Monday, January 19, 2009

Texas or Bust!

Man... time sure flies! Just three weeks ago Mike and I finally decided that we were going to drive to Texas, and here we are... three short days from hitting the road.

Mike left for Tampa on Sunday evening. It is his final week in the training program for his soon-to-be (fingers crossed) promotion. Hopefully a position will open up in our area soon... even though he will have to commute to work farther, which means he will be away from us for an extra two hours every day. I know he needs to do what he needs to do to provide for his family though. I am so grateful for him and that I am able to stay home with the girls.

So, the girls and I are here getting ready for Texas on our own. We are mostly packed, the car is clean, we've got the GPS, DVD player, and travel trays all lined up and ready to go (thanks to some amazing friends). We've got plenty of food, soda, and water for the trip. I plan on packing the van up on Wednesday night... well, everything except for Cate's mattress (we couldn't find a travel cot) and E's Pack-n-Play... those will go in Thursday before we leave. We are also dropping Lady off at the IL's on Wednesday night.

So we are out of here on Thursday at noon, we'll pick up Mike in Tampa at 2-ish, and then we'll stop off in Tally-ho to have dinner with Mike's brother in his brand-new house. We'll leave at bed time and hopefully Cate will sleep through the night and she'll wake up in Texas.

I planned on uploading some photos, but I'll probably do that in a separate post before we leave. Elizabeth is waking up, so it is time to feed her and then hit the sack!

Monday, January 5, 2009

If he has a family... he is rich.

Well, we are back from PSL :)

The trip over and the trip back were a little difficult... Elizabeth was not happy to be in her carseat for an extended length of time and we had to pull over multiple times so I could nurse her. I definitely plan on pumping for the Texas trip so that we don't have to pull over as often. And as much as I don't want to, I'm thinking about introducing a pacifier to Elizabeth so that she can have something to soothe her on the car ride.

Catherine was really good and was happy to color, read her books, and sing her Music Together songs in her carseat. We plan on buying or borrowing a portable DVD player for the trip to Texas so that she has something else to keep her occupied when she gets sick of everything else. She didn't sleep well while we were in PSL, but that didn't really seem to effect her mood much. She was her happy self most of the trip. She had a good time at Papa's and I'm excited to return :)

Mike smoked his first Cuban cigar, courtesy of my Pops.






Elizabeth was loving her big sister - she cooed and smiled at her a lot.








And, as always, Catherine wanted to swim :)




She was also extremely careful to "duck" under Papa's plants...




Right after I took this photo, Catherine grabbed a huge handful of soil and threw it... Punk.




And, of course... the best part of the entire trip:

Friday, January 2, 2009

Port Saint Lucie

We are leaving this afternoon to visit my dad on the East Coast of Florida. It has been awhile since we've made that drive, but I am looking forward to a change of scenery (though, South Florida is South Florida...). I am excited to spend some time with my dad... I am especially glad that Catherine's gets to spend a few days with him. It's so cool to see them interact :)

Anyways. I guess I should stop blogging and finish packing!! I will add photos when we return!

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Happy New Year!

Well, we here at the Clemence household really brought the New Year in with a bang...

NOT! Cate was asleep at 7:00 and Mike and I were passed out by 8:30...

Bunch of party animals.

Anyways - I've created this blog because I wanted to be able to keep my family and friends updated on the girls (mostly), especially those that are not able to see them on a regular basis. I will try to blog at least once a week with new pictures and the like.

The BIG NEWS this week is that Mike was granted his vacation time at the end of January, so we will be driving to Lubbock. I am so excited and can't wait to visit my family. It has been over a year since I've seen everyone. We will be leaving either Thursday the 23rd or Friday the 24th... we are waiting to find out if Mike will have that Friday off.

I hope everyone had a great and safe New Year's Eve and I hope this year brings everything you hope!