15hrs drive and two kids

Move day was getting closer and closer and I was getting more and more nervous. I wasn't sure about the long drive with two kids. Angie has a summer job at Disney world and since she needed a place to stay until it started, she decided to stay with us. It was a win win for us, especially since she got to spend some time with Taj. 

Angie holding a baby is as rare as seeing big foot hold an elf. She usually doesn't care to interact with the little ones but Taj is special. hehe

I absolutely love Taj's 'what is happening here?' look.  It is probably not his most flattering picture but for some reason it makes me all mushy inside. 

This picture reminds me of a very similar picture we took of Shadd, the similarity is striking. 

Anyway, here we go! This was our very last picture in front of the house before the drive of death. I was so sad to leave without ever seeing the final projects completed on our little starter home. 

We left Texas right after dinner in hopes of being able to reach our halfway point by midnight. The thought was to travel in the evening so the boys could sleep during the long drive. It worked very well, although the very few times I did have to pull over were down right terrifying. Imagine me pulling over in the middle of nowhere with two babies and a teen. Also, the extreme fog on the road was not at all helpful. I could only see a couple feet in front of me. Anyway, we made it to the hotel and I was so happy to rest. 

The next morning I decided to change things up and drive during the day. I'm so glad we did because we made it to our new home a little shy of 2 am. We had a lot of fun reminiscing of our childhood trips, I must get the pictures and videos from Angie. We shared old family stories and even sang our famous 'toilet' song when passing under bridges. The only hiccup of our trip was the time I locked myself out of the suburban with Shadd trapped inside. The car was running, and inside my little Shadd had opened a large container of chocolate cookies and was sitting rather peacefully on his seat, eating away. He could not care less for all the gesture and calls from us to open the door. Let's just say, he will not be having any more of those cookies in a very long time.  

Once in Jacksonville, we slept for 4 hours and took on the road once more. I had to drop Angie off at Disney for registration and such. In Orlando, I got to stop and meet Yael, Rose's son. He is so adorable!!! The visit had to be short and sweet, I still had the drive home ahead of me. I was so exhausted, I had to sleep at a Publix parking lot while holding Taj to be able to make it back home from Orlando. On top of that, once in Jax I still had to stop at Walmart to pick up milk and other things for the babies. I was so grateful for the gift of safety and I knew the Lord had helped me get there. 

Shadd had so much fun running around in the empty house. He explored every inch and corner of the house. 

I also did some cleaning while I had the empty house. On one of my trips for more cleaning products and groceries I found myself locked out of the house. I had to call the bishop to help me. I never do that!!! Anyway, we worked on getting me in the house for some time but I ended up having to stay at a hotel. We stayed at the Holiday Inn because it was close to us but in the morning I found Shadd's face covered in mosquito bites. I was not happy with that room at all and was so eager to leave. When I got to the house, the bishop had recruited the Elders'help. A wonderful Elder Wagamott was able to open the garage by using nothing but a hanger wire. I promised him the best home cooked meal of his life as a token of my gratitude. 

So yeah, it was a great birthday. My 30th birthday. Happy Birthday to me!!! To celebrate, I made myself my favorite Brazilian dish. I was shrimp drunk at the end of it all. Here to our new adventures in Jacksonville, Florida.