my new home by carl rove

It was a long long drive to get here. Even though Mom cleared out the back seat of her vehicle for me, I insisted on curling up in the front seat for many many hours of driving each day. It was a bit uncomfortable. Luckily, I got to sleep in three hotels, which means that I got to sleep in a real bed!

Well, now were here and I think this is really my new home. I'm kind of nervous about this new place. I'm pacing around and following Mom everywhere. It's going to take a little while to get used to it. I've even gone on a hunger strike. Dad gave me a bagel with cream cheese and some corn just so I would eat something. Maybe I'll keep this hunger strike thing going to see what other delicious food I can get. 

Mom and Dad don't just open the door and let me run around anymore and there is NO SNOW! It's weird having to be on the leash all the time again. There is a dog park for me at this place though and Mom has taken me there to play every day. I haven't met any new puppy friends yet, but Mom bought me a Chuckit and so she's been throwing the tennis ball for me. I love to chase the tennis ball! Yesterday, I was so excited I accidentally peed on the tennis ball so I didn't really want to put it back in my mouth. Yuck. Dad had to throw it in the garbage and get a new one. I will try to remember not to do that again.

Once Mom and Dad get all these boxes unpacked, I'm hoping that they will have some more time to take me and Baby J out exploring. I think there are a bunch of other dog parks for me to explore and I'd like to do some hiking too. For now I guess I'll just lay down by Mom's feet and try to settle down. It doesn't look like she is going to take me out again until she goes to bed. I sure wish I could remember where I put my Kong. Oh well. Mom will probably find it for me later.

slap happy

Baby J has the greatest laugh. Just like her "talking" it's a pretty loud laugh. We've found that when she's tired she'll laugh like crazy and get a bit slap happy, this is usually shortly followed by a fairly dramatic meltdown complete with screaming and tears, but the laughing part is pretty awesome.

sun valley

We made it! I am so relieved to finally be here. A road trip that long is pretty monumental and an event to be documented. However, given how exhausted I was feeling before we left I didn't actually enjoy the trip that much. The best part was discussing the road signs with Mr. Chunglund via the walkie talkie. Signs advertising for hillbilly figurines, 50% off meteorites, every kind of museum you could think of including, among others, the American Quarter Horse Museum and the National Teachers Hall of Fame and Museum, free polished petrified wood, several Cherokee trading posts boasting rattlesnake products, and the largest discount saddle store in the world advertised on the same billboard as a kabuki theater.

The last day of travel was the most scenic. New Mexico was really beautiful and we drove through the Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona. Driving south out of the mountains into Phoenix was absolutely gorgeous and we talked about how some day we can go camping there with Baby J. We also talked about how in three or four years, Baby J is going to be asking to stop at the Cherokee trading post or to get some free polished petrified wood and we'll likely oblige.

While we didn't get any photos to document Baby J's first cross-country road trip, we managed to arrive safe and sound! Mr. Chunglund and Baby J are out running errands this morning. I stayed home and waited for the utility guy and the cable guy to show up. Tomorrow our stuff is supposed to show up in a moving truck. The sun  is shining and I'm wearing flip flops. It could be worse! We have officially arrived in the Sun Valley!

where the wind comes chasing down the plain

And ... we're in Oklahoma. After the first day, where the last three hours of the trip took a little over 7 hours and at one point I thought I was going to inadvertently Ferberize Baby J, we decided that getting to Phoenix in three days might have been asking too much of Baby J. Last night we rearranged our itinerary, adding another day of travel, and that is why we are in Oklahoma. Today was supposed to be our long day of travel, but I think we all needed a bit of a break so we only drove about 5.5 hours.

Here's what I've learned so far:

1. The National Teacher's Hall of Fame and Museum is in Kansas
2. The National Wrestling Hall of Fame is in Oklahoma
3. Mr. Chunglund can reach behind him and shove the pacifier back in Baby J's mouth while he's driving, making him the ideal candidate to have the baby in his car on this road trip.
4. Right before Baby J takes her a.m. nap is the ideal time to hit the road and ensures at least 2 hours of drama free driving

The last item on the list is by far the most useful thing to know. Between the hours of 2:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. we were pulling over about every 10 miles trying to get Baby J to stop crying. It made for slow slow going. By 8:30 p.m. there was literally no where to stop except for some creepy looking truck stops so we finally decided that we were just going to have to suck it up and drive for the next hour to get to Kansas City and let her cry. She eventually settled down after about 40 minutes.

Today, however, went much  more smoothly. Baby J rode with Mr. Chunglund and I got Carl as my car companion. Mr. Chunglund's ability to reach back and put the pacifier back in the baby's mouth was a lifesaver. We managed to get from Kansas City to Oklahoma City in a reasonable amount of time.

Tomorrow's distance goal - New Mexico!

mighty baby j

With hardwood floors and an overly excited dog, we rarely put Baby J on the floor. So we were amazed at the doctor earlier this week when we learned she could sit on her own for several seconds. The doctor called it tripod sitting and neither Mr. Chunglund nor I had read anything about it yet. Last night I tried to capture it with my crappy, needs to be replaced sooner rather than later, cell phone. Blurry picture, but she sat like that for several seconds with no assistance and was even able to stay upright for a few seconds when she lifted her hands off the floor. We are both amazed at how strong she is at 4 months.

The Mighty Baby J

picture (not quite) perfect

I definitely needed a beer last night so we hit up Buffalo Wild Wings - Baby J in tow. Getting out of the house with the family felt like a breath of fresh air. For a brief moment, I enjoyed my beer and forgot about the disaster that was waiting for us at home.

That beer conjured up a memory of me and Mr. Chunglund shortly after we had reconnected back in 2006. I was desperately trying to finish up a paper for law school and Mr. Chunglund had just found out that he had passed the bar exam. We both took a break that afternoon and sat on the patio at Brit's and had a beer. Well, at least I did. Mr. Chunglund might have been saving his liver for his post-bar celebration.

When I asked Mr. Chunglund if he remembered that moment, not only did he remember he even remembered what I had been wearing. Remembering that moment made me realize what a long way we have come since that warm fall afternoon. That day I don't think I ever would ever have predicted that we would be married and attempting a cross-country move with a 4 month-old. Last night it felt good to step back and see the bigger picture. A picture not cluttered with moving boxes, change of address forms, or packing tape. While it's a much different picture than that of the two of us sitting outside at Brit's, it is a true testament to how far we've come in the last four years. Not quite picture perfect, but we've got ourselves one happy little family.

simplified

With our new adventure comes an opportunity to purge unnecessary items and overall simplify our lives. I've had a few hoarder moments, but overall I have been able to let go of several things that I had been hanging on to for just the right time. It was causing me to always hope for something else, mostly a larger house so that I could get all the stuff out of storage and use it. It is time to live in the present. We will be living in an 1100 square foot two-bedroom apartment with little to no storage space. I intend to only take what will fit and not spend countless dollars on storage units for an endless period of time in the hope that someday I can use that proverbial sewing machine, when to be honest I don't even know how to sew. I've purged an estimated 1/4 of my shoe collection (yes.people.SHOES.), several bags of clothes, books, movies, CD jewel cases, computers, housewares, furniture, and more. With every item I pack, I ask myself "do we need it?" and if so, "where will it go?" I am trying to focus less on stuff and more on the the things that matter to me - my family and a clean house! Perhaps the simple life is within reach. We'll see when we get there.