Cross Country Adventure IV

Here we go again, and again.  At least this time the drive was not as far!  We only had to make it 1100 miles this time… across the panhandle of Florida, through parts of Alabama and Mississippi, and across the swamplands of Louisiana until we hit the Texas border.  Then we traveled down through Houston and along the Gulf Coast until we finally made it to our new home in Corpus Christi.  Though, at the moment, we still don’t have a home.  We’re stuck living out of hotels at least for a few more days until we can get something secured… we’re hoping by the middle of the week.  As far as the city goes… they weren’t kidding when they said it was windy.  It’s been windy.  Very windy.  But otherwise, absolutely beautiful… the sun has been shining and the weather has been a cool low 80’s.  The Gulf is an emerald green color and already warm, and the sunset over the bay the other night was pretty incredible.  We’re looking forward to all the new adventures we’ll have here, but for now… here are some photos from the trip.

Somewhere on the Mississippi border there was a space center where they tested rocket engines, and they had this lunar lander on display.  Would have been a much more exciting ride than 15 hours packed into a Trailblazer.

Can't say we'd ever been to Mississippi before...

That's one small step for Paul and Adam... here standing in the astronaut's footprints from one of the Apollo 13 guys.

 Not much to move this time... got it all in this trailer thankfully.

The Lone Star State! 

Adam was thrilled when we told him he was going to be a Texan now.  Thankfully we'll always have this picture to show him how excited he was to be moving here.

The main grocery store here is called H.E.B. which we found out means... "Here Everything's Better"  But Adam still isn't convinced.

And there they are... deep in the heart of Texas! Don't mess with them now!

This could be the last time...

Maybe the last time… I don’t know.  But let’s hope it’s the last time.  The last time I graduate from anything, and the last time we pack up and move across the country and start over again.  We packed up the apartment, loaded up the trailer, and said goodbye to Brunswick and all the friends we met over the past six months.  It was a good stay in southern Georgia, but none of us will miss the place itself.  It was where we got Nolan though, so we’ll always remember it for that.  And due to the nature of my job, the chances are very high that sometime in the next few years I’ll probably have to go back for additional training, though it will never be six months again… thankfully.  Here are some photos of the boys as they were dressed up for graduation.

 And there you go, and there you have it.  Goodbye east coast!

So long, Goodbye Georgia...

And so it goes that six months pass within a few moments, and our time in Georgia comes to an end.  We waited so long to get here, and now… here we are.  On Wednesday we’re leaving for Texas and our (hopefully) permanent residence for the next however many years.  The experience here in the south again was great overall.  Brunswick will never be on the top of our list of favorite places to live, but it worked out.  Paul said goodbye to his kindergarten class the other day, and we took our last trip to the Atlantic Ocean.  We had a lot of fun revisiting all of our favorite places in Jacksonville, and made more than a few trips to Savannah in the past few months.  Up next, the Gulf of Mexico and a whole new state to explore!  Wish us luck as we journey on down this road!  Here are a few photos of the boys on their last weekend in Georgia. 

The weather was pretty nice out on Jekyll Island, but the water is still a bit cold and the wind was pretty chilly.  The forecast for Corpus Christi on Friday looks like 75 and sunny, summer time... here we come!

Waiting for Mom...

A lot has been going on around here lately, so we haven’t had the time to get the camera out and do what we normally do.  We’ve made the last trips to Savannah and Jacksonville, and now we’re just packing up and getting ready to ship out.  This is the last full week, as we will be hitting Interstate 10 and heading west in just over a week.  Six months comes and goes faster than you think.  At times this has drug on and seemed like it was taking forever, but then you stop and look back and say… where did all the time go?  Nolan will be five months old tomorrow.  Adam will be three in a little over a month, and Paul is just about done with kindergarten.  That’s the way it goes.  Anyway, in anticipation of my upcoming graduation, Becky wanted to go out and get her hair cut, so it was just me and the boys today.  We ran a couple errands, tried to throw the football around in the freezing wind for a minute, and then headed back to the mall to pick up mom.  It took considerably longer than she thought it would, and this is how we ended up in the parking lot:

Adam has a little cold and was overly crabby, so this wasn't a shock.

Paul wants you to believe he's sleeping... but Paul never really sleeps.  Like Chuck Norris... he only waits patiently for his moment to strike (or annoy, in Paul's case).

And then there's Nolan.  After downing this 20oz Dew... let's just say he was ready to roll.

Yeah, it's warm enough...

For those of you in the North, I apologize for this post.  While you may be shoveling snow or scraping ice off of your windshields, or taking the dog outside in the below zero temperatures, things have been a little different in the South.  I’m sure you’ll have your revenge when we’re sweating in the shade by May, but for now, we’ll enjoy what we’ve got.  The weather has been everything you could ever hope it to be these past few weeks, and the boys… well… here’s what they’ve been up to in the Georgia winter…

 Not brave enough to go under, but willing to at least wade in...

Nolan's got his hat on so as not to get sunburned the way I did the other day... he's already smarter than his dad!

A Florida boy in his natural environment this time of year...

Grandpa Bill was glad to get his feet in the water, beats working in freezing weather I guess!

Headin' South for the Winter

Granny G and Grandpa Bill flew south for the winter to get away from the arctic tundra that is Montana this time of year, and to see the grandsons for a few days.  As always, the boys were over-spoiled, as was their mother.  But this may be the last time they get to come down this way for a few years anyway.  We took a little drive down to Jacksonville, ate at Clark’s Fish Camp (always a favorite), hit the beach a few times, and otherwise just enjoyed the beautiful weather we’ve been having down here.  It definitely does not feel like winter here in Georgia, though I doubt it will ever feel like winter in south Texas either.  We’re down to five weeks now, and then it’s off west again.  I’m sure it won’t be long before the grandparents are visiting Texas as well, and we hope to see all the rest of the family at some point!  If anything, our journeys around the country are getting a lot of other people a chance to come see the different states.  Here are some photos from the past few weeks.

Had a sand fight on the beach with Grandpa.  When it comes to the ocean, it doesn't matter how cold it is, Paul is getting in!

 Been here, done this a few times...

Cheeseball.  Washing his hands in the freezing water!

Another great visit that went by too fast!  Glad they could stop in for a few days and hope to see them soon in the land of Texas!