Cross Country Chronicles - Part 2 (aka Van IN the Car)

...aka "Van IN the Car."  That was for my former Charleston office mate, Dana.  :)

So here is where we have been since Flagstaff, Arizona.


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Day Three.  Mile 545.  Winslow, Arizona.   Justin was adamant about stopping by the Meteor Crater.  He remembered visiting it as a kid almost 20 years ago and wanted me and Charlotte to also "experience the impact."  :)  That motto totally makes me chuckle.  The Meteor Crater is allegedly the world's best preserved meteorite impact site in the world, spawning almost a mile wide. 

I can't even tell you how many of these signs we saw on our drive from Flagstaff.

A view of the crater.  550 feet deep and about a mile wide.

We took a look around some of the outdoor observation decks.  I think that I was more weary of the heights than Charlotte was. 

Justin and Charlotte climbing to the top observation deck.

A daddy-daughter photo from the top.

Day Three Continued.  Mile 640.  Puerco, Arizona.  Anything called a "national park" always peaks our interest.  So we took a slight detour off Interstate 40 and drove along a stunning 26-mile scenic drive through the Petrified Forest National Park. 

This area used to be littered with petrified wood that ancestral Puebloan people would use as stone tools and as building material.  However, during the 1800s and early 1900s, people began to steal the petrified wood as souvenirs and cart it away by the tons.  This catalyzed the government to intervene and establish the national park in 1906.  

The landscape is so desolate in places yet so stunning at the same time.  

View of Jasper Forest.  This landscape used to be filled with petrified wood.

The Painted Desert.  Seriously stunning.

And thankfully, the park had a few short hiking trails.  The perfect excuse to stretch our legs.

Day Three Continued.  Mile 552.  Continental Divide, New Mexico.  I won't lie.  I really didn't know what the Continental Divide was.  But since it warranted a special marking in my atlas, I insisted that we take a look.  Thankfully, there was a nice little explanation on the marker.  :)

Day Three and Day Four.  Mile 665.  Albuquerque, New Mexico.  By the time we settled into our hotel room and ate dinner, the sun had already set.  However, we somehow rallied and made it out to the Old Town Plaza.  Most of the shops were closed by the time we arrived (and the sun was long gone), but there was a lovely live band playing the gazeboo.  I kindove felt like I in an episode of Gilmore Girls for a few moments.  But Charlotte had a great time running around the park and dancing in circles.

The next morning, we had breakfast with some of my crafty friends (Misty, Monica, Stephanie, and Erica) while feasting on delicious breakfast burritos and some ridiculously good hash browns at Golden Pride.  It was such a treat to finally meet these amazing women in real life.  They are super talented scrapbookers/ crafters and devoted moms who somehow seamlessly manage to juggle it all.  They might not know it, but I was frantically taking mental notes on how to take care of Charlotte as a SAHM/ WAHM.

Day Four Continued.  Mile 956.  Amarillo, Texas.  Let me confirm that there really is nothing between Albuquerque and Amarillo, Texas.  We saw a dinosaur museum advertised along the side of the road.  Since Charlotte was fast asleep in the back seat, however, we decided to bypass that attraction. 

We also passed a wind farm I did some diligence work on as a junior associate.  I was pretty excited at first  but even that spurt of enthusiasm was fleeting.

Amarillo itself, however, has been fine.  We replenished on some provisions and found a lovely neighborhood park for Charlotte.  We also ate some delicious bbq at Rudy's Country Store and BBQ.  It's a Texas chain with delicious beef brisket and the most tender smoked turkey.

And in case you're wondering how Charlotte is doing during these long drives.  Here's a photo of her in the backseat. 

She is watching Curious George.  Judge me.  I dare you.  Then you sit in a car with her screaming like a banshee and let's see what you do.  :)

Tomorrow, we head off to Oklahoma City!

Cross Country Chronicles - Part 1

Here's an overview of where we've been so far...


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We left San Diego dark and early on Tuesday morning, as planned.  It took Charlotte a while to fall back asleep as we made our way to Arizona.  While driving along Interstate 8, we saw the sun rise.

Day One.  Mile 173.  Yuma, Arizona.  We briefly stopped in Yuma for some breakfast and park time for Charlotte.  While at a gas station, I got this shot of Charlotte in the back of the car.  Let me just say that our SUV is fully loaded.

Day One Continued.  Mile 369.  Scottsdale, Arizona.  Despite being exhausted, we somehow rallied and made the 3 pm tour of Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West.

This was our first ever visit to any of the Wright homes and it was really interesting.  The home actually reminded me a lot of my old college dorm, Morse College, with the Arizona boulders tumbled in with concrete.

The structure of the home was built by combining boulders with concrete and other river rocks.

Wright called this "organic architecture."  We Morsels affectionately called it "peanut brittle architecture."  :)  Regardless, I think I was most shocked by how well behaved Charlotte was despite the 100 plus degree heat. 

Day Two.  Mile 465.  Sedona, Arizona.  One of our main stops for the day was Red Rock State Park.  It is a stunning area with some short hikes and breathtaking views of the Sedona landscape.

While the temperature was still close to unbearable, we were able to eek in a very short walk around the visitor center.  I think Charlotte was the cutest little hiker in the entire park.

We also briefly stopped at Oak Creek Canyon for some beautiful views.

Day Two Continued.  Mile 505.  Flagstaff, Arizona.  As many of you know, Charlotte was born in Flagstaff almost two years ago.  So a visit to this gorgeous town would not be complete without bringing some cookies and sweets to the amazing doctors, nurse practitioners and nurses at the Special Care Nursery.  They took such amazing care of Charlotte during her first two weeks of life and will always have an amazingly special place in our heart.  Thankfully, a number of people who actually took care of Charlotte were in the hospital today and remembered us as soon as we walked in the door.  Lots of love, hugs and laughs were exchanged.  Happy Day.

And in case you missed it, the Introduction to the Cross Country Chronicles can be found here. 

Tomorrow morning, we head to Albuquerque, New Mexico!! 

Cross Country Chronicles - The Introduction

It's nearly one am in the morning.  I'm sitting in the kitchen and all I hear is the low and constant humming of the refrigerator.  Justin and Charlotte are fast asleep.  The hallway is still littered with bags, suitcases and boxes.  We are supposed to be on the road in three hours.

Today officially begins our cross country adventure.  Twelve days.  Thirteen cities.  Well over 2,500 miles. Below is a map showing our overall plan.  We'll see how it goes.  In the meantime...

You stay classy, San Diego.


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You Say Goodbye. I Say Hello.

As I begin to type this, our family only has 28 hours left in San Diego before we "hit the road" and head out east.  These past few days have been filled with farewells from family and friends.  It's a bit odd to say good bye when I honestly think that we may return before anyone notices that we were gone.  But I also know that the Navy tends to change plans unexpectedly so saying good bye just in case is never a bad idea. 

Here are a few photos from our many farewells this past week...

Justin and his co-workers at Basic for his Hail and Farewell.

TV Tuesday Mommy Group out for dessert and coffee at Extraordinary Desserts.

In front of my sister's house during a Nguyen family BBQ.

Spending time with the Smiths before we leave.

Uncle Adam teaching Charlotte how to climb the steps in the backyard before dinner.

Charlotte and Mason having one last play date.

Mason clearly can make my little girl laugh.  :)

Watching fireworks after the Nguyen party.  My big brother claims he ordered the fireworks just for us.  Riiiiiiiight...

Fireworks over Qualcomm Stadium.

There are just so many people we will miss when we leave.  But like I said before, we'll be back before you even have a chance to miss us.  

::knock on wood:: 

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Did Charlotte Say?

 
Charlotte had her last speech therapy session (at least in San Diego) this past Thursday.  Our sessions began at the beginning of August.  Two times a week.  Thirty minutes each session.  But even for that short period of time, we could see such an amazing impact on Charlotte's ability to communicate both through sign language and actual words.

One of Charlotte's favorite learning tools at therapy was an altered Eric Carle book.  It's such an easy and simple idea that can be applied to almost any board book.  I wanted to share how we made Charlotte's book (in case anyone was interested).

I started with a copy of a Brown Bear, Brown Bear by Eric Carle.

Next, I color copied the last page of the book which conveniently includes perfectly sized smaller images of ALL the animals mentioned in the story. 

I laminated this page using a super cheap laminating machine from Costco for about $20.  While the lamintor isn't strong enough to laminate cardstock, it laminates computer paper pretty easily.

I then cut out the individual animal shapes from the laminated sheet.

Using sticky back velcro dots, I adhered the laminated images to the applicable board book page. 

Viola!  You now have a custom made activity book that has endless uses.  When we read Brown Bear, Brown Bear, we ask Charlotte to "take off" and "put on" the little laminated animals.  We have Charlotte match the laminated animals to the book pictures.  We use the little animals as flash cards for words and animal sounds.  It has quickly become one of Charlotte's favorite toys.

And since I think these photos are pretty cute, here are some shots from Charlotte's last speech therapy session with Ms. Ashely.

I am beyond grateful for the therapists that worked with Charlotte every week and who taught us so many techniques to help Charlotte in her language development.  I'm sure it will only be a matter of time before she won't stop talking (just like her mommy).