We Made It

What we set out to do six months ago has finally come and gone, and now we are embarking on a whole new busy life. 

Just as a refresher--Jake got a new job in January which required him, and thereby all of us, to move to Monroe, Louisiana. That is Northern Louisiana, which is not anywhere anyone has ever heard of, unless you watch a little show called Duck Dynasty on A&E. In January, we gutted and remodeled our house in Denver. In February, we packed up our things, moved Maki to my sister's house, and the rest of us moved into Jake's parents' house. (They graciously welcomed us into their home for several months, for which we are extremely grateful.) In March, our house went on the market, and sold very soon thereafter. (Thanks Greg Anderson!) We went under contract on our home in Louisiana in early April, and closed on the Denver house in mid-April. Then we waited for our house to be completed and for the school year to end. We closed on Louisiana house at the end of May, but not before my baby turned 3.

Sometimes Build-A-Bear is a necessary and somewhat welcome evil.

This kid had been telling everyone for months that it was her birthday. When it finally was, she didn't seem to comprehend that her day had really, truly arrived.

The next day, Jake and I flew to LA, closed on the house, moved all our stuff into the house, then flew back to Denver just in time for all the end-of-school stuff, like Ellie's recital.

Then, it was time to move We, the People into the new home. We drove. 3 days. It was mostly Texas. Texas is really big.  Thank goodness for Ipods, iPads, iPhones, portable DVD players, headphones, and technology in general.

We did find this really great burrito place in a tiny town there, though. The burritos were huge and made with home-made hand-made tortillas.

We arrived in Monroe, and to our great relief, the kids absolutely fell in love with the new house. One thing we noticed very quickly, though, is that it is really hot down here. That weekend, we joined the local health club, just so we could use their fun pool facilities.

Then came the part we were really waiting for. In my quest to find the positives of moving to the south, I discovered that the Florida Panhandle is driving distance from where we now live. !!! Awesome, right? So we booked a nice, big townhouse in Sandestin, Florida, and made plans to go there when my sister arrived with my brother. All the Rosses, Maki, my sister, and her 2 kids made the trek to the beach. It was awesome.

While we were there, this guy turned 5!

All the grandkids on my side of the family represented here. It was funny to see these city kids (OK, so it's my kids who are the real city kids...) discover bugs and other creepy crawly things living in our neighborhood in Florida.

Now all of us are back together again, under the same roof. All 6 of us. It is insane, but the way it's supposed to be. I am still unpacking and trying to find some order in this mountain of chaos. Jake is liking his new job and his new office and his new coworkers. I am very happy that things are working out well for him here. The kids are still exploring the new house. They love to play hide-and-seek in it. Maki loves his new digs, which is another great relief. 

Hotel Ross is kind-of sort-of open. We have a place for y'all to stay if you come visit, but we still have a lot of boxes lying around. But come visit, if you've got a hankerin' for the South! Also, I do plan to post photos of the new house, but not until things look a bit less tornado-hit-ish.

If the Shoe Fits...

I took my shopaholic son on a quick trip to Sam's Club tonight. I took him with me because he has told me many times that he loves to shop at Sam's Club, and I get a kick out of the fact that my 4-year-old knows his retail. As we were browsing through the giant shampoo aisle (the shampoo is giant, not the aisle), an employee breezed by, and in a most unpleasant tone said:

"I assume you know that he has his shoes on the wrong feet."

As I was forming the words to a witty and apologetic reply, I glanced over at the woman and noticed that she looked kind of agitated. A few things occurred to me at that moment:  (1) I don't care that my son has his shoes on the wrong feet; (2) I was proud of my son for getting shoes on his feet; and (3) I don't care that someone else doesn't like that my son has his shoes on the wrong feet.

So I let the idiotic remark linger so we could all hear the crickets, and I continued my shampoo conversation with my son. As I continued to shop, however, I did wonder--sociopath? Other personality disorder?

I cannot tell you how many times someone has informed me that my son, or another one of my kids has their shoes on the wrong feet. Ever since the first time I heard it with my oldest child, I have been perplexed as to such a remark. I'm not talking about the people who playfully bring it up with the child or the person who says, "I remember when my such-and-such used to do that." I'm talking about the people letting me or my child know that such a faux pas has been made, as if (a) I don't know; and (b) it actually matters.

That's right. I don't care that my kids have their shoes on the wrong feet. My oldest is six and she doesn't do it any more. The other ones are young enough that, once again, it doesn't matter. Now, say, if you the reader wore your shoes on the wrong feet, that could be an issue. Bur we're talking about toddlers here, people.

So here's another side to this coin. When my sister was a baby and through toddlerhood, she had issues with her feet and legs that required her to wear corrective "shoes" and also to wear her shoes on the wrong feet. That's right I said required to wear shoes on the wrong feet. Hmmm...who sounds like the insensitive buffoon now? But closer to my heart, (sorry Jessica!) my son actually has fine motor skill issues and as his mother, I am pleased as punch that he put his velcro sneakers on his own feet by himself!

I suppose my message here today is threefold:  (1) If you tell me or my child that my child has his shoes on the wrong feet, I will assume that there is something wrong with you; (2) If you tell me or my child that he has his shoes on the wrong feet, consider yourself lucky if you only get a, "Yes they are," as a response; and (3) If you are four years old and your shoes are on the wrong feet, there is nothing wrong with that.

Let me be clear:  I don't care that my son has his shoes on the wrong feet.

Thank you.

Southern Comfort

As many of you already know, we are embarking on a new adventure. After two or so years of searching, we finally found the right job. It happens to be exactly what Jake wanted and we are absolutely happy about his new career. There is, however, one condition. We have to move. I have had a difficult time wrapping my mind around this move, but as the move looms closer, I am feeling more and more positive. Read on to see why.

I don't know if you have ever heard of Monroe, Louisiana. I hadn't heard of it until Jake came home a few months ago and informed me that if we wanted any chance at this job, we would have to accept the idea of moving there. OK. The truth of the matter is that we both kind of came up with this plot together. If Jake's company wanted someone out there, why don't we just go out there? It was the right job. So we set out to find out more about this place. Keep in mind that I have never spent time in this part of the world--except for a brief layover once in Atlanta. I don't think that really counts.

Here is what we discovered. It is the home of this awesome show. Reason enough, right?

I hope you recognize this scenery, because it is a great show. If you don't recognize it, I highly recommend Duck Dynasty on A&E. It takes place more in West Monroe, which is the small town next door to Monroe.

Jake's company was kind enough to fly both of us out to their headquarters in Monroe to see the town and meet some people before we made the final decision. That was my first time ever in Louisiana. I was amazed at how different things are there than here in Denver. That was really my main impression after our short 3-day visit.

Jake accepted the job, and they gave him one year to get moved to Monroe. (Currently he works out of their Denver office.) So we have been busy preparing to sell our beloved home, selling our home, looking for a new home, etc.

We realized that my bro was probably not going to handle this gigantic transition well, so we took him to my sister to hang with her while we take care of all this. We made a fun trip out of it.

In case you're wondering, I get a kick out of recording Jake trying to photograph our kids. So here's Jake trying to get a group photo of the kids and Superman. Ha ha ha.

We put our home on the market and were fortunate enough to go under contract pretty quickly. We close in just a couple of weeks. 

Last week, Jake and I went on a house-hunting trip to Monroe. I told Jake that if the company's people had taken us to eat at the places where we ate this time around, I would have been more positive about the move from the start. It is crawfish season in the South right now. It is awesome. The local cuisine is awesome. Here is a sampling:

This is a shrimp po' boy with fries and gravy. Amazing. The food is reason enough to at least visit this place.

Most important, however, is that we came away from this trip with this.

I can hardly believe it. We are officially under contract on this lovely home. It is not completed yet, so we get to move into a brand-spankin'-new house. It will be our Southern Home. We are very excited about it.

I will let y'all know when Hotel Ross is once again open for business.

Catch Up and (Another) Big Announcement

 We are a busy bunch. In the time since my last post quite a bit has happened, like:

 We went to California for fall break. We visited Jake's sister and her family in the Bay Area where the kids got to go trick-or-treating. I wish I had a photo of her gorgeous home. I love it. We then flew to Orange County and went to Disneyland. Unfortunately, the Photographer didn't bring the camera charger, and so, of course, the battery in the camera died. She is totally fired.

 Snow. Quite a bit of it. But we live in Weird Weather Zone, so it usually melts within a few days. And then it snows again.

Ellie performed in her dance school's production of the Nutcracker. She was the Cherub. She was the smallest dancer in the entire production.

 Somewhere in there, we experienced Nature. By now you know that Nature is something I typically avoid, but I thought it might do us some good, so I broke my own rule. My dear friend Yuriko was visiting, also, so that helped convince me to get into Nature.

My favorite people in Nature. (Garden of the Gods, Colorado)

Amid all this, there was Christmas and Thanksgiving, a birthday, and some other stuff, but I guess the real kicker is that Jake got a new job and we are moving to Louisiana.

But not yet. Even though Jake starts with his new company tomorrow, we will not make the move until the kids are out of school for the summer. We will be busy over the next several months!

If you want to see where we are going, watch Duck Dynasty. That is where it is. Jake and I flew out for a visit to check things out right before Christmas. We are in for some lifestyle changes. Jake fell in love with the place.

I look forward to learning a new language.

In the meantime, if you or anyone you know is looking for a 4 bedroom home in the Denver area, call me!