Moving Cross Country Part 5 - We Made It!

Even though we only had 6 hours to drive on that last day, we were in a hurry to get on the road and through the Mojave Desert before the heat of the day. We were so excited to be driving into California that morning. Adam had been asking hourly for days, "are we in California, yet?" Finally, we were there! But check out California's pathetic sign. I was a bit disappointed in my home state's lack of creativity and color, come on! We did stop and pull over to take this picture of Beth on the road. She was eager but then a bit frightened. Ok, the side of the highway is probably not the safest place for pictures...
Anyway, we were all excited and cheered and started counting down the minutes until we would be in our new home. In fact, we were so excited that this is how all four children spent the last hour of the car drive:Yep, no joke, they all crashed. I was shocked! Jill had been the only one to sleep in the car during the day until that point. I guess the anticipation of getting to California was over, we were there and they could relax. It's a good thing they rested because the unpacking and getting settled those next few hours was EXHAUSTING! Fortunately we had good friends that helped us unload the trucks, assemble beds, buy us groceries and dinner...the blessings were overflowing! And here they are that day, the four of them in front our new home...

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I'm almost all caught up on my Adam's Preschool Blog. Check it out...Adam's Preschool at Home!

Moving Cross Country Part 4 - Almost there!

Our second night was spent in a hotel in umm...I don't remember. We made it through Oklahoma, across the top of Texas, and just into New Mexico (our goal!) Here's Dawn that morning, officially in the Southwest... We really wanted to stop midday and take an extra long break leaving the bulk of our driving to the morning and night (easier on the kids) but where to stop? We couldn't really see leaving the highway with our huge truck and trailer so we gave up on the exciting tourism of New Mexico and settled for a truck stop. We stopped at world famous Clines Corners, New Mexico.We ate a leisurely lunch, shopped, filled up the vehicles, and got back on the road. It wasn't much of a stop, not much to see, but we did what we could. And we got into Arizona before dark! We did however run into major rain. It was exhausting driving through the downpour but the multiple rainbows made it all worth it.It was a long day of driving but with multiple gas stops, including this one on a corner in Winslow, Arizona, we made it very far that day.Made it most of the way across the Grand Canyon state stopping in Kingsmen for the night mostly because we weren't sure there would be any place to stop past there. Tomorrow's drive would take us into California but through the Mojave Desert...not much there!

Moving Cross Country Part 3 - friends in Oklahoma

Day 2 had us driving through Oklahoma. Well my bestest friend since the 4th grade currently lives in a small town in Oklahoma right off the interstate, woo hoo! The last time I saw her she lived in Texas and we were driving to Georgia. Since then we've both had baby number 4. A lot can happen in two years :) Here's our gang, all 8 of them...Beth with Kylee and baby KeatonJason and his buddy CasenWe drove five hours to get there and then enjoyed an afternoon and dinner being out of the car before getting back on the road for another late night of driving. It was hard to have such a short visit with some of our most favorite people in the world but at least we had a beautiful Oklahoma sunset to send us on our way...

Moving Cross Country Part 2 - the chosen route

Coming to Georgia two years ago, we took the southern route - interstate 10 - to visit family and friends. But the shortest route is actually the more northern route - interstate 40 - and since time was valuable, we took the shortest route. Our journey began in Georgia where we headed to Tennessee. That's where we caught the 40. Tennessee has many rolling hills and the overpacked truck didn't like the roads in 90 degree weather. We took an extended dinner break to rest the vehicle, said a prayer, and continued our journey. We drove that first evening through southern Tennessee to Memphis and over the Mississippi River. (That's the bridge, trust me, it was pretty :) For anyone about to drive the 40 through Memphis, beware! At one point you actually have to take an exit in order to stay on the 40. Don't ask me how I learned this valuable lesson but some nice security guards helped us find our way back onto the road. Our GPS was in the truck with Andrew who did not miss the turn. Our phones (both Dawn's and mine) have GPS ability but it seems Memphis does not get reception. It was bizarre but we caught up to the truck and the kids slept through our mini-adventure so we kept on. Our first night's rest was in Russelville, Arkansas. Never heard of it? Me, neither. I just know we were west of Little Rock and on schedule thanks to Dawn who drove that entire day. It was in the middle of the night as we carried the kids into their beds, which included a cot, an overstuffed chair and a playpen that made the room quite an obstacle course but we all slept! Adam sleepily asked where we were because this was not California. Why weren't we in California in our new house? Poor kid...we heard a lot of that for the next three days...

Moving Cross Country Part 1 - The Truck

Our move to Georgia two years ago was paid for by Andrew's former employer. That trip was mostly about sight seeing, visiting friends and family, and building excitement for a new life in Georgia. This trip was all on us. We could have used his signing bonus and paid someone to do it all for us but what fun would that be? We chose to save our money and do it ourselves. We rented a Uhaul and depended on the kindness of friends to pack up our home and move it to California. Fortunately, we had so much support that not only did the truck get packed up, but we even got a friend (the day before we left!) to drive with us. We are blessed. This is Dawn driving the truck. She did more driving than either Andrew or me. Regardless of all the help, packing was not without it's hiccups. As we packed the truck, our summer long concerns became a reality - our stuff was not going to fit into the truck. We had to rent a trailer and give a bunch of stuff away, but we did it. We closed the doors and were off. I haven't decided if it's amazing that all our stuff fit in that truck and trailer or if it's scary that we have that much stuff! Driving the truck was...I wouldn't know because I never did it! I spent the entire trip driving or riding in the van. Jason and Beth both got a turn driving in the truck but Andrew and Dawn did all the driving. They didn't love it's handling on bumpy, narrow, or steep highways but overall they did great and the truck did its job.(this was my view for four days :)

I'm ba-ack!

We made it to California but internet was slow in getting connected. End result - haven't blogged in two months. I know, the world must be lost without info on what my children have done and said for the last two months. Well, don't you fear because I'm back and ready to work hard to get all caught up including such highlights as our cross country adventure, our new home, visits to the lagoon and the beginning of another school year! Also coming to a computer near you - A second blog recording Adam's preschool year! I'm keeping track of what we do more for me, sort of a journal scrapbook to show him years later all the fun stuff we did this year. Check it out as I present our weekly letter themes (we're already on D is for Duck so there's some catching up to do there, too!) Be back soon, I promise!