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.