"Life is like a box of chocolates..."

"...you never know what yer gonna git." Isn't that the truth. We worked so hard for this house. I love this house. It is everything that I could ever want. But...it is only a house. My children are what make it a home and with all of us going up north then it only leaves the walls. So, we have decided to put our house up for rent. I hope that another happy family fills it's walls with love and laughter. We only enjoyed it for 10 months, but it was beautiful while it lasted.

We are moving...AGAIN!!

Near Stinson Beach




Yeah, we rented a convertable for the week...that's the way to see Nor Cal.


Downtown Petaluma


Petaluma River...it runs right through the middle of town.



The Post Office!!




Justin got the most amazing job opportunity, with an amazing company. Justin has worked for Amy's Kitchen for 4 years as a Regional Sales Director. He has loved his job and we as a family have often commented about how great the company is. They offered him a position in the office that sounded like it was right up his alley. But there was one hiccup...we would have to move 500 miles away from everyone that we knew and loved. "Are you kidding" was our initial response, but then we decided to open our minds a little.
Boy did that pay off. We flew up to Petaluma this weekend and checked out the city, houses, and of course, the job. It was absolutely amazing. We fell in love with the area, the schools are great, and the people...oh the people...they are wonderful. Petalumans like to "enjoy " life. No one is worried about rushing around to get that next thing done. You will find families out taking bike rides, or couples out for dinner and a stroll by the river. They seem to live life like they are on vacation. It is, litterally, a breath of fresh air.
We fell in love and couldn't wait to bring the rest of our family. Justin accepted the promotion and now we just have to find a house...
This is an adventure for this family of five but we can't wait! We are so excited. It will be hard to leave our family and friends but this is what we felt we needed to do rto secure our future. And everyone seems to be thrilled for us, which has been so great to hear. I hope that everyone will come and visit very soon.

CSI:Murrieta

Episode 1: After returning home from vacation, a very tired Justin and Amanda Neal are quietly resting on the couch watching TV when Justin hears some noises coming from the garage. He quickly jumps up to see the cause if the noise. He opens the door to the garage and sees...nothing.

Episode 2: After going back to the couch, he then eventually goes off to bed. The next morning, the oldest child, Jeremy, age 11, tells his dad that he saw the light going on and off on the side of the house along with some noises. Justin then goes to the side garage door only to find that the door jam has been chiseled away with a screw driver. Someone had tried to break into the house. The couple calls the police to report the attempted robbery. Murrieta CSI team is on the case. Will they catch who committed this heinous crime? Stay tuned.