T-Ball

MJ waiting to be announced
at opening ceremonies.

He is number 9 and the team
is the Rock Hounds.

All age groups that play Little League.

MJ being announced.

The Rock Hounds running back to their spot.

Making new friends.

Grant loved being outside.

Playing at opening ceremonies.

Watching MJ warm up for his game.

MJ warming up.

Up to bat.

Running to first base.

Waiting to run to second.

MJ on the pitchers mound.

He had fun pretending to pitch.

MJ was ready and waiting to get the ball.

MJ started t-ball on Saturday. We had opening ceremonies, pictures and a game. He did great and had a blast!
If you click on the individual pictures they get bigger.

First Day of Spring

Yesterday was the first day of spring and it was rather cool here... I think the high was 56 and almost all of the snow from the weekend has melted.

I have been watching the news and I know how hot it has been in the south and I have heard about the pollen count. I have been missing seeing trees bloom and all of the colors of spring. While driving back from town on Sunday I noticed some really pretty pink bushes that were blooming and I really wanted to pull over and cut the branches to put some in my house... but I restrained myself and thought I could probably just make some.

So on Monday the boys and I went out for a walk and played in some melting snow and puddles and I found some branches that had fallen off of a tree that I thought would be good for my forsythia project.

Then on Tuesday I cut some tissue paper and broke out the hot glue gun and went to work while Grant was napping, because Grant and hot glue would not be a good combination.

Here is a picture of the final project... I think it turned out pretty cute and it is just the pop of color and hint of spring I was looking for.

St. Patricks Day

This past Saturday was St. Patricks Day and we went to Old Sacramento for the St. Patrick's Day Parade.

I would have to say that this parade has nothing on a parade in Jasper GA. It was so quiet and there was a major lack of candy. I even missed the Shriners and I had no idea when the parade would be over because they had horses scattered through out the parade instead of all at the end. One interesting fact is that there were pirates in this parade... I don't know much about history but I am pretty sure that the Irish and Pirates don't go well together.

I guess all that really matters is that we were out of the house exploring and we had a great time. Old Sacramento was a neat town with wooden side walks and fun stores. The old town is located on a river and there is a old train station, the boys had fun climbing on some of the engines.

All in all it was a good day!

This drum line was great... and the
loudest part of the parade. 

A big motorized shopping cart...
you don't see one of those everyday. 

Micah, MJ and Grant.
We didn't have a great view. 

Part of the Old Town

The grass was so green... we looked for
a 4-leaf clover but didn't have any luck. 

Southern Food

Since moving I have been craving some good ole southern food. 

Some things I can make and others I just wouldn't even attempt to recreate like Brunswick Stew from Davis Bar-B-Que, it is so good that I know if I made it I would just be disappointed. Plus I don't have the recipe. (If someone would like to mail me some stew that would be awesome) I even dreamed about eating Davis Bar-B-Que Brunswick Stew the other night. 

Well I have made Chicken-n-Dumplins and Chicken Fried Steak and Gravy but I have really been craving biscuits.

 I have tried several times to make biscuits and they always turn out hard and dry. So last night I made one last attempt. I used the White Family Cook Book recipe (Thank you Hilary and Josh Tatum for the cookbook). Well I am happy to say that they turned out great! 

So I had these yummy biscuits what should should I put on them. 

Well what could be more southern than sausage gravy. Thanks to Jerry Davis I can actually make gravy. So we had sausage gravy biscuits, scrambled eggs and orange slices. It was a yummy dinner! 

After the Snow Melts

MJ and Micah were throwing snow balls
into the puddles to make splashes. 

 So the snow was fun for a few days but when it began to melt what were we supposed to do... so we went puddle jumping.

MJ had a great time and Grant began to get the hang of it.

We only played for about 20 minutes but had a great time and lots of wet clothes to wash in the end.

MJ is trying to teach Grant just
how it is done. 

Grant stayed on the edges most of the time.

This was a great puddle next to our neighbors
chicken coop. 

It was a fun afternoon! 

Our New Home in California

Part of our yard. 

We moved to Woodleaf (I think if you click the word it will take you to the web site) on February 13th 2012.

This is the front of our house.  

Woodleaf is a Young Life camp in Callenge CA and Woodleaf was originally a hotel that was built for people during the gold rush. The original hotel is still on the property and is used as the administrative office.

Our house is 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms (plenty big for guests) and has a great fenced in yard. We have great neighbors, the Gardners, that have 4 children ages 9-2 so MJ and Grant have new friends really close.

The picture of the snow is from our front door. I promise next time it snows I will take pictures of us playing in the snow. I didn't have any snow boots and I wore Micah's cowboy boots when we went out to play so I wasn't steady enough to bring the camera. I bought some snow boots and they arrived today so I am ready for the next snow shower.

We are having a great time so far but miss Georgia!
So come and see us!

This is what you see when you walk in the front door.
(I moved the dog bed)

This picture was taken from the front door.
Our living space is one big room. 

This is our living room.

Our dining area... that is the front door. 

This is from our front door looking out into the yard
on February 29th 2012. 

California Here We Come! (Well I can't figure out how to put these pictures at the end so I guess you get to see them first)

Just outside of Flagstaff Arizona at the Meteor Crater

$32 to see this... 

The view on the way to the Grand Canyon

The Dunn Family at the Grand Canyon

$25 for 7 Days worth of this view. 

Even Parker got out of the van to enjoy the view. 

Just an FYI this blog post is extremely long, but it covers about 6 months... so from now on I will keep things more concise.

In August of 2010 Micah applied for a job at Woodleaf, a Young Life camp in northern California. This was a huge step for us as a family but we felt like it was the right time for a move. In early October Micah and I traveled to Woodleaf for an interview and we were able to tour the camp and meet some of the staff. We had dinner with the Gardner's (our new neighbors) and enjoyed our brief time there.

When we returned home we were still unsure if this was the place for us, we knew we would be faced with so many challenges (our mailing address is Callenge CA) but knew that when we were at Woodleaf we could feel Gods presence. We (or I) was fearful of change and I also had said "I will never live in California" God had other plans. Micah and I would go back and forth asking each other, "so do you want to move to California" and either one of us would almost always answer "yes I think I do".

Then in early December we found out that the hire for the job Micah interviewed for would be put on hold because the camp manager was leaving, it would be after the new year before we would hear anything. So as we began to wait again (God taught us a lot about patience and His timing vs. ours) we still asked each other the same question "so do you want to move to Woodleaf" and the answer remained the same "yes I think I do".

The week before Christmas we got the call, Micah had been offered the job and we had a couple of weeks before we needed to give an answer. At this point it all started to become real... we could actually be moving across the country. I began to become even more fearful and sad, but realized what an opportunity this was for Micah's career and for our family. MJ and Grant would be living 3 hours from their Nana and Pop, Micah would be coming home to eat lunch and I would be a full time stay at home mom.

So after accepting the job on January 3rd we began the task of packing up our lives and house. It seemed as if every time we thought we were done packing we would find something else that needed to go with us. We also purged a lot of things that we didn't need ( I am so thankful that our local Thrift Store came and picked up items from our house).

After a few (a lot of ) sad goodbyes we headed out on our week long trek across the country.

Our plan was to drive 8 hours a day and find a hotel that had an indoor pool so that we could have something fun to do with the kids. We were also going to stop at every state line and take a family picture. Well you won't see any pictures at state line because Grant was asleep at every state line except one, I think it was Texas, and it was raining.

On February 8th we drove from Ackworth GA to Little Rock Arkansas and stayed at a really fun hotel with an indoor pool and an indoor splash park.

 Then on February 9th we drove from Little Rock to Amarillo, Texas.

 On February 10th we drove from Amarillo to Flagstaff, Arizona. Before we arrived in Flagstaff we took a small detour to visit a Meteor Crater Site, it was $16 for each adult and the kids were still free. So we go to the observation deck and we see this huge hole in the ground.

 On February 11th our plan was to see the Grand Canyon then stay in Las Vegas. So we got up and drove to the Grand Canyon, the Grand Canyon cost $25 for our entire car for an entire week. You can see the Grand Canyon with at least 7 people for 7 days for $25 or you can go to a Meteor Crater in Arizona with 2 adults for $32. Anyway,  I loved the Grand Canyon and I can't wait to go back. (See Pictures Below of the Meteor and Grand Canyon) After visiting the Grand Canyon we drove to Las Vegas. We arrived in Vegas in hopes to stay at one of the big hotels on the strip, well we couldn't find a room for less than $200 because it was Saturday and Valentine's weekend (we found a deal to stay at Cesars Palace for $79 on Wednesday night) so we drove to the Mariott (a very nice hotel) and I just didn't feel like it was a great place to stay with our children. I knew we wouldn't get out and walk to the strip and I knew that my parents only lived 6 hours away. So we decided to put in a few extra hours in the car and drive from Vegas to Reno Nevada. That was the longest 6 hours of our entire week, the boys fell asleep and so they both did a great job but the road from Vegas to Reno there is nothing. I am not kidding... maybe a gas station and a rest stop but that is about it (we were pretty sure we were close to Area 51) and all along the road you see random signs such as Watch for Cattle or Watch for Pigs or Watch for Horses, the majority of the road is open range and the speed limit on the road is 75 MPH. I can't imagine an accident with a car going 75 MPH hitting any type of wild life let alone a horse. We arrived to my parents house around 11:30pm, it was a long day but it was great to be with them!