moved the sprinkler valves to the front. Overall, I think they did a great job and this project would have taken us a year to finish - if we ever actually finished.

So as we slowly get the house fixed up, I am starting to feel like this is home. I am getting more used to the area, I can drive with confidence, and I love being able to eat dinner outside all year long. What more can someone ask for? Well, maybe for the Weinsafts to come back! Here are picks of the yard, and of K&K's latest visit.

Look Ma, I caught a really bad sunburn!

For Memorial Day weekend, we went fishing in Baja, near Cabo. This was Scott's first time in Mexico (he's never been to TJ, can you believe it?) and my first time going "big boy" fishing. It was a great trip, although the fish were not really biting those days.

We flew into the Cabo airport and took a van to the hotel where we stayed, Rancho Leonero. It was quaint, and perfect and exactly what we were looking for in this trip. The rooms were very nice, and they had a little outdoor patio that we spent the majority of our time on when we weren't fishing, sleeping or eating. All meals were included in the price, and I have to tell you that the food was really good. Every dinner was amazing, and it was the first time that I tried a Chile Relleno (loved it and haven't found one as good as that one since). There were no TVs in the room, which was a nice change of pace. It truly was a place where people come to go fishing, and drink, I guess.

We went fishing 2 full days. We chartered a boat and headed out each morning at about 7am. The hotel packed us a cooler with beers, water and lunch - and when we got on the boat, the bait boats came by and we bought the bait that we would need for the day. The first day we started with some rock fishing (bottom fishing) and caught one Cabrera.. We then decided to try our luck at Dorado (mahi mahi) and Marlin. Almost immediately, a Marlin started to trail us, but we never got a bite. Then, Scott got about a 15 lb. dorado (see pic). The next day, we started out trolling - but things were incredibly slow. We then headed out for some more rock fishing, and brought in about 10 different types of fish. I will admit that the boat captain and deck hand "caught" the majority of the fish, but they let us reel them in and take the credit!

The first day out, I didn't do a good job of applying the suntan lotion. We came in that night, and parts of my legs and shoulders hurt more than any sunburn I remember having. When we got home from our trip, Scott headed out to Hawaii for work and asked about my sunburn one night. I told him that after the hurting stopped, they turned a deep purple color, then they turned black. He didn't believe me, but laughed his head off when he came home and saw that they really turned black. Then they peeled, and now I'm back to normal.

We had a great time, and actually talked a little about the hotel last night and thought that it would be a perfect place for a family reunion. There are only 35 rooms, and our families could overtake the place.