Moving Day

For 5 days we lived in a nearly empty house; sleeping on the floor, eating on the floor, sitting on the floor.  We got new dishware and silverware, along with 1 pan and 2 cooking utensils at Wal Mart and Fred Meyer so that we would be able to eat.  And then, we waited.  We had no TV or internet.  We didn't miss either except when we wanted to research a product we needed to buy or look for directions for somewhere we wanted to go in this new town. 

Here is our first meal in the house.  It was "load up" night so we were eating our favorite family meal.

On Wednesday I started a painting project (note the random paint sections on the walls) since our goods weren't supposed to be here for another 2-5 days.  Of course I got the call while I was in the middle of painting.  But nothing would make me say no to getting our stuff!

After a mad-dash to organize the house so nothing (ie: toys and new product boxes) would be in their way, this is what it looked like:

And just for fun, this is the view from 3 sides of the house (we are loving the privacy)

And then we looked out to see this!

The kids were so excited to see that truck!

Here is a general idea of how the house looked 2 days later.  The garage is still filled with things to unpack, but I'm working my way there.  After each room is painted (walls and trim) THEN I'll start to hang things and really decorate.  It's going to be a long process.  Yes we realize that couch is huge, but I ordered it before we moved and we're stuck with it.  Though stuck isn't a good term, because I LOVE it!  I don't care if it's big, it's awesome.

Thanks so much for reading.  I hope to be posting some real Alaska adventures soon.

We're here!

We made a whirlwind trip all the way to AK.  We went 2500 miles in 5 days with only 4 nights on the road.  We are still exhausted.

Here are some pics of the sights we saw...

Caribou

Buffalo.  One group of about 3 we saw (no close ups since those came out blurry)

Check out the color of the water!  It was amazing!

I hope you have enjoyed the pics.  I'll post arriving and moving day pics tomorrow. :)  I'm so glad to be settling in...

Almost there

We're in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada.  We got here at 11:30 last night.  Internet access has been really patchy at all of our stops.  That, combined with a tired family, does not lend to posting much.  I don't have photos loaded, so I'll have to do that sometime next week when we get internet access. 

We decided to go for it and will be getting to our new house tonight!  That makes for two nearly 600 mile days in a row, but I think it will be worth it.  Often it's super slow going because of the constant construction.  550 miles takes over 12 hours!  Add in 1 hour for lunch, dinner and 2 bathroom breaks and that's not much time out of the car.  The winding roads can be an issue too, as well as the wildlife.

Yesterday was our best day for seeing animals.  We saw 2 very young caribou, a mama black bear and her cubs, a mama moose and her 2 babies and numerous herds of buffalo.  The latter were a great surprise.  I didn't know they would exist that high up, but they sure are.  There are a lot of buffalo crossing signs around.  Thank goodness they're not hard to miss...they are huge!

The beauty is incredible.  There isn't a way to accurately describe it.  It goes on and on and on, and makes you feel very small. 

I have been surprised at the small glimses of homesteading or oasis that are often set up in the middle of nowhere.  The place we stopped at for lunch was an RV park/Laundry/8 room lodge/Restaurant/visitor center, all combined.  You see those a lot.

I loved going through British Columbia, with all the tall mountains and steep hills and trees.  But just before Yukon Territory is an awesome highway carved from the hills that took our breath away.  The rocks and glacier water that surrounds it is amazing.  I have some photos, but they cannot begin to capture what it is like to be in that setting.  It's so very big, with every hill topping another vista, another view, another breath stealing scene. 

It's all so stunning, I don't even read in the car because I might miss seeing something even more lovely than the last scene.  These areas of Canada have so many trees and hills and are constantly surrounded by water...beautiful lakes, rivers and creeks. 

There's my little update.  We have a mercilessly long day ahead of us today.  We're going to swing through Wal Mart here in Whitehorse and grab what we can for sleeping on our homes floor tonight.  And then we're off on another adventure. 

So much to post, so little time

Gosh, where can I start? I haven't blogged in a few days because we've been so busy visiting family. We had a great visit, and the time passed all too quickly.   I'll do a quick pass through of the last couple of days.

Getting into Oregon was such a relief. The weather cooled down and was so clear and "Northwest feeling" I love this area.  There is just nothing like it. 

And then into "cow" country.  Tillamook, where the famous cheese is created http://tillamookcheese.com/

LOVE this barn

Spending time with 1 set of cousins

Saying goodbye to them :(  we went on to Washington to see the rest of the family.  First up, Dave's grandma.  "GG" to the kids.  It was wonderful seeing her.  She's a lovely lady and we enjoyed spending time with her

Isn't she pretty? She's still feisty at 89 yrs young.

Elsa's highlight that day was catching a teeny tree frog.  It was so cute! (of course we let it go, but I had to take pics for the memory)

We spent time with both sets of grandparents (nice of them to take a family pic of us)

We stayed with my sister and her family.  The kids had an awesome time, but I was so busy shopping and getting my nails and hair done, I didn't get any good pics of them playing.  Love being near a city with good stores!!

And more group pics we try and do when we're together....

Amber's tan kids and my pale ones....

And finally, we were off!!  We spent our first night in Canada tonight, but I've crammed so much into this post, Canada can wait until tomorrow!

California Ho!

We spent our first night in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  The weather was nice and dry which is a nice change from Oklahoma humidity.

These pics are taken on the road in the car, so please forgive any blurring or glare from the windshield.

Here is New Mexico.  I really love the desert with the hills and red rocks.  It has a special atmosphere.  We stopped in Dumas for lunch and it was only 80 degrees at noon!  What a refreshing air that was.

And then we got into Arizona.  We went through the typical desert looking areas you would expect

And then.....to our surprise, MOUNTAINS.  Gorgeous areas up at 7,000 plus feet.  Not at all how I think of Arizona.  Most of these are near the mountain town of Payson.  It reminded us a little of Lake Tahoe.

Incredible. 

And then on to Mesa, Arizona.   Near Phoenix.  This is where we're spending the night.  It was a cool 111 degrees when we arrived.  Ummm, yeah, it's hot, even if it is dry.

The kids were so excited to see all the Cactus (cacti, cactuses??? that's a nod to veggie tales)

Tomorrow we're off to Anaheim, California for 2 nights.  We're planning to spend Tuesday in Disneyland!!  I may not post tomorrow, but you can for sure expect a post on Tuesday night.  I can't wait.  The last time I was at Disney, I was pregnant with Adin and couldn't ride on anything.  I think we're all going to have a great time.