Finally...

Alright...I've taken long enough to blog about our trip and new home and well give an update!

First our move went fairly well. We had some wonderful friends come and help us..boy were they a Godsend! My mom came moving day...having friends and family around made it easier, not just with the physical things that needed to be done, but the emotional drain of the day as well. As I did a final walk through of the house it hit me a lot harder than I was expecting...we shed a few tears as we looked at the kids rooms one last time. It's still hard to believe that we are not going back to that house. I think it will take time and slowly fade rather than a quick reality. In fact every few days it still hits me and I shed a few tears...um...like right now... It's not the house per say...but more the life...the house is just the place that our life happened. The every day stuff we did that was our life, getting our babies out of bed in the morning, brushing their teeth, having a big breakfast on Saturday, rushing around for church, and the big stuff. Laying them down for the very first time in their beds, watching Natalie take her first steps, hearing Jameson laugh for the first time. The big and the little, the mundane and the extraordinary that's life...and it happened every day for nearly 9 years in the same spot!

Okay enough of that...
We were going to spend the night in that house after the movers left...but we decided otherwise. We set out for Abilene. The car was loaded to the gills, the dog only had a tiny spot in the back of the van...and it was so packed between her and us that we could even hear her. But thankfully the vet gave us some "dreamy little pills" to help her rest along our journey. We did not get far before our first stop... Salt Grass for one last bite of Texas Steak and the best cocnut shrimp around... Everyone had a fully belly so we were off... The kids slept a little but they were wired from the day... We ordered a GPS before leaving town and used it to help us find our first hotel. Did not know it would be so hard to find a hotel that let us keep a dog there.

The second day we got up, had some hotel "continental breakfast" and headed Southwest towards El Paso. James had to take a few calls that day on the road, the kids slept and played with various toys. Natalie discovered the fun of personal music... we put a CD in her DVD player and she rocked out to kid tunes. Remarkably the whole trip I think she watched one movie. She really was not all that interested... but boy the Barbies and Barbie bag that Nana got her were just the ticket! She played for hours with those in the car! Jameson, well he played with his new cars, Natalie's babies, Barbies, and whatever else we handed him. He was great everyday unless we tried to drive past 8pm...then he was DONE and cried inconsolably. stopped in Deming, NM that night, we ate at Si Senior Mexican Restaurant. We sat close to the rest rooms... which was very interesting... The sink for the mens room was OUTSIDE the bathroom and visible from my chair. James had fun entertaining me while washing his hands... at least you could tell who washed and who did not!

That hotel had a great little indoor pool...so we decided to relax the next AM and spend some time by the pool. That was fun... after some Sonic lunch we headed west and stopped in Yuma, AZ. We thought about pushing through to San Diego that evening, BUT every hotel we called was either booked or outrageously priced. Yuma was nice, very nice little city in the middle of the dessert! We were not set to get the house until Monday, and so we spent the extra day in Yuma. We shopped for a new washer and dryer (oh that a whole other post...got an amazing set I LOVE). At some pizza by the pool and relaxed one last time before we headed out!

Monday we drove on into San Diego. We got to the house and unloaded the van...that thing just about filled the garage! Put the dog in a detox program from her downer addiction and blew up air mattresses as our "truck" was not set to arrive until Tuesday. Note to self. San Diego is still the dessert and it can get a bit nippy in May...we got chilly without any heat that night!

Bright and early the truck arrived and everything was there and intact! Perfect little move! On the load day they brought a handful of helpers to load it... on unloading day they only brought 2 and it went SUPER fast!

WE are finally settling into everything. I still need to decorate the kids rooms...maybe I'm subconsciously still missing their rooms in Dallas? And the garage is over loaded with stuff we don't want in the house... it's in need of some TLC.

I'll take some video tomorrow and give you a tour...