Hey In and Out.. There's a new game in town!

YUMMM! - Well. we're finally in Virginia (fredericksburg to be exact) and all is well. We've hit the ground running and are activly looking for houses to accomodate our large family. We've seen so many beautiful houses and countrysides it's almost unreal.

The rolling hills, old barns, historic buildings, battlefields and more! It's really a beautiful state! or commonwealth as they like to call it.

We have our sights on one house in particular that's in historic fredericksburg. It's in a wooded area and very cute and perfect for our family. It's in a 'mature' neighboorhood! - guess that's just another word for old and falling apart - hey, just like me!. but we love it's charm. The owner is a master carpenter and electrician... he really did it right.

We're not sure if we'll get the place, but it's a start in the right direction. If we do get it we'll post photos and such.. pray for us! In the meantime here's the images i've ripped from the web for your viewing enjoyment:

In our house hunting we also get to see the in's and outs of Virginia and find cool places to eat.. speaking of In and Out.. there is NONE TO BE FOUND!

In and Out Burgers whilst in California was one of our favorite burger joints and shall be missed.. (head bowed in respect). But we discovered a new game in town called '5 Guys'. It's a burger, fries, hotdog joint... and it's D'licious! so-far we've been there twice and probably will go back today!

The burgers are scrumptous the fries are awesome and the hotdogs are amazing!.. they even have grilled cheese sandwiches that are Steven's and Saris' favorite dish...

So while in the east I highly reccomend 5 Guys... Sure, there will always be special place in my heart (or arteries) for In and Out Burgers, but 5 Guys will work out just fine.. or until my cardiologist tells me to lay-off.

Beautiful Virginia

YEAH BABY!! - We actually made it all the way cross country from Cali to Virginia!. The drive from Knoxville to Frederickburg was non-stop rain.. no kidding.. the second we got into the car to the moment we got out of the car it poured!! We got pounded by the rain.. I'm not sure i'd even call it driving.. it was more like boating...

We stopped several times to stretch and run around in the rain.. but that was about all the sightseeing we did.

The final photo of the drive that Marie snapped tells the story..

We finally got to our hotel room, dried out and hit the sack.. We were too tired to celebrate, but we all thanked God for getting us there alive and without incident.. God is so good!

The next morning we were treated with sunshine and some amazing scenes of our new hometown. (note to those in so cal: Those green things on the side of the road are called trees)

the Simpsons clouds

This mini adventure to just get to Viginia was really such a blessing it's ridiculous. The only thing that would have made it perfect was if Troy could have joined us.. ;) But i know this Jacobs' Adventure isn't finished.. I think it's just getting started. I got to hang out with my wife and kids and see the country in a whole new way. Once we find a home and settled I'm sure Troy will come and visit. Perhaps we'll plan the next road trip Jacobs Adventure!

to be continued...

Casey Jones, Knoxville and a Swimming Breakthrough

YIPEE! - We've made it to Knoxville! The drive from Memphis to Knoxville according to the map was a little over 6 hours.. but as our trip continues it seems to take us longer and longer to reach our milestones. I think this trip took us about 8.5 hours with all of the bathroom stops and sightseeing adventures included. I think rigamortus is starting to set-in in my tailbone and spine - ouch!

On one of our pee pee stops along the way we noticed a sign off the highway screaming 'Casey Jones Village' - One Mile Ahead... Yep.. we had to stop.

After a quick peek at the 6 dollar per person price tag for the Casey Jones attraction entry, we veered into the giftshop instead.. little did I know that would be a costly mistake. All my kids walked away with souvenirs... this had turned out to be one expensive pee pee.

The boys all wanted bandannas..

Sari was a little grumpy.. but soon gave into a smile.

After an hour at the Casey Jones Village it started to rain.. I believe it was Gods way of telling us to hit the road! - Thank you Jesus!

The last stop before we hit the hotel we opted to grab a bite to eat at a place we thought was Carls' Jr.... well, it's not..

Once we got to the hotel and noticed it had an indoor and outdoor pool (Baymount Inn). we deceided to stay two days instead of one to give the kids a break, have fun in the pool.. and to give my tailbone some RnR..

The next morning the kids wanted to swim.. and swim they did! By the time we left Knoxville.. Elijah and Joseph were offically swimmers! Drum roll please... For the first time, Elijah and Joseph swam without the aid of any floatation devices!!! YEAH Elijah and Joseph!.. I guess the endless hours in Grampa Bills mini pool finally paid off!.. Thanks GrPa Bill!

This magical place was a city of firsts for my kids.. Knoxville was the city that they learned to swim.. and it's also the city that they all ate at the Outback Steakhouse for the very first time!

After a long day of swimming and ginormous meals..it was time to chillaxe and kick-it at the crib.. word up homey!

Next stop is Fredericksburg Virginia.. talk to y'all soon!

Fort Worth to Memphis and Memphis to Knoxville

HIP HIP HOORAY! - We are almost at our new home state of Virginia! We had a lot of fun in Fort Worth. Spent a few days there and was hard to leave.. Once out of Texas we looked forward to Memphis and Graceland.

We found several gems along the way and took some shots to document. We were pretty fortunate to not hit any nasty weather. We were right behind a storm and only got puddles! yeah puddles!

The trip to Memphis was tough for the little ones.. (Thank God for headphones and loud IPODS) they are getting sick and tired of the mini van and are not afraid to tell us how they feel. Sari typically screams and whines NON-STOP when she wants to pull over. ;) Steven Quote of the Year.. 'I can't take this car ride anymore!'.

To calm and rebuild morale and to detract from some sort of mutiny, we found a chuck-e-cheese' to make up for the pain and suffering we caused. Here's some irony.. The favorite attraction at CEC after the eternal screaming and whining road trek from Fort Worth to Memphis, seemed to be some sort of automobile ride.

Perhaps they're training for taking over the ship somewhere in Knoxville... Go figure. ;)

Joey hits the jackpot

After a good nights sleep in Memphis we headed for adventure and were off to Graceland!

We wanted to visit our cousin Elvis! ;) - Not sure if anybody knows this but awhile back Marie did her family tree through one of those ansestry sites and discovered that she's actually related to ELVIS!.. third cousin.. or somethin' like that.. which means that my second batch kids are cousins of Elvis... hmm 'Cousins of Elvis' That sounds like a great band name or song title..

Sari trying to pick the lock - cousin Elvis wouldn't mind

After Graceland we visited the Cafe next door to enjoy some Elvis favorites.. Deep fried foods! - fried peanut butter and bananna sandwich..umm good!

After a quick game of Rock, Paper, Scissors to see who'd pay the tab, we were off to Knoxville!