Christmas 2010 = Success!

This was Carson's first Christmas - so much fun watching him play with all of his new toys, stare at the Christmas lights and try to attack the Christmas tree!

We started off our journey by flying to Wichita, KS where mom and Chet picked us up. It was so good to see them (including Erica) - they hadn't seen Carson since we was about 3 1/2 months old so I know they were itchin' to get their hands on the little guy! Chet and Greg went deer hunting a couple of times. I don't know how they do it - sitting out there in the freezing cold and you have to be quiet. No way - I couldn't do it! They saw a few deer but no shots were fired. Greg said he just loves being out there!

We also went over to dad and Artheta's house for dinner - Chris and Beth were able to make it too! So good to see everyone. Of course, Carson got a ton of toys and didn't know which one to play with first!

Here are a few pictures of Carson with all of his toys.

On Christmas day we drove from Ark City to Dallas to see Greg's side of the family. I rarely get migraines (maybe once a year, if that) but that morning one was coming on strong. What a horrible feeling. There is nothing I can but let it run its course. So, I slept in the back seat for about 2 hours with Carson's blanket wrapped around my head to block out any light. I told Greg that it probably looked like he had a kidnap victim in the back seat! Once I woke up, I felt much better!

We stayed with Brad and Julianna (uncle and aunt). They were so great to open their home to us! We always have such a good time with them. Julianna and I get to laughing so hard when we're together (Greg says that we're trouble when we're together)! Christmas night we had chili, played games, sang along w/ Collin as he played the guitar and visited. I love this picture - we ate dinner on the living room floor! So much fun!

The next day we went to Charlotte's house for a family Christmas party! Carson was soooo spoiled. So many hugs and kisses - and he loved it all! We played some games (thank you Samantha and Blake for helping me cheat), ate way too much food and caught up with family!

Tuesday night we went to dinner at Chuck and Ruthie's. Charlie and Lynn (uncle and aunt) were in town from Tennessee and Trey's crew came over too! The second we walked in the door, Sophie and Wyatt started yelling "Baby Carson"!! I think they really love their cousin! :)

We headed back to LA on Wednesday. It was so great seeing everyone but after a week of travel, I was ready to sleep in our own bed! All three of us crashed that night!

Completely off topic - on our flight was a girl that appeared on The Bachelor and The Bachelor Pad, Krisily Kennedy. I finally asked her if she was who we thought she was at baggage claim in LA. She was really nice and was all about Carson! So, now I can say I saw and talked to a celeb - kind of! :)

Carson's new face!

Something new he's been working on!

Rain, Rain, Go Away...

Apparently, in Southern California we are having record rainfall. According to the news, they haven't seen this much rain in 10 years. Well, I'm kind of over it...I feel like we live in Seattle.

Along with the rain, comes leaking roofs. Saturday night the roof started leaking and water was building up behind the paint on the wall. So, we grabbed the buckets and towels and made a quick call to the landlord. I guess this is a plus to only renting...not our problem! Or should I say, we don't have to pay for it!

The roof has finally been covered w/ tarps and a company setup a bunch of fans and blowers. I'm telling you, it looks like we have ET living in the back bedroom. I have to climb through these plastic sheets to get to my office and it sounds like a windstorm! Here are a few pics so you can see what we're working with!

Maybe now you can understand my frustrations with all of this rain!

Our first visit to see Santa

And it was a success! We sat Carson on Santa's lap and he just looked at Santa like "who is this guy??" It took about 4 shots but we finally got a good one!

This was our first time to experience the Santa visit, as well as dealing with other parents. We arrived a little early so we decided it would be best to go ahead and get in line. We were 3rd in line....but we had to wait 45 minutes for Santa to get back from lunch. So, we chatted with the other parents and kids around us.

About 5 minutes before Santa was due to arrive, a family strolled up w/ 2 boys (probably around 4 or 5 years old) and a baby in a double stroller. It was very clear that there was already a line but this family just strolled right up to the front of the line, passing us. If you know me well, you know that I get really annoyed when others can't follow the rules....I do, why can't they?! Greg just looked over and smiled because he knew I was about to explode! I jumped right up and without saying anything tried to make it very clear that we are all in line and they would need to get in line too....at the end of the line. I looked at the mother behind us and she just rolled her eyes and smiled. I asked her, "is this how it is when you have kids? Dealing w/ other parents?" She smiled again and said, "yup!" Long story short, it all worked out and the family waited their turn.

Afterwards we grabbed some lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings (Greg's favorite)!! Carson is past the age of sleeping in public so he missed his nap.  Poor little guy was so tired that he fell asleep in the car before we were out of the parking lot. I couldn't resist snapping a picture of his sweet little face. He's our little thumb sucker!

Please don't tell me the time has come...

The time I speak of is when your sweet, little, precious baby won't lay their head on your shoulder anymore to cuddle. Jennifer (sister-in-law) told me about the time she realized that was happening w/ Wyatt. I wanted to cry when she told me this because I realized it was probably getting close for me.

I always give Carson his night time bottle. This is our special time where I sing to him (Christmas songs right now), I overload him with kisses and he and I just stare into each others eyes. It used to be that after his bottle, I would put him on my shoulder to burp him and he would just lay his head down, suck his thumb and was completely content.

Now.....we still sing, I still get in a ton of kisses, we still look into each others eyes, I still put him on my shoulder to burp him but now he wants to climb up my chest to get to the top of the rocking chair (or anything he can do to crawl and stand up). I laugh because he'll stop and lean back to look at me and just gives me the biggest smile! It's like he's celebrating his quest of reaching the top of the chair!

We will continue with our nightly routine and enjoy our special time together, but I have that little bit of hope that he'll lay his head on my shoulder just one more time.

Crazy 2 weeks

These past two weeks have been crazy...when it comes to work. It's a good crazy, but crazy nonetheless. I've had a lot of travel and meetings. I really enjoy being in front of the customer or prospective customer. Something about it just gives me a rush! No meeting is the same and there's always some problem we can solve. It's so great when you believe in your company and what you sell!

Last week we started in LA and made our way up the California coast. And when I say made our way up, I mean actually driving up the coast. We had a meeting in Santa Maria (about 2.5/3 hours north of LA), we then missed our flight to San Francisco for a meeting that afternoon so we decided to drive. That was about 4/4.5 hours. Good news is, we made it just in time for our next meeting. After that meeting, we caught a flight out of San Francisco to Seattle. I won't get into the details but if you miss one leg of your flight, then the airline cancels your entire flight. So...we had to get everything rebooked (thank goodness for help back in Dallas on this one). I was on a different flight from my co-workers which actually worked out better for me. I got to the hotel in Seattle around 11pm. They didn't get in until 2am due to delays. We had two meetings in Washington (one fairly close to the Canadian border) and then flew home Friday afternoon. Now it was my turn for the delays. I was stuck in Seattle for a couple of hours but the boys picked me up at the airport which was fun!! I could get used to that! ;)

This week hasn't been quite as crazy. Meetings in the San Francisco area on Monday and Tuesday and then back to the LA area. Now begins the adventures w/ the LA freeways. I haven't had any horrible experiences yet but I'm sure I'll run into some issues soon enough!

Next week we are headed back to KS and TX. I'm so excited to see family and friends. They will be blown away when they see Carson crawling AND pulling up to everything. He looks like a little bulldog crawling...so cute! I told my sister that she's in charge of chasing Carson around next week. Greg and I (especially Greg) need a break!

Santa Claus is coming to town!

This took place on Monday night (so, about 5 days ago....I had quite a bit of travel this week so my brain is a little fried). We were watching Monday Night Football and picking up things around the house. I heard Christmas music playing and I thought Greg had turned it on (knowing that I LOVE Christmas music). I came out of the bedroom wondering what was going on but he had the same look on his face. It sounded like it was coming from outside so we opened a window to take a peek. Sure enough, there was a city truck w/ lights flashing and Christmas music playing. They were announcing over the loud speaker for all of the children to gather around the truck (about 3 houses down from us) because Santa is on his way!! I couldn't get coats on all of us fast enough! Thank goodness Greg had Carson...I was so excited to see Santa, there's a good chance I may have forgotten to grab him! haha

About 5 minutes later, here came Santa and his sleigh!! It was amazing! Christmas music was playing and the jolly old man was waiving to the neighborhood kids. We had to get a picture w/ him....for Carson of course! :)

As you can see, he didn't really care too much about old Saint Nick.

I talked to one of the ladies on the "sleigh". Apparently the city of Torrance does this every year...so great! Which reminds me, I need to get on the website to send my thanks!

Here are a few more pictures:

We were also able to meet a few neighbors. And...we may have found a babysitter!!!! This girl, Nikki, is genius.....she came out and greeted everyone as we were waiting for Santa to arrive and she handed out flyers w/ her babysitting info. She's 14 yrs old and lives 2 doors down from us. I talked to her mom and she said Nikki has taken care of babies before and is CPR certified , plus her mom is just down the road, if needed.

Many good things came of this event: 1. Carson got to see Santa (and so did I), 2. we met some neighbors and 3. we may have a potential babysitter. Maybe we should give her a try on, oh, I don't know....maybe, January 27th...hint hint!!

Our first trip back to Dallas

We had our first trip back to Dallas this past weekend and it was a success! I wasn't worried about the actual weekend events but worried about getting to and from Dallas. This was our first plane ride w/ Carson. Let me start off by saying, for such a little guy, he sure needs a lot of stuff! We had 2 checked bags, a checked car seat, 2 carry-on suitcases, diaper bag, purse and baby....wow! With my work travel experience, I can easily pack a week's worth of stuff in a carry-on for myself, so all of this checking baggage thing was new to me!
*Side note - the airline is so gracious that they let allow you to check the diaper bag without it counting as a carry-on. Maybe I'm missing something, but don't you usually need the diaper bag w/ you when traveling for things like diapers, wipes, toys, formula, bottles, change of clothes, etc.

Moving on....
Carson was great on the plane! We gave him a bottle going up and coming down - it really helped w/ popping his ears. He won't take a pacifier - he just chews on it. The only problem was (for mommy and daddy), he only slept for about 15 minutes on our way to Dallas. He's at that age that he has to look at everything - if he falls asleep, he may miss something. Shout out to my mom for suggesting that we keep Carson on California time.....worked like a charm!

Thursday night we had dinner w/ Grandma and Grandpa (Ruthie and Chuck). It was so good to see them and catch up. Carson put on quite the show w/ his smiles and laughter!

Friday night we had the Hodges family Christmas party. Always a good time! Gerald and Karen rented a hotel suite just down the hall from us which worked out perfect. Carson did cry when he saw Uncle Trey and Uncle Justin, but wouldn't you??!! (just kidding guys...we love ya!) We even played a little charades. This is one of those things I like to just sit back and watch the craziness unfold!!

Sophia and Wyatt are so cute w/ Carson! Sophia just says "baby Carson" over and over and over again. Wyatt and Carson played peek-a-boo and Wyatt got in some good tickles too!

Saturday  I got to have lunch w/ Katie and Hailey! A much needed lunch. Katie - so when are you guys moving to California? Don't think I won't stop telling Hailey about Disneyland, I think that will do it!  :)
Saturday night was the ISN company holiday party! Again, always a good time! The Hodges kept Carson for the night (I'm sure he wasn't spoiled at all, haha!). It was so nice to get dressed up and have a little one-on-one time w/ Greg! And, we didn't smell like spit up! :)
We didn't take too many pictures at the party (too much talking I guess) but we did get a great picture with our friends Kim and Nick!

The trip back to LA was pretty smooth as well. Carson did cry for a bit on the plane but it was only because he was so tired. He finally gave in for about 30 minutes and slept. Of course this was after he spit up on me and peed on  me. I need to find a t-shirt that says, "Hey, I'm a mom, I know I stink!"

All in all, I say the weekend was a success! In a few weeks we'll do it all again, but this time we'll make it a week long trip, throw in a flight connection in Denver, and drive the rental car 5 hours from Ark City to Dallas. We apparently like challenges...can't you tell?! :)

BIG Laughs!!

Let me start with this - I could watch this video over and over and over and over....you get the picture.

I ran to the grocery store this evening for a few items and as I was unpacking, Carson started to giggle. At first I couldn't figure out what he was laughing at. I quickly discovered it was when I touched the plastic bag. I grabbed the Flip as fast as I could - we could NOT miss getting this on video.

This makes my heart fill up with so much joy. He is such a happy baby - always smiling (except for people he doesn't know - he stares trying to figure them out). I hope these smiles and giggles continue forever!

Many Firsts...

This Thanksgiving was a day of many firsts....

• First Thanksgiving with Carson
• First Thanksgiving not spent with family
• First time we actually had to cook Thanksgiving dinner
• First turkey cooked in a crockpot
• First time to Hollywood

We certainly missed being with family, but we had a great weekend! Greg made a turkey breast in the crockpot - it was delicious! I made the sides and they actually all turned out great! (for those that know me well, I'm not the greatest cook) Carson even had some turkey and gravy baby food for lunch! We watched a lot of football too! The Aggies beat Texas - woo hoo!! (I'm not talking about the OSU game)

On Friday we went to Hollywood and strolled around looking at the stars. Here are a few pics we took.

Guess who dressed Carson today!

If anyone guesses me, you're in trouble! I may not have the best sense of fashion (as I sit here in my sweat pants and t-shirt) but I certainly know that you don't mix stripes! Greg and Carson ran some errands today and they were out of the house before I saw Carson dressed for the day. He likes to hang out in his pajamas until lunch time. :)

So, when they got back, I came out of my cave...oh, I mean the office and saw what Carson was wearing. He obviously didn't care at all. In fact, he was all smiles! I couldn't pass up the opportunity to snap a couple of pictures. You can't see from this view, but his shirt has dinosaurs on the front. So, dinosaur shirt, striped doggy pants, and Wizard of Oz socks (please see previous post referencing the socks). I was cracking up!

Normally, Carson has a few spit ups throughout the day that require an outfit change - nope, not today. He wore this all day long!

In other news, we went to Santa Monica yesterday afternoon. We had a great time! Shopping, lunch and lots of site seeing. Throughout the Third Street Promenade (http://www.downtownsm.com/visitors/index.html) there are performers in the streets: singers, dancers, musicians, etc. After lunch we spotted a clown. Keep in mind, Carson has never seen a clown. So, we cautiously approached. As the clown was making balloon animals for kids, Carson was in a deep stare. I'm thinking - cool, he's totally digging the clown. Then the clown made eye contact w/ Carson. That's when he lost it. The saddest little face you've ever seen and the tears just started rolling. Needless to say, we thanked the clown for his time and moved along. Clowns really are kind of creepy if you think about it. Guess we won't be going to a circus anytime soon!

We have a critter in the house....

Well, not necesarrily a critter, more like an inch worm. I was able to get a video of Carson working his way across the floor. I have a feeling he's going to get the crawling thing down very soon! Enjoy!

Clean Bill of Health

Today was Carson's 6 month check-up and he passed with flying colors!
Length: 27.5 inches (89% for his age)
Weight: 17lbs 3oz (50% for his age)
Head: 17.5 inches (75% for his age)
In conclusion, we have a tall, thin, genius on our hands!

We also had to get some shots, which are never fun. You can see that look in his eyes when we lay him down and some strange lady comes walking up to him. First shot - no crying. A look of panic back and forth from me the the nurse, but no crying. Now, the 2nd and 3rd shots - that's a different story. Poor little guy. If you have children, you know that look. The "holly mother of Mary", stop breathing, turning red, opened mouth, closed eyes and scream at the top of the lungs look. Yup, that's what we got! But, right after we picked up, he calmed right down.

We are so proud of our little guy! I could go on and on but I won't. I will though, predict his future. Here it goes:
Genius child that gets a full ride to any college of his choice. Afterwards, he's drafted into the NBA and makes millions of dollars - therefore, retiring his parents at an early age because they did such an amazing job raising him.

A mom can dream, can't she?!

6 months - where did the time go?!

Yesterday, Carson turned 6 months old! I can't believe it!

Carson's first tooth is coming in and when I say it's sharp - it's sharp! He's sitting up on his own with very few tumbles. And, he's starting to pull himself along the floor (army crawl). You can just see in his eyes that he's trying to figure out the crawling process. It's just a matter of time before he is mobile!
I love to watch him as he experiences new things. He has such a look of wonder in his eyes. When the wind blows the leaves on the trees in the back yard, he just stares in amazement!

We are excited for all of the new things he'll learn over the next 6 months - I just hope they don't go as fast as the first 6 months did.

Thank goodness for technology

Let me start with a shout out to Kim Cravens, my dear friend from work. Earlier this year, she introduced us to skype. Funny thing is, Kim lived in Australia for 6 months last year. We never skyped with her while she was 'down under' but as soon as she got back to Dallas, we skyped! She was just 25 miles down the road, go figure!
Anyways, back to the reason for the post. Skype has been, and will be, a great asset while we are in California. Last night we got our first skype call since we've been here! It was the Hodges: Gerald, Karen, Missy, Mickey and Justin! Gerald was amazed with the technology! haha We had so much fun seeing everyone and catching up. I made them pose so I could take a quick pic!

Today, Trey called us! We got to see Sophia and Wyatt, man I miss those kiddos. Sophia even waved at Baby Carson (I don't think he will ever be just Carson to her, it's always Baby Carson). I held Carson up so everyone could see him - not a good idea. He started screaming and wouldn't stop crying. We're blaming Trey for this! haha (we love ya Trey, but we have to blame somebody and Sophia looked too cute with her pigtails!).
We will work on getting Carson used to people talking to him through the computer. So...if you skype us and he cries, don't take it personal!

Happy Halloween...and some other stuff!

We had a great Halloween! Carson was a pumpkin, and the cutest little pumpkin I've ever seen. There's an area in Redondo Beach called Riviera Village. Very cute with lots of little shops and restaurants. They shut down the streets and the stores handed out candy to the kids. We weren't sure what to expect but it turned out to be a huge event!
Here are a few pictures of Carson's costume and some shots of the village. The weather was perfect and Carson had a great time - he got some serious people watching in!

I have to put this one in here too. Afterwards, we had to run by the grocery store and Carson was crying in the back. We couldn't figure out what was wrong, he had been in such a good mood just moments before. When Greg was taking him out of the car seat, we figured out why he had been crying....he couldn't see! haha

Here are some shots of the Village area.

We even found a couple of places that remind us of home...or at least the names do!

We also wanted to share a picture of Carson in his overalls that Gramps picked out for him. For some reason, I think he kind of looks like he belongs in the lollipop guild from the Wizard of Oz! I think it's the socks! haha

Our little guy is getting big! He loves to laugh at his daddy and he's getting very good at sitting up on his own. He's in such a world of exploring right now, it's great. We take him out in the backyard and he can't get enough of it. When the wind blows the leaves he just looks around in wonder. He is definitely soaking it all in!

Spooks and Goblins

Halloween is definitely upon us. The ghosts, spooks and goblins have been out! Sunday night, or should I say Monday morning, we were awakened by the smoke detector going off, and not like the battery is low but like grab the baby and get the heck out of dodge! 2:45am.....Holy Toledo! I think that added about 10 years to my life.

Two side notes: 1) why do smoke detectors always go off in the middle of the night, why not during the day when we are coherent and 2) I really need to get lasik eye surgery. I lost probably a good 5 seconds trying to find my glasses and then actually getting them onto my face.

Ok, back to the story. Greg and I ran out of the bedroom and started smelling and hunting through the house. (I immediately flashed back to my grade school days when the fire department taught us about fire safety (don't open doors w/out checking the door knobs for heat). Quick shout out to the ACFD). No sign of smoke or fire , thank goodness. Just as we crawled back into bed and my heart started slowing down, it went off again! We were back up, back to smelling, back to hunting. Again, nothing. So, we did the next most logical thing - we took it off the wall, removed the batteries and stuck it in the bottom of a drawer. Now for you worried grandparents, we have a smoke detector in Carson's room, so all is well. :) Long story short, it was a faulty smoke detector and Gordon (the handyman) replaced it on Monday. We are back in working order!

We've also been having a "toad sound" in the kitchen. And when I say toad, I mean a HUGE toad. It was the weirdest thing. I had finally convinced myself that we had a pet toad, that we couldn't see. Enter Greg. He realized it was a piece of ice stuck in the ice maker (I know, not very exciting). Goodbye pet toad....

Lastly, we've had some high wind warnings the past couple of days. As we were shutting down the other night, I noticed the motion light in the back yard was on. Of course, I freaked out! Greg didn't help the situation either. He said it's probably someone trying to break in, the house is haunted, etc. Anything he could think of to scare me. Needless to say, it worked! I'm chalking it up to the wind blowing the leaves, therefore, triggering the motion light. Please don't try to convince me otherwise. :)

So we are in full spirit for Halloween! The village area of Redondo Beach (little downtown area w/ shops and restaurants) will block off the streets on Sunday from 4pm-7pm for the kids. We'll make sure to take and post lots of pics!

The good, the bad and the ugly...

The good:

1.       I have to start with a video of Carson. This is actually the GREAT! I love it! This kid is cracking me up. Any type of quick fast motion really gets him going! And, I love it when he notices the camera – everything stops. I can’t blame him, I don’t like being on camera either….unlike his father! :)

2.       The Aggies won today!

3.       Texas lost today!

4.       OU lost today!

5.       The house is coming together! We have the big pieces of furniture in place, pictures up, etc!!!

6.       Greg is getting things in place to get the grill up and running! Yay!! I need some good ole Texas cookouts! I told him we should host a Texas style cookout and invite some of the neighbors. He didn’t like this idea too well – said he gets nervous when he has to cook for other people (he’ll probably kill me for saying this).

7.       We saw the beach today…finally! We went down to the Redondo Beach Pier. I’m not counting this as anything official though – I want to actually put my toes in the sand!

8.       Booked a meeting! I made quite a few sales calls this week and a prospect called me Friday afternoon and is ready to meet! Woo hoo – it’s coming together. (Interesting fact – when I tell people I just moved here with my family, they love it! People can’t wait to give advice, ask about the weather difference, etc. Don’t think I won’t be milking that one for awhile!)

The bad:

1.       Oklahoma State lost – we are no longer undefeated – we didn’t get the game w/ our cable package….let’s move on.

2.       This rain has got to go! I guess Southern California has had some crazy weather this summer. I’m kind of over it…

3.       Carson has a cold or allergies or something. But as you can see, that’s not stopping the laughing!

4.       Time change – I think Carson thinks we’re still in Texas. He has been getting up at 6am versus 8am. It’s cute, he’ll lay in there for about an hour just talking to himself but once he’s had enough, he’ll let us know. Greg and I just roll over and look at each other and play the “who’s getting up this time” game. I’m sure most of you have played that game a few times in your life!

5.       We’ve been to the AT&T store, collectively, four times in two days. First – my BlackBerry died so I had to get a new one (yeah Torch!). Second – the sales rep forgot to put my power cord back in the box so Greg went by to get it. Third – I needed an air card for work (needed one anyways) but the previous home owners finally cut off their home internet (we were just simple “borrowing” their service, haha). Lastly, my air card would not work on my work laptop. I worked with an AT&T rep on the phone for over an hour this morning with no luck so I went back to the store. Funny thing is, they all recognize me now! That’s one way to make friends! Rickey and I worked on my laptop for a couple of hours, again with no luck. It works on our personal laptop so I’m guessing it’s the work laptop…guess it’s time for an upgrade!;)

The ugly:

1.       The 3^rd bedroom/office. Wow – looks like a tornado hit that room! If we can’t find a place for something, guess where it goes. So….we need some visitors to motivate us to get the room finished. Any takers??!! :)

A lot has happened in a week and a half...

Where do I begin...let me warn you, this will be a lengthy post and I may touch on every topic under the sun!

We are officially in California!! Greg and I both agree that we are glad we made the drive out here - we got to see parts of the country we may have never seen and we have some fun memories, BUT we don't want to do it again anytime soon!

I'll recap for you:

Monday - we hit the road. First stop - Amarillo. We were 10 miles from our hotel and I heard Carson stirring, so I leaned back to check on him. To my surprise, he had poop (yes poop) all over his legs, hands, etc. I yelled out, "sick there's poop everywhere, exit now!". Greg and I were laughing so hard trying to clean him up and Carson was all smiles (of course he was, anyone would feel better after that). We had him completely stripped down, laying on a changing pad in the grass at a truck stop. Pretty classy, I know! To add to this, we had so much stuff to take into the hotel each night...it was unreal. Here'a picture but it doesn't even come close to the load we had!

Tuesday - We stayed in Albuquerque (I still have to Google the correct spelling). And I have another poop story. We were eating dinner on a patio and, of course, Carson needed a diaper change. The restaurant didn't have a changing table in the bathroom, so I strolled him over to the side of the building. As I'm elbow deep in a dirty diaper, a guy walks up to me and asks if I have a pen. I gave him the craziest look and said "WHAT?? NO!"

Wednesday - Flagstaff. Cool temps, it felt great. The next morning we drove up to the Grand Canyon since we were only about an hour away. Wow - is all I can say! I had no idea what to expect but it was amazing. Here are a few pics we took.

Thursday -Coming down from the elevation was horrible for poor little Carson's ears. I felt so bad for him. He cried hard for about 45 minutes but once we got to the hotel, he was great. In fact, I even got some good laughs out of him! We ended our day in Lake Havasu. HOT! We got out of the car and it was 99 degrees, a big difference from where we were just a few hours before! Little piece of trivia we learned, Lake Havasu is not actually a lake, it's a river.

Friday - we pulled into town...finally. We met the home owners (super nice) and crashed at the hotel.

Saturday - Moving Day! We were completely in the house by mid-afternoon. We immediately started unpacking. For those that know Greg well, you know the boxes were killing him! He couldn't get them unpacked fast enough! (I'm not complaining, trust me!)

Fast forward to today, Tuesday. All of the boxes are unpacked and we just need to organize and get everything put away. I think we'll have it done by the end of the month. I'm working from the house (through the end of the year). It's not bad, in fact I enjoy it. I just lock myself in the back bedroom and come out at lunch and when I hear Carson wake up from his naps!

A couple of fun facts on the house:
1. We have an avacado, lemon, pear, apple and grapefruit trees. Crazy!
2. There are a ton of light switches. I know this may sound odd, but it's hilarious. For example, 6 switches in the master bath, 7 in the master bedroom, 4 in the guest bath. I don't think we'll ever get them figured out

Ok, I think that's it for now. We are adjusting and getting settled in! More to come from California!

The first Hodgepodge Hodges post!

Welcome to the crazy, unpredictable blog of The Hodges family! I have no idea the direction of this blog - the plan is to just play it by ear.
Today was a big day. We began the process of moving to California. The movers came, packed and moved our stuff away in 6 hours! These guys were machines! Let's just pray that everything makes it there...and in one piece. While the movers were doing their thing, we were hanging out two doors down at Missy and Mickey's house. Thank goodness they live close - we were able to camp out but also keep an eye on the packing/moving.
Tonight, Greg, Carson and I took a stroll through our empty townhome. Wow - the memories came pouring in. I remember walking through the townhome when it was still being built. It was cold out and I was wearing my Texas A&M sweatshirt. We talked about that 3rd bedroom being the "baby's room" someday, even though there was no thought of a baby at that time. We got married when living there, we had some highs and lows there, and welcomed Carson into our lives. It's hard to leave a place that has so many memories, but I look forward to what lies ahead.
I am truly blessed to be married to the greatest man in the world. Greg is the most supportive man I've ever met. He is my rock and I thank God everyday for him. Little does he know, but he has the most important job right now - taking care of Carson. Not something we planned but God sure has his was of working in our lives. We don't question it, we just pray that he leads us down the path he has for us and we go with it!
Thank you Lord for all of the blessings in our lives so far and we can't wait for what's to come!