Yea, yea, its been a while

So, its been quite a while since I last posted. I know, I know. Its just , well, life gets busy, you know?
We're doing great. This was the first year since we moved back to the mainland, about 2004, I think, that we didn't go to DH's grandmother's for the holidays.  We reasoned that since we just drove over 3000 miles to get to our new location, visiting everyone enroute, that it would be better to stay.  It worked out but we definitely need to make time to visit this spring.
Miss C is doing well in her new school.  It took a few weeks to adjust to the new classmates and the way school is set up, school vice day care which is where we had her before. Its "only" Pre-K 3, but they do  have an established curriculum including foreign language class (Spanish here) and technology class (yep, three year olds on computers are so cute!).  We're happy with that aspect. There have been some challenges and DH is currently "self-employed", if you will, since I am slated to travel quite a bit in this new job and we aren't sure how well the civilian sector works with kid stuff.  We'll find out, eventually.
I am including some newer photos below, one of which you will note has a puppy.  A couple of weeks ago, DH and Miss C decided that they would take me at my word and got a dog.  His name is Perry and he is a dacshund. He is a little nutty and feeds off the frantic energy of a 3 year old but when they are calm, Miss C and Perry are the best of friends. Hope you all are doing well and forgive my extended absence here!

Family Photo Blog Entry

Miss C and Daddy with Moon Beam

Miss C posing for a holiday picture

Miss C and Grandpa

Miss C and Grandma

E2 C2, the next generation

Cindy, James, Miss C and Gracie (beagle)

Happy Thanksgiving

Hey everyone! Just wanted to post a quick happy thanksgiving to all of our family and friends. We've been a little out of contact because of the cross country move but we made it to our destination late yesterday. We are so thankful that we were able to visit family and friends along the way and that it was a really smooth trip. We will update more once we relax a little! HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!!

Playing catch up

So I know it has been over a month since I last posted. Please accept my heart felt apologies!
We've been so darn busy lately, its not funny. Aside from normal work busy-ness, we spent a week on the east coast finding a place to stay and a school for Miss C (success on both fronts, yea!) and since we have returned we have been crazy with getting the house ready for showing (no success on that front, boo!) and getting us ready to move. Ugh. Thank goodness DH works so hard to keep my stress levels down. I hate moving!
We spent some time this week making and packaging cookies so Miss C could bring some in for the teachers that have made the largest impact on her during our time here. We handed them out this morning and they were a hit so yea! 
What next? Ok, first we pack our bags for our extended hotel stay (about 3 weeks total until we are in the  new place), then we have folks come over to pack the house. Yep. After work Friday we can start the journey. Yea. I know, not so enthusiastic but I will get there. We have loads of stops planned because Miss C is a very active kiddo and needs to be able to stretch her legs. DH has arranged our hotels for the drive and I have a template for basically providing you all, my friends and family, some insights into the places we stay at in the event that you too get to move across the US!  I am pretty excited about getting Miss C's take on each hotel including what she thinks of the breakfasts because we all know a bad breakfast can ruin a day, especially a travel day.
I will try to post pictures along the way but no promises! We're nearly ready! Any last minute suggestions? Here's what we have so far:
We have a dvd player in the car for her and one for the hotels, though I doubt we need that one,
We have built a project box with lots of stuff to do when we do get to the hotels
We have snacks planned and can pick up more en route
We plan to bring about 7 days worth of clothes including PJs so we don't have to worry about laundry all of the time

What am I forgetting?

Surprise Adventure!

So, what do you think?

We think it was pretty successful!

Yep, that's my girl!

So, we've got the house on the market and thankfully we have had a few showings.  The only issue is that we have to be out of the house for the showings.  During the week, its no big deal since they are usually when we are at work anyway but on the weekends, well, it gets challenging.  We got a call yesterday requesting a showing late this afternoon so Miss C and I decided that we would have an adventure after her nap so we would be out of the house during the showing.  Today was the day to check out new playgrounds. 
We decided to check out a playground at a nearby elementary school and one near Miss C's school.  We had a great time at both playgrounds but at the first, after exploring the entire area, Miss C wanted to return to one specific part of the playground.  Well, there were three little boys, about 7 years old, playing there.  Miss C thought they were going to try to scare her so she looks at me and says "watch this."
This is where I say, she is definitely my kid!  Ok, so she starts walking very seriously, stomping almost, over to the boys and says "Hey guys, I'm brave and I can run super fast! Watch this!" and proceeds to run over to the slide and play!
Seriously!  I did tell her that her initial reaction probably should be to introduce herself to the boys rather than expect them to try to scare her but wow! What a crazy kid!

Leaning forward

Hey! So, last time I posted, Miss C had just transitioned into her  "big girl" class. What a blast! She is definitely enjoying being with older kids.  Her demeanor has changed somewhat, more independent, more outgoing, but she remains our sweet little girl.
A friend from Hawaii recently moved here so we had a play date on Sunday with them and their 2 year old. Miss C took the time to help her new friend adjust to being here, shared her toys (which you all know is nearly impossible at this age) and even offered to share her room if her friend needed a nap! What a girl!  Hopefully we will have more play dates before we move.
On that note, we will be relocating from the great northwest to the eastern seaboard around Thanksgiving. This will be our first long distance drive with Miss C so I ask you all, what do you recommend? We have 2 cars to move so we have decided that I will drive with Miss C and DH will drive with the cat (I know, I have the better deal). We are practicing doing things for ourselves in the car (read: Miss C is trying to not drop everything then yell to me to pick it up while I am driving) to make the move a little easier.  What did you do?  What insights can you offer?
We've been doing great. Had visits by DH's Mom and sister, Miss C really opened up to them! Miss C also started talking on the phone more very recently. I think the impetus was a short trip I had which resulted in the first time she and I were apart for any length of time.  I called after bath and she told me all about her day. She is talking to DH more when he calls and she even talked to her Grandpa a couple of weekends ago, which until now was nearly unheard of.
Well, that's pretty much us in a nut shell! We're staying busy, trying to sell the house (wish us luck!), planning to check out our new location and find a place to live there and all that fun stuff.  One thing all of this has reminded me is that we have entirely too much stuff. DH got a POD (portable on-demand storage, for those unaware) to clear out some space to allow for better showings and we haven't actually missed all our junk that is in there. OK, so some of it is purely seasonal but really? We definitely have to take a good look at what we bring with us and maybe par down a little?
OK, hope you all are having a great week and remember, let us know your  best recommendations for a cross-country move with a 3 year old! Thanks!