Moving In!

We were all pretty excited to get to the house. D and S arrived a few hours after we did and helped so much to get us "functional." The only problem with that (if it IS a problem) is that, as we figured out later, Bud thought we were at Boppy and Grandma's new house. We have been gypsies for much of the summer...

We have explained over and over that it's our new house. I'm not sure if it's working. I think he thinks the name of the building is "Neuhaus", since that's what he yells everytime we pull down the driveway. I'm guessing it'll sink in eventually.

P & B playing "drive-thru" in the back yard ("Bud! Do you want to go get food through the window?!?")

Pixie's new dance studio (I'm loving how easy it is to keep that tile clean...)

No doubt foraging, I'm just not sure for WHAT

We have everything we need: beds are all set up...

...as is the kitchen (as you can see behind Bud). First meal for the kids in our new home: rainbow goldfish, popcorn, strawberry-yogurt-covered raisins, and cheetos. YeeHaw.

Sing-along time with Boppy

Dis-Oriented at Last

DAYS 5-6

We made it!

Well, I don't know whether anyone is still checking the blog, as we've been here for more than two weeks now. We really DID make it safely. We didn't have high-speed internet though, and after the night it took me 20 minutes to pull down e-mail I basically gave up. However, we are now back in business, and here's the last installment of our travel log! Nothing too exciting except for the excruciating heat (whenever we got OUT of the car--we are so thankful that our a/c worked so well on the trip!) and making it to the land of palm trees...

We arrived in Santa Barbara on the 10th, and had a couple of hours to unload some furniture from the garage (where all of our things had been stored since June 20th) into the house before heading off to the title company to sign a pile of papers. J.D.'s parents arrived just before we left, and kept the children while we went into Montecito to sign away (definitely not Kansas, again...although I don't know how I can be so sure, as I've never actually been to Kansas).

We are definitely starting to settle in. One bonus about unpacking is that every time J.D. or I need some "focus time" to unpack something, we can just open up a box of toys that P & B haven't seen for 6 weeks and they are engrossed for 40 minutes or so.

OK, I hope to get up some house photos really soon. For now I have to do some church research/driving directions for the morning...oh, how we miss Rez!

Tuesday morning, in California at last, Pixie and Miss Bonita called to wish Nona a Happy Birthday. We miss you, Nona!

Even now this doesn't look like a big deal to me, but I took about a zillion shots of the Colorado River basin...the narrow swath of green in the middle of hours and hours of desert was so refreshing to the eyes that I couldn't snap it enough. When we stopped in Needles, CA (just over the AZ border) it was 111 degrees! Perhaps to the chagrin of employees, P & B used the INSIDE of the McDonald's as a playground (fortunately we were the only people there for most of the time). It was too hot out! (plus they didn't have a playground)

Yes, it's the first In-N-Out Burger visible from I-40 as you head West...(in Arizona, for those of you who are wondering).

Sesame Street CAN be extremely riveting. After our swim, Pixie and Bud kicked back with colored ?cereal? candy? with Elmo and friends while I packed up. J.D. was on his way back from the muffler shop. Pixie is still singing a song she made up about "Muffler Magic" (the name of the shop).

"Occidents" Happen

DAY FOUR

J.D. with Muffler

Hello again! After waking up in Albuquerque, we met up with Aunt M at an extremely cool New Mexican restaurant for breakfast (would that be toast or a tortilla?). On our way to Flagstaff, we definitely hit the American Southwest. Beautiful! Unfortunately, that wasn't the only thing we hit...

The Prizm had a collision with a huge retread that was unavoidable (OK, I guess J.D. COULD have chosen to either (a) try to bump the 18-wheeler next to us off of the road, (b) flip the car at about 70 mph (speed limit 75, folks), or (c) run over the retread. I have NO quibbles!!). Anyway, the amazing thing is that the muffler held on through no man's land/Navajo country all the way from New Mexico into Flagstaff, where J.D. gave it a temporary fix about 3 miles from his Aunt C's house. AMAZING!

I was so glad through all of the car chaos that back in Georgia, J.D. had occasion to remind me of the verse in James about the same mouth that praises God not being used to curse, as well. Through the uncertainty of timing (we did need to get on the road, since we're closing on our house Tues) we rested in God's care. As it turns out, J.D. was able to get to a great muffler shop early Monday morning (THANK YOU C and D!!) and we were on our way by noon, the kids and I having had a morning swim and breakfast at the hotel.

In Flagstaff, we were able to visit with the B. clan and guests, who included J.D.'s Dad (our visit was a total surprise to him!). It was a fabulous, restorative time.

OK, my family is literally waiting for me in the car. I'll be in touch soon!!

P & B with Aunt M

DAY THREE

"Welcome to New Mexico"--yes, Thank you!

We finished our longest mileage day today--531 miles! We are safely in Albuquerque, and glad to be here. After a yummy sleep-in morning, we had a bit of a late start and finish, extra hour for Mountain Time notwithstanding :). Tomorrow morning we get to see J.D.'s Aunt M for breakfast, and then off to Flagstaff, AZ for more family reunioning. We wish you a refreshing Sunday, too.

Pixie gives me some pointers for the blog this morning.

I'd love Don Quijote's opinion on which angle to take against these guys...

Frazz finally gets to make friends with an "orange truck"

Gather ye daisies while ye may...for soon it's back into the car with ye!

We happened upon real, award-winning barbecue in Amarillo. It was great! (See the star?)

They take being Texan very, very seriously. (And, don't mess!)

Sure, it was fun to climb way up to the top...but someone has to go up and fetch Bud when it's time to leave--and that someone isn't the pregnant lady (maybe J.D. wanted an excuse to go down the slide).

Ice cream all around!

Our dragon cloud pointed us into Albuquerque (I really, really hope I'm spelling that right)

The "Everything's OK" Corral

DAY TWO

Although we could see thunderheads for most of the day, it seemed as if I-40 (and thus our route) was specifically designed to weave us through the storms and give us clear sailing into Oklahoma City. What a blessing!

We watched the Deep South fade away and got our first tastes of the wide open spaces to come. Just over the AR-OK state line, J.D. got tea to drink and it wasn’t sweet! Oh, dear! The beginnings of culture shock…not that we didn’t have some of those in the South, too. :)

Today was a little rougher, what with not-quite-enough sleep, but the shorter day (only about 8 hours total en route) and a delightful evening have been restorative for everyone. We arrived in time for a family swim before supper, as we had hoped!

As I type J.D. is reading to Pixie and Bud from “Little House on the Prairie.” It is fun, I think, for Pixie to get to move West to a new house along with the family we’ve followed from the Big Woods. Our crossing of the Mississippi River wasn't nearly as exciting as theirs, though...

Please thank God with us for a wonderful day. Tomorrow night I hope to be checking in from Albuquerque!

Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas yet!


Recharging the batteries (theirs and ours!)

A hundred (or two) miles of yellow wildflowers did not lose their refreshing-ness

The end of the road for the day!

Headin' Out

DAY ONE

We left A-town this morning and blew through five states on our way to Forrest City, Arkansas.

The kids were champs, and we only stopped twice in our 510+ mile trip today. The bubbles were J.D.'s great idea and really made it seem like a vacation! Hooray, we had fun!

We got to the hotel in good time, and after changing rooms several times (don't ask...) went out for the "pizza with black olives" that we've been waiting for since last December. When we knew we were heading to Westmont, we told Pixie we would be taking a road trip this summer. She put in her dinner order on the spot. :) Tomorrow, Lord willing, Oklahoma City!

Base Camp

Our drive to Georgia was uneventful but for the “adventure” the night we drove down—we didn’t make hotel reservations in advance, not knowing how far down the road we might get. We found ourselves in the middle of Bonaroo (music festival) mayhem with nary an accommodation to be found. Although Pixie pointedly told me that she didn’t like this kind of adventure while we were waiting in the car for J.D. to check with yet another hotel, I think the whole thing will make our discussions of the nativity much more interesting this Christmas. You know, no room at the inn. :)

We spent about 2 ½ weeks in Georgia, enjoying sweet tea and sunshine therapy. Pixie and Frazz thoroughly enjoyed Nona and DD’s, and it only took us a couple of days to figure out that we had to deadbolt the doors to keep Bud inside. We celebrated J.D.’s birthday breakfast before he flew to Princeton, NJ for a conference shortly after our arrival, and then had his birthday dinner when he got back…12 days later. Yikes. It was worthwhile, but far too long to be apart!!

Some highlights from our time in Georgia:

Small Fry at the Flint RiverQuarium

One benefit of a small airport: we were able to watch J.D. climb on and off of the airplane!

Pixie called for a taxi, and Mimi came to her rescue.

Huckleberry--I mean blueberry--Finn. He'll have to learn his colors better before we set him free in the blueberry patch again.

Pixie and Gigi engage in serious silliness. Are they speaking Pixese?

Uncle Dave with Bud, who would not leave him alone!!