Leaving AZ to LA and finally made it to San Diego

Well, we made it!!
It's been a long, awesome and unforgettable trip across the country with 3 kids under the age of 4. The boys watched more movies on the iPad than I care to admit but it preserved our collective sanity for the 12 day trek.
Seeing family, meeting cousins for the first time, and spending a lot of quality time together had been a blessing.
We left the south side of the sun also known as lake Havasau early in the morning and got to Jennifer and Daniel 's house around 2 on Tuesday. The boys promptly put on their swim suits and spend the rest of the day swimming. We all got to have some great time together. Jenn's dad, my uncle john is there too and it was great having 3 generations together and introducing everyone to little Wallace! Poor baby somehow got sunburn on his arm despite our best efforts at the Grand Canyon. Winston 'found' a pair of scissors and decided he didn't like the hair in his eyes. He gave himself a little trim and thankfully only cut his hair. He looks pretty funny now and will have much shorter hair all over pretty soon. frown emoticon

We again had a nice breakfast with the family before piling in the car one more time this morning. A quick 2 and a half hours later we are at Costco buying 500 dollars worth of 'essentials' for the house. We picked up the keys and made it to our new home for the first time.
The house is great, it has an open layout and a great backyard. It needs some TLC as it's been empty for. Awhile but should be a great house for the next year.
Our stuff gets delivered tomorrow and I check into the Cg unit on Friday for my last day till October of putting on a uniform!
We've had a blast but are ready to stay put for a few weeks!

Winston before we left Lake Havasau. Little sunburn under his eyes!

When I moved out to California for "A" school this section of the Interstate starts where I-40 begins was under construction. Had to make an obligatory stop here this time!

Baby Ace and Daniel Poolside

Baby Ace and Jen chilling together. 

Leaving Grand Canyon to Lake Havasau

Hey Winston, what did you like better, the Grand Canyon or the painted desert?
W- painted desert
Jenn- why?
W- because I could watch 'despicable me!'

I think he's had enough of traveling and after being homeless for almost 5 weeks I think I understand. The Grand Canyon was great. The boys were awe struck when we first stopped but overwhelmed by the 3rd or 4th scenic overlook. We got some great pictures and had fun. The boys are a little too young though to go on hikes or any of the other fun stuff you can do there. Oh well, there's always next time.
Jennifer finally found a necklace she liked and bought it at one of the road side stands on our way up there.
After the Grand Canyon tour we went to Williams AZ for lunch on Route 66. It was fun and Jenn got to eat some pie she had been craving since stopping there with her dad 8 years ago.
We made it to lake havasau which we picked as a reachable place that appeared to be nice. One of my friends Sean posted pics there a few weeks ago and it looked like Fun! We however had no idea that the temperature would be 110 for the time we were there! The Hampton inn was great as always and the outdoor pool was crucial. It wasn't too bad in the pool and unbelievably Wes was shivering when he was out of the water. If he didn't eat all day you would think we were starving the little guy!
We are now on our way to Burbank to see my cousin and uncle john! Wednesday we get the keys to our new home!
Frankly I think we all just want a place to leave our toothbrush for more than a day at a time!

Great Wolf Lodge and Seeing the Oklahoma Greenwoods

What's in Amarillo? 
No idea. Apparently a nice sky and more importantly time to catch up on our cross country adventure. 
St. Louis is my favorite so far. Amazing day and hotel. I'm sure Winston will say Kansas City although we just drove through it. 
We left wed morning for Kansas City so we could be at our next hotel for a 1:00 check in. Jennifer found a great wolf lodge along our route and figured wed give it a try. I had seen posts from Denton and other high school friends about how much fun it is for families. 
We had Winston at indoor water park. 
It did not disappoint. While I thought it was a little pricey for one night it was excellent for kids. They had a blast. It's an indoor water park with other amenities that are extra and happens to have a hotel attached. Great concept but felt like bass pro shops wanted to make a Disney land hotel. Don't get me wrong I liked it and the boys loved every minute of it. Since we were in the water pretty much the entire time we didn't get too many pictures. 
Thursday we left after a little time in the water park to drive to Tulsa. The drive was great as we were off the interstate and felt like we saw southern Kansas and northern Oklahoma. Beautiful countryside that reminded a lot of the piedmont of NC. Rolling hills, farmland and little mom and pop stores... But more wide open and less trees maybe. 
If you ever need to navigate in unfamiliar areas trust the waze app. It is great for this trip. 
We arrived in Tulsa to see my great aunt and greenwood cousins with a great welcome. It was great to see Pamela and Nate and everyone else. We truly did plan to come that far north just to see them and had a great time. 
Winston loved playing with his cousin max and uncle Tim, aunt ann and aunt Pamela were great hosts. Thank you all!
While we wanted to stay longer the baby was sleepy and cranky. We left with heavy hearts knowing we would kiss our distant family but resolved to visit again. 
Our next stop was for Jennifer to see the Oklahoma City memorial. She thought she would just walk in see and and walk out. 
I knew better having seen it 12 years ago. 
She took Winston in and was truly moved. 
We pushed through and Jenn kept the boys happy long enough to make to Amarillo Texas. Next stop 
Sante Fe!