We're Here!

Signing off...

The big day is here. We're leaving in the morning for Pennsylvania, so I'm signing off from Texas.
Our bags are packed. Well, almost. Our stuff is in storage. Well, almost. We'll wake up early in the morning and tie up some loose ends. Another trip to the storage building. Stuff, stuff, stuff our van with all our gear and then we'll hit the road. First stop will be somewhere between Little Rock and Memphis. Second stop is the Rouse House in Tennessee. Third stop is Louiseville. It seems that Kentucky has lured our friends, one by one, so we have lots of people to see. Then we'll pull in to Reading on Wednesday, Lord willing.
Tonight marks the last night in our little house. It's a bit sad, I must admit, even with all the troubles we've had. We have so many memories here. If all goes according to plan, our house will be on the market very soon will be sold by the time we get back, Lord willing. Maybe I'll blog the details of our master plan soon.
For now, I must rest. It is super-duper late (or, rather, early) and I must be up in a few hours to finish up.
Good-bye, Texas. We will miss you!

Like I have time for this.

So, I'm a bit compulsive. Many of you know that. Well, as I packed our kitchen today I came to our spice cabinet. Some of the bottles look a little worn so I decided that I should throw some of them out. I'm also a bit cheap and I didn't want to throw them out if they were still good. So I googled "how old are my spices" (I google everything) and came up with this:

http://www.mccormick.com/content.cfm?id=11985

Maybe the coolest corner of the internet that I've discovered lately. (Keep in mind that I'm compulsive and cheap-you may not think it's a cool as I do.) All you do is type in the cryptic code on the bottom of your McCormick spice bottle and it tells you when it was manufactured.

So, today, while I should have been packing to move (we're putting our stuff in storage tomorrow), I took a few minutes and tested my spices. Now I can season our food with confidence.

Monopoly, Chick-fil-A, and Pennsylvania

Monopoly, Chick-fil-A and Pennsylvania. What do these three things have in common? I'll give you a hint: Think Reading Railroad.

Do you remember playing monopoly growing up? Do you remember the importance of getting all of the railroads? Do you remember the Reading Railroad? (Who knew it was pronounced Red-ding? Not me.) Well, it turns out that there is a Chick-fil-A in the Berkshire Mall in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania. Wyomissing is a suburb of Reading, a larger town with a historic railroad.

Where am I going with this? I'm not sure. . . so I'll just tell you our big news. WE'RE MOVING TO PENNSYLVANIA!!! Well, only for four months. I will be operating the Berkshire Mall Chick-fil-A in Wyomissing, PA from September 1 through the end of the year.

We will be having a limited time special from September until the new year - If you come all the way from Texas to see me I will buy you a free chicken sandwich. Oh, and the picture on the right is the actual Berkshire Mall unit. Take the train and we'll see you there. (Dan and Kelli, can you smell the irony?)

Jake's First Step

Yesterday was a fun day. I came home from work a little early so we decided to give the kids some one-on-one time with us. Erin took Anna Kate to the restaurant of her choice (Jason's Deli) and I took Max and Jake to the eatery of Max's choice (Burger King, I always seem to get gypped on that deal). Well, the boys got home quite a bit earlier than the girls because we decided to get ice cream from the store for dessert and eat it at home. When I was putting the ice cream in the freezer Jake crawled over to me, pulled up on my leg, and then let go. I walked away and had enough time to get Max's attention to show him that Jake was standing all alone. He lasted maybe five or six seconds before he realized what he was doing, forgot he didn't know how to do that, and fell down.

When Erin got home I told her about this and we got the video camera out to see if he would do it again. We got a bigger surprise than just standing alone, he took his first step and we caught it on tape.

Jake loves balls (or "daaaaugh", which is clearly different from "Da", or Daddy). You get to see this on the tape also. Watch what Jake does after Anna Kate pounds him with a ball to the face. Pretty funny.

Hope you enjoy. Hooray Video!!!

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Just Another Afternoon at the Gerlt House

Ever wonder what happens at the Gerlt House? Probably not, but we're going to show you anyways.

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