Happy Holidays!!!

We hope everyone has had a wonderful holiday and is looking forward to 2009! Although I have been under the weather for the past week (I blame CO for being too cold), it has been great to spend time with our families.

Christmas morning was cold but the three of us went on a long walk and opened gifts to each other. Then we went to G. Paul's parents to have lunch and open presents with his family. Julianne was very into her books and of course her new reading chair. Then we came home to meet my parents, have dinner and open presents with them. It was a wonderful extended day with lots of food, lots of gifts and lots to be thankful for. Hana was so worn out that she slept most of the second half of the day. We just missed Brett and his family but we were able to see them on Skype today and hear about their gifts.

Today the weather was unseasonably warm (70 degrees) so I put on my flip flops and sat with Hana out on the deck. The sun wasn't out but it was nice to feel a warm breeze for a change- then we met Ginger, Cara, Julianne and Linda for walk. Once again Hana was worn out and has been sleeping all evening! We are trying to gear up for our annual New Years Eve party so I am sure we will have more to blog about then.

Cold in Colorado

Life is still a whirlwind. We have been attempting to unpack our boxes and settle in while getting ready for the holidays, but first we headed to Colorado to scope out our next possible move.
Unfortunately, December is not the time to come to Colorado and then add to that it happens to be the week for record setting low temperatures. It makes envisioning living here, after 3 plus years in temperate San Diego, very difficult. This morning it was 30 degrees below zero with the wind chill- this is the point at which any skin exposed to the elements can experience frost bite within ten minutes. It is a shock to the system to say the least.

We did enjoy having dinner with our good friends Brooke & Dave and their beautiful daughter Kate this weekend in KY. Tonight we are having dinner with old neighborhood friends that I have not seen in many years and hopefully can tell me how they adjusted to this very different climate! Visiting with friends is the one bright spot in the cold dreary days of December.

December in KY

We made it to KY without incident and most of our senses in tact. Hana experienced the house much differently than we anticipated- we thought she would love having so much room but it turns out the hardwood floors are slippery and feel funny. Watching her try to navigate was at first hilarious and then became absurd as she would bark from being left in a room and afraid to move to the next one with us. Each day she seems to get a little more secure though so we are hopeful this won't last long.
It has already been 3 days since I have seen the sun and it is hard on me. G is happy to have so many projects at the house and there seems to be more of a mess as soon as I try to clean another one up.
We are so happy to be near friends and family again especially for the holiday which was filled with food and warmth. Hopefully many game nights and watching the Cards play basketball with friends are on the horizon. Happy December!

Thanksgiving stop

The long four days in a car and on the road temporarily ended in St. Louis for Thanksgiving with the family. Hana was more than relieved to get out of the car, but she is having trouble settling in to a new environment and more people around- a lot more fear barking than is usual for her.
Yesterday morning in Oklahoma City we found Paw Park, which has been named one of the top 10 dog parks in the U.S. - it was great for Hana to run with her Frisbee and it had a big pond which thankfully she decided not to wade into. The wind chill had to be in the 20s but we played for at least 30 mins. - this did nothing to make the ride any quicker for any of us. We had gorgeous weather the rest of the way and are so happy to be spending a few nights here- we already feel so much better with 8 straight hours of interrupted sleep!

Big G express keeps moving

The title of this post is from a trucking company we have seen along this journey and thought it was appropriate for us! :)
We began again at a dog park, different from the one yesterday afternoon. I found a Frisbee for Hana and she loves that more than chasing the ball and there were two other dogs there to sniff. It was 35 degrees out and of course Hana didn't seem to mind that my hands were freezing! She did great for her third day in the car and longest day.
We stopped for lunch in Amarillo but did not partake of the 72 oz. free steak being offered nor the fried pie place- nothing like Amarillo, Texas! It was a boring drive but uneventful is good and the weather has been great enough to allow us to eat lunch outside the car to give Hana a chance to stretch her legs.
Since we got to Oklahoma City after dark, we kept Hana entertained with a bone and new toy. For a long road trip, this has been a pretty easy trip and we are looking forward to arriving at my parents and taking a break from driving for a few days!