here we are. finally.

you guys, get excited this is finally happening. i may or may not have started about 7 blogs before this. let's all stand up and do a little jig that jill is finally finally FINALLY doing this. moving from family and close friends has lit this little fire under my bum to get it going. finally. (have i said that yet? not enough? okay, finally.) so i'm kind of hoping you all feel the love as you read.

florida has been nothing short of a dream come true in my book. (if you're prone to tropical envy read no further) never would have thought in my 14 year old dreams would i ever live 10 minutes from a beach. ever. not just a "let's go to the beach and go back to our hotel" kind of thing but a "let's go to the beach and go home to sleep in our own bed, cook in our own kitchen" sort of thing. whew. i'm pinching myself left and right i tell ya. 

at the same time, dearest family and friends are greatly missed and sometimes even the cold winter-coming weather (yes i did just say that--holidays are so magical with some cuddling up in your toasty house, winter fury raging outside, hot cocoa in hand, tree lights lit.) if the mall of millennia hadn't been decorated to the max with elves and sparkling lights, these short-wearing legs wouldn't have known much the difference. christmas in just over a month? are you sure? cannot be happening. mr burch and i plan to start some different traditions. present opening on daytona beach shores, let's do this. 

first things first. trekking a massive moving truck and towing our little car behind across this beauty of a country brought its adventures and trust me, a girl can't even lie when she says she was nervous as all get out. for starters, mr burch hasn't been blessed with the love of road trips as i. now i'm not sure about you but i think we are safe to say 34 hrs of driving is a good size road trip. and with that being said, we were blessed, so blessed in so many ways. he said multiple times "Heavenly Father is helping me through this. the past (twenty) hours have sure gone by fast!" i was happy as a clam. we had so much fun, it couldn't have gone better even if i had begged. (okay, there might have been some begging)

here are some pictures from our travels:

(please excuse some of the no-hair-doing, make-up-less face going on there. i let all cares out that utah window and have yet to let them back in)
as i was saying:

*laramie brought a quickly-fixed broken tire axel.

*jeremy went through his very first tunnel. he was excited and i was too to be there to witness.

*apple juice for breakfast in nebraska.

*lunch and quick visit with the best missouri aunt and uncle there ever was.

*st. louis arch kissin.

*nashville dreams coming true.

*g o r g e o u s Tennessee (who would have known?--well at least we didn't).

*on-the-verge-of-your-marriage-ending, side track adventure seeking (maybe i will tell that story later. its quite funny now, not so much at the time. but just know if our marriage survived that, eternity we are set. haha).

*atlanta was cool, real cool.

*a stop and sleeping time at jeremy's aunt and uncles an hour before the destination and the next day---

we made it!! we arrived in heaven port orange, fl on friday morning October 4.  what an adventure it has been. we are loving every second we get to spend exploring the ins and outs this place has to offer and I cannot wait to share it with ya'll. (i mean...this word is a must here if referring to more than one person. fair warning, it will be said.)

here we are. finally.