The month of November got off to a busy start as we began preparing for the movers to come pack up all of our worldly possesions. Weeks began to get busier as I was trying to anticipate what would need to be done before the movers came. This move was much different from our move to Florida as we did some of that ourselves. This move however was more complicated. See we were planning a road trip out west. The movers were coming the second week of november and our flight was not ready to for us until the 3rd. Which left us some time without any of our things. So we decided to fly out of Los Angeles while stopping to visit family along the way. We knew we wouldn't get another opportunity like this again.
Chloe and Cailee spent the night with our dear friends the Witthoefts the night before so that they wouldn't be underfoot, which was a huge blessing! The movers were to be arriving at 8:00. However at 6am we hear the fire alarm from the fire department on our street. Chris being a volunteer firefighter took on in the van. I stepped outside and saw the black smoke. In the three years Chris was a firefighter, he had yet to fight an actual fire... so I grabbed my camera and headed off to follow the smoke. It couldn't be far. It was a brisk 20 minutes walk before I found the fire. There were maybe 4 fire engines there from the surrounding communities. There was a huge hustle and bustle. Everyone running around. It was an older home... built in the 50's. Poor older couple. After a few candid shots I headed back. I planned to grab the van and head out to pick up some pastries or something for the movers. I walked back only to remember that Chris had the van at the station. So I walked back to the department, couldn't find his keys... Anyway. After several trips I finally made my way to the store... no doughnuts. Went to the doughnut shop... closed... strike two. Stopped one last time on my way home at a little placed called 'Say Cake' and bought some rather pricey but yummy pastries. The movers showed up on time... still no Chris. Oh well. Anyway. I never ment to go off on this tangent. The movers came and went in three long days. Chris had a flag football tournament during these three days to make things more complicated. They won it all. Proud of my man and his team. I will miss those frosty nights watching them play.
We spent our last few nights visiting friends and saying our goodbyes. We will particuarly miss our game nights with the Witthoefts and all our fellowship with the McBrides. We were finally off. I drove our van and Chris drove the little car we had purchased for this trip. We made our way to Saucier, Mississippi to spend a few days with Chris's great Aunt and Uncle. They have property in the country and boy did we enjoy time in the woods, fishing and Chloe had more fun riding the tractor and chasing the cat.
From there we made our way to New Orleans to drop off our van at port. It was being shipped from there. The rest of our trip was spent in our little car, pulling a small uhaul trailer. I enjoyed our time together. The girls did pretty good. We drove to Dallas from there and spent 4 days with my Dad's parents. It has been almost 10 years since I was there. My family lived there for a couple years so it was fun to be back. Lots of memories. Chris and I took the girls to Kidsville park where I used to play. They had fun. So I did. My grandparents set out a beautiful little thanksgiving dinner for us since we were not going to be able to spend it with them. One highlight was going to see the Dallas Cowboys statium. It was huge! The down side was dropping my camera and breaking off the barrel. Oh how I cried. The rest of the tour was shot for me. I was hoping to take pictures of our journey. Not to be.
Our next stop was Odessa, TX to spend the evening with Grampa Dick. We ate a lovely mexican meal and enjoyed some relaxation. Grampa Dick joined us on our next leg of the trip on our way to Tucson, AZ to spend some days with Chris's grandparents there. We enjoyed the amazing views of the mountains. It was a wonderful time. Some highlights were taking ATV's into the mountains with Grampa Jim. I even managed to turn one over on Chris and I... had a beautiful bruise, the hot tub in the evenings was nice... we were able to see some of the most beautiful starry skies. It was nice to spend Thanksgiving with family. From there we made our way to Edwards AFB to spend a day or two before flying out. It was such a neat time to see the the country.
Our flight went ok. It was long and the girls did get fussy. We walked up the isle a few times and played with the girls across the way. But I was super happy to be done. It was much much later before we finally made it to the hotel and the girls were basketcases... but nothing that sleep didn't help...
Well my my I got carried away. I hope to blog more steadily as I get caught up to the life we are living now. And not so much details. But we are very happy in our new lives here and look forward to making more memories.
