Welcome to South Dakota

South Dakota: the land of Mount Rushmore, the Badlands, Wall Drug and the Corn Palace. ALL IN ONE STATE!!! I know, it's exciting stuff!(G-Pops and D at Mt Rushmore)

So the water tastes a little funny and Westin has been allergic to both naps and bedtime, and eating anything that isn't loaded with carbs (incidentally, veggies and and fruit are no match for the whole grain honey wheat bagel or yummy waffles, who knew?) since we have moved here, but, you really will not meet nicer people, and I mean that honestly. In our trek across the state we stayed at Rapid City and Pierre (pronounced 'Pier') before we landed in Vermillion. It was quite the journey, but a good introduction to the state.(The Moore's outside of Wall Drug)

(G-Pops, Mama, Bean's and the Giant Buffalo, a real animal, unlike the jackalope, which is a South Dakotan creation)

As an aside, if you are in Pierre, the only place to go see a football game is their local bowling alley. But don't get your hopes up, because just because you call and they say that they have ESPN game plan does not mean that a) they know how to operate the remote control, b) their satellite is fully functional or c) wait a minute, ESPN game plan means channels in addition to ESPN and ESPN2?. Just trying to save you some agony on your next road trip to Pierre during football season.

Good Bye Montana!

This post will be a toughy..even though we have been in South Dakota for a couple of weeks now. After Westin's and my Southern excursion, we had about a week and a half left before the Big Move. Now, before I had planned the trip, I knew that the move would be close on it's heels. I was still unprepared for those final days. We did have actual movers, who came and packed us up, loaded us up, and moved us down the road. This made things a lot easier in many respects, but you still have to say Good Bye.
Montana is the place where Dalen and I became a team, where we decided to start a family and became a family. Dalen and I really felt a part of the community and made many deep and lasting friendships. These are not insignificant milestones and because of all of these things, Montana will forever be the most special place that we have ever lived. Well, okay, the most special place that we have lived so far.....
Of course, we had to say good-bye to the brewery. I still have a beer card somewhere, will have to save it for when we visit :)

Luckily, the last night was also the first night of the County Fair. We were lucky that Becky, Jeremy and Braden Anderson were also headed to the Fair. Braden and Westin were friends at daycare, but long before Dalen and Jeremy were fishing buddies and Becky and I worked on the RFO together at RML. Dalen and I were so excited to take Westin and thought that he would just have the best time looking at all of the cool animals..boy, were we wrong. It took a fun tractor to get him to perk up!
The next day, Pops, D and I cleaned the house (Dalen kept CopperDog and young Westin occupied). Then we left. Pops and D drove the Suburu and we were in the truck. That night we made it to Bozeman, MT and that was the last place that we stayed until we got to South Dakota.......
Oh-and if you are interested, there is a heck of a deal on a gorgeous two bedroom/two bath in Hamilton, Montana.....

**Many of these pictures were taken by Pops and D, who came from Alabama to help with the move. As you will see in the upcoming posts, their help was not only appreciated, but truly indispensible. We love you guys!

Noni's House

After a fun time at Grandpa and Grandma Moore's house, we left Mississippi and head back to Birmingham to Noni's house. Westin met A LOT of people on this visit, but what else is a proud Grandmother supposed to do when her precious grandbaby lives a million, trillion miles away?? We were lucky because my Sister (Aunt Shannon) was able to come over from Atlanta to hang out. Westin also got meet Noni's best friend, Joan.
The little Monkey meets the older Monkey...for those of you who don't know, I called my Aunt Sandy, Monkey for the longest time. One day when I was itty bitty, a little older than Westin, I was doing something funny, and Sandy called me a Monkey. For whatever reason, my dear Mother, said"No, you are the Monkey"..and since I was just learning how to talk, the name stuck.
Westin also got meet other family: Jimmy and Marita with daughters, Madison and Jade (pictured above), Joe (Sandy's husband), and Aunt Pat (who gave Westin two really lovely books, which I am already having fun reading to him :)).

So this is the tough part about living so far away from home. You don't have a lot of time to see family. But when you do, it is really great!

Memphis and Mississippi

Okay, where did I leave off?? Yes, Westin's and my trip to the Homeland :).

When we left G-pops and D's house, we were on the move to Memphis. I have an old friend who lives in Memphis. We have been friends since Sophomore year in High School. Chris Taylor is an amazing person and an amazing friend. The last time that I saw Chris was at his wedding. He married a lovely person, Emily, and they now have an almost 2 year old, Caroline. My how times have changed! Also the last time I saw them, Chris was in the process of remodeling their other house--he was making it into a masterpiece! Now they have moved up to bigger and better climes (even though they are right around the corner from their old place)-and I can't wait to see what he does with a much larger canvas! It was great to see Chris and it was super fun for him to meet the Bean. We had lunch at the Barbecue Place (and for those of you who think I am being flip, that is really the name of one of the BEST places to eat barbecue..not just in Memphis, but the country.) Bean's introduction to Barbecue was complete.

Then we were off to Grandpa and Grandma Moore's place in Michigan City, MS. Never heard of Michigan City?? Join the club, but it is almost due East of Memphis, and really close to Holly Springs. Holly Springs is special to me because when I was a girl, Mom would take us to Memphis and we would stop in Holly Springs to eat lunch at this little diner. I had no idea that just outside of town on the Moore Farm, was this boy who would one day be my wonderful husband..just got chills? That's cool, me too. Mack was nice enough to take me on a tour of the Moore Farm in his cool Scrambler (pictured above..and Westin got to hang out with Grandma Moore during the tour). I got to see some of the many ponds that Dalen fished in when he was a boy. I got to see where John Henry (one of Westin's namesakes lived) and I was totally blown away by the size and beauty of the place. I can appreciate why this land holds such a special place in Dalen's heart. Westin also got to charm the socks off of Tom, Dalen's Uncle. It was such a nice visit with Grandpa and Grandma Moore.....and then we were off to Noni's.....

Bean's Day with G-Pops

Today, Westin was left in the care of G-pops while D and I shopped. I am trying my best to abandon my homeless not so polished look of a graduate student/post-doc and embrace the new professional, but functional, look of an Assistant Professor. This sort of transformation requires the help of trained professionals and a highly patient shopping partner (Thanks, D!). Thankfully, Westin was in good hands, so I could relax on that front. Westin went to the bank and wonderful variety shop in Mountain Brook called Smith's (where he most certainly walked out with new toys-he just loves the crinkly sound of cloth toys). G-Pops also took Westin (and Willis) to the McWane Science Center. This is a magical place with all sorts of fun things! Although, please note the following reactions:
Straps on the BOB (Incidentally, NOT part of any McWane exhibit).............entertaining and tasty.
Cool outer space exploration............BORING!
Cool Potato Head exhibit.............BORING!
Giant stuffed turkey..............WICKED COOL!

Ah, the life of the Bean. Tomorrow we are off to Memphis and Mississippi. See you there! Thanks to G-Pops for an awesome day!

Beans on Bourbon

Okay-for the record, despite our taking our baby boy to our local brewery a lot, Westin most certainly did not get BOBed down Bourbon St.. Clearly, this was overprotective, as I witnessed not just one baby/toddler on Bourbon past 8:30 pm, but multiple young ones-some even perched precariously on stools in daquiri bars. Sorry for keeping you in a plastic bubble, Westin-you might get to venture onto Bourbon Street when you are 40-okay, 30. Wait hold up--we were in New Orleans?? Yes, yes indeed. On the 11th, West and I arrived in Birmingham around 10:30 pm, only to get up the next morning and drive to New Orleans (with the gracious help of G-Pops and D, of course). Was this pure craziness or a really cool adventure? Well that is a very fine line isn't it? But I dare say that the trip was more than worth it. When I scheduled this Southern odyssey, it was very important to me that Westin meet his Uncle Raymond-and so it was. Our little Monkey charmed Uncle Raymond and it was so nice to visit with him again! Westin loved listening to Uncle Raymond talk, loved all of the mirrors in his condo, and loved hanging out with G-pops. As a special treat, Westin also got to meet D's sister Debbie. It was such a nice trip!! Back in Birmingham, we had Sunday dinner with family. Westin charmed cousin Matthew and Uncle Dayn. Aunt Diane gave Westin this super fun soft birdhouse filled with birds of different shapes and noise making capabilities...some birds being tastier than others :). We missed seeing cousin Christie, but wish her the best of luck in Denver and are so proud of her for making this very big transition. Good luck Christie!!

On this trip, Westin has tried redfish, veal, more hummus (a new favorite), ice cream (at first he did not like the cold, but the creamy goodness won out in the end), mashed potatoes, corn..well you get the idea. The solid food movement is gaining momentum :). We feel very lucky to have such a wonderful family. Stay tuned as Westin as I travel up to Memphis and over to Mississippi and then back to Birmingham again to see more family. Doesn't it feel good to be loved? Have a great week everybody!

Ice Cream and Cake and Cake!

Hello, and Happy Birthday.......
to me :)
Westin and I are in the middle of a REALLY BIG ADVENTURE in the South, but we took a little time today to celebrate my 33rd, I mean, 26th birthday. This morning West got blueberry pancakes (blueberries from the awesome Pepper Place Farmer's Market in Birmingham) and tonight he got cake...which I thought that he loved, until I found it in his seat and his belly button, and well everywhere, but apparently his mouth. This evening I had a lovely dinner at Do Di Yo's, which is a lovely Mediterranean restaurant in SoHo (that would be South Homewood to the rest of you). It was so yummy! It was a pretty perfect birthday-except that my wonderful husband is in Montana.

Tomorrow (yes fans of Westin, I mean tomorrow), I will start to recount our incredible journey in progress, but tonight I leave you with a lovely riddle. See what happens when you start to venture home is that Memory Lane is so very close (even if it is not represented on Google Maps), and because this is my birthday, then this riddle will feature two people that I love very much. Now, with the clues above, which picture is Auntie Shannon and which picture is of Master Westin??
The resemblance is uncanny, no?
















PS-Dalen and CopperDog, we miss you very much and wish that you were here--although Copper darling, it is exceptionally hot and muggy, so we wish that you were here in a wading pool especially made for you :) Love to you both and thanks for a happy birthday call!