NM, TX, to Shawnee, OK

Long Long way from CA to GA. I mean really long. Tony and I were going to attempt a trip to Graceland when we got to Memphis but our cat was not doing well. So I decided that Graceland would always be there; we only excursion would be nice to break up the long days. Anyway back to the cat, she wasn't eating or drinking much and we noticed this horrible odor coming from her mouth. Everytime she 'meowed' we wanted to vomit. I tried to look at her mouth but she wouldn't let me get near it. I thought she may have had some sticker bush prickles in her mouth from her weird attack on Thursday before we left. I spoke to her Vet in Twentynine Palms and he advised we get her seen as soon as we can. She didn't act very sick and was walking around and not being lethargic the only thing I noticed that was odd, was she wasn't purring when you pet her or touch her. So I knew she wasn't feeling well. I tried to get some pictures of the gas prices and interesting things we saw along the way. Some things were impossible as we were attempting our own version of "Cannon Ball Run" across the Southlands!

Beginning of Day 2

Welcome to NM!

Beautiful Plateaus or are these Mesa's?

One cool Kid

Tony and Madison in Santa Rosa, NM

Madi and Mommy in Santa Rosa, NM

Welcome to TX

The Big Texan

Gas Prices so far on the trip were the cheapest in TX.

These donkeys were at a gas station and were worth a picture. . . I am sorry I had to do like a weeks worth of laundry and I will update the rest of the trip and happenings tomorrow I promise! ~~~~~~Okay well that didn't happen. I apologize for making promises that I didn't keep. I hope you can understand how busy I truly have been. I have decided to "fix" this last post and then start where I left off. I will do it in order as best I can and fill in most of the gaps.

Need I say more?

Oklahoma prices got higher

Oatman, CA and Grand Canyon, AZ . . .

When we left Twentynine Palms we headed to the Grand Canyon. It was about a 6 hour drive and not too far out of our way to Flagstaff, Arizona. We had the Navigation System set on shortest distance so it took us on Historic Route 66. It was really neat to see some towns that we would never even have known existed if we didn't make that mistake. Like this little mountain town in California named Oatman. It was like being in the N.GA mountains but with donkeys running around in the streets. The locals had decorated some of the bushes on the side of the road with different themes for Christmas. I didn't get a pic of them though because I was driving and Tony didn't think it was worth wasting his time. However the donkeys were worth a stop to snap a pic of. . . We enjoyed the scenic route through the canyons there too. It was majestic and pituresque definitely on a road not well traveled but well maintained.

This guy was just hanging out off of Route 66 before we got to Oatman~thought to ourselves now that's a bull!

Back view from the one street town

Madison and Bailey thought the donkey's were dogs. Madi was saying goggie and Bailey was growling at them!View from the canyon off Route 66 past East of Oatman~high up in the mountain. . . .

Are we there yet?

will keep you updated as I get more time. Our days are long and nights are too short to get much blogging done. I wish I had wireless internet for the car ride HA! But with the damage I have done to the radio I am just lucky to get music sometimes as it is!!!! Oh I didn't mention I think I damaged the radio when I ran the roof bag into the garage door. . .Whoopsie! I know I put a huge dent in the roof of my car~Did I do that?

GEORGIA On My Mind/Goodbye California

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So today was the first day of our 5 day journey to Georgia from California. Our trip started off very eventful the day before we left. We were trying to save time in the morning by packing the night before and I drove into the garage for more light. The only problem with that was that we had already to attached the roof bag with stuff in it to the top of the Truck ~whoops! It didn't cause much damage but I am glad we bought a cargo net since I broke the straps off of it (Cheezy Grin). After we fixed that we noticed some thing moving around outside and the dog started to alert us of danger. So Tony grabbed the flashlight (that I kept out ~so prepared) and I ran in to see if my cat was still in the house. We thought it could be a coyote and it may have taken off with her. Yes, it was the cat and when Tony found her she was covered in thorns and her back was bowed up as high as it could get. I ran over to get her because the last time Tony grabbed her while she was in a frightened state she bit him and clawed him to pieces. I picked her up and we took her inside to find her back paws were bleeding and a few of her claws were missing. Thorns were in her ears, head, eyebrows, whiskers, her left eye, and in her nose. I had to pick them out one by one. Her mouth was bleeding as well. After we got things settled back down we thought about what could have happened. We think she saw some small critter that lives in a thorn bush and got tangled up in the thorns. She bolted away to the fence and may have gotten caught in it and possibly bit the fencing and chewed her back feet up trying to get out. At this point she is still very skittish and has eaten very little but she is traveling well. We did get a picture of her at the Grand Canyon, she kept hearing the 'call the of the wild'!She is sleeping alot and not being a pain like the dog. . . . Okay so Bailey is not a good traveler. However, this is not her first time at the rodeo. I took her to GA in the car a few years ago, so it took her a couple of hours to stop freaking out. I The baby did exceptionally well; the DVD player is a life saver! So here are some of our pics from the first day. . . .

Moving Truck

Last Denny's Breakfast in Twentynine Palms, CA


The Coolest Kids in the world!



No More Breakfast dates . . . . :(

Madi playing in the empty kitchen cabinets . ..

Happy Thanksgiving

Hello everyone, I hope you are eating turkey and spending time with those you love. We are getting the chance to have dinner with a couple of friends that we had Thanksgiving Dinner with about 4 years ago. Only this year we have grown, from just 4 adults to a large crowd with kids! It was a fun day but many naps were skipped and sleep was needed. We are so Thankful to have great friends that open their hearts and homes to us. We are going to miss The Rummler's, AGAIN! This year we also got to spend the holiday with Jane and Peachy Benz. Tony used to work for Jane's husband at TTECG and he is in Iraq until Spring time. We missed you Dan and Godspeed; Stay Safe! The Benz's will also be missed when we leave. Peachy and Madison loved to do "lunch" together (as well as their Mommies=( ). . . .hopefully we will see everyone again in the future. Today was about spending time with good people and watching our children play. The Princesses decided to parade around but one of the gowns was dragging the floor so we had to switch over to the Petti-skirt and that was just right. Gonna have to find us one of those somewhere! After a little while the handsome astronaut showed up to take the Princesses on a date. Madi got into the toilet tissue (a few times). . . We know you did it; we can see it behind you.

I am so Thankful for the two of you!

Tony and I have been super busy trying to tie up all our loose ends here in CA. We had to change our date for leaving to Friday now because they pushed the packing back one day. I wanted to post some pictures of the baby from the last few weeks of happenings. We have managed to have a little fun while tackling the daunting task of preparing to move! Tony and I are so excited to be spending time with our families for the holiday's this year. I know everyone is going to love getting to know Madison better, and she will love all the attention. Love and miss you all and wish you all the best for Thanksgiving!

A little over 2 weeks left here

Okay well I pulled out my calendar and was stunned to realize I am on a rapid countdown. I have a little over 2 weeks left, but with a big holiday included~time is running out! There is still so much I want to do; so I am trying really hard to fit it all in. I really don't want leave any loose ends untied and give Kharma any reason for sending me/us back here (hahaha). I really will miss all my friends that I am leaving behind; you guys are like extended family. But it is finally my turn to leave this place; I hope you all will be happy for me. I also thought it was about time I filled everyone in on the next month's plans. Tony has orders to report to MC3 (Maneuver Captains Career Course) in Fort Knox, KY on Jan 1st. We have plans for the Packers to come on December 1st, 2nd, and 3rd; they will pick up our boxes on December 4th and we are leaving right after that. We have tentatively planned for a stop at the Grand Canyon, but with a 17 month old, a dog, 2 cats and a cranky husband (JK I LOVE U) it may have to be Nixed! I am just being a realist. We will be heading for GA to spend our time off with our family of whom we have not seen for Christmas in 3 years. Incidentally I am trying to find one of cats a new home and have been trying for a few months now. If anyone is willing to take her it would help us out tramendously. She is a very sweet natured cat and very good with little children. We are going to be living on base and we are one pet over limit. I can send you pictures of her if want and if you would like to come and meet her that would be fine too. ~ Anyway, back to the travel plans. I am not sure when Madison and I will be going to KY? I may wait until Tony checks-in, gets our house assigned and our property has been delivered. I know Madison's Grandparent's won't mind us staying a few extra days =). So, if you are in GA and want to get together we will be in Buford, and Big Canoe through out the month and some of January. I will also come see you Stephanie and Sharon; maybe we can meet in the middle somewhere ;) There is so much going on and if I have sent you an email asking for your address and you haven't sent it yet ~please do as soon as you can. If you have sent it ~Tanks and bunch! If you have not been contacted about it, don't worry I have your info already. We are all super excited about this next phase of our lives. I will also probably retire this blog and start a new. . .We're on a countdown!

Twin Day

Okay today I got to see what it would have been like to have Twins. Madison got to play with Marti Lewis today and as you can see from the pictures great mom's think a like. We did not plan on dressing them in the same outfit but I almost died when she came around the corner. It was like looking at my daughter. Marti is only a few weeks younger than Madi, she is about an inch taller, but Madi has a good 2 lbs on her. They have the same color hair and when they wear the same clothes it is hard to tell them apart. I even got them to take a nap today in the same room at the same time; Madi's first sleep over LOL!!!

Marti is welcome any time Anne. Madison and Lizzy had soo much fun!

Halloween Pics~my pink poodle puppy!

I have always loved animals, puppies to be more exact! So this year it's no surprise that Madi would be a Pink Poodle Puppy for Halloween. My dreams came true, I got to hold and pet my daughter/puppy this year! We took our pumpkins over to the Douglas's House and then Madi played with Peyton. They ran around the driveway a million and one times; I was sure she would be a sleep before Trick-or-treating! We went onto base after the older kids carved the pumpkins . We walked the neighborhood with the Rummler's. I didn't get an photos of them because my camera battery died =(. Stacy got some of them kids in their costume though. I felt really bad too about her costume being so warm, it was 89 degrees for Halloween night. I know we live in the desert but it is usually really cold here on Oct. 31st. We came home and Madi still didn't want to let go of her Halloween Pumpkin and candy!

Isn't she the cutest Pink Poodle you have ever seen?