Coast to Coast

Love this picture Spencer drew for the girls and mailed with letters the week before we moved.

We're finally here (got in Wednesday afternoon)! We made it- all the way across the country, and in just 5 1/2 days! We're officially MOVED to California (well, us at least- our stuff will follow in a month or two)!

Wanted to include a re-cap of our travels and adventure over the past two weeks before I forget.

Tuesday, Oct. 4th, we moved out of our townhouse. I owe a huge thank you to my wonderful parents who helped me get everything packed and ready for moving day. That morning we were totally ready (more so than last time)- with boxes stacked in neat piles and everything organized and ready to be hauled onto the truck. Thanks dad and mom- you guys were an incredible help! There's no way I could have done it without you.

Five hours later the movers were gone, the van was stuffed full, and we were headed for North Carolina.

We were all tired and ready to go, but had to snap one last picture before saying good-bye (for good) to our townhouse of 4 years.

We got to Tish and Curt's in time for dinner and bed. We stayed Wednesday and Thursday to play with cousins- and celebrate Adley's 6th birthday with him! We sure are going to miss living close to our Calhoun cousins.

The girls had fun making Gram's hair extra beautiful!

Before Ani's dance class

October 7th (day 1 of cross-country trek)

Apex NC- Memphis TN

Friday morning mom, Madi, Elle and I headed off for Memphis, TN. This was our longest day of the entire cross country trek. The drive was 723 miles and with 6 stops it took us a grand total of 13 hours and 15 minutes. It was awful! Luckily we got to enjoy the beautiful changing leaves through the Smoky Mountains. Our long drive included tons of traffic through Nashville (accidents on both directions of the freeway), putting us into Memphis at 9:15pm (EST). Madi had fallen asleep the last 15 minutes of the drive and was quickly wisked up to bed.

Taken at our first rest stop of the day. Mom wanted to get some pictures of the beautiful fall colors, and the girls loved getting out of their seats. They've both got their "beach barbies" in hand (thanks Gram Rox)- headed to California!

October 8th (day 2)

Memphis TN- Plano, TX

Saturday morning the girls were awake bright and early (of course). But it was nice to get a jump start on the day. We were back on the road by 8am- happy with only a 7 hour day ahead of us. We got into Plano, TX at 3pm, excited to see cousins and hang out with Uncle Clark and Aunt JoSue!

Tired after a busy day and ready for bed- by 5:45pm.

October 9th (day 3)

Sunday morning the triplets let us join them on their morning walk- in style! My girls were in heaven!!

We spent the third day of our trip in Plano just taking it easy and enjoying not being in the car. Madi got to join in on the Primary program practice in Clark and Jo's ward. We all stayed in the chapel for second hour to watch- with mom and I both as primary music leaders we were interested to see how another ward's practice was going (I'm happy to report that my G1 primary kids are much better singers:). Elle had a ball in nursery- I love how outgoing she is, and has no problem meeting new friends. Third hour Mom, Jo, and I headed off to spend RS with the triplets. Since it's pretty much impossible to keep them in RS, mom volunteered to keep all three kids in the empty classroom across the hall, while Jo and I attended. It was a nice and relaxing Sunday. Luckily we'll get to see Clark, Jo, and the kids again in just a month and a half- that made for an easier goodbye Monday morning.

October 10th (day 4)

Plano, TX- Albuquerque, NM

With a long day of driving ahead of us, we made sure to be on the road by 7am- which was easy to do with kids that wake up at 6am! Today was a major movie day for the girls- we borrowed Aunt Jo's copy of Cinderella which the girls were begging for as soon as we pulled away. Then Spencer had ordered and shipped the new copy of Lion King to Plano for the girls. That movie came an hour after Cinderella, followed later by Letter Factory and then Tangled. I wasn't gonna argue with their movie requests though. I was just happy to make the 651 miles in 11 hours and with just 2 stops.

Madi brushing her hair while watching "Tangled"! Thanks Candis and Tyler for the new brush and awesome car trip package! We loved it all!

And at every gas stop Madi insisted on helping wash all the windows!

We got into Albuquerque a little before 5pm. The sun was still nice and warm, so as soon as we checked in and unloaded we all headed out for a swim. Later I got the girls ready for bed while Gram drove across the street and picked up some food at a Fudruckers (which I was thrilled that Madi actually ate). The girls were down by 7pm- Madi asleep immediately, Elle not till 7:45, and mom and I by 8pm! I know- we're such party animals!!

October 11th (day 5)

Albuquerque, NM- Kingman, AZ

Tuesday morning I was awake by 4am (I guess that's what going to bed at 8pm will do to ya:). But I was happy to be able to sneak out and get an hour workout in before the girls woke up. Mom snuck out after I got back, then the girls were awake by 5:50am. Again we were back on the road by 8am. Today was just a 6 hour drive which we made with two stops. First stop was Indian City- made in honor of mom and in memory of Grandma Butler. I didn't want the girls running through aisles of breakable pottery, so they stayed outside and had some other fun.

Yes, even Gram joined in on the fun!

Of course it was just our luck that for the first (and only) time of our trip, both girls fell asleep probably an hour outside of Kingman. It was an incredibly relaxing feeling to have both girls asleep at the same time and it killed mom and I to have to pull off the freeway at our exit (for a brief moment we contemplated continuing the remaining 5 hours to CA).

Since it was only 2pm we fit in swimming and then dinner at Chili's. It was nice to have a relaxing afternoon, free of driving and being able to hang out together.

October 12th (last day!)

Kingman, AZ- Camrillo, CA

I was awake early again- 3:45am this time. I tried getting back to sleep, knowing I'd be tired later, but finally just went down to the gym and got a nice hour and a half work-out in. We took our time and actually got ready for the day on Wednesday- had to look nice for seeing Spencer later that afternoon! :) By 8:35am we were on the road for the remainder of our cross-country trek! It was a nice and easy drive- we made it to the Burbank airport at 1:45pm for mom's 2:50pm flight.

Dropping mom off at the airport before reaching our final destination just seemed wrong. The whole thing was so anti-climatic and it killed me to see her go. Several tears were shed as I watched my mom head through the double doors. She's amazing and was more help than I ever could have asked for. She was incredibly patient with the girls (and let me tell you- much patience was needed for this trip:) and even put up with my frequent "back seat driving". Since it makes her car sick to turn around or read while driving, she drove the entire way! Even with her eyes burning from staring at the road for hours on end, plus an achy back and legs, my mom never complained. She was a tropper and I will forever be grateful for her help. And she had some pretty awesome driving glasses too! :) We love you Gram! Thanks for joining us on this adventure. We're looking forward to now living closer and having many more adventures together!

Wednesday afternoon we had a wonderfully sweet reunion with Spencer. He left work early so he could be there before we pulled up at 2:50pm. We were all SO excited to see daddy. Since then I've been trying my hardest to get the girls back onto a regular schedule. Against my wishes, the girls decided they want to share Aunt Joci's old bedroom. Yes, they're talking longer into the night than I'd like and waking each other up super early in the morning, but it's super cute to hear them talking and giggling quietly in their beds in the morning. Aside from tired, adjusting kids, we've just been trying to get settled. Madi wrote up a "to-do" list on Wednesday while still in the car. I'm happy to report that in just three days the majority of her list has been checked off.

*#1 still needs some work. I checked into a preschool I thought I was set on, but ended up not being very impressed, so I've got a couple more to see this next week.

*We went to the library on Thursday- got a ton of books, a new library card, and a list for toddler and preschool story times.

*Our beach outing was completed yesterday afternoon (see pic below).

*The daddy daughter date never happened. Madi took a nap on Saturday intead. But I sure had a nice date with Spencer Thursday night- dinner out at the harbor is always a treat!

*The trampoline has been a daily source of entertainment.

*Unpacking was done Wednesday, but on Saturday I was finally able to feel a bit more organized.

*Boppi and Grandpa Al's swimming pool has a crack, so Madi and Elle did two days of the sprinkler instead.

*And lastly- I did find a doctor and was able to get an appointment for Thursday (Spencer's birthday)! So now's the time to put in your guesses for baby #3. Will it be a boy or girl??? Results will be posted Thursday night!!

We're so glad to finally be here in California and have Spencer back.