More Photos from Cross Country Drive

Ok, these things are all out of order.....sorry about that!

Skye and Jax standing in front of the flying car from Harry Poter and the Chamber of Secrets
Josh, Skye and Jax at a baseball game in Baltimore....

Justice, Branson, jaxon and Skye at the u-pick in maryland.....

I have to say, that for the most part, it was not a bad drive from Texas to Maryland. Did we have a few hiccups? Of course! Like the first day when Skye had a hot chocolate from Starbucks that didn't sit well. I think she finally lost it somewhere in Arkansas. That was something that enforced my belief that children don't appreciate their mothers! Skye was talking to one of the Grandparents about it and kept saying how awesome her dad was for pulling over the car in time. Of course I was the one standing next to her, wiping down her legs with baby wipes a making sure her hair was out of her face. (think splash back) No thanks for me though. (sigh)

Day two wasn't as exciting. I think the highlight was a gas station in Tennessee that had a plethora of bongs for sale. I do mean a plethora!

We arrived in Maryland on Friday and, after saying hello to Grammy and Grand pop, Josh and I left for the Urgent Care Clinic where I was diagonsed with a kidney infection. It was quite a bad one that lasted the entire visit. I missed the Oriels game and the trip to the Inner Harbor. I managed to get up for the kids to a u-pick and to change Skyes hair from pink to purple. The hard part was that Jason and Liz had brought the boys - Justice and Branson - up for a visit. I hated missing spending more time with them. Skye and Jax hadn't seen their cousins in 4 years but you couldn't tell it. They all get along really well.

Jason, Liz and the boys left on Tuesday and we wrapped up our visit on Friday. It was really hard for Grammy to say goodbye to us, but we know that there is a German visit in our future!

Enjoy the pics of our trip.

The Cross Country Drive

The pictures are a little out of order so bear with me.

Here is the family at the Oriels game. from closest to farest - Jason,Skye,Jax,Justice,Branson, and Shelly (our cousin)

The hotel in Tennessee. It had only been open for 4 days. They didn't say they didn't allow pets, but we smuggled them in anyways. I mean - really - it had only been open fo 4 days. The puppies spot in the car.

The Tomchesson Family Bag Drag

Josh had an awesome idea to practice moving with all our luggage. He wanted to make sure we had thinned it out enough that we could move quickly and efficiently through the airport. The children were warned that they would be in charge of their bags and backpacks as well as a dog apiece. SO, Josh had the kids take everything out into the parking lot of Mimi's apartment and RUN as quickly as possible to the other end. It went pretty well. Skye claimed we were trying to kill her, but she survived. I think that we should be able to move easily through the airports. If not, I am sure I will post it here..........

Visiting Abilene

We came to Abilene to visit a little bit with Mimi before the move. On our first night in town, Mimi took a tumble and skinned up her arm pretty good. We went to a couple of doctors appointments on Monday and she checked out just fine.

On Tuesday, we decided to go to Frontier Texas. It is a local museum that highlights the ways of life over 100 years on the Texas Frontier. The kids really enjoyed the displays. It was all very high tech.

We learned about the hardships for not only the native Indians, but the white settlers and soldiers as well. Here are a few pictures from inside the exhibits......

After visiting Frontier Texas, we went to another museum that showed the different steps in creating pop up books. It was an interesting, educational experience......(They would not allow cameras)

If you are in Abilene, check both exhibits out!
It is going to be more than difficult to leave Mimi behind. We are looking forward to having her move in with us when we come back. (She has ALMOST agreed to it!!!!!!)

Block Party

I would like to say a big thank you to all our friends on the block for having a BBQ on the 4th of July. Hilda and Robert, Sharon and Brian, Patti and Jose, Robert and Julie, DJ and Eric, Jennifer and Steve and the new comers Kathy and her friend. It may have been 1000 degrees, but it was still a great time. We will miss everyone until they come and visit.......

Packing

We didn't really ever believe that moving day would arrive and then all of a sudden it was here. They spread it out over three days which probably could have been done in two. Packing, tagging and then loading. It went pretty well until loading day. They only sent three fellas out to load us. They didn't send anyone to wrap us. (when going overseas, they wrap everything in paper...EVERYTHING) The loaders left the warehouse at 9 am but didn't arrive at our house until 11 am. The also didn't send enough crates. We finished up around 7:30 that evening. That isn't too bad considering it all. It was only disheartening because we had all these wonderful amenities at our hotel - free drinks, swimming, hot hoers derv's - and we didn't get to enjoy any of them. Maybe while we are on the road...........

Josh says good bye

Poor pitiful Josh. He had to say good bye to his baby - aka his jeep, a few weeks ago. It is on it's way to Germany in hopes that it will arrive BEFORE we do!

Unfortunately, after we dropped his car off, the throttle body went out on my car. The picture is of my hubby getting a rental car. Well, at least it broke stateside!

Skye's Promotion Ceremony

Four days after Jared graduated, Skye had a promotion ceremony at her school. She looked so beautiful and grown up! (You can't see it in the picture, but she was rocking black converse that had hot pink laces covered in skulls!) She was awarded the Academic Excellence Award for having an over all A average. It was an awesome ceremony that - interestingly - lasted 2 1/2 hours. I had to laugh that it took so much longer than Jared's! Afterwards, we went back to Skye's classroom for pictures and goodbyes. It was hard for her knowing all of her friends would be together next year and she wasn't going to be. BUT - she put on a very brave face. She knows that we should be back just in time to start her freshman year. (we are hoping to move into the same area so they can go to high school with their friends)

Jared's Graduation

Jared graduated from Jourdanton HS this June. He was one of the eight NHS members, on the Principal's list and was awarded for academic excellence. It was a really nice ceremony but unusually brief. (It lasted all of 45 minutes!) He plans on attending UTSA for his freshman year as well as continuing to coach at the Texas Cheer Academy. His future goals include applying to some out of state universities (ie - Hawaii) and getting his bachelor's in kinesiology.

Happy Birthday Skye Girl...........................................

For the third year in a row, rain has been in the forecast for Easter. That kinda bites for the rabbit but it helped keep our tradition of the Easter Basket maze! For anyone who is new to this, it is really simple. The Easter Bunny takes an Easter Basket and hides it somewhere in the house. A ball of yarn is tied to the basket handle and then the yarn is strung through the house to create a maze. The other end of the yarn is tied to your child's bed or doorknob depending on how light a sleeper the child is. The level of difficulty depends on the age of the child and the length of the yarn. It adds a whole new level to the Easter Basket thing. The kids were up at 6 and ready to find the baskets. After the maze, there were eggs to be found. Skye and Jax both did really well. We are confident that by now, all the eggs have been located!

Jaxon turns 9

Jaxon turned nine yesterday. We talked to him to find out what his wishes were. He had 2 choices. 1. Have a party with tons of friends or 2. have all the money spent on him instead. He likes presents, so he opted for choice 2. We still had the neighborhood kids over for cake and a little singing. It was low key but tons of fun.

A little military news

We have officially received orders to Geilenkirchen Germany! We will be moving in July. I know that our families are both saddened and excited by the news. Just think of it as a three year adventure. Then, hopefully, we will be back in Texas.

Cruise 2009

It has been almost a full month since our cruise which means it is time to make a post! We had an awesome time and recommend this trip to anyone. I will say that Carnival has the best kids program! our children were rarely with us! They preferred to hang with their friends.

We left Galveston on March 8th, headed to Montego Bay. Josh and I had been there in 1993 (YIKES!!!) and we were interested to see how much it had changed. We chose to do a Dolphin Encounter and then climb the falls at Dunn's River. It was about a 2 hour ride by "bus" to get there. I had to bum a bag for Jaxon about 15 minutes into the ride. 1. The roads were super twisty. 2. We all know he has trouble in moving vehicles. He held it together though and we made it to our destination just fine. The Dolphin Encounter was really neat. Our dolphin was named Mitch and we were only inches from him in the water. They talked about dolphin basics - hearing, swimming and all that jazz. We also got to give Mitch a big smooch. (those pictures are packed away right now) After spending time in the water, we were allowed to roam the grounds and see the other wildlife as well as have lunch before heading off to the falls.

The falls had changed so much since our last visit. Dunn's River Falls has to be one of the most breathtaking places on Earth. All of us really enjoyed the climb. It so counted as our exercise for the week! Once we got to the top, the kids begged to do it again which wasn't in the time schedule so we trooped back to the bus to head back to the ship. That evening was the first of two formal nights. We got all gussied up and went to dinner in our best attire. The kids looked so amazing. Really grown up!

The next day we landed in Grand Cayman. Our excursion was to Boatswain Park. If you are ever in Grand Cayman, please go here! This is the islands turtle hatchery. We got to see tons of green sea turtles ranging from the smallest little tea saucer sized turtle to a 600 pound behemoth! They gave lots of information on the preservation of sea turtles. After the turtle talk, we headed over to the salt water lagoon. We have 2 children who have never snorkeled before. For that matter, I hadn't ever snorkeled before! I figured this was the best way to do it. A controlled environment where Skye and Jaxon could freak out if they wanted to and we could safely reassure them nothing was going to get them.

I went in first. To be very honest, it took me a few minutes to get used to the whole breathing through a tube thing. (Give me a break. My favorite movie is JAWS) I got myself under control and Skye and headed out into the lagoon. Josh had a little more trouble getting Jaxon into and comfortable with the water. After about 10 minutes, he was great. There were some man made reef's built and they had stocked the lagoon with salt water fish. All in all, it was a good way to introduce the kids to a new sport. If we head to an island again, snorkeling will be on our to do list. We spent a good portion of the day at the park and then headed back towards the dock for a little shopping. My favorite item is my heart pendant made of black coral. It is a Bernard Passman piece and hopefully only go up in value. The kids favorite items were shirts from Del Sol. They change color in the sun!

The next morning found us in Cozumel.(We were the 5th ship to dock that morning!) What a beautiful little island! We had kind of a lazy day there. I figured after 2 days of getting wet in the water, the best thing to do would be a submarine ride. We headed off the boat for some shopping before our tour began. Everyone is very friendly in Cozumel, but not pushy like we had encountered in Jamaica. Skye got a hand made bracelet with her name in Spanish - Cielo. Jaxon opted for a wrestler's mask. LOL! After grabbing a quick bite at the Three Amigos, we headed to the sub. It was a neat experience but one that is great being done only once in your lifetime. (It was interesting to see all the underwater life while staying dry!) I have to give a lot of credit to those men and women who choose sub life as a career. We had a really nice, relaxing day.

We had one more day at sea and then it was back to Galveston. I strongly recommend this type of vacation if you have tween kids. There was a lot of things to do for both adults and kids and everyone had something they really enjoyed.

Cozumel from our balcony.Coming up to the Atlantis Submarine.Skye and looking out of the portal.The underwater view.Going back to the ship. We were on the Conquest.Family photo....

The kiddos outside Carlos and Charlies in Cozumel. Street performer. He really looked like a statue! I wonder how long it takes to remove that make up?!Jaxon chillin' at the Three Amigo'sSkye at the Three Amigo's
Drinks being served at the Three Amigos.

My beautiful babies on formal night. Josh and I on formal night.

Moonlight on the water. how romantic!

Jamaica

Waiting for our excursions.

Josh and his little friend.

Lunch of jerk chicken. Dunn's River FallsVery beautiful and not really cold. The kids loved it and wanted to climb the falls again.

Evening in Jamaica.
Jamaican sunset.

Josh says "About Time"

Just wanted to show off my new SS Card.........

I finally changed my name. I figured after 16 years, I could get around to swaping everything over. Now we can file our taxes under one name. WOOHO

Family Fun Day Monday

We did a joint Family Fun day this President's Day. We went downtown with the O Family (Brian, Sharon, Josh and Ian) and saw Ripleys Odditorium, The Wax Museum, Rainforest Cafe and ended with the Mirror Maze.

Ripley's was awesome as usual. There were two attractions that all of us really liked. First was the Titanic section. They had a container of freezing water and the challenge was to see how long you could keep your hand submerged. Brian lasted a whole 14 seconds. It is amazing to think people stayed in that water for hours. The second thing was an illusion tunnel. (Unfortunately it doesn't transfer to film well.) So basically it is a tunnel that spins with a walk way through it. Of course they add black lights and crazy paint for affect. It was impossible to walk through it straight. I think we all stayed there for about 10 minutes. We just kept going back through. Brian thinks it would be an awesome Halloween project. I think we may have to try that. Of course there were other cool things to see there, but I won't drone on.

Next we wandered over to the wax museum. The young lady at the ticket counter was having a stellar day. Let's just say that "friendly" wasn't in he vocabulary, so of course I had to make a few comments. They may have been within earshot......I'm not sure. She couldn't dampen our spirits! Seeing the wax statues was really neat. Do the look like the celebrities they are supposed to represent. Nah, I don't really think so, but it was fun all the same. Somehow Sharon managed to escape a single picture in the wax museum. Shame on her!

After the museum, we were starving so went wandered over to the Rainforest Cafe. One of our favorites. It was a lot of fun and I think everyone chair danced at some point during our meal. (the beat of the music is infectious. I say that no one knows you and will never see you again so do a little seated dancing. It's good for your soul)

Last but not least, we headed to the Mirror Maze. (By this time I think Brian was pooped.) For anyone who has never done something like this before, you MUST try it! The maze was so much fun. You can really get turned around in there. It is near dark with mirrors everywhere and the illusions are insane. Even better, after you do it once, they hand you 3-D glasses and you do it all over again. It puts a whole new spin on things. I will say I walked into a mirror at least once!

So, there are a hundred pictures I could attach, but I tried to narrow it down so you all didn't get to bored. All in all, and awesome family fun day!