The Move

Well, we made it to Texas! We drug our feet having to leave Alabama. We loved it there and really enjoyed ourselves during the past eight months. We decided to make the 10-hour drive over two days (mostly for my sanity's sake), but the whole process actually took much longer. These first pictures have nothing to do with the move, but I wanted to post the pupmkin carving we did before we left. The kids had a lot of fun doing it and loved seeing their jack-o-lanterns out by our front door.

Day 1 (Oct. 26)

Danny and I worked late into the evening packing the things we'd need for our drive. My mom arrived to help us with the move. She's a SAINT and has been a tremendous asset! We definitely could not have survived any of this with out her.

Day 2 (Oct. 27th)

Fortunately, Raytheon provides an excellent relocation package which includes a professional moving company. On this day, the movers came and boxed up all our stuff except our beds, bedding, and towels.

Day 3 (Oct. 28)

The movers came back and loaded everything onto the big truck. It was weird seeing the house all empty.

We ate our leftover lasagna lunch, etc. on the floor.

We forgot to keep out any paper cups, so we had to drink out of some paper bowls.

We drove to Decatur, a neighboring city, to spend our first night in a hotel.

Dallin came down with something and was SO sick, the poor little guy.

Day 4 (Oct.29)

We left Alabama and drove through Mississippi, up through Memphis, and made it to Little Rock, AR with no problems (4 different states in 5 hours). The kids did WONDERFULLY, in spite of the fact that Emily was also sick by this point!!

We had torrential rains driving through Arkansas both days. Danny was a great driver and we prayed hard for safety.

My mom, the baby, and I sat in the middle seat.

Dallin and Emily sat in the very back. We had a very nice ride in our van. We love it. We stopped for lunch outside of Memphis. We could've eaten here.... ...or here. Can you guess which one we chose?

Yeah, Steak 'n Shake won, but we thought the name of the other restaurant was funny.

After a bath in our hotel in Arkansas.

Playing cards.

Day 5 (Oct. 30th)

We left Little Rock and drove the rest of the way to Dallas, again in heavy rain. It seemed to clear right up as soon as we crossed the Texas border. I didn't take any pictures of this day - the excitement of the trip had worn off and I was just ready to be done traveling. The kids did great again and the day went smoothly. It had all just gotten old.

Day 6 (Halloween)

Our belongings arrived on Saturday morning. Emily and Dallin did GREAT keeping out from under foot by playing outside by Daddy for nearly two hours. So, with these moves, the movers put stickers on every box and other large items that go onto the truck. Every sticker has a different number so they can keep track of our stuff. Danny's job was to check off each item on the number sheet, 283 to be exact.

Getting ready to go trick-or-treating that evening

Emily was Snow White.

Dallin was a policeman.

Megan was a ladybug, with wings and all.

"Trick or treat!" Megan was lulled to sleep in Daddy's arms as we walked from house to house.

Since Arriving The kids have had a hay day playing in all the packing paper!

Due to a scheduling mix-up, we didn't have our gas turned on till Tuesday the 2nd. Having no heat wasn't a problem at all since it's not too cold here yet. Having no hot water, however, was a pain. We had to boil water on the stove and add it to the cold water in the bathtub in order to wash ourselves relatively comfortably. It only ever filled it a few inches high, though. Needless to say, none of us bathed as regularly as we'd have liked!

We've already been out around the neighborhood taking walks in the morning

It's Autumn Time

Having lived the majority of my life in Arizona, I've missed out on experiencing the different seasons and abundant foliage that exist in other parts of the country. I have absolutely loved seeing the seasons change here and how gorgeous a place can be. I am constantly in awe and commenting how pretty it is here. We arrived in Alabama just in time to see spring in its full splendor, the pink dogwood being my favorite tree in bloom. Summer was equally beautiful and I loved the lush greenness that is everywhere. I was hoping we'd get to see the fall colors before we moved and it has arrived in all its glory. The colors of all the trees are breathtaking, from golden yellow to fire red. I've loved going outside and feeling air that is cool and crisp. I had forgotten how much fun having seasons is and I had no idea how much I love it.

The House

We head out of Alabama in less than two weeks and this is the home that awaits us. Danny went on a house-hunting trip a couple of weeks ago and he says this would be a great fit for us. We just got word today that the homeowner has approved us to be their renters. We've been praying that the Lord would help us get it, and, as always, He has answered our prayers. We're so relieved and pleased. What I'm most excited about? Having a backyard, a real backyard with a fence and grass. In Tucson we had weeds and dirt and lots of big spiders. I think I only stepped foot out there twice. The kids, probably never. In Alabama we've had no fence. The kids have gone out just a handful of times. I can't wait to have a regular, kid-friendly yard.

At the Feet of Prophets

What a great weekend! I love General Conference! I love that it consumes our entire weekend. Our kids did so well. We had Conference Bingo sheets for them both, but it was Emily who really paid attention, listening hard for those words on the sheet. We got to listen well to all the talks and I didn't even fall asleep! All the sessions were so wonderful and every talk inspiring. I especially loved Elder Bednar's talk and I have set some goals for things that I can improve on in our family. I can't wait to listen to them again (from our computer while I get ready in the mornings) because I definitely need the review. How blessed we are to be taught by living prophets and apostles!

As a side note, for the last few conferences, we've had home evenings about Gereral Conference the Monday before. I like it and think we'll always do it, maybe making it a tradition. Do any of you have pre-, during-, or post-conference traditions or activities to make it more meaningful for your families? Especially any geared toward young children?

She did it!!!!!

Megan slept through the night for the first time!!! She went a full 9 hours last night!!! Woo hoo!!! From the time our babies are a week or two old, we begin tirelessly training them for this very thing. At times it seems like all the monumental effort will never pay off. I'm so excited and hopeful this will soon be the norm since she'll be 3 months old on Wednesday! Exclamation points all around!!! This is the cute baby face I get to see all the time. Megan's been smiling for weeks now, but this is the first good picture I've gotten of it. It seems like once the camera comes out her smiles go away. I finally got one.

Blessing Day

Yesterday Megan was given a name and a blessing. It is moments like these that make me so thankful for the priesthood power, in particular having a husband who is worthy to use that power to bless our family. The blessing Danny gave was wonderful and really invited the spirit. The dress Megan wore is one my mom made for Emily when she was a baby. It is beautiful with exquisite detail. She is such a good seamstress. The white blanket is one my sweet Grandma Harbaugh crocheted before she passed away over 10 years ago. She crocheted 16 of these, one for each of her grandchildren. It was a special day.

The reason we waited for so long to bless Megan was so we could have some family here to participate. My sister and brother-in-law (Jennifer and David) have been planning this visit since May. They came for a quick little trip (too quick for all of us), but it was a lot of fun having them. We didn't do terribly much: breakfast at Blue Plate Cafe, naps, playing with the kids, and playing cards after the kids were in bed. They helped so much getting dinners ready and cleaned up, and they played a lot with Dallin and Emily. They even bought us a yummy barbecue dinner after I scalded the pot full of beans that was eventually to be Brazilian black beans and rice for dinner. I was annoyed at myself for that blunder, but we still got some good food anyway. We are so glad they came and it was so good to see them. I think it had been since February - way too long! Thanks for coming, you guys!

To the Lone Star State

We're 99% sure we're heading to the Dallas area for our third and final rotation, which starts in November. We spent the summer of '07 there for Danny's Raytheon internship and we liked it very much. We're excited to be going back and know the Lord provided this job out of nowhere, at the last possible moment in answer to our prayers. We thought we were destined for L.A., something we were not thrilled about for a variety of reasons. So, we are EXTREMELY GRATEFUL to be going to Dallas. In the mean time, we're dustin' off them cowboy boots and squeezin' into them Wrangler jeans fixin' to be Texans again!