Sweet Summer Time

To say this was the easiest move ever would be an understatement. Moving to a place we love surrounded by our friend family has been nothing short of joy-filled.

The fourth of July consisted of FIVE parties, all in the neighborhood so we made every one!

Mandatory first purchase - pool loungers

Before our truck arrived, we had the McDaniel family visit. I LOVED all the girl energy in our house.

Zoey remembered all her Parkie friends and is perhaps the happiest to have our pool again 

Doing Vegas things with the McDaniel fam

It really felt like Vegas getting to hug up on Angie when she made a last minute trip. Her family means so much to us and we miss them being in the neighborhood, but love seeing how happy they are in Tennessee. 

Backstreet Boys at the Sphere!

Cortney made sure we were decked out with 90s charm necklaces and matching bracelets.  This was such a fun group and an amazing night!

I really hope Cortney can make it out to visit again soon, and maybe with Benson and the triplets next time!

Our backyard paradise 

Cozy movie night - Cuddle Puddle!

Daniel and I have different ways of unpacking. I start a box and finish a box. Daniel does not. Together, we have nearly completed the unpacking!

Our turtle laid eggs!

We've been pup sitting and Zoey has been loving it

The boys have been great about helping pick up after the pups

And giving them lots of attention 

Zoey may not play like she used to, but she still loves a new toy

We have absolutely loved our summer. From Epic Universe and all of Universal, to soccer camp and hangouts with all of our Fayetteville friends, to an adventure and memory packed cross-country trip, to landing HOME in Vegas. With school around the corner, we are excited to see what lies ahead.

Alexander is looking forward to being in a classroom with a rock collection, dirt and sand collection, and a class tarantula named Rose. His teacher is a mom of 8, grandmother of 12, and loves science, higher order thinking, and the Lord. They got along so well, his 30 min assessment took nearly an hour and a half as they got to know each other and Alexander explored the room. I tried to warn her that he is an active boy and sometimes needs space so he doesn't disrupt others. She was quick to let me know she is not worried about that and loves bright, active students. Oh my heart!

Nikolai walked out of his kindergarten assessment exclaiming,  "Kindergarten is going to be AWESOME!" His teacher exudes a love for her craft and her students. I met her in May when I came to see the school and was immediately drawn to her energy. As a mom of three boys (and one girl) I know my all-boy Niko will not be an anomaly in her heart.

We are in a good spot and so happy to be here!

Road Trippin'

We made the most out of our cross country move, taking over three weeks and making countless core memories along the way

Jan did the drive to Atlanta with us, and has now been a part of every cross country move the Crew has made. We didn't snap a picture, but we braved torrential downpours the entire drive after leaving late in the day. We made it safe and began our adventures early the next day!

Our first stop, naturally, was Atlanta. We spent nearly two weeks soaking up cousin time and catching up with my college roomies

My boys love their Daisy girl so much

Gammie made sure she got her water aerobics in no matter where we were!

We had a great time at Jessica's pool while Jan was house sitting.

Thank you, Jessica, for letting us crash!

In the fall of 1983, my mom and both her siblings all had babies. Now these babies have babies, and these cousins are quite the group!

My sweet Thenor

Roomie hang number one. Love my Weston!

Weston, Shorna, and my babies!

Daisy put Niko down for a story and a nap. She was just the slightest bit stern, telling him only teachers touch the book! 😍

Roomie hang number 2! Petty and I had the best time catching up just the two of us. It always feels like absolutely no time has passed when we get together.

While I went out with Petty, Craig and Heidi did fondue and homemade ice cream with the boys

Craig burned energy and taught the boys who's boss!

Joy

Love this little lady so much

Roomie hang number 3

Rachel's schedule is impossible to keep up with. I am so grateful she always makes time for us to catch up!

Heidi helped the three of us get glammed up before we continued on our way

From Atlanta, we headed to Huntsville

Niko aspires to be a space engineer and Alexander has a love of math and science, so this was a great stop on our trip. I was amazed with how much time the boys took actually reading and learning at each part of the museum.

We found Barney Fife at the Space Center!

Look out, universe, future astronauts coming your way!

From Huntsville, we headed to Tulsa to visit Ryan and Mary. Along the way, we stopped in Little Rock and explored the Ozark National Forest

We may not have found the exact trail we were seeking, but we found a path and started exploring

The trail through the forest was beautiful!

Niko found a small path that led us to a beautiful waterfall

Alexander taking on the weight of the world

We made it to Tulsa!

Papa joined us in Tulsa where we made the most of four days all together

We ahd a blast at the children's museum. Here, they're crafting a BMX course, careful to make sure it can be ridden successfully

Outside of our VRBO, we witnessed a crazy car fire.

Thankfully, no one was hurt, but it got pretty heated.

We said goodbye and hit the road, taking Papa with us

We took a bit of a detour to visit the Bandera Volcano and Ice Cave in Arizona

It was hot on the path, and cold in the cave

We saw lava tubes, and evidence of the Pueblo settling the area

It was a great energy burn for our longest driving day

The cave stays at freezing temperatures year round, with an ice floor that measures over 20 feet deep

You can see nearly 30 volcanoes from the trail. We counted nearly twenty. It got really hot, and started thundering. This made Zoey and Niko a bit nervous, so we cut our hike a little short. This was such a cool adventure that I'm so glad we found! It was so isolated, I thought we might be the only guests they saw all month, and yet when we got there, there were lots of people joining us, even a young couple from Switzerland!

The landscape started to change as we made our way West

We made the obligatory stop in Amarillo at the Big Texan

No one took on the 72oz steak challenge, but Alexander did eat his entire sirloin and half of mine! He might be ready for the challenge in a few years.

We made it to Las Vegas!

What a trip it was. So much fun, friends, and family, Niko said he didn't want the road trip to end.

We drove in on July first and were immediately embraced by our Parkies.

Our first three weeks in Las Vegas deserves it's own blog. Moving is hard, but we are so blessed to have moved somewhere that feels like HOME!