The first week....

Friday, 14th April 2006 – Good Friday Happy 60th birthday Dad. –XXXX- Hello from Sacramento, Well let’s start from the start of our journey. The good-byes at the airport (as everyone who was there will testify) were yuk to say the least. We got behind the doors & waited in the zig-zag line for a long time. We got through customs & went down to the red carpet club for a quick drink before we boarded the plane to Sydney. The Sydney trip was ok but the couple of hours we had to wait was the start of a very long 24hours for Bruce & I. We got onto the plane to San Fransisco & the boys were both asleep before we took off which was good. We woke them up to have some dinner, which like their mother they didn’t eat much of. The start of the experience if US food. They stayed awake for a while a we watched some movies, Jamieson then went back to sleep until breakfast, which was great. Conner finally went to sleep 2/3 of the way through the flight & I think I got ½ an hour then. (Can’t sleep sitting up) Bruce slept on & off) We finally landed in San Fransisco, I was exhausted to say the least, so much so that I felt really ill. We got through customs & went to the red carpet club for a 3 hour lay over, where the boys went out for pancakes & I tried to sleep ½ sitting up but in a comfy chair. I slept on & off for about an hour. They came back & Bruce had a sleep & the boys & I played UNO & other stuff until it was time to go to our plane. The plane to Sacramento was a small one (20 people) and the trip was 20 mins up & down. It’s only a 60-90 min drive. We were met at the airport by Greg (one of the guys that Bruce will be working with) we got into his minivan & he drove us to the motel. One room with 2 queen size beds, this was going to be interesting!! We showered & changed & Greg came back & took us out to dinner. Italian, which was yummy!!! Slept well, not a surprise although it did take me a while to get to sleep, which is still the case now. Day 1- We got woken up by Greg knocking on the door to take us out looking at houses. Got in the car & made our way south down to Elk Grove. We couldn’t find any of the houses & couldn’t find a map, so we headed back up the highway. All the highways here are numbered & you have to know which direction you need to go. So to get to Elk Grove you can go South on the 99 or 5. Greg dropped us off the AVIS & we picked up our rental car. From there we drove to IKEA to price some furniture then ended up at an outlet mall near the motel. (By this time the boys were bored as you could imagine) It had lots of good shops. Elise I thought of you, so start making out a list of brands that you wear so I can keep a look out. Let’s see, it was an outdoor mall & the shops included Nike, (I got some new really cool pink runners & tracksuit, picture soon) Oshkosh, lots of winter stuff on sale 50 -70% off, (we got CJ a pair of track pants for $8.) Gap, not so much stuff on sale, Wilson’s leather (there was a 50% off sale & I could get a jacket for $250. LEATHER!! Bose, the new system is $2,000-$3,000. Old Navy, Perfumes, lots of other big name brands that I can’t remember right know. Anyway, I digress. Went back to the hotel got to sleep at no idea what time, late again. Got on the internet (wireless, really cool) & found out that all the good houses were gone. So we made some notes to drive past the OK ones. Day 2 – (Monday) Got up & went to back down to Elk Grove, drove around to find that OK ones were just OK. Drove out to the shop where PR Gear has their office & met Geoff who in one of the owners & then to his Clinic to meet Dr Todd the other owner. (He’s a Chiropractor) Found a Raley’s (supermarket) & bought some food to take back to motel. The boys went to bed & I had my first cry, (combination of tired & thinking we would have to life in a yucky house). We made some calls to see inside & no one was helpful at all, you had to leave a message for someone to get back to you. (Bruce, got his call back yesterday- 2 days later). Overall the day was a bust & the poor kids were bored out of their minds. Day 3- Bruce, while looking for houses found the apartment complex’s (there are lots) So, we made some calls & off we went again. We had 4 to see & Lake Point was the first. We really like the look of it & Angela, who works & lives here looked after us really well. Anyway, we went and saw others & found another that we really liked. The complex was bigger it had more stuff than lake Point & they had a special on which made it cheaper. Dilemma!!! Although, they couldn’t get us in until the weekend. So, we came back & had another look around here & decided that having the school right across the road was the deal breaker. (Which may not be the case, more later) So we decided on Lake Point. 3 bedroom apartment with only 1 living area, but it’s bigger than I thought. It has all appliances which is great, don’t have to buy them. It has a little laundry with washer & dryer, patio & storage and heating & cooling. Weird thing is there are no lights in the small bedrooms, no idea why. We are here for 6 months, and then we will see. The complex is nice & it has a pool & spa, 24hour fitness centre & business centre. It’s gated after office hours. There is an office here that’s open everyday & the girls are really cool. There is also a function room, it looks like a big lounge room you can have party’s in etc. So all the boys are happy they have the toys they want. We went back to hotel relieved to say the least. The weather hadn’t helped either; they have had lots & lots of rain over the last month. We got back to the hotel & did some washing & the boys had a play in the pool & spa in the rain. They had fun; it was a good day, now all we had to do was get furniture. Our new address is The Hultgrens: Mail Box N# 272 Lake Point 9589 Four Winds Drive Elk Grove CA 95758 United States Day 4- (Wednesday) Moving in day…. Bruce went to Social Security office to get a SS number & the lady was most helpful – NOT!! It looks like it will take 4 weeks. So we can’t get any type of credit etc until then. Greg came and picked up us & our bags up & we made the last trip down the highway to Elk Grove. We did all the paper work & put our bags in then went down to IKEA for some shopping. We got mattresses, doonas, pillows, towels, dining room, crockery, cutlery & some kitchen stuff. Hired a van & guess what, I DROVE!!! Stay on the right, stay on the right, it was OK because I was following Bruce in the van. What didn’t make it easy was the fact that it was raining hard. But it was a good experience, not so terrified anymore. We stopped in at Safeway on the way home to do some shopping, I have to say that one thing I’m not fond of the food here. All the good stuff is not cheap compared to home. Don’t have my lasagna sheets. (Mortified) Eg. Water crackers are $2.50 Safeway brand. Cream cost me $2.00 for small one. But at least it’s familiar in there. The cheese is awful looking and expensive, but you can buy pre-made cookie mixture for $1.00. It doesn’t look like I’m going to be getting the receipe book out much for biscuits etc. Haven’t seen what the delicatessen has yet. Just about everything we eat is going to have to change or differ slightly. Give me some time to settle in and adjust & I’ll get back to you about the whole food thing. Just be thankful for your yummy food everyday. A ham & cheese sandwich will never be the same. Conner had a cry in bed before he went off, just realizing it’s not a holiday it’s really happening, I think. He is so bored though that he wants to start school. So we had our first night in our new home & the kids slept really well, me pretty much the same late to sleep. We assembled all the furniture & it’s looking pretty good, sparse, but ok for now. Once everyone is settled & Bruce is working, then I’ll put some personal touches around. Not too much though, less is more. Day 5- Got up & plodded around making a list of stuff to get I tried to use me hairdryer, Aust works on 240Vts & the US works on 110Vts. So my poor very powerful hair dryer was not. It took me 20mins to dry my fringe. Have to get a new one. It also happened with the battery recharger. Someone will be taking home a bag of stuff that we can’t use here when they come to stay. There is so many stores here there seems to be some on every major corner & they are huge. We got dressed & walked over to school, they gave us some paperwork to fill out & we have to go SOMEWHERE & get the boys the chicken pox shot. Also, they couldn’t guarantee that the boys would be at the same school, all depended on age & if they were full. If so they would have to ring around the other schools in the area. So I have to say, I am a freaked about that, Bruce said, we’ll deal with it when & if we have to. Nothing is ever easy. God please help me. Anyway, to cheer me up & because we had to, Bruce took me shopping. We went to Target. We got more bits & pieces for the house, and then we stopped off & bought a TV. We got all the stuff home in the afternoon & the boys got to play around the complex. It was a beautiful day. They made some new friends & we met 2 of them. I think everyone just likes hearing us talk. The poor kids couldn’t understand what Conner & Jamieson were saying half the time. They were talking to fast & using words that the other kids didn’t know. It was quite funny. Anyway, we had a late dinner & again late night. Spoke to the Korostin family on the phone which was great. Our phone should be coming on soon. But internet guy is coming Friday morning so then we can all talk on the computer. YEAH!!! If you don’t have a webcam yet, you’ve got about 24hrs before I’m online. Just as a side note- things that they don’t have here which I will be requesting care packages for. Nivea Soap, Chocolate obviously, Dymo Label tape, teddybear biscuits chocolate coated or not, vegemite Day 6- TODAY!! Good Friday US Saturday AUST The cable man came this morning, we no have 100 channels, who needs DVD player. Then I started writing this. The boys are currently outside playing & Bruce has gone out to do some stuff, he will be back for lunch. I have to go over to the office to find out about the boys shots & go to the business centre. We'll talk to you soon! Photos coming Love US!