HAPPY BIRTHDAY BIG BOY!!!

WE HAD A WONDERFUL TIME CELEBRATING SWEET ELIAS' BIRTHDAY. I CAN'T BELIEVE HE IS ONE. HE IS HARDWORK. HE IS A DELIGHT. HE IS A SCREAMER. HE IS STILL A PERFECT SLEEPER. HE IS SUCH A LOVE!! HE IS STILL HUGE AND GETTING BIGGER BY THE MINUTE!

BLOG PLUG!!!!!!!!!

OK, so this guy I know... is extraordinarily funny, handsome and witty. He is writing a blog about being the new guy in town. Really, he's funny. You can find him HERE.

PICTURES AND DETAILS OF OUR 5 DAY JOURNEY

OUR NEW HOUSE-We feel really fancy these days because we have a pool in the neighborhood! We spend a lot of time cruising down the block and going for a quick swim. All 3 kids love it!

This wonderful friend is Jen. We have known each other since the 7th grade. She was our very official welcome wagon to Texas and spent 3 days at our house moving us in. You rock girl!

The next photos are from Cadillac ranch in Amarillo, Texas. OK. I thought this was so dang cool. In each car people have left cans of spray paint, it's your job to come along and add your mark. We loved having this spot to pile out of the car and see something new. Meris was completely befuddled by the fact that HERE it was OK to paint cars.



Many, many stops at Sonic. Foul food but good drinks!

The Mesas in New Mexico.
THE GRAND CANYON- Oh my gosh, nothing can prepare you for this most incredible place.
It was so spectacular. We had just explained to Meris that the Grand Canyon was like a gigantic hole in the ground. Her comment when we finally got there? It's not THAT big!". OK. Whatever. It's hard to impress a 6 year old. Even with the Grand Canyon apparently.



This is a funny moment along our trip. I was convinced that we should take a porta-potty on our trip. Rob thought the mere idea was well...gross. And we didn't have even a square foot of extra space. I agree, but do you seriously want to be in the middle of the desert without an available toilet? I had visions of desperately searching for a toilet and no potty for the girls when they really needed it. Well, I was right as it happened. And we took a photo to prove it. It actually saved us big time.


The above 2 photos are from Route 66. This stretch of the highway was the inspiration for the movie Cars. We had a great time blasting the Cars soundtrack when we were cruising past Kingston, Arizona.

MAMA HAS JOINED THE REST OF THE COMPUTER WORLD!

My husband is wonderful. I love him. He is cute. He is sweet. He is smart. He is H-I-L-A-R-I-O-U-S!

This is him.

He bought me a new one of these.

You have to understand, the computer we have been using was bought in 2000. It is a dinosaur. Innumerable bouts of frustration, bad word yelling, fit throwing, and fist pounding can be pegged to this one piece of machinery. When I hooked up our new (read:refurbished) piece of loveliness, it was as if the clouds parted and the choir sang. Thank you sweetheart!!! Now I can blog and facebook like the best of them!!! You rock!!!!

WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF ICE CREAM MY FRIEND, WELCOME...

A LITTLE SAMPLE OF OUR TRIP, MORE TO COME LATER

1900 MILES!!

I cannot believe it, but we are in Austin, Texas!!!! We made it here on Wednesday after 5 looooooong days in the car. We travelled with all 3 kids, our dog and our cat. People asked how it went....I say it was "ridiculous". Really it was. But, we had excellent weather, no car problems and actually, quite a fun time. We are settling in and loving our new house. We are stoked to be here!! Can I say "stoked" in Texas or is that a true California giveaway? This town and state are full of welcoming people!