I love walking into a room to find Hailey doing something absolutely adorable. She is obviously gifted!

So I guess the vacation had to end. After arriving home, jet lagged, on Wednesday night, we packed up all our worldly possessions Thursday and Friday, rented and packed a 16 foot truck on Saturday, unpacked the 16 foot truck because it was too small, rented and packed a 24 foot truck that same afternoon, cleaned the place on Sunday, Jona left in the truck with the cat Sunday afternoon, and my mom, Hailey and I hit the road Monday morning. Phew, I'm pooped just writing it all! Mom, Hailey and I arrived in Nashville on Tuesday evening after and uneventful drive (everyone take a moment to thank the dear lord for portable DVD players) and we've been settling in ever since.

Mom has been more helpful that I can even put into words, from keeping Hailey occupied while we empty boxes to decorating, organizing, cleaning, and cooking. And doing all this while sleeping in our living room! We don't have couches yet, and we don't have anywhere to put the bed, so currently the guest bed IS our couch. What would this world be like without fabulous mothers?? The house is GREAT! Thankfully we have an attic for storage because we seem to have accrued a whole lot of stuff in our years together. But lets be honest here, most of it belongs to Hailey. Our backyard is huge and has already given us hours of entertainment and exercise. Hailey's room is all finished, its the only room in the house I can say that about, and it looks wonderful. She loves her own space with a door to close and ALL of her toys at her finger tips! Last night was her first time sleeping in there and she slept for 12 1/2 hours...gotta love it :)

Mom left yesterday and I'm feeling a little blue. But we sat outside last night watching Hailey in her pool that Gammy bought for her, and our neighbors came over and we hung out for awhile just talking and getting to know each other and I felt like it was a nice reminder that we will be happy here, it just takes time. I haven't even started looking for a job yet, that time will come soon enough. For now my job is getting us settled in and making this house our home. So, here we are in Nashville, decorating a new house and waiting for visitors. Come on y'all!

There's no place like home...but where is our home??

Well, our trip to Hawaii was smashing! Everyday was filled with sunshine, ocean breezes, time with people we love, fun activities, and the occasional fruity drink with an umbrella to finish the day. Really, it was terrific. We spent the first week with our friends Amanda, Bill, and Baby Lilah on Oahu. They were wonderful tour guides, and I think we were able to cover most of the island with the little girlies in tow. I am happy to report that Hailey loved Lilah, and even after we got to Maui she kept talking about the "baby". I am so happy that I got to catch up with Amanda, who though I haven't seen her in three years we had no problem getting right back into our groove. (We filled up our camera while we were there so I uploaded the pics onto Snapfish and can't get there on the blog.)

After our time with the Moores we headed over to wedding central (aka Maui). One little hop, skip, and a jump and we were there. Our condo was superb offering a nightly show of colors as the sun set over the mountains and ocean...not too shabby. We spent everyday with the Maupin family, from playing on the beach to snorkeling with the sea turtles, our time with them could not be beat. The wedding was a wonderful success with a beautiful, blushing bride and a glowing groom. And we all made it through without too many tears. Gorgeous.

While it was sad to leave paradise, we escaped pre-Flossie only to come home to the threat of Dean. Seriously Mother Nature, give us a break here. We were able to spend our vacation living the high life enjoying the joy of denial and didn't even talk about packing. But here we are, so very much to do, so little time. Our plan is to pack up the truck on Saturday and head out on Sunday afternoon. Wish is luck.

I will post again when I can, but enjoy the pictures and the green eyes of jealousy for now.