The Big Move

I'd like to say this is the skinny version of our move, but lets be honest...when do I EVER give the skinny version?  It's part of my charm, right?  Haha :)  Read it all, if you dare, if not, enjoy the pictures! Anyway, my mom left with Luke on a Wednesday.  The movers showed up on that Saturday and didn't finish up until Monday around 5!  During that time we were showered with service.  People took kids for very extended times, fed us when there was nothing left in our fridge to eat, took me out on a last girls night out, let us hang out at their house when the movers made it impossible to be there, and helped us clean and pack up our truck.  My friends are amazing.  I cried as we drove out of Spokane and pretty much all the way through Idaho.  I didn't think I would have had a hard time moving, but I did.  We left after 6 on Monday but had to get on the road to beat a big storm.  We didn't beat it, we got to drive with it.  It was a horrible snow storm.  We almost had a serious wreck at one point. I don't think I've ever been that scared driving before.  We only made it to Butte, Montana that first night and pulled in after 2am.  This was Jake's first hotel stay....he paced and whined most of the night.  But the kids slept like logs.  They were awesome for Day 1.  We woke up late, had a little continental breakfast, and hit the road again. Jake was exhausted and slept the ENTIRE day in the car.  We made it to the outskirts of Denver that day.  It was a pretty long day and we got in at 1am.  Jake did so much better!  Day 3 was another all day event.

We stopped for a little Sonic to yummy up the hot Texas afternoon.  This thing was HUGE!  All 4 of us couldn't finish it!




I had a "Mary Poppins" bag full of surprises for those dull moments.  We laughed forever with these crazy glasses.


We spent that night in Fort Worth at my little brother and wife's house.  Matthew and Casey were wonderful hosts and with their busy schedules were ok we got in late and left early.  It was so fun to see them and I still am completely in love with their dog Penny.  Jake and Penny had a blast playing together and it was great for Jake to feel a little homey.  He slept really well that night.

We got up and as we were heading out Mike got the news that PSS is getting bought out by McKessen.  We were pretty panicked for a few hours.  Here we were, mid move, we were stressed to say the least.  Mike had a couple conference calls, and talked to his boss who, after joking about us turning around, told Mike he has a job and to get out there. We have also realized how SLOW major company buy outs are, so we're good.

We made it to my parents early Thursday afternoon.  I was SO incredibly happy to see my baby!  He had the cutest faces when he saw me.  We didn't leave until Saturday late morning.  We had a whole day where the kids didn't have to get in the car at all.  It was so nice!  It's also just nice to go home.  It's so relaxing. As we were driving down, the AC in the truck was weak.  Mike was literally sweating, it was only like 85 degrees.  I was laughing.  It was awesome.  Once we got to my moms, he immediately started taking the truck apart to find the culprit....clogged cabin air filters.  We got new ones and it was great. Then while we were there a huge front hit....it got cold, but we roasted hot dogs and marshmallows despite the wind and cold. We got laundry done, rearranged some stuff, cut everyone's hair, went on a walk and played. My mom also helped me on a quick sewing project.



Then we hit the road for the final bit.  We couldn't decide which would be better for Luke, one marathon horrible day, or two shorter less miserable days.  We went for 2 days.  We didn't leave until noonish. How did Luke do, you ask?  Well, after debating on the circumstances, we turned his car seat around for the long drive and he did somewhat better. He only cried for 2 of the 8 hours we drove that day.  We stayed in Pensacola, Fl in a hotel on a beach.  It was fun to walk on the beach, but was super windy and cold, from that front going through so we didn't get to swim or anything.  Here I thought we were moving to FLORIDA and only had one warm outfit for everyone. Luckily 50's is still warm-ish for us Washitonians. Anyway, day two was a fight to even really get Luke in the car, but we only had 5 hours left and he only cried for 2 of those.

What else did we do for entertainment?

Luke LOVES apples! 1 entire quiet hour.  1 entire apple consumed, stem and seeds and all. :)


Technology (One 7 inch tablet, One Ipad, One Android phone, One Leapster, 2 wireless cards, 2 laptops, LOTS of DVD's, Netflix, and a power inverter.  Overboard?  Absolutely NOT! Hahahaha!)


Technology


Technology


And Dum-Dums (and technology)!


And another apple.



Happy Long Drive!  I had a blast!  We pulled into Jacksonville on Sunday afternoon, October 28th. Starting our new life off with a month in an extended stay hotel.....should be fun.