The Move

Well we've been here just about a week. There are still boxes to organize in the garage so that we can park cars in there again but we've gotten a lot done this week. My last day of work was two weeks ago. That weekend we packed and packed and packed into the following week. We were able to pick up the truck on Wednesday and Jake was so dang excited he started to pack the truck and I finished packing inside. Our neighbors were really sweet and let the boys play next door in those days leading up to the move. My mom also came and took the kids for an afternoon to the splash park. On Thursday Jake finished loading the truck and we were able to clean that night with the help of the Elders in our ward and some of my co-workers/friends.

The truck that Jake loaded (all by himself---stud).

 Friday we tied everything up and finished cleaning and helping Jake's Grandpa set up his new rugs and couch. We headed over to Jake's parents (where we'd been sleeping since the beginning of the week) and I thought It'd be smart to stop by Cooper's Doc office to get his shot record and it turned out he needed 4 shots. He was a total champ and only shrieked a little. We had dinner with my parents ward that night, then spent some time at their house and said our goodbyes.   

The kiddos, we might need to re-create this in 15 years :)

The truck that towed the Civic and our squeaky clean mini-van.

The next morning we got loaded into the car and Jake got a head start in the truck while I went to the pharmacy at Albertsons and waited for twenty minutes for them to open. We made our way down to Portland and picked up Megan and Brandon to road-trip it with us down to our new home. Brandon road with Jake in the truck, Meg with me and the kids in the van. We made multiple pit stops along the way. Had dinner and saw some of Megs family in Grants Pass, OR where there also happened to be a "50's night" where there was a huge parade of cool old cars. We left there at about 8pm and watched the sun go down........and then come back up.

Toys, Snacks, Movies.

Meg and I pulled in at 7:30 am and the guys at about 10:30. We got crackin' on unloading the truck and finally took some short naps later that afternoon. Paige and Danny arrived to spend a couple of days with us.  Overall the drive was super great; the kids were awesome!!! Adele threw some fits being stuck in her carseat but other than that it was smooth sailing for them.

This is what made it good for the kids (and us):

Battery operated toys-Alfie, leap frogs, leapsters all with fresh batteries

Lunchboxes full of snacks

A laptop hooked into the car speakers for endless movies

Fun car games from Kathleen (THANKS!!!)

Driving through the night---This part wouldn't have been possible without Meg and Brandon.

We all just talked the entire time and caught up on our lives. Jake drove for 19 hours straight before he gave Brandon a turn, with NO CAFFEINE! The kids were able to fall asleep between 10 and 11 and woke up at about 6 or 7 the next morning.

Such a great move, longest day of my life (literally...I've never been awake for that long), so glad that we're more settled every day. We've done lots of fun things this week and have more good news everyday. We are so blessed and feel the Lord's hand in our lives on a daily basis.