Tuesday, July 29, 2008
I Knew I was in Texas When . . .
I knew I was in Texas when, our second day here, I went to Sam's Club and while looking around while I was stuck in traffic, realized that I was hemmed in on all sides by pick-up trucks -- GMC, Chevrolet, Dodge, Ford. Especially telling was the truck in front of me that had a hot pink decal on its back, tinted window that said, in fancy script writing, "Hick Chick", and the truck to the right of it that had a similar cursive, hot pink decal that said "Princess" with a hot pink kiss underneath. I wish I had had my camera. Does anyone have any suggestions for a hot pink decal I could get for my mini-van (groan)?
The Trip
On June 27th, we packed our two cars to the hilt and took off for Texas (where the rest of our belongings had been for a month). We were a little nervous about how the girls would do during our three day drive, but they handled it remarkably well. For the older girls, this was due mostly to fact that we finally broke down and invested in a portable DVD player and some new movies that kept them riveted. My favorite moment was when we stopped to get gas late one night and I looked back at Millie who was watching the end of "The Little Princess" when Sarah is reunited with her father and there were tears streaming down Millie's face. It was so tender!
We stayed the first night in Knoxville, TN after traveling through all of Virginia (southern VA has some of the most beautiful countryside I've ever seen), forged through Alabama and onto Hattiesville, Mississippi the next night, and after attending church in Baton Rouge, LA, we rolled into Houston along with the most terrific rain storm I've ever encountered. We had to pull over to wait it out and when I got out of the car to check something I was soaked to the bone instantly. It was quite something.
Mark and I enjoyed seeing some of the south, since it was unchartered territory for both of us. Most fascinating to me was driving through stretches of swamp/bayou in Louisiana. Virginia and Tennessee struck us as the most beautiful. Since I had left my phone charger in VA and Mark's had gotten misplaced in our luggage, we had fun communicating via walkie-talkie. And we were especially happy when the whole trek was over!
We stayed the first night in Knoxville, TN after traveling through all of Virginia (southern VA has some of the most beautiful countryside I've ever seen), forged through Alabama and onto Hattiesville, Mississippi the next night, and after attending church in Baton Rouge, LA, we rolled into Houston along with the most terrific rain storm I've ever encountered. We had to pull over to wait it out and when I got out of the car to check something I was soaked to the bone instantly. It was quite something.
Mark and I enjoyed seeing some of the south, since it was unchartered territory for both of us. Most fascinating to me was driving through stretches of swamp/bayou in Louisiana. Virginia and Tennessee struck us as the most beautiful. Since I had left my phone charger in VA and Mark's had gotten misplaced in our luggage, we had fun communicating via walkie-talkie. And we were especially happy when the whole trek was over!
It's About Time!
Father's Day Dinner with the two best fathers I know!
Friends at the Zoo
A quaint street in Anapolis, MD
We tried a Battle of the BBQ event down in D.C. one day, but the only redeeming thing about it was the face painting that the girls loved!
Millie, the animal lover.
Jane warmed up to them a bit, but Abby was a little skittish the whole time.Well, we've been in Texas for over three weeks now and I figured it was time to attempt to catch up on my blogging! So much has been going on! I'll talk about Texas and our move shortly, but I first wanted to post some pictures from our time in the D.C. area. It was too bad that we couldn't spend more time with my mom and dad while we were there (what with Emily's baby, David Oldroyd's baptism, and business travel), but we loved the time we had together. And we're sorry we didn't connect more with friends. It was a pretty hectic time because my ever resourceful husband, who doesn't officially start work until September, decided to see how many "gigs" he could find on Craigslist to earn a little extra money during the almost three weeks we were there. His/our various jobs included:
1) Making 50 brownies and 50 lemon bars for a caterer who needed some homemade baked goods for an event she was catering (Amy)
2) Passing out flyers for a tutoring service for several days (Mark)
3) Trying to place candy machines in offices (Mark)
4) Helping with an office move (Mark)
5) Acting as a production assistant for the filming of a public service announcement for several days (Mark)
6) Helping with some graduate school application essays (Amy)
While it was all pretty chaotic (especially since the girls were trying to decompress after such a busy month), we were able to gather our forces to do a few things. We spent an afternoon in beautiful Anapolis, Maryland touring the US Naval Academy, spent an afternoon at the National Zoo with our friends the Evans who came up from C-ville, and visited a lady in my mom's ward who had newborn puppies. The rest of the time we spent trying to get ready for our move and swimming in Grammie and Grandpa's community pool.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Welcome Lucy!
We are so excited for the arrival of our newest little niece!! Lucy Rose made her debut on June 9th weighing in at 8 lbs. 11 oz. and looks like the cuddliest, most squeezable little button! We can't wait to meet her! Congratulations, Ems and Isaac! You are a beautiful family!
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
"Vacation" By the Numbers
26/30 = Days out of the last month that we've been on "vacation"
20/26 = Days of the aforementioned "vacation" where the weather was either cold/rainy/snowy/hailing/blizzarding/on tornado watch (and, of course, since I had packed at the beginning of our first trip for the month and a half before we get into our house, the only cold weather clothes we had were one pair of long pants and a sweatshirt each)
10 = times packing and unpacking all of our gear
7 = different places we slept
tons = the fun we had!
vacation: a period of suspension of work, study, or other activity, usually used for rest, recreation, or travel
I just had to put quotes around the word "vacation" because according to the above definition, there was very little "suspension of work" and "rest" going on :). We have had a delightful series of trips, though, and feel blessed to have spent so much great time with family. We are now back in Virginia at my parents' house for a few weeks before heading south on our move and are glad for a little bit of down time.
We had a great time in Jackson Hole with Mark's family this past week. We enjoyed a picnic (albeit a cold one) at Jenny Lake -- the Tetons are spectacular, a quick trip to Old Faithful in Yellowstone (after being there about 30 minutes we were advised to return to Jackson so that we wouldn't be snowed in), the Alpine slide, watching the Jackson gunfight in the town square, swimming (great indoor rec center pool), and such.
The girls with Mark's sister Melissa's kids in Pocatello, ID.
Pigtail Jane. She actually held still for me long enough to try a new hair-do!
The girls loved looking for wildlife on our visits to the National Parks. We saw buffalo (this one as well as some live samples of the species), elk, and moose.
The freezing faithful -- waiting for Old Faithful to erupt.
A view of the Tetons from our picnic spot at Jenny Lake.
20/26 = Days of the aforementioned "vacation" where the weather was either cold/rainy/snowy/hailing/blizzarding/on tornado watch (and, of course, since I had packed at the beginning of our first trip for the month and a half before we get into our house, the only cold weather clothes we had were one pair of long pants and a sweatshirt each)
10 = times packing and unpacking all of our gear
7 = different places we slept
tons = the fun we had!
vacation: a period of suspension of work, study, or other activity, usually used for rest, recreation, or travel
I just had to put quotes around the word "vacation" because according to the above definition, there was very little "suspension of work" and "rest" going on :). We have had a delightful series of trips, though, and feel blessed to have spent so much great time with family. We are now back in Virginia at my parents' house for a few weeks before heading south on our move and are glad for a little bit of down time.
We had a great time in Jackson Hole with Mark's family this past week. We enjoyed a picnic (albeit a cold one) at Jenny Lake -- the Tetons are spectacular, a quick trip to Old Faithful in Yellowstone (after being there about 30 minutes we were advised to return to Jackson so that we wouldn't be snowed in), the Alpine slide, watching the Jackson gunfight in the town square, swimming (great indoor rec center pool), and such.
The girls with Mark's sister Melissa's kids in Pocatello, ID.
Pigtail Jane. She actually held still for me long enough to try a new hair-do!
The girls loved looking for wildlife on our visits to the National Parks. We saw buffalo (this one as well as some live samples of the species), elk, and moose.
The freezing faithful -- waiting for Old Faithful to erupt.
A view of the Tetons from our picnic spot at Jenny Lake.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Dr. Ward
Congratulations to Uncle Matt who is now offically Dr. Ward! We were so glad that we could be in town for his graduation from medical school and are proud of all the hard work he has put in over the past four years! We wish him and Sara the best of luck on their upcoming adventures in Boston and Iowa.
The girls joined the celebration at the Market Street Broiler.
Jane's response when I prompted "Smile!" I think she's still trying to figure it out.
The girls joined the celebration at the Market Street Broiler. 
Jane's response when I prompted "Smile!" I think she's still trying to figure it out.
Utah Pics
Well, we've now been on vacation for over 3 weeks and I must confess that I am starting to feel ready to get back to normal (although it'll probably be another month or so until we reach that point since we don't arrive in TX until the end of the month). We've had a wonderful time out west with family, though, first in Midway with the Wards and then in Pocatello, Idaho and Jackson Hole, Wyoming with the McLaughlins. It's been so great for the girls to get reaquainted with their cousins and for us to spend some quality time with our parents and siblings. We sure missed Em and Ike, who are expecting their little girl any minute, and Miffy who is serving a mission in Rochester, NY!
It's amazing to see and be in the mountains again! We've been visiting Midway, Utah as a family during the summer every year since I can remember. It's a beautiful valley full of green fields surrounded by snow-capped mountains. There's nothing like the smell of the air in Midway in the morning. It's just too bad that it is not-so-slowly being overrun with tacky development. Here are some pics from our time in Midway:
My dad, the dessert and pastry connoisseur, read an article in The Washington Post about the new official Maryland state cake -- the Smith Island 10 layer cake. He contacted one of the ladies from the article who makes 11 of these cakes a day from scratch 6 days a week and ordered two of them. He and Dave then carried them on their laps on the flight to Utah so that we could all enjoy the delicacy. It was such a fun treat! Dad always knows how to make things special and fun!
The girls had a great time with their Oldroyd cousins. We had a rip-roaring good time at David Oldroyd's eighth birthday party.
The big kids, primed and ready to hit the Darth Vader pinata. David split it open on his first try!
Jane loved the pizza.
One of the biggest hits of the trip was another surprise from Grandpa. He had brought his remote controlled Air Force One for us to fly. We all, family and neighbors alike, had a great time flying and watching it (from the ground it actually looked like a real plane). Unfortunately, Air Force One was lost on its final flight -- it got too high and a current carried it out of reach!
It's amazing to see and be in the mountains again! We've been visiting Midway, Utah as a family during the summer every year since I can remember. It's a beautiful valley full of green fields surrounded by snow-capped mountains. There's nothing like the smell of the air in Midway in the morning. It's just too bad that it is not-so-slowly being overrun with tacky development. Here are some pics from our time in Midway:
My dad, the dessert and pastry connoisseur, read an article in The Washington Post about the new official Maryland state cake -- the Smith Island 10 layer cake. He contacted one of the ladies from the article who makes 11 of these cakes a day from scratch 6 days a week and ordered two of them. He and Dave then carried them on their laps on the flight to Utah so that we could all enjoy the delicacy. It was such a fun treat! Dad always knows how to make things special and fun!
The girls had a great time with their Oldroyd cousins. We had a rip-roaring good time at David Oldroyd's eighth birthday party.
The big kids, primed and ready to hit the Darth Vader pinata. David split it open on his first try!
Jane loved the pizza.
One of the biggest hits of the trip was another surprise from Grandpa. He had brought his remote controlled Air Force One for us to fly. We all, family and neighbors alike, had a great time flying and watching it (from the ground it actually looked like a real plane). Unfortunately, Air Force One was lost on its final flight -- it got too high and a current carried it out of reach!
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