Life is a Highway

And so begins wave 1 of our cross country trip. Tim is actually driving it twice. The first time we drove out our camper with Audrey, Celeste, and Natalia. In a week Tim will be flying back to PA and driving out one of our cars and trailer with Becky, Sophia, Nana, Lance (our Brittany) and Rio (our 10 year old Beagle). We are excited to have Nana come and stay with us for a week in our new home. During our trip there were many thumbs up/thumbs down moments. Everybody had their own list:

THUMBS UP: Celeste - Crossing the Mighty Mississippi, seeing a wild horse stampede, learning to do an underwater flip, swimming each night. Audrey - seeing antelope, practicing underwater handstands, meeting new dogs at each campground (especially "Bella" the Bassethound), playing the license plate game even though Dad won every day. Natty - Swings, going on walks with Daddy looking at campers and doggies, thowing toys in the pool. Dad - watching the landscape change from East to West, good driving weather, car and camper working properly, the power of Zantac. Mom - no cooking, seeing baby animals, seeing our moving truck pass us...half way through our trip we were driving in S. Dakota and he hear a trucker's horn. And there it was, our home passing us! It left 3 days before we did. What are the chances of that?!

THUMBS DOWN: Celeste- listening to Natty cry in the car, having her hair messed up because of open car windows. Audrey - Sleeping by Natty in the camper, long car rides with Natty. (Notice a theme here?) Mom - Natty's wining. Natty - falling into pool, falling off picnic table, falling while walking, falling out of bed. (I would be grumpy too!) Dad - leaving the other kids behind, having S. Dakota's Revenge (Montezuma's distant cousin - therefore the thumbs up power of Zantac!), emptying waste tanks on camper, driving through beef country and not eating any steak, diesel prices.

Hello Fall City

We arrived at our new home last Saturday. When we arrived, we found all of our Seattle family in our driveway to welcome us. What a surprize! We had a BBQ in the garage. I had no idea, but Tim had been planning it with my family all along. It was so wonderful to see everybody! Since then we have been unpacking box and after box. Audrey and Celeste have already had a sleepover with their cousins, Elise and Margot. They also went the Space Needle and Seattle Center.

Goodbye Turkey Ridge

It was hard to say goodbye to our Pennsylvania home. So many wonderful memories there. Before we left we reminiced a bit, drove around to favorite places, and had fun in an empty, echoing house. Here are some highlights. For 4 years worked on naming our property. It was a beautiful 40 acres of PA lush green forest. So much wildlife came to visit us each day. Turkey Ridge I think was the name that kept coming up. We loved our turkey neighbors who grazed in the front yard so often. We hope it brings as much joy to the new owners as it did to us.

We saw Guinea Hens while driving around our little town. It reminded us of when we first moved to PA...We saw baby turkeys near the road. Tim convinced Oliver to get out of the car to see if he could catch one. Little did Oliver know (but Tim did) that Mama was close by in the bushes. As soon as she saw Oliver, she chased him down and Oliver ran away for his life. Lesson: never mess with any mother's babies...you will pay!
Tim's favorite road, Old Greentown.
What can you do in an empty house?...Relays of course! On your mark, get set, go!!!!!

La Cucaracha

Before we headed off to Seattle, we had many wonderful dinners out with Nana and Grandpa. This is one of the best...dining with the Mariachi and Grandpa's favorite Mexican restaurant. Roxanne and Tyler joined us too! Grandpa requested a special song about saying goodbye to loved ones. It was such a great evening.


Tim and Roxanne
Natty wasn't too sure about being serenaded so closely!

Keeping up with the blur

One thing about blogging is it forces me to keep up with my own life. If not, the memories just pass by and fade. As we prepare for our upcoming move cross country, June is becoming a blur as I type. We've had some great memories happen recently, so before they fade away...I'd better add them to the blog.
Sophia has been busy this month with all sort of preschool activities. She went to a local pretzel and candy factory. Mr Callie of Callie's Candy Kitchen did a great chocolate demo. The best part was tasting. Yes, chocolate covered potato chips are pretty good. Who knew!?Tonight was Sophia's preschool graduation. What made me happiest was to see her big, proud smile. We love you, Sophia!Last weekend we enjoyed a wet, but fun American Cancer Society Relay for Life. We were close to our fundraising number from last year, but didn't quite reach our goal. We've decided Team Sha Poka Moka will move with us to Seattle. Audrey was our top fundraiser this year, collecting money from her school with "Crazy Hat Day" (pay a $1 and wear your craziest hat to school). Here are Audrey, Celeste, and Sophia showing off their crazy hats for the parade during the Relay. Designed by the girls...I think the only thing that is missing is the kitchen sink! They even got their picture in the local paper.Last Tuesday, Becky was inducted into the Junior National Honor Society. This is the 3rd year she has been inducted. Way to go Beck!Yesterday was Oliver's 15th birthday. We had a family favorite...worms in mud cake for dessert. Oliver got to share his birthday dinner with the missionaries. The evening ended with a little strummin' on his new acustic guitar. Today Oliver brought home his latest piece of artwork. I thought it was pretty cool, so I took a picture of it. Well, I think that catches me up. Our move is in 24 days. There are 5 more days of school. It's creeping up fast. We'll have our last garage sale (last of 3) this Sat. Whew...somebody wake me up when it's over. Maybe a tornado will come along, sweep up all our things and we'll land in the Emerald City. Hey, it worked for Dorothy!

Happy Birthday Timmy

He says he doesn't like it when people call him that. But I've found out in the last 4 years that EVERYBODY calls him that! I think he secretly likes it. I think he's kind of like me. Call me "Jo" only if you really know me well, otherwise it's "Jolie". We had a fun day out on Monday, just Tim and I. We ate some great Thai food for lunch (which is my favorite, not his. You'd think it was my birthday!). Then we went out to see the new Indiana Jones movie (which was just as good as the others. Lots of fun.). After that we bought Oliver's birthday gift, stopped at the grocery store for steak and shrimp, came home and he bbq'd his own birthday dinner for the family. I offerered, but he is much better at BBQ than I am. We topped it all off with cake over at Nana and Grandpas. Tim insists he is 29 and holding! Well, if he is 29, that makes me 22, and we all know that can't be true! I love you, Timmy! You are my inspiration, my sweetheart and my best friend! Happy Birthday Love!

The special of the day (mother's day)

My husband spoils me...that says it all. I had a wonderful mothers day. It started off with pancakes, strawberries, cranberries, sausage, and a yummy juice puree. Then, we all headed off to church. Tim gets to sit with us now that he has been released from the bishopric. That is a treat in itself! We taught primary together (he has been my #1 sub lately). After church we visited some of our favorite church grandmothers, wishing them a happy Mother's Day. After returning home Tim and the kids treated me, Pat and Robert (Tim's parents) to an incredible candlelight dinner in the "fancy room" while they played chef, sous chef, and server. The menu consisted of appetizer (smoked salmon, Monterrey jack cheese, shrimp cocktail. sparkling grape juice), main course (blackened salmon, fresh corn on the cob, stuffed crab, basmati rice), dessert (Boston Cream Pie). It was a feast! The day was filled with flowers, cards, and gifts. Did I mention that I have the best family ever?! I love them so much, they gave me the best Mother's Day yet!