Piece Thief

Meghan getting taller has brought with it its own set of challenges. Kyle has a small table on which sits his chess board so he can set up games and think about them. Meghan has now gotten tall enough that she can snatch pieces from the edge. If those elude her, she grabs the whole board and drags it off the table, scattering pieces everywhere. She then helps herself to the piece of her favorite flavor.

Garage Sailing

Today we went garage sailing. And we found quite a catch! Ever since we've moved here, we've needed a couch. Its not fun having just one lonely rocking chair to fight over. But after today we will no longer need to battle it out. Here is our new couch: Ethan Allen, good condition, $30! And there is Meghan, testing it out. We also picked up two end tables for $10. They've become the new TV stand so that we can set up the real computer instead of using the laptop to work.

It Rains in Maryland

Yes, it rains in Maryland. Meghan enjoys watching it pour down. And yes, I know my baby has no clothes except a diaper in all her pictures. However, it is rather hot here and leaving her clothes off keeps heat rash down. I could turn up the air conditioning but we're not that rich yet.

Your Attention! Your Attention Please.

Will the Real Meghan Butt Please Stand Up?

As you can see, Meghan has mastered the art of standing! She can get up in the middle of nowhere without any help. She will also walk if you hold her hands. She takes huge, long steps to go as fast as possible. In other news, her two bottom teeth have finally broken the surface!

Moving to Maryland Part 3: The Final Leg

At Tasha's we spent a refreshing weekend talking, baking pretzels and playing Blokus - a very fun strategy game. I, of course, mastered it and beat everyone thoroughly. Rio, the dog, didn't care for us that much and we had to convince Kyle not to go and try to make friends. Apparently, Kyle thinks he is invincible to take on a large barking dog who probably weighs almost as much as he does. Tasha's little girls were adorable and fun to play with, even if Naomi was terrified of us and had to be reintroduced every morning.

We left Monday morning for Maryland. Originally, I thought it was only supposed to be an eight hour drive from Tasha's to Maryland, but then we ran into some problems. The wobbling I mentioned early plagued us the whole way there. And then, the car started dying. It would just cut out suddenly and we would pull over and try, and sometimes succeed, restarting it. There we were on the interstate highway, me panicking about getting killed or stuck forever and Kyle snarling at the stupid Blazer. I thought maybe the car was tired. Kyle assured me cars don't get tired. So, the eight hour drive turned into a fourteen hour nightmare of terror and adrenaline.

Our goal at this point was to get as close as possible to Kyle's cousins, LaNita and John. They had agreed to take us in while we looked for a place to stay. Amazingly, we got very close. In fact, we made it the whole way despite getting stuck at an intersection and explaining to a policeman what was happening. I think he was laughing at our accents and Utah license plates. We met John part way at a gas station and he led us the last mile or so to his house.

I must say that John and LaNita were very generous. They loaned us a car for a bit and let us stay there a whole five days. Their house was very, very nice. It wasn't long before we found a place to live and we moved in that Saturday. Finally! The trip was over.

Getting the car fixed was a nightmare, but it was done eventually - the fuel pump had given out. Tragic. And Expensive. But its all good now.

That is the end of Moving to Maryland.

Celebrate Independence!

Here is Kyle and Meghan watching fireworks from on top of the blazer. The fireworks were only about a mile or two away. So we went to the parking lot and enjoyed the view. Kyle decided the top of the car provided a better view but since Mom is afraid of heights she chickened out after only a few minutes and had to climb down. Meghan enjoyed the fireworks and didn't even cry when the big booms reached us.

Yum Yum Nectarines!

Meghan has discovered a new favorite food! Nectarines. Her daddy let her have one taste and from then on she jealously watched if he wasn't actively feeding it to her. Once offered, she munched down, even holding it herself. But she didn't like it so much when it was cut up for her.

The Pictures Kyle DIDN'T Show You

Modern Art

Here is Meghan trying some sweet potatoes. She thought they tasted great. However, she quickly lost interest in eating and started a short lived modern art gallery. This finger-painting is titled "Untitled."

Given that we're far away, I wanted to be able to talk to all the people that we miss. So I went and got a headset for Skype, Google Talk, and MSN Messenger. Here's a shot of me Styling it.

I'm Enjoying my job. I do web stuff. My commute is pretty reasonable, just under a half hour. I live in a windowless box with three other developers. I bring lunch usually, although on Wednesdays, I go out for Thai Wednesday with the rest of the office. Tanya is so sweet, she makes my lunch in the morning. All in all, I think I'm doing well for having been on the job a short time.

Moving to Maryland Part 2: Always Exercise your Pets

Driving is hard work. So we had to get out and Kyle did a couple of jumping jacks and stretches to limber up again. We also ate a small breakfast while Meghan crawled in the damp grass and played with ants. Then it was on the road again.

Meghan quickly got tired of her car seat. She didn't mind being in it after a while, but if we tried to put her back in after a break she would start crying. She would play with toys for a short while, but was not happy that she could only get out for diaper changes and short breaks.

We passed through states as quickly as we could heading for Ohio to rest at Tasha's house. But remember that wobble? Well, Kyle just couldn't understand the idea of "go slower." My spirituality must have increased by a power of magnitude I was praying so much.

We stopped for gas in the middle of Nowhere. Apparently Fat Dogs are popular there.

As it got later we managed to reach Mormon Island. Ready for a break we parked at a camping spot and prepared to set up the tent Kyle had purchased a few weeks before for this exact purpose. Unfortunately, someone had misplaced a vital part. So, while Kyle and Meghan rested on a blanket, I got to drive around to find a Walmart where I could purchase a cheap tent. My Walmart sensing abilities are top notch because it didn't take me long even though I had to make several turns to get there. I quickly returned to camp, set up the tent and allowed Kyle and Meghan to crawl inside for a nap. We decided to camp the night there and leave in the morning. It was very refreshing.

We set out again, determined to reach Tasha's. Kyle still did the majority of the driving. So I still sat in back with Meghan. I must admit, the view was rather boring from there.
Driving through some of the states were tedious because they delighted in lowering the speed limit for tourists and truckers. That was obnoxious. But I endured. We stopped in Dutchland and saw the windmills - or rather, some small town along the way that built windmills for historical purposes. Unfortunately, either I'd gotten bored of recording, forgetful or just plain ran out of battery because we had no more pictures of the rest of the trip. .

Friday night, we arrived at Tasha's house in the middle of the night after a winding drive during which we got lost at least once. Grateful for the chance to get clean (hurray for hot water showers!) and lay down on a bed, we slept the rest of the night.

My Little Indian

While we wait for Daddy to come home, we hunt turtles. Mmmmmm, tastes good!

Moving to Maryland Part 1: Getting Started

For our Move to Maryland we decided to drive across country, towing a trailer filled with our junk. I was sure it would be an adventure. Even the UHaul that we rented said "America's Moving Adventure" so that was counted as a positive sign. I was a little nervous about whether we would fit everything into the UHaul but since we sold so much stuff at the Knorr K-norr Emporium Garage Sale there was no problems.

The actual moving part of the Move to Maryland began in the evening. We arranged to leave from Riverton (where Kyle's parents live) at night so that Meghan would sleep most of the first couple of hours. We packed our bags and said goodbye to Kyle's family. It was sad to leave but we would/will see them again.



We set out East, headed towards Wyoming. Meghan quickly fell asleep, as we predicted. As we hopped on the interstate we were confronted with our first problem - one that would stay with us the rest of the trip. As Kyle accelerated, the trailer began to wobble back and forth. This wobbling may not have been too big of a deal in a bigger car but our little Blazer started wobbling along with it. I was sure we were going to die. After a few phone calls and reassurances that wobbling trailers weren't a big deal and that we should just go slow, we rebuckled our seat belts and drove into Wyoming.


Wyoming came quickly, and with it a lovely sunrise. Kyle, being the trooper he is, did most of the driving. I stayed in the back and slept and fed Meghan as she needed. I was also in charge of documenting the event. Here are pictures from our first day.

While Kyle plays...

Kyle is currently playing chess online so I'll do a quick update. Here is Meghan standing in her crib. She has gone from scooting to crawling to using things to stand and climbing up stairs and onto boxes in one short month. Its quite a business keeping after her. She also says DaDaDa and EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Kyle enjoys his job and I love mine. Other than that, we don't do much interesting. Kyle has resurrected his chess hobby and I'm back to reading when I'm not cleaning or changing diapers.

Saying "Hi!" from Maryland

We have finally arrived in our new state, Maryland! It is very warm (and humid) and also very very green. There is lots of news to update about but as this is a public computer (no home internet yet) the update will have to wait. So here is a picture of Meghan saying hi, just to let everyone know we're alive.

Family Photo

Here is a family photo of us. Taken in our new townhouse in Maryland!

GRADUATE!!!

Here we have a mannequin posing as Kyle in his graduation cap. We've both finally graduated, but rather than pay $40 bucks each to put on a dress and piece of cardboard, sit for several hours and hear a few boring speeches, we decided to skip the ceremony and party instead. We partied Thursday with Matt, Corinna, Bruce, and Bruce. We spent the evening in the yellow room at B&B's. Corinna came over and made waffles in the morning. We left that evening for Salt Lake. Saturday we vegged with Kyle's Family binging on 6 hours of television. I think my eyeballs fried. All in all, much more fun than hearing pomp and circumstance 50 times in a weekend.

Getting Ready for Camping!

Since we're moving to Maryland, we figured we had better have some camping gear, especially a tent, so that we wouldn't be completely homeless when we arrived. So, Kyle purchased a tent to house our little family. Here is Meghan testing it out.

While Mom is away...

Kyle left these pictures on the camera to show me what Meghan does while I'm gone. And here I am wondering, where is Kyle while she's getting into all this trouble?