SCHOOL HAS STARTED

School started this week. Yeah for mom and kids! The kids are enjoying it so far. Very different more kids which means more adults (chiefs) directing traffic at schools both parental, auto and student traffic. Zachary and Morgan have made friends right away. Zachary was bummed when he saw he only had PE half of a semester not realizing all students have that. I have most everything done doctors, dentist, school paperwork finished and other normal relocation check list completed. It's amazing how much paperwork goes into relocating. I was a bit overwhelmed but did it so far but sure I've missed something. Yesterday we had a our first down poor for about 15 minutes the kids were all running through the rain and came in dripping. We have some really nice neighbors here in the Corporate Housing that are in pretty much the same situation with a house on the market and just moved in waiting for their home to sale before purchasing so I know we aren't alone in this transition. I think half of this town has been through this type of situation. We found out a lot about shipping our Kona (our dog) to us a huge Thank you Mom for watching and loving her. Animals can't ship cargo until all airports weather is under 85 degrees and the hard part is all the connector flights I've seen are through Dallas, Vegas, Arizona which makes the wait longer the airlines told me to call back in the Fall. Although United has a direct flight from San Fran to Charlotte so that may be our ticket to getting her here faster. She is going in for surgery to close her ears (to many infections) sounds familiar for our family. Zachary has his next hearing test this Friday he is not hearing again in his right ear. Looks like we'll be on surgery number eight with him or look at other options of reconstuctive ear surgery, I keep praying he'll grow out of this but no luck yet. Anyways, we are all doing well. Keep watching for more updates Pre-School will be next week. All our love to everyone.

Settling into Life in NC

Well we have been getting adjusted to NC. It's been Hot here and record breaking at that from what everyone is saying. It isn't as bad as I thought, just miss the delta night breezes. The humidity is not as wet as I thought so if this is as worst as it gets I think I will be fine. The first week we have been getting to know the area running back and forth to the stores when we realize we don't have certain items for cooking. Morgan is excited we have two malls very close and we can get to most everything without driving the highways. We had to get the school supplies so Zach is planning out his decoration of photos of California friends to put inside his locker then Morgan is doing the same with her binder. I enrolled the kids into school this week and looks like they should be fine but I'm sure a huge culture shock on the environment it is very traditional and all about academics not so much about field trips. Morgan will attend Torrence Creek Elementary and Zachary is going to Bradley Middle School. Torrance Creek has five fifth grade classes. Zach liked the gym (larger than El Caminos and he liked the seperate cafeteria) it's all about food and sports can you tell. He will be in all the Honors classes and has band as an elective and modern dance. Has put in an interest for a few clubs not yet knowing which one he will get. Tryouts for tackle football at the school begin after school starts I did enroll him in a Basketball and Morgan in Volleyball and Soccer. Bradley is the last one to find a school but I may have found one today. Mark center had it's Grand Opening and everything went beautifully and not a glich! It was also his birthday yesterday so we celebrated as a family. All is well in NC but this time change we aren't sure about with trying to keep in touch with friends and family. The kids are loving the webcam and instant messaging. Love to all of you. Yvonne

We've Arrived!

First, I had hoped to summerize our trip daily but some things from technical disadvantages and then when we had some technical time the sleep ended up being cherished along this trip when we would arrive at the hotels in the evenings to upload the photos. I hope this helps summerize our journey.

It hit home that I had left our home in California while in Nauvoo when I read a saying from a journal entry of Bathsheba Smith, "My last act in that precious spot was tidy the room, sweep the floor, and set the broom in its accustomed place behind the door. Then with emotions in my heart... I gently closed the door and faced an unknown future ....(boy that sums up how hard it was leaving as I swelled with tears) and I knew with her faith I could make it to North Carolina in our Ford! That entry will forever be marked in my soul!

We arrived August 1st at 8:00pm. Over 4000K miles and a lot of Hotels and restuarants (oh yeah! a lot of photo stops). We had a great time and actually had not to many problems with the kids, kuddos to them sitting in that back seat tightly! I think having stretched the trip into 14 days helped out a great deal. They were so excited to see what the next hotel or stop had in store. Learned a lot along the way! Just a summary

California-Nevada-Cried/Refected on our memories while reading our photo album

Utah took a deep breath relaxed and repacked to lighten the load

Jackson Hole - Tourist trap but fun!

Yellowstone - A very large park with so much to see

Cody Wyoming-No elevators in the Hotels in the whole town (2nd Floor, sorry Mark)

Keystone, SD - A wonderful free county we have here in America!

Omaha, NE - A very long drive from Keystone with nothing in between (here we did loose a great neighbor Cecil) what was amazing we had zero reception but managed to get that one phone call at that particular time just to be informed of his passing)

Nauvoo, IL - A very lovely place with very rich history (learned a ton)

St. Louis - The arch is a National Park for some reason Mark and I never knew that part of History! Same gifts in the gift center just a different names on them. This day was a bit hard with some health concerns for our dog Kona whom we left behind to fly out later she has to have surgery on ears and tumor will know more in the morning about if she'll be joining us!

Nashville, TN - A fun place to visit but pretty hot that day!

Knoxville, TN - Lots of kids (Junior Track and Field Olympic going on)

North Carolina - A beautiful state with trees galore! Will take some time to get use to living here!

Thank you to all that helped support us off on this new venture in our lives, we have cried many tears some even tonight as the kids realize they miss family and friends. It's settling in that this is our home but California will always be our roots of memories we created with all of our love ones and friends. We look forward to keeping in touch and hearing from all of you. I have to say it is a bit strange though only here a day not having someone walking into our home or the phone ringing off the hook! Love to all!!!!!!!! The Howder Family

More to write later. It's 1:37 am on the 3rd I guess!

Our Update

Due to technical issues we were unable to access our blog until tonight. Intermittent signals in the bad lands! Here are some photos of our trip so far. It's a bit late tonight. We will be journaling more details soon! Love to all! All is well with us! Enjoying the trip so far. We have a beautiful country! Sorry no photos of leaving California and through Nevada(to busy crying)!

Beginning of July Update

Well we are currently done with fixing things in the house (cross our fingers) and getting it ready for sale. The sign is up and home is listed on the web. We have spent some time with family and kids are dying to spend more time with their friends (little do they know there is never enough time to spend with friends we love). We will be home from the 4th of July through the 8th. Between scout camp, friends birthday parties and Mark and myself heading to Charlotte the 9th-13th we don't have many days left here in Sacramento. We are wrapping up the loose ends and getting all the doctor appointments current. So much detail to do with relocation a family but I think we've done pretty good for our first move being out of state. We are still physically staying at our home camping in the family room and garage (Mark is looking forward to his next business trip to have a actual bed). Thanks for all the information and advise I have received from friends and family. We will miss all our family, friends, California coastline and mountain views and weather. Although, we've been reading a lot about the Carolina's and there is a lot of beauty there to experience and still within a two hour drive to coast or mountains. Still no address to forward mail but we will be staying in corporate housing until the sale of our home. School there starts on the 28th of August.

BOXES ARE PACKED

Well it's real! Our home is packed and ready to load in the morning. It's so sad and the kids are starting to feel the reality. Bradley is walking around the house lost and mad about his toys missing. He doesn't quite get the whole thing just keeps saying, "but this is our house and I want my toys and bike to stay here! As I cry feeling his pain. We have about 300 plus boxes in the house and garage, wish our driver well as he takes everything across country. In reality all we really care about are the sentimental items pictures, home videos and kids memories. I am going to Carolina on complete FAITH! I'm starting to feel like it's not our home it's become a house. We have learned a lot about moving across country and know we have a lot to purge on the other side. I'll be unpacking for most of the year I'm sure!

TRIP BOOKED

Well things are wrapping up! We have three last days and school is over! Yippy and boy do I mean Yippy! Mark and I sat down last night and booked our trip back east. We look forward to visiting as many as we will see before we leave. Time is the hard part. The challenging part will be fitting everything and everyone into our schedule this summer while struggling to wrap up some of the kids events before we depart. We will be staying in Elko (NV), Bountiful (UT), Jackson Hole (WY), Yellowstone (MT), Cody(WY), Keystone (SD), Omaha (NE), Nauvoo (IL), St. Louis (MO), Nashville (TN), Knoxville (TN) and then on into Charlotte. Arriving about the 1st or 2nd of August so Mark can prepare for his Grand Opening in Charlotte on Monday August 6th. School there starts on August 27th. We still have no address there and it looks like we will be staying in Furnished Corporate Housing for a month or two until we finalize a home. Timing is everything! I think all of us are going through mixed emotions but trying to get everything done so many small things that need to be done that take huge efforts. We will be working on keeping this updated via others computers. Look for more information later! Love to all

Last nights performance for Zach and Morgan. They performed at "Blaze the Trail" and event for local stroke victims. They did a great job and everyone loved it. Thank you Rene for inviting them to perform.

Here is some information on our move we will be making the next month. As of today we are having our home packed up on June 11-13 and loaded on the trucks June 14 -15. House will then be empty to do final touches to it before it goes on the market. We will be physically here until July 18th. Then we will be off to Carolina for a new adventure.