The drive from Oregon and all that time that happened up until New Years!

I.will.never.get.behind.again! NEVER! This post covers almost 6 months. I know I left out some things and I am sure as I realize what they are..I will come back and update this post. I hope to say more about the first few months in TX but I know the pictures tell the story! :) I also realize that the grammar, punctuation, etc in this post are not the best. Wyatt one day when you read this :/ Mama was just trying her hardest to get this in the blog so she didn't forget these special moments. I am having a hard time wrapping my head around that I am just now finishing this post on 5-24-12 ( you are 10 months and 3 days old) and daddy and I feel like you just arrived and we just left Oregon! Yes I backdated the publish date so it would flow!

So after the drive "home" (which was so much fun because I couldn't believe they were letting me take this little guy home) we arrived and my dad was a minute ahead of us. Daniel got the dogs outside and I walked up with Wyatt. We introduced the babies to our new baby with help of my parents. Our babies did great and were interested however, they were way more excited that we were home. I was happy to be able to love on them after spending four days away! Of course this goes without saying, but we watched them like hawks and still do.

We all started finishing the packing process as we were set to leave on Tuesday. Luckily we all got a much needed nap. The next day Daniel and I took the little guy to the doctor for what would be a first visit and my parents headed over to Oregon City for a day on the coast. We got a good feeding plan for the road and spent the day running last minute errands in town. The little guy even went to Target and Fred Meyer for the things we didn't know we needed until after he arrived. We clearly like to start the shopping experience early! Tuesday we got up let the neighbors meet the little guy, said our goodbyes, and then hit the road.

Last picture in park

My dad wanted to celebrate Wyatt's one week birthday (a few days early) so he got the best chocolate cake! It was yummy and we all enjoyed it!
7-27 (Wed) Salem OR - Idaho We didn't get as early of a start as we wanted but, we loaded up on local cherries, blackberries, and other local yums and hit the road. We were able to still stop and do a little sight seeing at Multonomia falls and got some great pictures.  I am certain we were all very excited to be on our way to start the big trip! Here we go.... The drive most of the day was gorgeous as you drive right beside the Columbia river..amazing!

Cabbage Hill Overlook in Oregon - This is a huge 

Cabbage Hill is a huge winding mountain that you have to cross over before you get out of Oregon. We drove over it on our way and it was amazing.Wed was all so the day I experienced the "emotion dump!" I  was confused because my emotions were already out of control. I had no idea this was going to happen and I am sure my friends told me, but I never expect anything like it. Emotion dump is exactly what it means!Ok now back to the story- Right before we got to Boise my mom noticed the bike rack on the 5th wheel was bouncing more than normal. Of course none of us had cell reception to call each other so the fiasco of yelling at each other as we drove down the interstate was  like the scene in Trains, Planes, and Automobiles.  Well after we pulled over it was discovered the bike rack did fall off and we were dragging it!  (The bikes weren't even messed up!) Daniel took it off only to later discover at a gas station a few miles later the bumper was about to fall off. In that same stop we also discovered the extra ladder almost fell of as well. We were so LUCKY that no-one got hurt and we were able to keep everyone on the road safe. After that delay, we finally stopped right outside of Boise, ID, for the night at an rv park.

Drive Day 2 (Thurs)  7-28-11 ID, UT to WY - Snake River, Twin Falls, ID

We drove through ID, UT, and WY. Daniel and I made sure we stopped at Snake River where Evil Kanivle jumped the river. We were in the spot he jumped and got some great pictures. The river has made a gorge through the land kinda like the Rio Grande George we one visited north of Santa Fe. It was so hot that little guy didn't spend a lot of time sight seeing in this stop. We also saw few hang gliders take off down into the river. NEAT!

1 week old

First time in stroller

 

We stopped for the night on the UT WY border.

Day 3 (Fri) 7-29-11 Drove in WY This day was pretty uneventful.  We took in the sights on the drive, visited Little America, and walked around an old west town.  We did have dinner and attend a street festival in Laramie WY. This is a town Daniel and my dad have always wanted to visit so they were like little kids. Its a western "feel" and had some old parts to visit. We had a great time relaxing for a few hours. It was Wyatt's actual first time in a real restaurant. That night we had a hard time finding an RV park and ended up staying at WalMart!

Laramie, WY

Hershey the babysitter

We had to stop at Little America. My dad and his parents stopped here when he was a kiddo when they made a trip across the country to California.

 Day 4 (Sat) 7-30-11 CO,KS    We got a later start on this day as we loaded up on lots of snacks, drinks, and had some breakfast before hitting the road. Things we going pretty smoothly in our eyes Then...Saturday night in Colby, KS, we had a blowout on the Cargo trailer. We had just stopped to get fuel during the day, have lunch and feed Wyatt. My dad calls and says they had a blowout. We had to drive 30 miles to turn around and got back only to see they were sitting just past the entrance ramp to the interstate at a truck stop. The only option was to unhook the cargo trailer on the side of the interstate and have my dad stay with it, the truck, 5th wheel, and the dogs. So mama, D, W and I loaded into the Sequoia and drove again 30 miles to turn around and go to the truck stop only to find they didn't have the tire in stock but the one up the road 30 miles did. Two new tires at 1 truck stop $100. D decided to get another for the trailer $140 at another truck stop. I got a migraine so mama and I made the trip to the truck stop with Daniel while my dad stayed with the truck, 5th wheel and the dogs on the side of the road. I am sure this wasn't much fun but, we were afraid to leave the 5ht wheel and small cargo trailer just on the side of the road for anyone to drive up upon and take. When we arrived back Daniel decided we would just spend the night at an rv park nearby and he and my dad would go back and change the tire. We left the trailer. Daniel decided to take a shortcut into the median, where we immediately got pulled over by a State Trooper. We should have known this was not a good idea. Luckily the trooper was nice as he saw we were out of state and just gave us a warning...otherwise it would have been 2 vehicles and double the tickets for us. WHEW!! It was a completely unsafe move also because the turn was in a curve of the road and the Trooper was involved in a 90 mph car chase...so he almost hit us!  Daniel and my dad made the 30 mile trip back to pick up the tire. I went to bed. When they got back we watched Four Christmases and had a much needed laugh.

The next morning after Daniel bought another tire and put it on the cargo trailer after parking as were about to get on the road when my dad came inside and said that the tire on the Sequoia looked "bad." So Daniel decided to change it. After about 30 min of looking for the spare and trying to get the tire off, it was decided that it was torqued on. So the only option was for Daniel to take it somewhere. It took him awhile to find a place that would take it off. Everyone else waited at the truck stop having lunch (yes we only dine at the best truck stops with several restaurants in them) while he drove around and finally found some sweet man to help him. The guy was originally from AR, lived in Austin and was working in the area! Blessings to the man with a kind heart! We were able to finally get back on the road.



Day 5 7-31-11 (Sun) KS, OK, AR to Parents
 After all the fun we had with the tires we decided to drive in the rest of the way on day5. We arrived at my parents house around 2 am! We all slept great! 


Total side note on travel - We knew my parents were doing us a huge favor by helping us drive from Oregon however, they were even more of a help that we ever thought. We knew we would need the help and possibly experience "complications" as we always do during our travels but I really am not sure it would have even as gone as smoothly if they weren't with us. They were able to keep both of us calm..ok well as calm as we could be when things went wrong. It also taught Daniel and I that our normal is not normal to most people. In my personal perspective they are not used to traveling full time so for them this was a huge deal. It is huge to us as well however; we often forget traveling is not a way of life so the constant pressing, moving, packing, unpacking, jumping over boxes, stepping over dogs, and moving furniture to sleep on the road can be overwhelming. So we thank them from the bottom of our hearts with the patience they had with us and we hope we had the same with them. Daniel and I also easily forget that we are 99.999% of the time on our own and we heavily rely on each other or just do it ourselves when handing problems and packing up...we had to realize that they had no idea what to do, how to do it, or what was next to come. I hope that on the trip they were able to see some pretty country and travel through areas they had not been to before. I also hope they had a great time and made memories. I know the story of Wyatt traveling from OR to AR at just a few days old will be told over and over and we are glad you were both a huge part of it! Thank you guys for all of your help!


Daniel and I stayed the night and then headed onto to Pine Bluff. I have to be honest when I say the pickins were slim on the parks. We only had one option and. it. was. out. of. control! We were not thrilled but didn't have a choice. When we arrived the owner started to panic saying that our 5th wheel was large and he wasn't sure he had a spot big enough. Luckily he found one and I would not have wanted to be any deeper into his property than we were. He actually put us right across the street from his "house" and that gave me a sense of comfort. It was very hot when we arrived and the electricity didn't work very well. I am not going to lie..the first few days were very frustrating and I spent a lof of time out of the 5th wheel with a newborn trying to stay cool. We finally came with a solution (call us electricians as well) and were able to get our portable air conditioner powered up. We kept ourselves busy so we didn't have to stay around White Hall on the weekend. We made several trips to see my parents, were able to visit with the Yount's, and even a trip to NWA;
Our amazing friends, Andrea, Kerryanne, as well as my mama hosted a fantastic traveling shower for us. We decided due to being in Oregon we wanted to wait to have showers until after Wyatt's arrival. I know this probably decreased the opportunity for people to come as we had them right before football season after everyone was back in school, but it is what worked for us. We felt very blessed by our friends though several people were not able to attend due to last minute issues. We completely understood and still had a great time. Our friends put in so much work on an amazing fun couples shower. The theme was traveling and well fitting! We enjoyed seeing our friends so much! Wyatt is certainly dressed to impressed in all his cute things! It had been along time since we had been around our friends so we loved catching up and learning a lot from pro parents!  Thank you guys for hosting and to everyone who was able to make it. 

1 month

Daniel's mom came to visit us for 2 weeks and to meet Wyatt. We picked her up from the airport and were able to take her to a few sights in Little Rock before heading back to the Hall. We weren't very exciting during this visit. Whitehall is not very impressive or have much for the sightseer. We did make a trip to visit the Yount's and another to my parents house. I am glad we were able to make it up everyone as we quickly learned we were having our last week in White Hall and the frantic search for another location began. We got extremely lucky and Daniel's company had an opening in Hot Springs. I was thrilled as we had been talking about going over for the day to visit. Mary, Wyatt and I made a trip over to Hot Springs to pick out a park. I am glad we did because I was also able to show her the bath house district and a few other areas of the town.

Historic High School

Visiting with the Younts

 

We had to make the move on the weekend we were heading to Austin for Wyatt's welcome barbeque. Daniel and I decided to just drop off the 5th wheel on the way. We were very fortunate that my dad and Daniel's mom were able to help us make this move. We were not expecting it and nothing was packed. We moved the 5th wheel, set up and headed on down to Austin celebrating Daniel's birthday on the drive. Yep Taco Cabana was the party place! HA! The barbeque went off without a hitch and we were able to introduce Wyatt to several of our Austin friends and family. The Schellenberger's let us have it at their house which was great because we had a big crowd. We had several kinds of barbeque and sides ended with cupcakes. We had so much showing off Wyatt to everyone and he got to meet all of his cousins at the party. It is so much fun to celebrate with the ones you love. Thank you everyone for the amazing gifts and the overwhelming love and joy you showed us as we welcome Wyatt into our lives!

Cousins meeting

We traveled back to Hot Springs on Sunday and were ready to begin setting up "home" and begin a new normal in a town that I personally love! I am so glad Daniel and I were able to experience the town and all that it has to offer.

We were pretty busy after our trip to Austin. My cousin Jordan got married, we went to Garvin Gardens with Kerryanne and Aaron, and went to an amazing Hot balloon festival, played many times in the lake, made a trip to Dallas meet R and R visit Mom, and discovered Hot Springs.

Hot Springs Hot Balloon Festival

Jacob's game in Maumell - they played Hot Springs

Time to move...

Things were going great in Hot Springs and we were so happy to be living on the lake. We were making plans to go to Ozark for Halloween until Daniel came home with those words I never want to hear. "Well it looks like we are moving again."  Luckily we were so close Nannie and Papa came to visit just  few days before we left. Oh the devastation to leave a place you love so much. Anyway, we packed up and before we knew it were traveling to East TX.We arrived and soon it was time for Halloween, our anniversary, thanksgiving, Christmas, then new years. We have visited a pumpkin patch, gone to a Texans game, Texas Bass Classic Tournament, and much more.

My mom spent so much time making this Lifesaver outfit perfect! She could not have done a better job or made anything more perfect! Donna put the words on it and I LOVE IT! Thank you both for your hard work. I know it was a lot!

Texas Bass Classic

Texans Game

First Plan Trip to AR

First Thanksgiving

Jill's Surprise 30th!

Nap time

First Time in Santa's Lap

Tummy Time

First tooth!

First Christmas

Santa came!

Christmas Celebrate in Austin with cousins

A favorite Christmas toy from Nannie and Papa

New Years! Mission Impossible and dinner - N and P kept Wyatt

My first Christmas PJ's

Rice Cereal for the first time- just after the Christmas holidays

So as you can see the first 6 months of his life have been pretty busy. Wyatt is rolling over, babbling, and eating rice cereal! He will be driving before we know it! :) Daniel and I can't believe how much we already love this little guy and can't wait to see what the future holds!