livin' large in Southern California

Over 1000 miles, one speeding ticket, half a case of orange Fanta (love you guys!) and way too many renditions of "Way Up High" in the backseat squeezed between a chatty two year old and a cute 9 month old with two dogs immediately behind me... but we've made it here safe and in one piece.

We arrived Sunday afternoon after three days on the road. The kids were fantastic and did very well both in the SUV and in hotels, but every day feels even longer than the last and we were all very happy to be done with it. Upon arrival at the house, we were immediately greeted by several of the neighbors. It was a nice welcome and we were happy to see several young families with dogs on the street. Thomas made a new friend, 4 year old Shayne (girl), minutes after we arrived.

M had a good first day at his new job today. It's been a few years since he's worked in a corporate environment but I have a feeling he'll really enjoy it once he gets going. His office is a short 3 miles away from where we are staying.

And the house we are in? Amazing. All four of our kids are really enjoying it. The kitchen is a dream, M loves the 3 car garage and travertine floors, Thomas loves his bedroom and the lever handles and the light switches and the walk-in pantry and running up and down the stairs, Meredith is also enjoying having her own bedroom (she's sleeping better than ever which we are attributing to the quiet house and surroundings) and the dogs are loving carpet in the bedrooms and on the stairs. If the yard was larger and we had a million dollars, this might be a good house for us. We're just two short (but hilly!) miles from the beach with ocean views. It's really quite spectacular and this city is even more beautiful than I had imagined.

It's going to be awhile before we are settled in, but we are slowly finding places to shop, eat, area parks, the post office, the library and, of course, the beach itself. We've been here since Sunday afternoon and we still haven't felt the sand between our toes. Crazy, eh? There's just so much to figure out and do first -- like Internet service at the house which can't happen soon enough!

Speaking of which, I totally goofed during this move and canceled our Internet service before forwarding e-mails to my other account, making notes of everyone's e-mail address... you get the picture. Grrrr. I don't know anyone's e-mail address so shoot me one at my gmail account -- MyFirstnameMyLastnameATgmail.com -- so I'll have yours. :)