June bug crawls!

Good morning Texas, goodbye California

We made it to El Paso last night! We are officially in Texas. It has been a whirlwind month. The boys are worn out :)

This spring Luke and I decided we were ready to say goodbye to beautiful Silicon Valley. We had taken our time making the decision, because we love California and our neighbors, but ultimately we wanted to own a house while our children are young. I wanted the freedom to make our own decisions about how to use the space, to have pets, to modify the rooms and land in a way that makes little ones feel welcome. And I wanted a little more privacy. We looked in SV, but weren't interested in any of the homes in our price range. (That area is la-la-land when it comes to real estate. It's la-la about a lot of things, actually, but I love most of it.)

Luke's career comes with this excellent perk that he can work remotely. We can live anywhere! There were a few hours we dreamed about an Indonesian island home. There was a long stretch we thought about traveling for a year, but that's a lot of logistics with a 0, 2, and 4 year old. We considered moving just outside SV so Luke could commute in as needed. But in the end, the idea of being near family was our best.

My sister and her family are Navy (they left California this week, too, on a big adventure!), so we'll catch time near them as we can. My parents are in San Antonio(though maybe moving), and the Wagner homestead is in Fort Worth. So one month ago we flew to DFW, found a house, made an offer. This week we closed on it, sold a car (while Karen and Daniel watched the 4 cousins), packed a U-Haul, and now we're driving. Whew/woo!

We watched the 4th of July fireworks from I-5 on our way to LA. We cooled off in Phoenix at the coolest lazy river resort. The boys loved the lightning storms on I-10 but June hated them. We said hi to cousins, recharged at an Aunt and Uncle's, and are about to say hi to both great grandmas before driving the last few hundred miles to our new home. All 4 of our parents are going to be there this week!

Let the (next) Texas years begin!

2 sleepy babies

"Hey cous, how come we're napping in these things all the time these days?"
"My parents are boxing up everything in the house."
"My parents decided we don't need a house!"

Wagners mooooooo-ve to Texas on Friday and the Hogues are vagabonding for a year!

3 little pilots

At Hiller Aviation Museum in San Mateo

4 cousins (and 4 grown ups) feed a rabbit

Here's another snapshot of this wild, happy, unposed life! Welcome to the wonderful, baby Cooper. We Wagners wuved wandering awound with you yesterday. And your dad grills a good burger.

Cooking

This morning I found 2 bouillon cubes unwrapped and placed carefully on the stove burners. ?!?

Wildflowers

This year's wildflower picture with the California Poppies next our California poopies.