An Adobe House and a Vintage Glamper

So much has been happening that I just had to write, partly to share our news, and partly as my therapy. Dave and I recently became the proud owners of two new really big projects, an adobe style horse property here in Henderson, NV that we closed on a couple of weeks ago, and as of today, a vintage, all original, 22' camping trailer, (or future glamper) as I like to call it. Both were made in the 1970's and are in excellent structural condition. And both are in need of some serious updating...and paint. Especially paint! Take a look at the picture of the house, and you'll understand exactly what I'm talking about. I plan to document every step of the way as we work our magic transforming these beauties into modern spaces that our family can love.

Davison is king of our humble, orange, adobe abode!

Kids For Trade

Living away from family all these years is a bummer. Sadly, my kids hardly know their extended family. They have never had family birthday parties surrounded by aunts and uncles, proud grandparents and cousins to play with. I can count on one hand the number of times they have met Dave's parents or my grandfather, who happens to still be alive.

In contrast, I knew my paternal grandmother like I know my own mother. I spent weekends at her house growing up, and weeks at a time with her at her camp in New Hampshire. When I got older, and she got older, I called her just about every other day. I remember thinking that I would not be able to live without her when she died. But I made it through.

Living away from family all these years has opened the door to awesome opportunity. We have made friends with people that we love so much, and identify with so well, that they might as well be family. These are the people that we talk to every day through text or Facebook or have made the Godparents of our children. Their kids are our kids' best friends. We carry on relationships with these chosen few because we want to, not because blood relation and the branches of the family tree expect us to. They have probably spent more birthdays with my children than my own parents have which is both sad, and a blessing at the same time.

We met Lisa and John when we moved to Sicily in 2007. Coincidentally both of our families had been stationed in Maine at the same time but had never met. My friend Dina, who knew both of us, assured me that we would get along great if we ever crossed paths. In Italy we finally did cross paths and Dina was right.

Dave and I drove three hours east today meet up with Lisa who drove three hours west to meet us for a kid swap. Her kids Sarah, Hannah and Will are the same ages as my Evelyn, Lillian and Rowan and you couldn't imagine cousins who could get along better. I feel an overwhelming gratitude for the life we have been blessed with as a families serving in the Navy. I am honored that Lisa trusts us like family to take care of her kids for the week. I am thankful that my husband is at home to help me with the kids and that we can give Lisa a week off while her John is out to sea. 


So yes, living away from relatives is a bummer sometimes. I miss my friends back home, family and Dave's family too. But the distance the military has forced us to sustain has made us vulnerable-opening the pathway to new friendships that are as strong as family ties. 

• Two weeks ago Austin drove 8 hours to Orlando to spend the weekend with his best friend Justin, a friend made during our tour in Italy. When we think of Justin living 8 hours away we think of that as close.
• Last week Abby (Austin's girlfriend of two years who lives in Virginia) and the boys' friend Sarah came to visit for the week. They have visited us 3 times in 6 months. It may be a lot of miles but really Virginia's only a short flight away. I am certain they will remain lifelong family friends
• Today Austin and Cal flew to Virginia for a few days to catch up with old friends. They called to say it was weird seeing new people living in our house and they didn't like it.
• At the end of the week Austin and Cal are heading to New Hampshire and then Massachusetts to hike with my parents and have a family cookout at my Dad's beach house. My sister is arranging for the teenage kids of my high school friends to be there too. My kids don't see any of them often enough but when they do, they pick up as if they were never apart.
• This week we are hosting the McGonagle kids. Next week our brood is headed to Lisa's house for another kid trade.
• Phil and Amie, Rowan's Godparents, just got orders to Japan for the next two years. We are lucky enough to be stationed 30 minutes away from each other until January 2013.

All of these relationships are possible courtesy of the red, white and blue 

and years of serving in the US Navy!

Dave at Malcolm House's retirement ceremony.

Family vacation with the McGonagles, Outer Banks, NC, 2011.
Lily, Hannah, Sarah and Evelyn

My godmother (Great Aunt Elaine) with Rowan and Davey during a visit to Virginia, 2011.

Rowan and Will swimming in Sicily, Italy, 2009.

Landon's birthday stationed in Brunswick, Maine with the Brock boys, 2006.
Harrison, Liam, Ethan and Landon

I Don't Know Where to Start

So much has happened in the past two months. There are so many blog-worthy stories to share! Our move to Florida, the kids' transition into another school system, our house renovation-we've been busy. In a nutshell:

• We moved from Virginia to Florida in late January. Saying goodbye to our friends in VA was very hard. Nobody had it harder than Austin though. He had to leave Abby-the love of his 16 year life-behind in VA. However, their long-distance relationship is going strong. Abby will be here for a visit in one week.
• Austin got his driver's license, and another "new" car. Apparently the Chevelle was just a stepping stone. The newest ride? A 1970 Buick Electra convertible with a 455. It should be delivered any day.
• Dave and I started the Atkins Diet the day after the new year and have both lost about 23 lbs. 
• After a delayed closing on our new house we are moved in and the house is under complete and total renovation. I have been taking lots of pictures of the projects but haven't actually posted them. I have great shots to share of the before and afters. Projects so far include:
• All new exterior paint
• Craftsman style front door, sidelight and hardware as well as window shutters
• A newly refinished front porch decorated with vintage furnishings and a nautical theme
• Added a front walkway to the door
• Three new bedrooms and a killer 22'X12' mudroom with built-in lockers
• New interior carpet, paint and wall colors
• An enormous new in-ground swimming pool in the back yard

If it's OK I am going to forget that I have been MIA for about two months. (Sorry about that.) And I am going to start off fresh. I'm happy to be back!

Davison posing with the deep end of our new in-ground swimming pool. Even the yard is under construction.

What color is your house?

We have spent our first few days back in Pensacola catching up with old friends, visiting the resturants that we missed and getting ready to move into our house. If all goes well we should finally be closing later today.

The kids were less than impressed with our new house. Rowan threw his arms up, looked around and declared, "This is disgusting". I assured him that the first thing on our to-do list was to paint the board and batten exterior an acceptable color-something different than dark aqua green which currently covers every inch of the house from the roof to the ground including trim, window frames, gutters and the foundation-and there would be no bugs in his room by the time he has to sleep in it. The rest of the day was spent formulating a plan for the whirlwind of renovations that needed to start immediately.

I have spent as much time in the past few weeks searching for the perfect exterior paint color as I have folding laundry-which is a lot of time. We finally decided on a craftsman theme of dark mocha with creme trim, a perfect compliment to the brown window frames on the existing house. (Imagine how that looks with the current aqua?!) We thought the decision had been made until we looked at rhe house next door, one that we hadn't paid too much attention to before, and saw tan and white siding. Of course the plans for our house would put it in another class from that one when we were done working our magic, however, I didn't want to be accused of being a copycat. It was back to the drawing board.
In a paniced call to my mother earlier that morning asking for ideas and inspiration for what all-of-a-sudden felt like the biggest decision of my life, she assured me that I couldn't go wrong with green-which has always been my favorite color. Thankfully we happened to stop at a nearby park to let the kids run off some steam and that's where we found the perfect exterior color. Across the street stood a beautiful two story federalist home with columns around the beautiful southern style porch. There were two cars in the driveway, a sign that someone was home.

"I'll be right back," I said to Dave.

Certainly someone with such a beautiful home would know her colors-or the number of the designer who chose them. (It was that kind of neighborhood.)

I walked confidently up the stairs to the door and knocked.

"I am so sorry to bother you but your house is beautiful and I just have to know the colors," I said.

I assured the woman at the door, who appeared to be in her late 60's, that our new house was in desperate need of a makeover. If she didn't mind I wanted to copy her paint colors. So much for not being a copycat huh. She asked me to wait a minute while she checked her file and came back with a neatly printed card that said Avacado Green, Dark Night and Nacre. She wished me luck with the move. I thanked her from the bottom of my heart. We loaded up the kids from their trip to the park and headed straight to Sherwin-Williams.

A Warm Welcome

We're packed up and on the road again. Stopping for the night in Jacksonville was the best last-minute plan we could have made, offering so much more than simply a place to rest our heads.

The night before we left VA was filled with tears. Excitement about the pending move turned to fear. Saying goodbye became reality. I offered words of encouragement saying just about anything to ease the pain that the kids were feeling-you'll make so many new friends, our house is across the street from the beach, we'll never move again (I hope). And then I explained what I see as the greatest benefit of being a military family. Being transient offers the blessing of having dear friends in every corner of the country-and world- who welcome you with open arms despite months, even years, and miles of seperation. My friend Lisa's words below taken from a Facebook post from this morning are a testament to just how special this is. (fyi..The gator she refers to was a big rubber alligator that she hid under our pillow with a note, "Welcome to Florida." I'll get her back.)

"So there was a Dermody sighting in Florida...w/ gator, dog, scared kitty hiding in the garage, crab, 6 kids and two crazy big kids, lugging it all cross-country again! It was a sweet bday surprise from Jennifer Georges Dermody and Dave Dermody to me and as with all our friends, the door is always open...even if we're not here. But something else is confirmed in me again...the hope that in moving, all will turn out well again. And as the worn, and traveled-weary group trooped in last night in search of sleep and food and drink, hurting from leaving great people, they too were reminded that the world is small and the good one's you'll always see again. I saw it in the magnetic hugs our boys had to be pried apart with this morning and in the uber-silliness of the girls jumping back into old BFF land...the quick sharing of yearbooks from Sigonella and old family photos...family, because our military friends are our family. Glad we could ease the pain...and the best is yet ahead for you! Much ♥...Lisa."

Thank you Lisa. I hope you have a wonderful 40th birthday today. I love you friend!

Florida or Bust

At this very moment I am crammed in the passenger's seat of my Suburban. My iPad is strategically propped on top of the pile of junk on my lap which includes a bag of Legos, stuffed animals and books, the snack bag filled with string cheese and Pringles and my beautiful leather tote bag filled with paint color chips, floorplan designs and closing documents. I get to sit with all the extra bags-the ones that no kids want to deal with. We are on a road trip. Well, it feels like a road trip but it is actually a PCS move. For the non-military folks out there that stands for Permanent Change of Station. We're headed to our new assignment in Florida's Sunny Gulf Coast.

We left early this morning with grand plans-to do the entire drive in one day-all 17 hours of it. The combination of getting a late start and realizing after the first 20 minutes of the ride that the littlest kids were going to drive us completely crazy asking "how much longer?", there was no way we could pull that off. So, while I got a half hour of sleep under this pile of crap on my lap, Dave called our friends in Jacksonville, FL and asked if they minded company. Lisa, my dear friend from our tour in Italy and fellow Navy spouse, who happens to be the best hostess ever, replied with some version of "you need a comfortable place to rest your heads and a good meal. We'll wait up for you." Anyone who would welcome a family of nine at a moment's notice, along with their dog, cat and hermit crab is a saint. Lisa certainly fits into that category. (Dave did mention the pets Lisa...didn't he?)

I had a few minutes between bathroom breaks, a blown tire in NC, and stopping for gas to check email and Facebook. A friend posted on my page, "I can't wait to read your first update when you get settled." That got me thinking and then motivated to write about our adventure-moving a family of nine half way across the country yet again, buying and renovating what I hope is going to be our forever house and integrating our crazy, big, spirited, loving, athletic, smart, beautiful, family into the beachside community that we will soon call home. This is a pretty exciting time for the family. Until tomorrow, ciao.