Cousin Gabe gave Madeline his old scooter. She hopped right on and started scooting away! Maddy loves riding around Grandpa's big driveway.

Our New Home

Our Patio View

The Lake Out Back

Playground!

We received the keys to our new apartment last night. Our furniture will be here in a week so we will be staying with Grandma and Grandpa until it arrives.
Our apartment is in Noblesville, Indiana on Morse Reservoir. We are on the second floor and have a wonderful view from our giant wrap around deck. Out back is a nice wooded area with a stream and the big lake is just a few steps away. We have a playground inside the community and Madeline already made a new friend there last night. 

Indiana

We made it to Indiana! The drive was 1784 miles and it took me 3 days of driving to get here. We stopped each night at a hotel so Maddy and the pets could stretch out after several hours of being cooped up. Even though Grandma Anita was with us, I did all of the driving because I get car sick very easily so grandma was able to turn around and tend to Madeline and Maizey the whole way there.
Here are some of the funny highlights of our adventure across the country:

Day 2 - Snicker pooped in his cat carrier and we couldn't get to a rest stop in time so Madeline had an accident in her pants!
We got a flat tire in the middle of nowhere and had to drive on a spare for an hour

Day 3 - I was driving a little fast and got a $120 speeding ticket in Illinois!

Overall, Madeline was a very good girl and just played games and watched cartoons in between napping. Maizey pretty much slept in the back window the whole time and Snicker stared out the front of his cage and just enjoyed the ride.

The Drive

All packed!! Grandma Anita, Madeline, Snicker, Maizey and Mom!

Ready for our 1780 mile trip from Scottsdale, AZ to Noblesville, IN

We got off to a late start. We were supposed to leave for Indiana on Monday April 22 but the moving company got stuck in California delaying our departure until Tuesday. The the movers took and exceptionally long time to move our items into the truck and we did not pull out of Scottsdale until 9 pm! The first night we only drove about 75 miles then stopped at a hotel for the night.

Our second day we woke up early and got on the road by 7am. We drove a few hours at a time, stopping for potty and snack breaks. Madeline ate lots of snacks and watched cartoons on her IPad for most of the time. Madeline fell asleep when we got about 40 miles from Amarillo Texas. Then suddenly...our tire went completely flat!! We were in the middle of NOWHERE!! Luckily there was a tiny gas station right to the side of the highway and there was a mechanic there who put our spare tire on for just $11.
We then drove about 50 miles per hour for 45 minutes until we could get to a hotel in Amarillo!
We spent the night and are now on a quest for a new tire. To my surprise  my car has bigger then normal tires and 2 places so far have not had our tire size in stock!!

Snicker our cat has pretty much slept the whole way in his cage and I gave Maizey benadryl so she has been resting in the back seat. Once we get our new tire we have about 1100 miles until home. We hope this only take about 8 driving hours today and a few on Friday.

Victor

Victor moved to daddy's house yesterday and will stay here in Arizona with him. We got Victor when he was only 6 months old and we have had 8 wonderful years with him. I love Victor very much and will miss him everyday. Love you bubba!

"The Kids Next Door"

Vanessa, Madeline, Mayah, Renee, Natalie and Nate

Madeline and I really enjoyed our friendship with our next door neighbor Brook and her 5 children who Madeline always called " the kids next door".

Just spending quality time together before the big move to Indiana. Madeline, Grandma Anita, Snicker, Maizey and I will be driving my Nissan Maxima across 1718 miles to our new home in Noblesville, Indiana. We were supposed to leave this morning but our Moving Truck got delayed in California so we will head out first thing tomorrow morning. Madeline and I are looking forward to our new life there but also will always cherish all of the memories we have built in her birth state of Arizona. 

Until Next Time....

Lauren, Madeline, and Allison 

Amy and Allison

Madeline and Lauren. Age 2.5 and 3

We had a wonderful dinner with Lauren, Allison and her husband, Terry to celebrate our friendship and the times we have had together. It was very hard to say goodbye to our friends as Lauren and Allison have become a staple in our lives who we have shared many memories with over the past 3 years. We love Allie and Lauren very much and we hope to stay in touch and stay in each others lives as best as possible considering the distance there will be between us. Thanks for all the memories girls!!

Fish Store

Our moving truck is a day late so Madeline and I got to enjoy the "fish store" one last time. Bass Pro Shop in Phoenix has become one of Madeline's favorite places to go so we will miss going there to see the big fish tanks and riding in the elevators. Hopefully there is a new fish store we can find when we get home to Indiana. 

Phoenix Zoo

Madeline and I spent a long fun day at the Zoo. This would be our last trip for a while so we made sure to see all of the exhibits. Madeline got to brush the goats and see a baby cow. We also viewed the Komodo Dragons for the first time and saw a tiny spider monkey the size of a softball. Of course our day was not complete until we took a carousel ride and Maddy had a snow cone.

Mommy and Maddy

Madeline and I went to the mall today. She rode the small carousel 3 times in a row because she wanted to ride on each car. We then rode the big Carousel where we sat together on the big Carriage because Madeline said it was just like the movie Cinderella.

Music Class

Madeline has been out there watering her "flowers" for a half hour. I wondered why the weeds were growing so fast!!

Popsicles

I made a little mistake of buying Hello Kitty Popsicle's when she asked for them today. Madeline has had 6 of them today!

Madeline taught herself to turn on the hose and I keep catching her outside making puddles!

Girls Day

Lauren spent the day with Madeline and I today while her parents had a day to themselves. The girls enjoyed watching Alice in Wonderland, painting, blowing bubbles and running around. They each had a Happy Meal for lunch and were exhausted by the time Lauren went home.

New Hair Cut

It was time for another cut. I pulled out the scissors and Madeline sat very still while I cut about an inch around the bottom and trimmed her bangs. She enjoys things like hair cuts and getting her nails painted, she is a girly girl :)