Its Official...

We have moved. Please keep up with us at

http://dandelionsinthedesert.blogspot.com/

Saying Bye For Now

This will be my final post to my Nashville Newcomers blog. Seeing as how we are no longer in Nashville, much less newcomers, it seems only appropriate to move on. I will post a link to the new blog as soon as I actually put something on it.

It seems strange to say good-bye to Nashville. It was harder than I thought to lock our front door for the last time. We made so many great friends there, had some fun adventures, and most significantly we had a child. I suppose the city of your birth will always hold meaning, Parker's birth certificate will always be from Tennessee no matter we end up. Our two years there were great, the city was welcoming, our children changed dramatically, and of course Hailey's twang will hopefully stand the test of time. But it was time for us to move on, more adventures to be had, new friends to make. Thank you Nashville for bringing us in with open arms...we will miss you but we will be sure to visit!

Packing and Playing

So, back to Nashville...

When Mom and Dad came to help us in July, they took the kids to a hotel so Jona and I could pack, pack, pack. It was the most amazingly helpful thing that anyone could do. Packing with Hailey and Parker was not easy. Hailey 'helped' by putting whatever she could find into open boxes- her dirty clothes, sippy cups full of juice, snack wrappers...you get the idea. Parker 'helped' by taking things out of the boxes that I packed and dumping the then empty boxes over onto his head. And of course, he gave us the added extra assistance of learning how to crawl at full speed right before the real packing began. Thanks guys for all that you do, but I think you will have SO MUCH MORE FUN with Gammy and Grampy!

My brother, Chris, and his family came up for 4th of July weekend along with my sister Kim and her kids heading over for the festivities. So along with packing came lots of playing! After Jona left for his first drive to AZ, I moved to the hotel and we concentrated on the fun. Carly and Laney spent the summer with my parents so we were able to spend some extra time with them.

Parker went on his first carousel ride. He didn't like the idea of sitting on his own horse, but the spinning in my arms was GREAT!

Carly and Laney have grown up so much. They are two beautiful young ladies!

They were both HUGE helpers with Hailey and Parker- I miss the extra hands :)

We took them to the Aquarium Restaurant where you can touch and feed stingrays. Everyone talked a big talk before we arrived, but both the girls totally wimped out when it came to feeding time! Grampy was the only brave soul in the bunch.

We also spent our last day on Old Hickory Lake. This place was one of our favorite spots in Nashville and sitting here in 105 degree weather, I MISS IT!

These girls are just too cute.

Its weird to think that I can't just climb in the car and be there in 20 minutes. Such a great spot...see ya later Old Hickory.

She doesn't ever stop...not even for a minute

Me: "Do you remember the little girl at the mall?"

Hailey: (gesturing flamboyantly with her hands) "Oh yeah, she was totally upset and being very unpleasant to her daddy."

Me: "Did you just age a year?"

Hailey: "Mom, I remember things. And it totally bums you out."

She does remember things, a lot of things. Sadly those things rarely include what I have asked her to do or told her not to do.

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While driving to IKEA and listening to a toddler sing a long CD...

Hailey: "Mom, its Bobley Marlin singing."

Perhaps this is Bob Marley's wife, I'm not entirely sure, but there was a lovely woman singing. Stir it up little darlin', stir it up.

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And then there are conversations with Parker...

Me: "Good morning precious little man."

Parker: "Dadadadadadada."

Me: "No P. Diddy, Mamamamama."

Parker: "Dadadadadada."

Me: "Dude, just try it. Mamamamama"

Parker: "That."

Me: "MAMAMAMAMAMAMA!"

Parker: "Hailey."

Me: "Good night."

Not Even A Real Posting

Sorry guys, no internet at the house until next week. And I haven't even downloaded any of the pics I've taken. Get over it, we're busy!