Yep, We Made It!!!!

We arrived here in Rancho Cucamonga, CA yesterday afternoon around 1pm PST. What an incredibly LONG trip but we made it save and sound with God's protection the whole way. Most days were 8 - 9 hours of driving and we were grateful for the pools at the end of those days!!!

Thank you, thank you, thank you to all who were praying for us! It was truly a blessing knowing that we were being lifted up every mile of the way. :)

Now we wait for the 'PODS' to arrive (sometime tomorrow) and then we can get underway! :)

Kevin starts tomorrow morning at 8am and is looking forward to something new. He of course, is somewhat nervous walking into a new office and all but I know he will do very well.

Well, off to collect the laundry from the complex laudromat. Have a wonderful evening.

And We Are On Our Way!!! So Far...

Man alive!!! Life has gone crazy on us. Right now, breathing is first and foremost in our minds!! and yes, we are breathing!

As you all know, or you do NOW, we are moving to California!! And DRIVING across the USA!!

My 40th Birthday was spent getting all the last minute details taken care of before we left on Saturday, the 8th. We got a late start on Saturday but made it through to Hartford, Connecticut.

Here it is in pictures:


Yep! It all fit in our little truck! I mean, what we were taking with us that wasn't shipped! :) Yes Troy -- it ALL fit!


Saying 'Goodbye' to Portland, Maine.


The Connecticut State Capitol Buildings in Hartford - the view from our hotel room.


Washington, D.C. At the Lincoln Memorial. Very inspiring!


View from the top of the Lincoln Memorial looking out over the Reflecting Pool and onto the Washington Monument.


The Vietnam War Memorial.


The World War II Memorial.


I thought this was an interesting shot.


The Korean War Memorial.


And this really big, White House! :)


What EVERY vehicle needs!! A Starbucks coffee and a GPS!


This is what we came across this morning in Charlottesville, Virginia (where we stayed last night)...just NOT the same!! Nothing like the real thing! :)


Isn't this GREAT?!?! I love it!!! I was ready to ask him to share the 'wealth'!


We drove through all kinds of weather today but this is what greeted us as we drove into Nashville, Tennessee tonight.


If you look closely, you can see both rainbows. Pretty nice welcome.

And now off to bed! Everyone's asleep but me!! Now it's MY turn!!

Thank you for all your prayers and thoughts! We are definitely counting our blessings as we travel across this country. We are blessed beyond measure!

I haven't FORGOTTEN about this!!

Nope! I remember EVERYDAY when I log on to the internet that I haven't posted for awhile. :)

We are relaxing right now as we house / dog sit and then into the crazy packing phase!!

Enjoy the rest of the weekend!!

Grade 4 Celebration! Class of 2017!!

Where does the time go? It seems like yesterday that Chelsie was this little, tiny thing that had changed our lives forever! and now, she's moving on up to Middle School!!

Yesterday, the Grade 4 classes at Pond Cove School celebrated their 'moving up'. After the celebration, the parent's association had a yearbook made of all the Grade 4's (122 of them!) with a baby picture and a current picture along with their favorite memory of school and then their future aspirations. The entire Grade 4 wing was a 'buzz' of activity with everyone trying to get their yearbook signed.

We are so proud of everything that Chelsie has accomplished this past year! She is now working at almost a Grade 6 math level (thanks to Sylvan!) and she is working up the ranks in Karate!


Chelsie (second from the left) with some of her classmates.

Way to go Chelsie!!! We love you!!

We Said 'Hi' to Nemo and the Gang!

Off we went to the New England Aquarium in Boston today. What a great place! One of the many things on our list of things to do in New England. It's actually a rescue center as well for sick sea life and they even have a 'critical care' center! Who knew? But it's all used for teaching and educating those of us that don't know much about the ocean. Grandma Gwen came with us too as we wrap up her month long visit this week!




Checking out all the different sea life.


Mommy and Alex waiting for the Imax movie at the aquarium to start.


Having dinner at the 'Cheers' restaurant at Faneuil Hall after the aquarium.

Good times and good memories!

Happy Memorial Day!

A beautiful day for the Memorial Day Parade here in South Portland. We headed down to Broadway Street to watch and wave flags.





After the parade, we went over to the Murphy-Swinbourne's for a barbeque. Good times, good food and good friends.

The kids are back to school tomorrow and Mom and I continue on our shopping quest. :)

Oh Yeah Baby!!

Big day around here!!

Chelsie and Alex both received their Gold Belts on Karate tonight. WOOHOO!


Here they are with Shihan Andy.

Before we went to the Belt Ceremony, we went to McDonald's and Alex not only asked for but ATE chicken nuggets!!!!! For a boy that doesn't eat meat, this was an historic day!! :)

We are making progress. It's a good day!

She's BACK!

Yep, Grandma Gwen landed last night and off we go! Nothing too much today but shopping is definitely in the works. :)

Kevin flies to Dallas on Sunday for a week and then Mom leaves for Nova Scotia when Kevin gets back! All these travellers! Me, I just keep everybody fed and clothed! :)

Have a great weekend!

Ok, Ok, We are Back!

Yes, we made it back home safe and sound last week. THIS week just FLEW by! Why does that happen more often as the Spring and Summer arrive? My theory - we lasted through another Maine winter!!!!!!!!!

As promised, here are some of the pictures from Quebec City and then our fun stop at Ben and Jerry's Factory in Waterbury, Vermont.


Chateau Frontenac - a HUGE building. Lots of history here and the views from this vantage point were impressive. I had to keep reminding myself that we were looking down onto the St. Lawrence River - not the Atlantic Ocean. :)


From the other side!


One of the entrances into the walled city itself. Quebec City is the last city with a wall around the original footings in North America. Mexico is the closest place that has a walled city.


Taking a break from all the stairs we were climbing!


Montmorency Falls - just over 100 feet taller than Niagara Falls. And only about 12 miles from Quebec City.


And from the top looking OVER!


Here we are! Kevin, Janine, Chelsie and Alex. You can see the falls to Kev's - his left - side.


These murals were throughout the city. Any blank, concrete wall looks to be fair game. The artwork was incredible.


This is St. Anne de Beaupre Cathedral. This church was beautiful, the workmanship and artistry were breath taking. We actually arrived while a service was going on, so we sat in the back and observed. Mind you, we couldn't understand anything as it was all in French, but it was very neat to be in there at that time.


All tuckered out!


I wasn't allowed to take pictures in the Ben & Jerry's Factory, but I got these in the 'Tasting Room' once the tour was done. It's a Chelsie and Alex shake and then a Family shake!! :)



And this next one sums it all up!



We brought home some really cute B&J's ice cream bowls. Needless to say, they have been put to good use already!

Where's MY SPOON??!? :)

And, We're OFF!

So, getting out of bed and getting everything together always takes more time than expected. BUT...we are off to Quebec City, Montreal and then Burlington, Vermont. :) Spring Break - got to LOVE it!!

Don't worry, I'll be taking lots of pictures!

Spring is here...I can HEAR it!!

THIS is what we hear every night...ALL night! :) The frogs - known as Spring Peepers - and the Ducks are all 'happy'.

When we first moved here, it was so loud that it would keep us awake but now it's part of the ambiance. :)

Now, the Sicada's - that's another noise to get used to! When they show up, I'll attach a recording of them.

Special Olympics Swim Meet

Friday was the Cumberland County Special Olympics Swim Meet. All special olympians from the entire county come and participate. All ages! It's fun to watch and cheer on EVERYBODY! and it doesn't matter what 'place' you come in - everyone receives a ribbon! I love it!


Alex wasn't too sure about going into the pool this year. There were a lot of people who came to watch and it was loud and echoic in the pool area. But perseverance paid off (thanks Betsy and Rhonda!) and in he went!



Alex swimming in the 15 Meter 'Freestyle'. He placed 5th in this race. He swam the 25 Meter 'Freestyle' and placed 3rd. The aid that swims with Alex every Friday during the school year commented that this was the FIRST time he swam the full length on the pool without any assistance! Wow!! Nice work Alex!



Chelsie came to cheer Alex on but his events were finished before she could get to the pool. So she took his ribbons back to her classroom to show off how he had done! :)

Alex and Baker

Here he is!



Alex LOVES going horseback riding!! This is such a neat part of the Occupational/Physical Therapy through school.

Today was the last lesson, so the parents were allowed to go and watch. Alex saw me and wanted me to leave! So, I 'said' goodbye and hid in the viewing room so I could see him. I gave my camera to Dave (one of the teachers) to get a couple pictures so I could show all of you! The director of the center even commented how well he did this year. :) That's our boy!!

Maple Sunday

We went on another 'Maine' adventure yesterday. Maple Sunday is a day when the Maple Syrup Farms open their doors to the public. We got to see the collection process, then the boiling process and then the finished product. What beats sampling maple syrup over vanilla ice cream? Nothing!!! Yummy!!

Here is the 'old' way of tapping trees.
And the 'new' way.

This is a vacuum system, where all the trees are tapped with these blue tubes and then fed into a central line which collects in the blue drum. Very interesting.

The farm we went to - Coopers Royal Heritage Farm in Windham, Maine - is also a Christmas Tree farm, Bovine farm and Miniature Horse farm. They had Peacocks and a LARGE Ostrich too. We enjoyed ourselves walking around, trying to avoid the mud puddles :), checking everything out. The snow is melting quickly, which made for some tricky walking. Especially for Alex. He loves to be in and ON the snow but Mommy and Daddy had to make sure it was 'shallow' enough for him! Never a dull moment.



I love this picture!! If you double click on the picture itself, it will enlarge on your screen. Look at the detail of this peacock feather! Isn't that awesome???!!! Wow! Something else to marvel of God's creation!!

Hope you have a great day!

The Big '4-0'!!

There he is...the birthday boy!! So far, he has fared well today! He's still alive! Yeah!! :)

Yesterday, our sitter (Liz) came over and Kevin and I enjoyed an afternoon relaxing at the spa and then going out for dinner. There are quite a few interesting restaurants here in Portland. It was nice to hang out together and not worry about things at home. Liz is always great with the kids.

Tonight we had dinner here with the kids and cake, of COURSE!!!



Thanks for all the cards and calls.

Here's to another 40 Kev!

P.S. Happy 13th Anniversary to Wen and Phil!

My Kids Are Amazing!!

Today was 'Stripe Testing' at Karate. Both Chelsie and Alex got their first stripe!!! (That's the black stripe on their white belts.) YEAH!!!!
Alex tested by himself and he did great! Then Chelsie tested with a couple other kids and she blew them all away!!!

We are having FUN!! And watching them strive and achieve the goals set out, is AWESOME!! I am one proud Momma!