Aebleskiver and bacon for breakfast. I usually cook bacon in the oven (on a cookie sheet, 15-20 minutes at 400F, turn once) but when we took it out it wasn’t quite crispy enough. I rhetorically asked Deborah if she knew any tricks for crisping bacon up, and she said, “Just stick the whole plate in the microwave for a minute.” It worked like a charm.

Is 10am too early for a popsicle? Nah.

Then we ran some errands, but I have no photographic evidence of those so you’ll have to take my word for it.

Lunch at Chick-Fil-A, which was something we did all the time with our playgroup friends in Maryland. It was nice to continue the tradition and to eat waffle fries again. This photo makes me laugh because I moved just before the timer took the picture and it looks like I am doing a robot dance. That is especially funny if you know me in real life because I can’t dance.

We stopped at a mountaintop amphitheater to take in the view and enjoy the breeze. The kids climbed all over the stairs and stage and even did an impromptu concert featuring “Jesus Loves Me” and the A-B-C song.

We tried to get the kids to pose in front of some flowers, but they wouldn’t. So Deborah and I posed instead.

As Annalie would say, there’s nothing better than playing in the pool on a hot summer day! The kids had fun anyway. Deborah and I spent much of the time refereeing arguments and saying things like, “Walk please, don’t run!” and “You’re in the pool, you have to expect you’re gonna get splashed. Just splash him back next time!” and “I said DON’T throw water in your sister’s face!” Good times.

Christian (Deborah’s husband) called to ask if we could be ready to leave in half an hour. We said sure, no problem. Then we spent the next 30 minutes rushing madly around, packing and cleaning up the kitchen and Annalie’s bedroom and loading the vehicles with suitcases and bags and still-damp children. Christian drove their SUV and enjoyed the peace and quiet. Deborah and I took the kids in the minivan. Five hours on the road in a minivan with two preschoolers and a toddler who skipped her nap: REAL good times. At least Deborah and I had lots of time to chat in between handing out snacks and asking the kids to stop screaming.

That’s all for now, folks! Thank you and good night.

It was late when I remembered that I had not taken my self-portrait, so I ducked into my aunt’s bathroom to take a quick shot of myself being surprised at the time on my nonexistent watch.

The day this was taken, Thursday, was the day Troy had to go back to work. So it was also the day I packed up the hotel room, loaded all our stuff and the cats into the minivan, and drove up to the little town where my mom and Annalie were staying with my Aunt Julie. It was definitely easier doing all the house-hunting stuff without Annalie, because she would have been bored out of her mind much of the time, but we missed her. I was happy to see her again.

I keep intending to write a more detailed post about our road trip across the country, but life is happening and I don’t think I’ll ever get to it. So here are some photos.

Annalie making faces.

Gumball gazing wistfully at downtown Nashville. Sorry, kitty, no time for playing tourist on this trip.

Annalie telling Heather about her owie.

(Troy took this one.)

A really grainy photo of me and Heather, because I forgot to check the settings on my camera. Doh!

(My mom took this one.)

Annalie & B outside taco Cabana after lunch with our friends in Dallas.

Day 4 on the road.

5 & Diner, where we had dinner with friends in Phoenix.

We drove by our old house in Tempe to show Annalie where she lived for her first year of life. She was all, “Oh yeah, I remember this place!”

Our noble pilot.

Sunset in California, on the I-10 between Blythe and Indio.

More photos waiting for your clicks in my photoset Moving from Maryland to California on Flickr. (There are quite a few in this one that are friends & family only, so if you want to see the ones of Annalie’s playgroup friend B in Dallas, or our friends Arika & Kristi and their baby boy, add me as a contact and shoot me an email so I know who you are, and I’ll add you. Or you can email me asking for a guest pass if you’re not on Flickr and I’ll gladly send you one.)

I made this OMSH monster on our cross-country trip, intending to bestow this gift in person, but it wasn’t quite finished when we got together in Dallas.

Happy birthday, Heather! I hope you forgive me for walking all over your intellectual copyright yet again. I’ll get Lil’ OMSH in the mail as soon as I can get to a post office. Just doing my part to extend your birthday a little.