Leavin' Las Vegas!!!

Well, we did it! We recieved a call on Wednesday, June 21st at 12:00 pm offering Matt a job in Houston. Thursday was Kayleigh's last day at school. Here are some pictures of her with her teacher, Mrs. Rochelle, classmates and friends from school. They were all so nice, and even bought her some going-away presents.

Madison, Kayleigh & Victoria

After 2 exhausting days of packing, and several freak incidents... Like accidentally locking the keys in the Uhaul, by Saturday morning, with lots of help from friends and family, we had packed up our entire home, and hit the road.

We stopped in Laughlin for Gas and a short break before traveling through Arizona and into New Mexico. We were a little nervous because we have a plasma screen TV, and apparently, they design the gas chambers in them to withstand certain elevations. Ours is set to go no higher then 5,000 feet above sea level. In New Mexico, we hit 6,000 feet. We have not yet pulled the TV out to check it yet. Thank God for Moving Insurance!!!

When we crossed the Texas State line, we were greeted by a friendly local.

OK, so it was only Kayleigh's stuffed Armadillo, but he's cute anyway!!! Crossing the boarder, we immediately began seeing oil pumps. I had NO idea how many of them there are here, particularly in West Texas. Terry and Barbara (Matt's Cousin and his wife) says here in Texas, if you have a oil pump on your property, they call it "Mailbox Money."

Even more amazing, is the farther south you travel, the more lush and colorful it becomes. Many people have told us that driving in Texas is boring. We did not agree... There are Wild flowers everywhere - even in places you wouldn't expect to see them.

Here are some more pictures we took along the way!

Kayleigh & I somewhere between Dallas and Houston.

Matt in the band new Uhaul - with only 2200 miles on it when we got it!

Cowgirl Kayle!

Father's Day

For Father's Day, it was 103 degrees in Las Vegas. We took advantage of the heat and had a water balloon fight. We also got Matt an electric scooter similar to Kayleigh's! The two of them had races, and we had a great time!

My Travels

Since I only just started Blogging, I'm way behind on documenting my travels. I'm going to try to get caught up right here and now, then keep up as I go.

In September of last year, I started working for a company called "CoreMatrix." This is a great company! The people are wonderful, and we get to telecommute, which seriously... totally rocks. I don't think I could ever go back to an office environment again. With CoreMatrix, I get the opportunity to travel to different client locations and help them with implementing Salesforce.com. In some cases, I might travel just to do training sessions.

Here's a list of all the cities I've been to since November of last year:

SanDiego, CA
Pasedena, CA
Tampa, FL (Twice)
Orlando, FL (4 times)
Nashville, TN (Twice)
Altoona, PA (Twice... unfortunately)
New York, NY
Trenton, NJ
Newark, NJ
Denver, CO (Twice)
Dallas, TX (3 times)
Livingston, NJ
Chicago, IL (4 times)
St. Louis, MO (I got to see Steve, Jeff, Kelly, Jeremy & Cameron!)
Houston, TX (Twice - once at Christmas)

On my last trip to IL, I was able to see Steve, Sara, Chan, Dave, Ellison, Rebecca, Pam, Ray & Rachael. I had an awesome time! Thanks Chan and Dave for putting me up (again), and picking me up from the airport and taking me to the train the next morning. I need to get some pictures put in of Chan and Dave and Ellison.




After my training class downtown, I took the train out to Pam's house, and Ray and Rachael picked me up - thanks guys! We hung out and did Nerd things, then went for Indian food. Pam and Rachael took me to the airport, and I think it was one of the most fun rides I've ever had! Turns out, Rachael is an avid country music fan! We totally jammed in the car, and had a blast! Here's a picture I took with Rachael. It's a little disturbing how much we look a like! Lucky Kid.... HA! HA! HA!



When you add up all my travel, it equals a lot of time away from my family, but I've been fortunate to have mostly good travel experiences, I get to see friends and family along the way, and I get to buy them dinner! Stay tuned for my next trip - who knows where I'll be!

Father/Daughter Breakfast

Matt and Kayleigh went for a special Breakfast at her school on Friday for Father's day.

More Pictures from a Busy Week!

We celebrated Kayleigh's Birthday as a family on Tuesday. Here is a photo of Kayleigh and I together just before she made her wish.

Gareth and Irma

Gareth called from Itally to wish Kayleigh a Happy Birthday! He sent me some wonderful pictures he's taken over the past few months. I am pasting in the descriptions he gave me from each photo. These photos are amazing!!!



IRMA AND I SEE EACH OTHER FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 8 MONTHS (THIS WHEN I CAME BACK FROM AFGHANISTAN THIS LAST TIME).




THIS WAS AT THE END OF LAST AUG THE ELEVATION WAS WAS ABOUT 8400 FT ABOVE SEA LEVEL WE STAYED ON THE TOP OF THIS MOUNTAIN AND SPYED OF THE ENEMY FOR 5 DAYS AND 5 NIGHTS.




THIS MYSELF AND ONE OF MY SOLDIERS AFTER WE INTERVIEWED FOR AN APPT AS AN AVIATION WARRENT OFFICER THEY LIKED WHAT WE HAD TO SAY SO THEY GAVE US AN IN DEPTH TOUR OF THE AH-64 APACHE ATTACK HELICOPTER.




IRMA AND I AT WORMS HEAD IN WALES VERY BEAUTIFUL




IRMA AND I IN GREECE WE HAD LUCH ON THIS BEACH WHILE WE WERE VISITING HER FAMILY THIS IS ABOUT 2HRS AWAY FROM ATHENS THE WATER WAS SO CLEAN AND CLEAR.

You can reach Gareth and Irma on email at: ingburkinshaw@yahoo.com . He had an exciting story to tell too! He's turned into an avid cyclist. A couple weeks ago, he was on a 105 mile ride and was hit by a car in the 97th mile! Luckily he did not break any bones, but did get a serious case of road rash and whiplash. It was great to talk to them. He's applied for flight school in Alabama. I hope he gets there!!!

Birthday Weekend!

This weekend we celebrated Matt, Brady and Kayleigh's Birthdays. Kayleigh had two girls over on Friday night for a sleep over, and we even got to have Brady for a little while. We all went to the movies and saw Cars - highly reccommended! The next morning we had cinnamon rolls and Kayleigh opened her presents. Here's a picture of her on her new electric scooter. She's REALLY good on it!


After she opened her presents we all went to Skymania, which is a warehouse with a trampoline floor! It was a blast! We played dodge ball and did flips, and were all very tired afterwards. From there we went to Matt's sister's house to swim and have pizza and cake. Kayleigh and her friend Kaley (yeah... i know) both passed out in the truck on the way home. It was a great weekend!

Bye Bye Lancer!

Well, exactly one week after we listed it, my car was sold! We had to sell it to prepare for the move to Texas, but it was still VERY strange. Cleaning it out... not having my own car... YIKES! Not having a car payment... (feeling better) Matt has to take me to the airport whenever I travel now... (I like that!) OK! I'm over it!

My First Blog

Here We Are!!!

I'm posting my first blog ever, and I'm an I.T. Chick!!! I'm way behind the 8 ball on this one! Thanks for the tip Sara! Love ya and Miss you guys soooo much!