Moving to San Angelo, TX

Logan and me were pretty sad that Pilot Training didn't work out but we were happy to be moving on and perusing a career in Intelligence. It was a logical transition considering his degree in Geo Spacial Intelligence. So San Angelo, TX will be our next home for about the next 6 months.  

Right after Christmas we started packing. I was glad that I could spread it out over a week and a half so it didn't seem so hectic - it also made moving day easier. We got our truck the day before and with the help of our neighbors got it all loaded up. 

After that, we cleaned and cleaned! I had heard that some people got charged up to $700 for cleaning and repairs. I really didn't want that, so I made it my goal to get charged as little as possible. For example, they said that cleaning the carpets were optional, but if you didn't, we could get charged $350 just to get them done! I decided to risk it and did everything myself. 

On our check out inspection the lady doing it said the house looked great! She even asked "did you clean the carpets?" and I told her yes. Then she asked what company I used because they looked so good. I smiled and said that I had done it all. I think they were really impressed. The best part was no charges at all!

Loading up the Truck - almost done with plenty of room to spare. 

Our almost empty house a few hours before checking out.

This time Logan decided to haul the car and we both road in the truck. It was nice being able to be together. It made me so nervous having the car in the back though. It is hard enough driving the truck - I wan't sure how adding a trailer would affect that too. Logan, of course being the awesome person he is, figured it out quite fast and we had no problems. His driving skills always impress me, considering, I would have had a heart attack if someone had even just asked me to drive it a few feet. Logan is so good to take care of me that way. After making sure we had put the car on right we were on our way.

All loaded up and ready to get on the road. 

We left Enid, America exactly a year from when we moved there. It was extremely hard to leave all the friends I had made there. It was about a 7 hour trip to San Angelo. We got there in the evening and a friend was nice enough to let us sleep at his house that night. 

The next day we went to check out the apartment we had applied for. I have to tell you, it is pretty hard trying to find a place to live, when you have never seen it before! The apartment complex is actually the same one that Lani and Scott (Logan's sis and BIL) lived when they were here too about 10 years ago! I'm glad they suggested it because it is working out well for us, especially considering we will only be here for a short period of time. It is also great that we will save a good amount on BAH each month (meaning our housing allowance is higher than the cost of rent so we get to pocket the difference).

Logan standing in our new apartment.

So far, it has been nice here. The ward is much smaller and there are not as many young couples as there were in our last ward. Logan has an easy commute to work each day. We are still learning San Angelo and what it has to offer. It is much bigger than Enid, so that is nice.

Moving in and putting together furniture.

Another nice thing that we have learned about our apartment complex is that it is a really safe place! Almost all the apartments are occupied by people in the military or police force.

Christmas and New Years

On the 8th, Logan and me and two of his friends, got to go to Oklahoma City to see the Trans Siberian Orchestra! And boy was it wild!

Before the concert, we all got dinner at Texas Road House and then because we had some extra time, we walked around down town Oklahoma City and looked at all the amazing decorations. 

I have always liked Trans Siberian Orchestra but I guess I never realized just how rock and roll they can get. Electric guitars, fire, head banging and light shows. I was so not prepared! It was still a great concert and we left satisfied and a little deaf. 

For Christmas Vacation we got to go back to Katie and Jeff's house again. This time the whole crew was there! It was great having everyone together, It has been a while since all the Cluff girls were under one roof!

Of course, it was also a ton of fun having a toddler to keep us all entertained. Kara Anne sure loves her Pa pop! Above, was when he decided to show her how to build snow men and they both went out with only SOCKS on their feet! Silly grandpa.

Katie found these singing and dancing stuffed animals this year. Kara had a ton of fun watching them play over and over again. Then when they turned off she would bring it to you until you pushed the button and made them dance again. Kara loved to watch them and give them kisses with her teddy. 

Lots of Kara! 

This year because of schedules, we had Christmas eve as our fancy dinner and then opened up presents that night. Before, we all went out to see The Hobbit and Katie, being the amazing person she is, babysat Kara, cleaned the house and made all of us dinner! She is so good at spoiling us! 

All of us eating dinner (dad was playing with Kara of course).

After dinner we had our own Christmas program and Logan and me played two songs on our guitars. We had been practicing for a few weeks before and I think we did pretty well. We read the Christmas story and had a spiritual thought by my dad. 

Then we opened presents. I loved that everything I got was for the kitchen. I loved all of it! Logan got some camping gear and so he was a happy boy too! After opening our gifts we all enjoyed watching Kara unwrap hers and play with the new toys we got her. 

Here is the Cluff Family Photo that we took on Christmas eve. I think this is the first picture of all of us and Kara. To get this great pic, I set up mom's camera on a chair and set the timer and ran back and forth to the couch each time between shots. I think it turned out pretty good. My favorite part is that all of us on the couches have our arms around one another and dad is holding Kara's hand. We love each other so much! 

A few days after Christmas, we celebrated Jeff's birthday! The activity was ice skating! He had never been before and it had been a while for the rest of us, so we all had a lot of fun remembering and falling a few times. The best one of us all was Cynthia by far, but she taught me some cool tricks and I found out that I'm not too bad either! 

Afterwards, we went home for cake and presents! Hostess had gone out of business a few weeks before this, but Katie saved one of the cupcakes so Jeff could have a Hostess Cupcake with his chocolate cake too! 

Happy Birthday Jeff! 

Watching Jeff blow out his candles. 

Grandma of course loves her little grandbaby too! Here she is teaching Kara the moves to patty cake. I love the end when they both go "yay!".

YAY!

By New Years, Logan and me were the only ones still at Katie and Jeff's. We sure know how to have fun! We played Risk 2210 and after not being able to get into a movie, we went to HyVee and got all our favorite snacks! I ate so much!

That night it started snowing. It was already slick when we were coming back from the store so Logan and me stayed one more day. After that, it was back to real life and the start of packing up the house for our move.