States in 3 weeks:

Washington
Oregon
Idaho
Utah
Wyoming
Nebraska
Kansas
Missouri
Illinois
Kentucky
Tennessee
Alabama
Mississipi
Louisiana

and as you can see the southern states out number the northwestern states (funny at work they all know me as "the lady from the northwest" and make fun of my northwest accent - which has all been completely dis-a-peir'd - one of my favorite pastimes lately is trying to understand what my husband is saying, we've both picked up the southern accent pretty quickly..he speaks real slow and I speak real fast and we fit in just perfectly and it's funny because I called a little gal at the bank the otha day and she laughed at me and said "you've only been there 3 weeks" and I said "Crystal..I knooooow! it's just plumb crazee gurl!" lol and anyway back to my point...13 states....the last 5 are definetely "southern" states and I have so far managed to avoid Okra even though they have it everywhere even at McDonalds!  Speaking of McDonalds, they serve biscuits and gravy:

and this is how they entertain kids - fah too haut to play outside:

Don and I went to dinner at our favoirite "go to" place - the Craka Berrel - for dinner the other night and we were joined by a new co-worker who had the audacity to sit down and order okra as one of his side dishes - I told him I was considering making him sit at another table for ordering that shit at mine and wuz attacked by him and the waitress and well...we might have to wear disguises next tahm we try and go in there.  I will not give in. 

Now, I waited to dern long to make a decent blaug post so I'm gonna just toss out the random pictures I took on tha trip down here that wernt posted on Facebook and we'll go frum theah...these are in no particular orda ...

The arches of St. Louis - on our way into Illinois to see my Uncle Bob and Aunt Ann and family

"Sic em on a chicken" (Zac Brown) - never in my life had I seen a chicken bus! Feathers flyin evowhere

Don taking the "train wreck" challenge in a bar/grill in Wyoming-3 pound burger with Ham, Bacon, Cheese, Lettuce, Tomato, onion on a sour dough bread bun, and steak fries -- the challenge? Eat it all in 45 minutes and it's free - he lost...cost us $24 but it was so worth watching him and laughing at him trying to get it all down - he ate just a little over 1/2.

The road I drive to work...it's b-e-a-utiful but man is it eva dahk out thar in the mornins!

Fried bologna sandwichs - my daddy would have loved this!

This was it...all we took with us....crazeee.  liberating.  I love it!

Gabe watering the bushes oat grandma's one last time LOL

Kaden had a great time playing in the dirt before we left!

Hail storm in Wyoming...this is what made it inside our motel room door

Hail ball from storm in Wyoming

"McStop"

My little cousin -Cambria - she's my cousins daughter daughter

My family in Ilinois

Don and Cambria - it was love at 1st sight for both of them!

PIGGLY WIGGLY - funny, it wasn't as amazing as I remembered it being when I got my 1st bike at the one in Kent WA

A house neare the plant where I work....actually looks pretty red-neckish but it's brilliant considering the flooding that happens here --- so I'm told --- I'm praying this is gonna be a no-flood year lol - we'll be safe where we live and well..so will these folks lol

Lightener = Creamer "back home" - any idea how weird it is to say that??

These 2 pictures are of a major thunder/lightening/rain storm taken from the balcony of our apartment

This is the street leading to our apartment

My phone at work - seriously....bwahaha!  craxcks me up!

Courtyard of our apartment bldg - the 1 br we started in is at the top right...our 2 br now is on
the bottom left - can't see it from here

 So I waited way to long in between posts - too many things to write about and i just can't seem to finish a post so now i got something on here I can release the pressure valve and break it all down.

I just want to say that I love it here!  I miss my kids/grandkids/family but honestly I talk to them more now than I did when I lived there and while I would give ANYTHING to hold those grandbabies in my arms I have no regrets in moving across county and I won't look back.  It's amazing how freeing selling pretty much everything we own really is - I missed stuff for a few days but realized that I didn't really need all that crap...we live pretty simple and I love it.

I love that when we sit out on the balcony in the evening drinking our ice tea that people actually SAY hello - out loud - and those in cars passing down our street wave to us...and that we know all of our neighbors by name - I lived in the last house in West Richland and I couldn't tell you any of my neighbors names which makes me very sad because something I'm learning here as I watch the people and listen to them and adapt to the culture is that the world could take lessons from the folks in the south...if you don't have something nice to say ..shut the front door!  if you have something nice to say c'mon in!" I've only met 2 rude people since we've got here - one of them i found out later was grumpy because she is diabetic and needed to eat...the other? well I think her bun was just tooo tight for her own good!

I write more regularly because everyday here is a new lesson and I think y'all are smart enough to learn from them.

Love to all!