A Quick House Update

There is a light at the end of the home buying tunnel! The Friday before Thanksgiving we met with a mobile notary at her "home office". This was actually her dirty, sticky kitchen table but minor detail... We signed an entire ream of paper which amounted to all the documentation you would sign at a closing table in Indiana.

The next day we Fed Ex'd our money for closing costs/down payment to the title company. On Wednesday the bank made a required repair for the loan conditions. They replaced a very (apparently) expensive garage door opener button in the garage. On Friday an appraiser came out to re-inspect and make sure the repair had really been made. We waited on pins and needles all weekend to get a closing date because our realtor said everything on our part was done. In fact, they don't have a formal "closing" in CA, instead the closing just means that the loan has funded, the purchase has been recorded, and we get to take possession.

Today we got the news that we will take possession of our new home TOMORROW!! Our furniture won't be delivered until Friday so we will be living it up at the hotel for a few more days but it is still very exciting that we will be homeowners again by tomorrow!!

Happy Thanksgiving From California!

Although we definitely missed our family on our first holiday away from Indiana, we made the most of our first Thanksgiving holiday in California.

 

We started out Thanksgiving Eve by going to see a movie (Wreck-It Ralph--so good!) and after the movie we found a cool fountain and giant Christmas tree that the girls wanted to check out.

 

 

 

This morning we slept in late, had a big breakfast and headed to the mountains for a Thanksgiving hike.  We hiked about a mile and a half, to what was supposed to be a waterfall but it was dry.  Even so, we still had some beautiful views.  When the kids got tired, and the mountain got steep, and Dave got extremely nervous, we turned around and headed back down the mountain.  We took our time and took advantage of some photo ops along the way.

 

 

 

 

 

After nearly 2 hours of hiking we headed back to town to eat a Thanksgiving buffet.  The food was just so-so but the dessert was pretty tasty and they had never-ending Icee's on tap.  We still managed to eat until we were stuffed, like all good Thanksgiving dinners should end.

 

 

We finished the day with a 2 hour swim and hot tub soak, where Austyn learned to swim without floaties!  After swimming, Austyn had to come in to watch "her" football game.  All in all, it was a great way to spend a Thanksgiving day!

The Girls' First Beach Day

Of course we couldn't be here too long without taking the girls on their first trip to the Pacific Ocean.  When we were househunting we had visited a beach path and taken a walk, and while on our walk we saw a playground and a cool zipline.  The kids have been asking to go to that beach ever since.  So on Sunday we loaded up and drove about 15 minutes to that beach.

The girls ripped off their shoes and hit the zipline right away.

 

 

 

After a few (dozen) turns on the zip line the girls were ready to head down to the water and play in the sand.  

 

 

The water is pretty chilly this time of year, but that didn't stop the kids at all, and in the end we all waded in up to our knees.  It wasn't too bad once you got used to it.

 

 

There were tons of people out surfing and we were all impressed by them.  It made us want to try surfing, even though it seems pretty intimidating.  Austyn got inspired by the surfer's "cool tricks" and took to the sand to do some cool tricks of her own.

 

 

After that we headed up to do the zip line a few last times.  Dave finally told the girls they could each go one more time, and on the very last zip line trip a seagull let Dave know he had overstayed his welcome by making a "special delivery" all over Dave's shirt, arm, and hand!  He ran to the water to wash it off before I even knew what had happened.  I couldn't believe he didn't wait and let me get a picture for the blog!!

Ice Skating Lesson

On our first Friday here I took our girls to an ice skating lesson, courtesy of our Realtor, Steve.  His wife is an ice skating instructor and she had graciously offered us a free lesson, free ice time, and free skate rental.  All we had to do was make the 30 minute drive and she would take care of the rest.  Taylor has been begging to ice skate forever so she was especially looking forward to the lesson. 

 

Sorry for the poor picture quality, the lighting wasn't that great inside the rink and I couldn't get on the ice with them to get closer pictures, but I think they give you an idea.  When the girls first put their skates on outside the rink they could barely even stand in them.  But after a few minutes they got a feel for how to walk around in them off the ice.

 

 

 

When they started they each used bars for support:

 

 

The bars went with them, everywhere they went and gave them support but somehow still helped them to get a feel for how to balance on the ice.  Cindy, their instructor, promised that by the end of the lesson they would be able to let go of their bars and skate on their own but I was really skeptical. She was so great with them though, and the kids were fearless on the ice, and soon enough they did go it alone: 

 

 

 

 

The kids loved Cindy so much, and they loved ice skating.  After the hour was up they didn't want to leave!  They begged to stay awhile but it was so COLD in there!  I let them make one more trip around the oval and then had to practically drag them out the door.  They're already asking when they can go again!

The Trip to Our New Home Day 6

Finally the last day of driving!  We got up extra early to get ready, eat some breakfast, and hit the road.  We wanted to get started, so that we could get finished already! 

 

Entering California was an interesting experience.  All of the other state lines were a mini celebration: "yay we're in _____ " and a little cheer.  Then continue on with the driving.  Well, entering California was more like entering another country.  They have an inspection point a couple miles past the state line where all vehicles must stop.  I was a little nervous pulling up because I didn't know what they were going to be inspecting for, and both our vehicles were absolutely packed with boxes, suitcases, and stuff and if they wanted to look very thoroughly they were going to have a mess on their hands.  What actually happened went like this:

 

Guard: Where you coming from?

Me: Indiana.

Guard: Got any fruits or vegetables?
Me: Nope.

Guard: Have a nice day.

 

So...not too bad.  We entered the California Desert soon after and once again, towns began to be about 50 miles between.  We saw a sign that said 55 miles to the next 'facilities' so we decided to stop for a potty break.  At a blue gas station/convenience store in the middle of the desert.  It was quite interesting.  First of all, we noticed a sign on the door that said restrooms were for paying customers only.  So we used the restrooms and bought coffee and a magnet.  There were 3 employees standing by the register the whole time we were in there, complaining loudly about something or other and generally looking bored and passive.  One guy even had his feet kicked up on the counter.  They never even spoke to us.  Not even when we were checking out.  Not a word.  So their sign on the counter was especially comical:

 

It costs us a fortune to run a business in the middle of nowhere.  We have to be here because we've already invested a fortune in the business.  Please do not complain to our staff.  We are here to serve you.

I didn't exactly feel like they were there to serve me.  Anyway, back in the car and we drove straight through until lunch time.  After a quick stop at Wendy's for lunch, we got back in the car one final time and drove the 2 hours to our final hotel stop (a.k.a. home for the next 2ish weeks until we close on our house).  It was the fewest number of stops we had made on any driving day yet.  We were all just ready to be here already.

After getting unpacked and settled in to our hotel, the kids were excited to go see the new house (from the outside at least) and their new school.  We checked both of those out and then rewarded the kids for surviving the trip with a stop at Yogurtland.



 

We had dinner at the hotel that night, and I thought it was so cute that both kids went straight for the salad bar.  Maybe they were tired of all the restaurant meals on the road and really craving some veggies?

 

 

 

At the end of the night I sent a text to our Realtor, to let him know we were in the area and available for any paperwork that might be needed from us.  He responded to let us know that he was giving us a free ice skating lesson for both girls the next day, as a reward for doing a good job on the car ride over.  They were so ecstatic!  More to come on that...

The Trip to Our New Home Day 5

Warning: TONS of pictures ahead!  On Day 5 we got up fairly early, had some breakfast, and headed straight to the Grand Canyon!!!  I was pretty giddy with excitement.  I've always always wanted to see the Grand Canyon and I was so thrilled that we were able to fit it in on our cross country drive.

 

We had about an hour and a half drive from our hotel to the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park.  We left my car parked at the hotel so that we could all ride together, since we had to go practically back to Flagstaff anyway because that is basically the only route to California in the area.  It was so nice to have some company for this part of the drive!

 

When we got to the park we headed straight to the visitor's center and watched the park's movie about the Grand Canyon.  We thought it would be a good way to give the kids some background info and it built the anticipation of finally seeing the Grand Canyon just that much more.

 

Just outside the Visitor Center the girls started asking to have their picture taken right away.

 

 

 

Finally it was time to board the free shuttle buses and head to the first Grand Canyon lookout point.

 



 

I think the kids liked riding the bus just as much as seeing the Grand Canyon itself! 

 



 

Dave and I were blown away by the size, magnitude, and beauty of the Grand Canyon.  Everyone should see it at least once.  You just can't appreciate it without seeing it in person.  Austyn was impressed:

 



 

 

Next we boarded a shuttle bus and headed to get some lunch in the park.  We had beautiful weather and we loved the view of the canyon from our seats.





 

 

Dave and the girls headed over to check out the view closer after lunch.  I thought this picture was so sweet!

 



 

Finally we were ready to head out for some more sightseeing.  We got on the red shuttle and planned to take it all the way to the farthest point on the route, Hermit's Rest.  We ended up getting off at Powell lookout first, because we were enticed by a long rock peninsula where we could walk out over the canyon.  There was a staircase leading up to a monument, which was probably the girls' favorite lookout point of the day.

 

 

Finally we got back on the bus and rode out to Hermit's Rest.  We had some pretty views from the bus, including a Colorado River sighting.  Our children, the hams, wanted to do another photo shoot:

 

 

 

 

 

 

We hit the gift shop and got one last look at the Grand Canyon before boarding the bus back to the Visitor's Center.

 

 

We made the hour and a half drive back to my car, separated again, and finally began driving for the day.  At 4 pm.  I was so tired, and my pesky cold was making me feel miserable, and I really didn't want to be just beginning the day's drive at 4 pm, but seeing the Grand Canyon really was worth it.

 

We drove about 3 hours and made it to Kingman, AZ.  Even though we were exhausted we let the kids swim for just a little while.  After being cooped up in the car so much, they need a way to let off some steam!

 

 

 

The Trip to Our New Home Day 4

Okay, so now Day 4 has been the best driving day yet!  Eastern New Mexico was really boring and desolate, but Western New Mexico was beautiful.  My iPhone picture doesn't really do the landscape justice, but trust me...it was beautiful!

 

 

 

We were shooting for somewhere in Arizona for that night, but didn't have a destination city locked in.  We wanted to push as far as we could, but I have also been sick all week and was feeling really terrible so wasn't sure how far I would make it before getting ready to crash.  We did want to get as close to the Grand Canyon turn off as possible so that we could go see the Grand Canyon the next day. 

 

About 15 miles before leaving New Mexico, Dave called and said the girls needed a potty break.  I asked if they could wait for about 15 miles because we were both tired of New Mexico and just needed the mental boost of not stopping again until Arizona.  We did pull off at the first place we saw once we got into Arizona, and the girls were very impressed by the huge dinosaur replicas outside the gas station.  Of course we had to go play with those for a bit. 

 

 

 

 

Taylor saw some big tufts of dead looking grass nearby and thought they looked like a bird nest, so she had to go and perch like a bird.  And Dave had to keep his baby warm:

 

 

Anyone with kids knows that what you do with one, you have to also do with the other:

 



 

About half an hour before the GC turn off we saw signs for Meteor Crater, so we pulled off and drove 6 miles south, through open cow ranges, to see the world's best preserved meteor impact site.

When you walk up to the ticket booth you can't yet see any part of the crater.  You get your tickets, walk up a staircase (or elevator), go past the gift shop, up another set of stairs, through the museum, and then when the anticipation is really built up you walk outside and finally see Meteor Crater.

 

Dave and I were reminiscing back to about the 4th grade, seeing and reading about Meteor Crater in our social studies text books, and how cool we both thought it was.  So for us, finally seeing it in person was like meeting a famous person, or the President or something.  We were completely in awe!  The kids also liked it, but they couldn't grasp the magnitude of what they were seeing.  They sure loved looking through all of the telescopes though!

 

 

 

They also really enjoyed the museum.  There was a lot of hands-on that they loved trying out.  They built their own meteor (digitally) to test the impact their meteor would make on the earth.  They also got to stand on the earth while the meteor came towards them (again, digitally) so they could feel the shaking and hear how deafening the sound must have been when the meteor impacted the earth so long ago.

 

They both were dying to see the bottom of the crater when we were outside, but for preservation purposes you can't walk on the crater, you can only look from above.  So, they were sort of appeased in the museum where they got to pose on the mock bottom of the crater:

 

 

We ended up making it to Flagstaff, AZ and ended up in pretty prime position to make it to the Grand Canyon the next day.  We had a decent dinner at a mexican restaurant and then let the kids swim for about a half hour.  After that they were good and worn out and we all slept really well that night!

The Trip to Our New Home Day 3

I really can't believe that I forgot to mention on the Day 2 post about how awful that drive was.  After the first hour it began pouring rain, and we drove in rain the rest of the day.  It was pouring, I-40 was slippery, traffic was awful, basically we were stressed out that whole day. 

 

Day 3 by contrast, was the best day of the trip so far.  We had beautiful sunny skies, clear roads, nice high speed limits, and it felt like we covered a lot of ground.  On Day 3 we drove from Oklahoma City, OK through the Texas Panhandle, and into Santa Rosa, New Mexico. 

 

As we crossed each state line on the trip we would do a little mini celebration, fists pumped in the air, "yay, we made it to Texas" kind of thing.  Well, Austyn had been dying to get to Texas the entire trip thus far, and so I was particularly excited to celebrate crossing into Texas with her.  Instead she got all dejected the minute we crossed into Texas and announced "But I can't see any cowboys!".  Apparently she thought cowboys roam free across the Texas prairies and she would be able to see them as soon as we got across state lines - the mind of a 5 year old is a fascinating place!

 

We were amazed by the long periods of time we would go between towns or any signs of life at all.  All the towns were 50 miles apart and there would be literally no homes, businesses, or buildings of any kind between.  The towns we did come to looked like ghost towns from old western movies.  I don't know how anyone could live there!  We were also surprised at how cold it was in Texas and New Mexico.  We expected to be warming up by the time we hit NM, but it was in the 20's that night!

 

We finally stopped and did some sightseeing in the Texas Panhandle.  In Amarillo we stopped at the Cadillac Ranch.  Basically, some billionaire back in the 70's decided to make a piece of public art by burying some Cadillacs nose first in the dirt.  It has since become a major attraction of evolving art, as visitors to the Ranch bring spray paint and decorate the cars.  The cars change hourly as new visitors add their touch in spray paint.  The cars are visible from the interstate, but we decided to pull off and check them out up close.

 

As soon as we got out, the girls took off running to get a closer look:

 

 

 

Of course I made them do the required picture posing wih the cars:

 

 

We failed to come prepared with our own cans of spray paint, but a nice family got bored of painting the cars and handed us the leftovers.  Austyn quickly got to work marking a car with her name:

 

 

 

 

Taylor had to do the same:

 

 

 

 

Then we realized that people with leftover spray paint would set the half-full cans on the cars somewhere or the ground nearby.  We found several more cans and everyone got in on the painting action:

 

 

After the Ranch, we loaded back up and continued on to New Mexico.  We stopped first in Tucumcari, NM where we got gas and checked out the hotel situation.  It looked pretty desolate, so we made the decision to press on to Santa Rosa, and by the hotel conditions we were glad that we did.

 

We went looking for a place to eat, because we were hungry and because it was my birthday!  There were a couple of chain restaurants nearby and then no more choices for the next 54 miles.  Literally.  So, we finished the day with birthday dinner at Denny's, complete with Pancake Puppies as appetizers and dessert: