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.
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| 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!
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| Cabbage Hill Overlook in Oregon - This is a huge |
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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 |
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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!
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| Laramie, WY |
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| 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. |
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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.
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| 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.
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| Historic High School |
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| 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!
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| 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.
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| Hot Springs Hot Balloon Festival |
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| Jacob's game in Maumell - they played Hot Springs |
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| 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.
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| 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! |
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| Texas Bass Classic |
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| Texans Game |
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| First Plan Trip to AR |
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| First Thanksgiving |
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| Jill's Surprise 30th! |
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| Nap time |
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| First Time in Santa's Lap |
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| Tummy Time |
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| First tooth! |
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| First Christmas |
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| Santa came! |
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| Christmas Celebrate in Austin with cousins |
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| A favorite Christmas toy from Nannie and Papa |
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| New Years! Mission Impossible and dinner - N and P kept Wyatt |
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| My first Christmas PJ's |
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| 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!
We celebrated with brownie cake on Sunday evening as a little late 6 month birthday for Wyatt. You can pass on a time for cake...right?!?!
So we have been on the rice cereal bandwagon for almost a month when it became apparent something needed to change. He was hungry! To be honest this is the same reason we started rice cereal when we did. He ate the cereal like a champ so I began researching new food options. Pulling from my nutrition background I knew I wanted something with protein and not just carbohydrates and not sweet as to "delight" he pallet. I ended up going with butternut squash. We Skyped with my parents while he took his first bite. At first he wasn't so sure but ended up loving it. We started slow because I was afraid of tummy troubles however, we had none! We have since moved onto avocado and a love has been born.
I can't believe Wyatt turned 6 months on Saturday. I really feel like I was just pregnant and leaving the hospital with a new baby. In all honesty though, we have a had a lot going on and are having to hold on and treasure the moments and milestones. We are in the depths of medical testing for Daniel. Luckily it seems as though we are a little closer to a diagnosis which ultimately, could still go many ways but we are hoping for the best. This has brought with it several levels of stress and challenges..but what doesn't!! We are riding this roller coaster as it comes! :)
I loved more than anything spending the day with my boys. A storm was rolling in from the Gulf and it was amazing! 
We spent several hours looking at fish, animals, plants, etc and then ended the visit with a quick walk on the beach. Wyatt laughed a lot and talked with us all day. It was a great way to spend his 6 month birthday! 
We stopped by Daniel's sisters on the way home and visited with them for a few hours. We enjoy being able to see them and Wyatt gets in some play time with his nieces and nephews. Sunday was a day of homework for Daniel. We both can't wait until this class is over!
So far this week has been super busy thus...a late weekly post. :) We had major rain and as a result discovered several new leaks in places completely fine before. Daniel has contacted the manufacture and we are hopefully making some headway. I am so frustrated and started looking again at 2013 models online. I was completely against trading this one in as I feel that if you spend a ton of money a product should be reliable..well I am almost over that after 4 years! Well, I mean I am considering it! HA! I bet Daniel is screaming FINALLY!!! :)
About the only thing that will keep this little guy happy while more teeth (six) come in ...time outside and flying! Yep- we do this a lot! :)
Also- as promised a few pics of the new "layout." It isn't exactly how I want things (and unless we get a new 5th wheel it never will be) as I never unpacked the picture frames, kitchen stuff, etc when we arrived. We have a ton of items to get fixed/replaced on the 5th wheel- blowout repairs, leak issues, slide issues, carpet and wall issues, lights not working, propane and water heater glitches, and general carpentry things that have fallen apart..(yes I said fallen apart) so I decided to wait. We also have plans to possibly move parks..we are the youngest couple by about 40-50 years. The logistics of moving at the right time, figuring out how long the 5th wheel will be at the dealer, ordering parts, dealing with the warranty company, finding a place to live, and the rotation assignment has just been unworkable. We both hope that very, very soon we can figure all of it out. Daniel and I are ready for a time when we do not have to deal with major issues from this 5th wheel!!
Did you notice..baby girl Hershey in every picture? Its a small place and she can see me from any location but that won't do...she's always under my feet!! Regardless I still love her!
Lots of hugs from us!
however, she was the one that was still awake when we came to pick him up. She said he was fantastic and just slept, ate, played, then fell asleep after watching a little football. Leaving him for this long was a biggie as this was the longest time I would have been away from him. I did fine and only texted to say that I was putting my phone on vibrate. I am so glad he was good. Poor little guy is getting 4 teeth and has been a little grumpy. I don't blame him, I would be as well!! Thank you all for watching him. I know he was well loved and had a great time!
I also worked on organization and a new layout of the 5th wheel. We really don't have that many options but, I wanted to try something new. Wyatt has lots of fun toys from Christmas and I really wanted to keep the bouncer inside instead of having to take it apart (which is easy but still) and store it in the cargo trailer every evening. I still have to take it apart due to space but, it is much easier to slide it in its new space inside! I figure I am always moving things around so why not continue :) I will post pictures when I am completely finished!
Watching the Hogs play in the Cotton Bowl and take home a win!!
Until next..or hopefully sooner if I can ever get all the pictures uploaded for the catch up post..live it up and stick your fingers in your nose!
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. 
