Our road trip from Florida to New Mexico

Our recent move to New Mexico was a 3 full day road trip which was actually really fun! After 7 states and 32 hours later we arrived at our new home here in Albuquerque, New Mexico! We made memories along the way which were so fun. Brodie's dad followed us with the U-Haul and brought his walkie talkies so that we could comment about different things and be able to talk to eachother. It was actually such a gorgeous drive through the southern staes that I didn't do anything I brought to do because I didn't want to miss any of the scenery! Our second night, we stayed in New Orleans with one of my good friends Desiree and her 2 little girls. She was a wonderful hostess and travel guide! She showed us all around New Orleans such as the lower ninth ward which got hit the worst by Hurricane Katrina. It was so hard to see. You could see the holes in the roofs of several homes in which the people had to try and escape from so they didn't drown in their house. There were X's on the front of the homes where the rescuers swept the homes in search of survivors. There was a number on the top of the X which signified the number of people found alive and a number on the bottom which told the number of people found dead. It was so sad to just be in the middle of it and see so many of the residents still trying to live in their homes. Then she took us to the French Quarter and it was so much more of what I pictured New Orleans to be. It was so neat to see all of the original architecture and walk around and see Bourbon Street. Desiree had an amazing connection with the restaurants there from her job, so we ate at Original Pierre Maspero's. It is said that slaves were sold from the balcony here during the height of the city's brief slave trade. The restaurant is on the ground floor of one of the city's oldest buildings, dating from 1788; the menu claims that Andrew Jackson planned from here the defense of the Battle of New Orleans, in which he led American troops to victory over British soldiers. The inside has the original brick and architecture so eating there was so fun. Des also knew the chef "Chef Nick" and so he personally cooked our food and gave us the V.I.P treatment. It was so good. I loved being able to spend a night with Des and my girls were so excited to see her girls again! The whole road trip was everything I thought it would be! It was so exciting to show the girls our new home and start the unpacking process. Albuquerque is a whole new world from Fort Lauderdale: mountains instead of the ocean, dry air instead of the humidity, and dry land instead of lakes everywhere. It's such a fun change though, and we love our new city. We are at the base of a beautiful mountain range and overlook the city. The girls are so proud to still have a swimming pool in the backyard and I'm so proud just to be in a home after 8 1/2 years! We are ready and excited to start our new life here!!

Audrey was such a good little helper with the loads (emphasis on the plural) down the elevator, through the parking garage, and finally to the U-Haul
Brodie loaded this thing all by himself! We didn't think we would need help where we sold all of our big furniture, but we just had no idea... you'd think we would learn after 10 moves... but my superman came through
Our best little helper strikes again!
Our last load of laundry in the community laundry room!!! I'm so excited to have my OWN laundry room!
2 hours before we were leaving, paint got spilled all over Brod and the carpet! Brod's dad Steve was there by then and we got it all out with Dawn dish soap!! It was quite the dramatic 20 minutes








Goodbye Florida









And welcome to Alabama (shout out to Blake and Rachel!)






Alexia's turn to ride in the U-Haul with Grandpa Atwood












Audrey was so proud to have her turn with Grandpa





























A pop and a movie- what more could you need?
The girls were so excited to see their old friends from Florida Azalia and Alena

Outside the restaurant with "Chef Nick"


The food was simply amazing

So fun to spend time with Des again!
After dinner, we walked over to the riverboats on the Mississippi River
Without a doubt, the LONGEST state to drive across!!

I had to capture the Texas sunset with the trusty U-Haul in front of us
FINALLY! Our new home!
Once again, we were straight to work! We appreciated Steve making such an incredible effort to help up get here! I guess our new adventure starts now!:)