The Journey: 1200 miles, 2 grandparents, 2 parents, 2 kids, 2 dogs, 1 broke down car

Our journey was long & stressful, but we finally made it all the way to Texas...here are some pics from our trip:

Brian receiving his PCS award from the Commander of his unit in Virginia right before we left:

Actually leaving Virginia was quite a feat in itself. The movers were a complete wreck - showing up late, not working as quickly as they said they would, making the packing take 2 days instead of the promised one, then we found out our stuff wouldn't all fit in one moving truck because the driver had lied and said he had room when he really didn't, so our stuff had to be moved in 2 different shipments by 2 different companies...and to top it all off one of the drivers knocked over an oil pan in our garage which spilled oil all over the garage floor - that Brian had just spent hours cleaning! The transportation company that was shipping Brian's truck kept changing their pick up times & days, and when they finally arrived his truck was damaged while it was being loaded on the truck! And we were also waiting on a part for my truck we ordered that hadn't arrived yet. For months my truck had been picking & choosing when it wanted to start & if it would start it would randomly turn off while I was driving down the road! We finally figured out it was the vehicle's computer, and we had switched it out twice already before. It would work for a month or two and then start turning off again. We finally decided to order the computer from a different company that had an exact match for the computer I needed...but of course it couldn't be delivered until the very last second! We were literally sitting outside our house in my truck waiting for the part to be delivered because we had already cleared housing and turned in the keys to our house! We never imagined clearing our house would be the easy part of our journey! Anyway, we finally got moved out, cleared, the truck shipped and the new computer installed in my truck & started on our way.

We were not even 30 miles from Fort Lee on the freeway when my truck started acting funny...it wouldn't go over 50 mph - then it wouldn't go over 30 mph - then 15 mph! So we pull over & find an auto parts store (mind you, it's a Saturday evening by now, so almost nothing is open & won't be again until Monday). After much debating our handy dandy mechanics (Brian & my dad - with the help of some of the auto parts store employees & customers) figured out it was the catalytic converter. So we were going to have to spend another night in a Virginia hotel & fix it the next day...

Lily & Zoey bored in the hotel waiting for the truck to be fixed

Jakers wasn't having any of the waiting...he decided to sleep through most of it :o)

When Lily got really bored, she decided to take some pictures...

Brian & Papa working away...

Luckily, after a half day of serious hard work, Brian & Papa were able to switch out the catalytic converter, oxygen sensor & muffler the next day. (Which is a good thing, because I was seriously about to leave that thing in a parking lot & never look back!) So we were finally able to get on our way again.

We finally made it to Florida to visit Uncle Doug for a few days before we continued on to Texas.
Jake meeting Uncle Doug

Breakfast on the floor
Lily thought he would be comfy in the suitcase...

What a handsome boy!

Ha Ha Ha - Jake's 1st Thanksgiving

(And yes, I am aware that he will one day kill me for this :o))

Jake, Grammy & Papa

Lily couldn't keep up with all the excitement. Jake on the other hand is ready to party...

Lily & Jake playing with Uncle Doug's motorcycle while the rest of us get ready to get back on the road.
(My truck is in the background - broke down again - a flat tire this time!)

After my tire is changed out, we get back on the road. This time we are Texas bound!
After dinner at Cracker Barrel, Lily beat Papa at checkers!


No such luck with Daddy...

After another 2 days of travelling, we arrive at Mimi & Grants & get to visit with the whole family!
Zack, Papa, Grammy, Grant & Rebecca

Jake entertaining us all

Betsy & Princess Lily

Sarah & Jake
Jake showing Eric how the game is played

She loves her some Uncle Kris

Mimi & her boys

Jake's 1st tortilla

Lily shooting Grant with her marshmallow shooter...

...which of course she thinks is hilarious!

OMG! Grant put a half bottle of bubbles in the tub!

I think she likes it

Lily, Mimi, Jake & Grant right before we left for the last leg of our journey

One more stop before our final destination: Paw Paw's house!

Jake hamming it up at the Olive Garden

Happy kids on their last night in a hotel!!

Lily's Fairy Tea Party

Before we left Virginia, we thought it would be fun for Lily & Kylie to spend some special time together, so we decided to take them to a Fairy Tea Party! The girls had so much fun & were so amazed - I only wish we had found this place before it was time to leave VA.

Lily & Kylie with their 'Fairy Godmother'

(She was a bit scary)

Looking for fairies in the trees above

They've spotted a fairy!

Getting all glammed up

Sipping her magic fairy tea

Lily & Kylie with the fairy

Sooo excited!

Moving Day is Almost Here...

We only have a few days left in VA and of course things have been crazy. Brian finished clearing Fort Lee and signed out of his company here last week. He started leave and won't have to go back to work until he signs in when we get to TX. He's been working on his truck every day since he started leave trying to get it running and drivable so we can have it shipped to TX. I'm happy to say that as of last night it is finally finished! (Well, not finished, finished, but everthing that needed to be done before it's shipped has been done.) Last night he was able to drive it around the neighborhood a few times, which was a huge feat for him.
I've been going through the house trying to organize & get rid of unnecessary things that have been collected over the past 4 years and things that the kids have grown out of. Also I have been packing everything that we don't want the moving company to move for us and trying to figure out what we will need for the few weeks before our belongings are delivered to the new house. The moving company is coming to pack us tomorrow & then they will load everything up on Thursday. Friday we will have our final inspection & after that we will be Texas bound! (Well, with a pit stop in Florida...)
On top of all that, we have all been trying to spend extra time with friends whom we are going to miss terribly when we leave. Jamie & Steve are actually moving on the same day as us (though they will be going to Fort Bragg), but I don't think Lily & Stevie really realize that they won't be seeing each other any more yet. Friday will definitely be a sad day for them...
I probably won't be posting for a few weeks, until we get settled into the new house, so everyone have a great Thanksgiving & we will be seeing most of you soon!!!

Big Girl News

I am happy to say that Lily has finally decided she is a big enough girl to not need her blankie anymore! She has slept with her blankie every single night for as long as anyone can remember, but last week she just all of a sudden decided she didn't need it anymore. She has gone a full week now without it & has been doing fine without it. She hasn't even asked for it once. We are so proud of her for being such a big girl!

6 Months!

Jake had his 6 month well baby check up today & is a healthy boy! Sadly, our favorite doctor is no longer practicing at our clinic, so we didn't get to see her, but we're thankful she was there the majority of the time we've been here. The new doctor we saw was pretty good, but very "by the book" - reading all of his questions off a questionnaire sheet, rather than observing & seeing for himself what Jake is capable of doing. Which is fine - just different than we're used to.

Jake is 16 lbs (25th percentile) and 29 1/2 inches long (50th percentile). He is doing everything a 6 month old should be doing. A couple things of concern are that Brian & I were thinking Jake could possibly be allergic to oat -he had it for the first time the first day he vomited and then he had it again earlier this week with the same result. The doctor said it's possible, but unlikely that he is allergic to oat. He said it is one of the least allergenic foods & it's more likely he's allergic to the gluten that is in the oatmeal. Since Jake is still too young to be tested for allergies, the doctor suggested we give him some wheat (which also has gluten in it) and if we have the same result as the oatmeal, then he is probably allergic to the gluten. If not, it may be the oats & he said to stay away from them for a while & try introducing them again in a few months to see if he has outgrown the allergy. The other concern is Jake's blocked tear duct - which has been blocked since he was born. The doctor says that is another thing he is likely to outgrow, but if it is not better by the time he is 8 or 9 months, we will need to be referred to an ophthalmologist & he may have to have surgery to correct the problem. Let's keep our fingers crossed that he gets better in the next couple of months! He is currently sleeping off the trauma of having to get 4 vaccinations today - poor baby. Other than that he is progressing perfectly & unless any other problems arise, he won't have to go back to the doctor until he is a year! Jake has learned some new tricks lately too...He thinks it is hilarious to splash his hands in his bath water & he's also started shaking his head back & forth which amuses him to no end.

Here are a couple more pics of my big 6 month old:

Lily & Jake sporting their Astros shirts while enjoying the last of the warm weather here in Virginia

Lily insisted Jake ride on her "flying carpet"

Sitting with a recovering Vava on the couch

Siblings in stripes

Happy boy sitting up on his own!

Relaxing with Zoey

Must have had a rough day...

Putt Putt with Stevie

We took Lily & Stevie to do something fun together on what we figure will be our last nice day here in Virginia. It's been getting pretty chilly here, but today it actually got close to 80 degrees, so we wanted to take full advantage. The kids had a great time - and they only have one more weekend together before we all move, so they need to make the most of their time!

Our Austin Weekend

Brian & I took a trip to Austin this weekend to check out the house we are buying house & get a lay of the land and also to celebrate our anniversary. Grammy & Papa offered to keep the kids for us so we could travel on our own - yay! As soon as the plane started it's initial decent into the Austin area, Brian got a gleam in his eye & a big goofy grin on his face - this Texas boy was happy to be home! :o) We are really happy with the house (before then we had only seen pictures) and think we made a good decision. We got to see some friends we hadn't seen in a long time and are looking forward to being closer to them soon! We had a great time sightseeing in Austin & also had a fantastic dinner at Gay & Larry's with some family. It was a fun weekend, but it's made us even more anxious to just hurry up & get to Texas already! :o) We have just about a month to go & we'll be there!

Some pics from our trip: Visiting the State Capitol

On the "Duck Tour"

Dinner at one of our favorite restaurants


Here are some pics from Grammy & Papa's weekend with Lily & Jake: Swinging with Grammy
Swinging with Papa

Swinging all by himself!

Lily & Grammy working on their spooky house

Watching the race with Papa

House Update

So much has been going on lately & we've been so busy, I forgot to post about some exciting news! We found a house in Texas, put in an offer and it was accepted! The seller has also agreed to do all the repairs we requested, so now we are just waiting for our closing date of December 1st. Brian will have a short commute to work every day & we're hoping the traffic won't be horrendous. The house is in an excellent school district, so we are looking forward to Lily making the transition to her new school. The house has a nice large (for Texas standards) backyard & patio area, which we will all enjoy - Vava & Zoey included! Everyone will have their own bedroom (finally!) and Lily can't wait to paint her's pink (just what we need - more pink). I think we are all going to be very happy with our new house and we can't wait to be back in Texas!

Soccer Season & Banquet

Here are some pics from Lily's last two soccer games & her soccer banquet. Sadly, the season is over, but Lily had a great time & we are so proud of all the improvement she made! The last 2 games she scored FOUR goals at each game for her team and she also played goalie the last quarter of the last 2 games & did a great job there as well. She stopped every ball that came at her & didn't let the other team score at all while she was tending goal.

Game #1

Miss Goalie stopping a potential goal

Doing their 'Eagles' cheer at the end of the game

Game #2

Freezing!

In the middle of all the action

Lily's cheering squad freezing too...

Banquet

Accepting her trophy

One last shot of the team

Lily, Madelyn, Donavon, Jax, Michael, Noah, Nate, Stevie & Coach Jamie