Anderson Adventures: We're here!

After flying solo for 29 days with three babes under three (plus a neurotic pup), orchestrating a 734-mile military move, and executing said move, we finally made it to Patuxent River, Maryland! I am thrilled to report that the kids did AMAZING during the car trip and I am still pretty sane (though bone tired!). The pup, however, was an entirely different story.

To help with the move, my dad flew in from Minneapolis to Jax to help me make the drive. In a stroke of pure genius, I decided that we should break up the 12-hour drive into two days rather than break-necking it in one. Dad's flight got in late in the evening and since it was already a good 45-minute drive north of our Jax house, I decided that it was best to simply keep driving northward. I had Scout on the maximum dosage of his tranquilizers. For the 3 hours that we drove after picking up Grandpa Tong, it appeared that the meds seemed to be doing its job...not knocking him out, but just taking the edge off. Then we stopped at a roadside motel. We got one room with 2 full size beds. The plan was have Audriana sleep with me in one bed, Haakon with Grandpa in the other and Espen in the pack and play. Unfortunately, Audriana had other plans.

We stopped to sleep at 10:30. Espen fell asleep promptly since it was well past his usual bedtime. Haakon fell asleep at around 11:15....in bed with me. Scout was passed out, happy that we were no longer in a moving vehicle. Audriana was still jumping around in my bed. Espen then woke up for a midnight snack. He then falls asleep in bed with us. Audriana was still jumping around. Then I hear the light snores of Grandpa Tong. Finally, at 3:30AM, Audriana falls asleep, arms and legs wrapped around my stomach as if hanging on for dear life. Five-thirty rolls around and the alarm goes off. And we set charge for the final leg of the trip to our new home.

According to my calculations, the second and last leg of our trip should take us no more than 10 hours, including extended stops for all the kids. Since the motel offered a rather elaborate sit-down breakfast, we thought that it would be good to get the kids fully fed and then hit the road. The kids ate that breakfast like it was their last meal. It seemed like the perfect beginning to our trip. Scout had other plans.

Hour 2 of the trip required a lengthy pit stop to make sure that Scout could do his business (since he refused to do it before we left the motel). Hour 4, Scout manages to paw at the kennel door enough that he's got it opening inward. And because he is so neurotic, he manages to get his collar hooked onto the door so that every time he would move, his collar would tighten more and more...essentially choking himself. So we made another lengthy pit stop to ensure that he was ok and walked him around even more. The collar comes off. Hour 6, Scout manages to open his door and crawl out of his kennel. He then proceeds to jump on Audriana as we are traveling down the freeway at 75 miles per hour. So, we are all in the Yukon and I have my two-year old daughter screaming because her 75 lbs. pup is trying to sit on her lap. I can't get a good grip on him because we took his collar off two hours earlier. And yet another stop. Finally, 14 hours after leaving the motel, we make it to Scout's hotel. Hallelujah! Never was I happier than when I saw that dog boarding place.

The next morning, we drove to our new house and did the walk through. We LOVE our new house and the neighborhood. Lots of kiddos our kids' age. The house is really comfy and roomy for our family. Once we get settled in, I'll post pics. Until then, please enjoy the newest pics of from our first Halloween as Little Bo Peep and the three little sheep and the kids around the house.

SPECIAL THANK YOUs: The kids have the most AMAZING grandparents ever! Shout out goes to Grandpa Tong for his amazing patience with me and the kids (though, mostly with me) during our car trip! I know I was sort of a crabby monster and not fun to be around, so thanks for not jumping ship (or rather, car) and staying for the long haul....good thing, I have cute kids :) Huge thanks to Grandma Kris and Grandpa Byron for their trip shortly thereafter. And extra special thank you to Grandma Charey and Grandma Kris for helping me put together the kids' Halloween costumes. They were the hit of the neighborhood!