Family Fun Day #1

We have decided with so much to do around San Diego, that we would make Sundays "Family Fun" day! For our very first adventure we decided to take the kids to the San Diego Zoo!

We became members of the zoo so we can enjoy this fabulous place whenever we want! The zoo is really stretched out, so we didn't even see all of it on this adventure, only about half. The girls really enjoyed seeing the animals and being outside! The weather is beautiful!

This first picture is outside the zoo. Mommy, Hannah and Hailey....... Holly was resting comfortably in her stroller and could not be disturbed for this photo opportunity! The second picture is Daddy and the girls approaching the entrance.... Let the fun begin!

The zoo is really large and sprawling so we decided right from the beginning that we would never see it all in one day, and why bother when we have approximately 2 years to discover the whole place in all its glory! Today we saw lots of hoofs and tails!

The zoo is very hilly! We took the stroller for "baby" and rented one for the girls. Aaron and I actually worked up a sweat going up all the inclines! We walked through a beautiful wooded area with a bird sanctuary in the middle which we walked in and out of as we walked up. We saw bears and monkeys. There was a huge line for the pandas so we decided that was for next time.

We saw a wild animal show which the girls really enjoyed and spent $4.00 on a bag of popcorn! We couldn't leave the zoo without a ceremonial trip to the gift shop. Hannah picked out a cute tee-shirt, Hailey a gaggle of plastic zoo animals and Holly got a book.

Definately a long, fun day! The girls passed out on the way home!

Girls

The girls enjoyed their new backyard while Mommy and Daddy unpacked the millions of boxes the movers brought from our old house.. where did we get so much stuff? One box at at time the house is turning into a home... Will post more pictures when things are set-up!

More house photos

These are of the family room area. The first is taken from the entry way and the second from the back door. I think this about does it for house photos........

More photos of the house

The backyard, in need of mowing

Hannah and Hailey's room - it has a huge walk-in closet for toy storage!

Holly's room/office - good closet space here too!

Aaron and Trish's room - featuring our new furniture!

More house photos.

These were taken before the movers got here with our gear!

laundry room

kitchen from front hallway into the breakfast room

kitchen from the breakfast room

Our new house

This is the outside, street view of our new home! It needs some TLC as far as the plants and grass goes, but we haven't gotten to that quite yet, as we are busy getting the inside situated! The house includes a garage which the picture cuts off.......... more pictures to come!

Arizona to Sunny California

We finally made it to California today! Upon arrival we had just enough time to make it to the housing office. One of the housing developments had a four bedroom opening in Murphy Canyon. We looked at it and decided to pass... which ment we needed to find shelter for the next couple of days. We found a Hampton Inn that allowed pets and moved in. Aaron had to go to the housing office the next day to find more options. We decided to look at a 3 bedroom option in a development called Chesterton. Jackpot! A good amount of room, single family, a garage and a backyard to play in! We had to wait until the next day to take possession in order to get the paperwork done, but once it was, we moved in!

New Mexico to Arizona

More road, black highway seems to go on forever! We stopped in Arizona for some souvenirs - we got a metal lizard that is adorning our wall and some other whatnots.

Texas to New Mexico

Miles and miles and miles of open road..... movies, potty breaks, coloring, snacks, drinks, etc, etc.... Rest area pictures:

On the road again......

More miles to cover.... Today we drove from Arkansas to Oklahoma to Amarillo, Texas. These photos are at the Oklahoma welcome center.

The weather had been great for the majority of the trip but somewhere in Texas the sky became darker and darker, until finally the bottom fell out and it poured. We couldn't see the road for about 10 minutes, and then we drove out of it, just as fast as we drove into it. The scenery in Texas was pretty, lots of open fields and rolling hills. The girls had fun looking for cows and horses. This photo is of the windmills scattered throughout the countryside. We found a marvelous hotel, where we scored the "executive suite" for the double price! Real furniture, jacuzzi tub, double-headed shower... the works! It was almost like an oasis in the desert!

Another day, another state closer

We left Tennesse around 11:00am, found gas, breakfast and snacks and hit the road. Lots of open highway on I-40! Lots of movie watching, coloring and bickering in the car. We borrowed walkie-talkies from a friend so Aaron and I were able to talk to one another for most of the trip. We trekked from Tennesse to Little Rock, Arkansas

On The Road

We began our big adventure in the early afternoon. I drove the Expedition with the three princesses and Aaron drove his truck followed by the trailer and the dogs. The picture to the left is of two of my traveling companions!

We drove from Winston-Salem to Nashville, Tennesse. Finding a pet friendly hotel that was also clean and civilized was not easy, but we finally found a room at the "inn" and settled in for the night! We thought we would make a flag picture at each rest area, so here is Tennesse!

September 4-8

Our big adventure stalled for a couple of days in Winston-Salem while we recouped and geared up for the long drive ahead. The girls were busy helping Grandma keep her house clean (ha ha) and Aaron and I began a search for some new bedroom furniture to replace the stuff we left to the trash in Norfolk, not to mention we had to fill up the trailer and increase the weight of our move to increase our bottom line!

We scoured W-S... Haverty's and Hanes.... Mocksville, Boyle's..... and the up to High Point to all the furniture showrooms. We were discouraged by the lack of buy today and take it home today dealers! Everyone wanted us to order the furniture and wait 4-12 weeks for delivery! Unfortunately for us, we didn't have time to wait, nor an address to send it too! So the search continued! We finally hit the jackpot in High Point at the Southland Furniture Land Express. We found a beautiful sectional "choufa" for a great price... Sorry, no picture to share at the moment, once we find a home to put it in I will post one.

Then on the 8th we decided to go to Bowen Town and Country in W-S. We excited to find that their warehouse is local and we could pick up our furniture that day! Here is the beautiful set we got! (these are pictures from the showroom, so these are not our linens or decore... and the bed we purchased is a sleigh). Aaron picked up the furniture and loaded it on the trailer that very day! Mission one: accomplished!

Daddy arrived in Winston-Salem today! Now the adventure truly begins.