The Plan...

So, we're celebrating Christmas in California. Usually, our family has a variety of snacks on Christmas Eve. Usually we have those snacks with family. Well, it's just the 5 of us, so here's what's on the table tonight-

• cheese/crackers/ summer sausage-I usually just do cheddar and pepper jack, but I added Dubliner and Chavrie to the spread this year
• 'lil smokies in sauce of grape jelly and ketchup-sounds gross but tastes good
• dill dip in bread bowl-actually, they don't have dill dip here, the lady at Ralphs talked me into getting spinach dill dip from their deli, we'll see...
• homemade chex mix
• lots of different cookies
• queso and chips, salsa
• white chocolate pretzels-made trips to several stores to find stuff for this and the queso

We made Christmas tree cut-out brownies for Santa

Tomorrow morning, after stockings are opened, we'll have bubble loaf and breakfast casserole. We'll read the Christmas story and skype with family back in Ks. Sometime later in the day, we'll eat-

• Beef tenderloin with homemade horseradish sauce-I'll be eating this in Heaven, too
• twice baked potatoes
• green beans
• frozen fruit salad
• Jesus cake-we make this every year for Jesus' birthday
• pumpkin pie-because Kevin saw this on tv and really wanted one

We plan to eat, watch good Christmas movies, play with whatever Santa brings us and enjoy being a family of 5 this Christmas. If I'm motivated, I'll post recipes later.

Have a Merry Christmas!

House Hunting

So, back in September, we looked at some houses out here and thought most of them weren't for us, but we were told we could find something. We knew house prices had fallen drastically and we were glad because there was no way this would work otherwise.

Fast forward to now. There is absolutely nothing in the Pasadena area even close to our price range. The problem with house prices falling is that no one is selling. A tiny common sense fact we didn't think about when we decided to move here.

So, our realtor suggested that we look into the Valencia/Stevenson Ranch area. It would mean a 30-45 minute commute for Kevin. Not exactly what we wanted, for those of you in the ict area, it would be comparable to driving from Newton to W. Wichita. Not a huge commute, but something to consider. Anyway, the schools in that area are much better than in Pasadena, and the family quality of life is better. We've made a few trips out there and really like it. It reminds us of Colorado Springs in the fact that it's flat but surrounded by mountains. The best thing is that it just feels open and nice. It's clean and you don't have to pay to park anywhere, like you do here. The houses are much more affordable there as well.

We looked at 6 houses on Friday, 2 of which we could see ourselves in. Those were already under contract, but the realtor knows what we like now. It's so hard to look at another person's home and try to mentally put your stuff in it and figure out where things would go. It's also interesting that the homes that have the grossest carpet are the ones where we are asked to take off our shoes at the door. Weird. Houses spaced closed together. No brick. No basements. Beautiful landscaping. Not much of a yard. I guess it will just take some time to get used to California architecture. Oh, but I hope we find one, soon. I can't wait to have a home again. Hoping the market will pick up again after the holidays and we'll find something we all like.

Excuse me, but where can I find...

So, the Kroger affiliate out here is called Ralphs. Let me tell you, it is no Dillons. Not even close. I miss Dillons. These are the things I can't find here.

• Velveeta-I make homemade queso with it and rotel.
• Rotel-see above
• Red hots-aka cinnamon imperials, we needed these for gingerbread cookies. I improvised with raisens. Won't do that again.
• Almond bark-for white chocolate pretzels, a Christmas tradition for us
• Bugles-to go in our homemade chex mix.
• Summer sausage-to serve on Christmas eve with cheese and crackers.

The only thing good about Ralphs is that they have peppermint mocha coffee mate creamer. And that's it.

It's a Good Thing

Well, we finally have internet in our apartment. We're still working on trying to get the wireless router to work, but Avery's school desktop is working so I feel like we belong to civilization. However, you don't realize how much you appreciate having a Mac until you have to spend time on a pc, a slow pc. Anyway, I hope our laptop is up and running soon.
It's a good thing I didn't have access to blog last week. It was the worst week ever, and I probably would have said/written a lot that I shouldn't have. Here's a quick recap of the last 12 days

• the cable guy came Friday afternoon, only to find out our apt. building isn't wired for cable at all, so we have to go with a dish. DirectTV said they'll come on Sunday. We call ATandT about internet and after 45 minutes, they tell Kevin they'll come Dec. 14.
• 2 hours after the moving van left, Avery throws up. Everywhere.
• Thinking naively it was just her that was sick, the rest of us ate a big supper of In and Out burgers, fries, etc....
• a few hours later, it hits the rest of us. All of us were out. Saturday was the most horrible day. Both Kevin and I were very sick, we all just laid around, groaning and sharing 1 bathroom. Poor Presley and the girls pretty much had to fend for themselves. Not one box was unpacked that day.
• Sunday-woke up sore and weak, but not sick anymore-must. unpack. boxes.
• Realize after sleeping in our bed, that the movers didn't put it together correctly and it was sinking terribly in the middle. Kevin had to take the whole thing apart, bend the metal back and start over
  
• ant problem in the girl's rm
• toilet problems
• major plumbing issue with kitchen sink faucet. Called after hours maintenance (for the second time) b/c the faucet just wouldn't turn off. Ugh
• spider problems in bathroom-McKenna won't go in there by herself anymore...
• Our back door window is covered with tape and packing paper b/c the shade won't stay down.
• more ant problems-not in the kitchen-they must like the bathroom and girls room.
• Walls are paper thin here. We are a loud family. Not good in an apartment. I feel so sorry for our neighbors.
• Our one and only toilet takes 5 to 6 minutes to refill with water after a flush. Seriously, I timed it.
  
• No heat in here except our 3 space heaters-Surprisingly, it gets cold here in SoCal, especially at night.
• several breakers blown. Breaker box is located in room down the way. Our key didn't work the first night we blew one. Another call to maintenence after hours.
• Found out we can either watch tv, or have the Christmas lights on. Also, if you want to use the microwave, you must turn off the space heaters.
• I've already spent $50 doing laundry at the laundry mat.
  

My girls amaze me. They are doing so well! I can't believe how well they are doing. I'm supposed to be the model, the strong one. Well, I'm not. This has been the hardest thing I've ever done, without a doubt. I'm not very good at faking it.

The weather has been better the last few days, so we've been able to get out more. A much needed break from our apt.

Here's hoping this week is better than last...

We're here!

We got to Pasadena around 9:30 on Wednesday night. After 13 hours on the road, we were exhausted, to say the least.

• We got up and took it easy this morning, enjoyed Panera for breakfast. The view of the mountains as a backdrop for Pasadena is stunning. I don't know how anyone can get used to the beauty around here.
• We looked at our apartment. Let's just say, it's big, and that's about it. We'll be contacting a realtor on Monday.
• There's a toddler play area right next to our apartment and the girls loved playing there while Kevin and I looked around.
• Buddy, our Elf on the Shelf (he's been with us for 4 years now!) was waiting in our apartment! Avery about lost her breath when she saw him. The girls were so excited to see he came to Pasadena.
• After seeing Kevin's office and meeting some of his co-workers and employees, we went across the street and ate lunch at California Pizza Kitchen. We call it CPK now. They have a kids drink called a kiwi twist, it was so good-sprite with kiwi flavoring.
• Back to the hotel for naps, then Kevin took Avery and McKenna to their playground to play. I spent time online getting Avery set up for school, California Virtual Academy, similar to what she did in Kindergarten. We hope to get her curriculum/supplies next week sometime.
• Supper was at the Cheesecake Factory. I was explaining to the girls that this was a fancy restaurant and we would only get to go there on special occasions and that we wouldn't get to come eat there very often so we needed to enjoy this experience. Then McKenna exclaimed, "Oh, like Chuck E Cheese!" Um...no, Kenna. Not like that.
• Pottery Barn is across the street. We stop in and buy 2 of the cheapest ornaments they have.
• Then, we went to the Kroger affiliate, Ralphs. Let's just say I'm going to miss Dillons. A lot.
• Went to the apartment to put groceries away. Kevin flushes the toilet for the first time and water goes everywhere. Wondering who to call about that....
• Back to the hotel, our last night (out of 11) living out of a suitcase. We all shared some cheesecake-one chocolate chip cookie dough and one white chocolate peppermint. Yummy!
• No pix for today, maybe later.

Please pray for us on Friday, that the moving truck will be able to actually get into our parking lot to unload, that all of the logistics will fall into place. That the girls will continue to adjust and maybe meet some friends this weekend. That our one and only toilet will get fixed. fast. That we'll learn to talk quieter and adapt to apartment living.

Day 4...Finally!

I'll keep this one brief, with lots of pictures. 13 hours on the road Wednesday. Breathtaking views of the South Rim, a few meltdowns, a drive thru the desert, and we're in Pasadena! Prizes today were silly putty (big mistake on my part), magnet dress up dolls, candy necklaces, and glow sticks when it got dark (which it did around 4:30). The important thing is we're here, and that's a good thing. Our van did great. I'm so glad we didn't cave and get a suburban last week. I know we'd be regretting it now...or would we? :)

Day 3...Flagstaff, AZ

We made it over half-way, that's a sobering thought. We won't be making this drive anytime soon. It's been fun, and we've made great memories. But, let's just say, McKenna is a horrible traveler. And, that's probably an understatement. She came close to getting a spanking today. She lost one of her travel prizes. She woke Presley up by screaming. She was quarantined to the back seat. She's just not much fun to be around when we're all in the van. Once we got to the hotel, however, she was her sweet, spunky self.

We traveled to Flagstaff today, not too long of a drive, just 5 hours. Tomorrow will be a long one. We got to our hotel, changed into swimsuits and went swimming. The water was warmer this time, so we enjoyed it more. Then we met up with a dear friend, Zoe, for supper. Kevin worked for Zoe at Asbury for a couple of years when we lived in Ky. We had a great time, great food and great conversation. Went back to the hotel for some ice cream and happy feet on Disney. Tomorrow-the Grand Canyon, I can't wait!!!! then on to Pasadena!

All things considered, the girls have done remarkably well. It's been a long 3 days on the road, 9 days of living out of suitcases, we're ready for a place to call home. Only 2 more days to go...

First stop of the morning. It was right next to our hotel, God's little way of showing His love for us. There's another one close to our hotel in Flagstaff

Here are a couple of pix of the continental divide. I was the only model, I guess. Avery was in a mood (it was the only one of the day, but a mood, none the less) and McKenna took a rare 10 minute nap during this time. We didn't get Presley out for fear we might not get her back in her carseat. So, it's just me.

Most of our scenery today looked very similar to the movie Cars. It was crazy how much the view reminded us of that. The pictures we took don't capture the beauty we saw. Here we are, almost to Flagstaff.

Kevin and the girls sharing some ice cream tonight in our room.

Here is Presley, not quite ready for bed. She's been so good for us. She just HATES having to get into that carseat!