Day 5

Leg 1 of the road trip is complete!

It took us a while to get on the road today. We had to wait for Sam to do his final out appt. Pack the cars, weigh the cars and turn in our keys before we hit the road. The drive went really well.  The first couple hours were hilly back roads and the Aileen has a history of car sickness and she got a little queasy....no yacking, so that was good. The cat, however did. He is old and sad and not happy about this whole situation.  They were ok traveling to the hotel back in St Robert.......being in the car all day today was NOT their idea of fun. They wouldn't eat or drink until we got to the hotel tonight.  We have a cage in the back of the Tahoe big enough that we could put a litter box in. Thank goodness or we might have really had some problems. 

We made it to Lincoln tonight. We have friends in Omaha and were so happy they came down to Lincoln to have dinner with us. We haven't seen them in forever, and even though it was for a short time, I'm so glad we got to see them. Thanks Ed and Val!!

Not too much excitement today........and that's good news!!  Up and at 'em tomorrow and on to the buzzing metropolitan of Rawlins, WY!

Move to Utah......Day 4

Phew. I'm glad this day is over. The hardest days are done, at least, in my opinion. The house is clean and we are ready to take off in the morning after Sam's final out.  Putting a house together is way more fun than taking it apart. With the help of Jodie and Kori (and Lili and Allie for watching my kids) we got it done pretty fast this afternoon and still had time to go home and take showers and then head over to the Jacobson's for dinner.  I was so grateful to spend a little time with them and the Ashtons before we leave.  We LOVE them and are going to miss them terribly.  Luckily, they come to Utah a lot, so we will see them again. I was so glad I got to hold baby Ellie....I've been waiting for her!! And Kristi stopped by to give us hugs and Shantel gave us brownies. So many people we are going to miss.

Leaving their house it was gushing!!!! We were soaked and on the way home the tornado sirens started going off. We walked in the hotel and they made us stay down on the first floor in the hallway. We talked to strangers while the hotel staff calmly kept us informed while everyone had their cell phones out, obviously watching the weather. We had a couple firefighters down there with us, so that was comforting. That was one more exciting thing to add to our journey. Never had to do that before. I had to run to Walmart, so after the warning was over I left (don't tell my mom, I will get in big trouble cause it was still storming bad). Right after that I found out there was a tornado in Broken Arrow, OK (where I grew up) at that same time and it went right over my sister and Dad's house. So loud they could hear it while they were crouched in the bathtub.  After a massive tornado like in Moore.....it has everyone on edge. Tornadoes are scary enough without fresh pictures of a massive one in your head. I'm so glad they are safe.

Today was hard.  It's so hard to say goodbye to best friends. It just sucks. I've had wonderful friends wherever I've lived, and I'm sure I will have great ones in Utah....but Fort Leonard Wood has been special. It's been a wonderful place to be stationed....not because of the area...frankly, it wasn't the best, but the people are amazing. The people would have kept me here forever, if possible. When we moved here 4 years ago, never would I have imagined I'd love it as much as I do. 

I wish I had the words to say how I am feeling as we say goodbye to St Robert/FLW, but I don't.  I feel a variety of emotions, and wish I could take each one of you aside and tell you how much you have meant to me. Some of you I will see again......others I won't, but each of you has been important in our story here. Tons of you have come and gone.....some have even come back again. Others have just gotten here and I feel short changed for not having the chance to get to know you better. A few of you have changed my life. One of you was sent from the Heavens for me! I've been blessed by so many wonderful people.  We are truly truly going to miss it here. We love you all so much.  Take care of eachother,  God Bless. And give us a call when you are in Utah!

Move to Utah.....Day 3

Best words today were when Aileen lifted her head off the pillow this morning and said, "Mom, I feel so much better!" Thank goodness. And no one else has come down with it. So today already started off better. The movers came and loaded all our belongings for the trek across the country, and confirmed our stuff WILL be delivered the 6th. This is GREAT since we get our keys the 5th. Hopefully there are no hiccups between here and Salt Lake. Internet hooked up the 6th....Dish hooked up the 7th......lets hope it all goes as planned. :)

Today was the kids last day of school. Aileen, of course couldn't go, but we did go up to her school to get her stuff and her school records.  She got to say goodbye to her teachers. Parker went and had a great day.  He was excited because they got 2 recesses and they got to eat lunch outside. We got all school related things taken care of today. 

We transported the kitties to the hotel today. They were not happy at first......at all.

They seem a little more relaxed now. We will see how they do overnight. Harvey, the orange old man cat, has always been very go with the flow and he wasn't happy in the car, but was fine once he was able to get out of the cage.  

Lilly, on the other hand,  took much longer to warm up. She hid under the bed for hours. When she finally came out, she still wasn't happy. You can see it on her face, but at least she came out from under the bed.

I spent a few hours at the house tonight and got a head start on cleaning. Melanie brought us the most delicious pork over rice and salad. It was so good and filled my very hungry belly. The kids were even commenting on how good it was. Mel has got some skills! 

I wish I could tell you the above picture is real, but it's not. 2 seconds before Aileen was telling Parker to get off of her and Parker was trying to irritate her. So, I made them pose like this so I can at least pretend. Now they are both sleeping peacefully. 

Hopefully tomorrow we can get the house clean and get all geared up to leave Friday morning. So glad today went better than yesterday. Maybe they only go up from here. 

Move to Utah....Day 2

This day did not start well. I was reminded of the skit on SNL with Seth and Amy called, "Really??!!" Ugh. I was woken up by Aileen at 4:00 am throwing up and a fever. Poor baby just missed 3 days of school for a cold/allergy combo.  I spent the next few hours tossing a turning, getting up with Aileen and trying to figure out what to do with her while the packers were there. At 8:00 Kori showed up at my door (we are taking a couple things for her sister in Utah with us) and said, "Let me take Parker to school!" Perfect timing and such a blessing that Kori is. Back to Aileen....the packers came today, and I just could not see trying to keep her at the house while they were working. Then the thought came to me. Amanda isn't working today. So, my dear friend Amanda (who is a wonderful nurse.....bonus!) let Aileen crash on her couch after we got back from the Dr. (which by the way, we have been to 4 times in the last 2 weeks).

Poor Aileen

Amanda took great care of her while the packers did their thing. Around 1:00 I got a call from Parker's school nurse.....as soon as he said who he was I thought, "Oh great...now he's puking!", but he wasn't. He took a tumble on the pavement at school and got a little scraped up and the nurse wanted me to know he was coming home with some band aids.

He hurt his face, arm, hand and knees

Now, Parker does not handle injury well. So these scrapes might as well be broken body parts as far as he is concerned. Giving him a bath tonight was trauma central.  Changing the band aids was torture. After school Kori took Parker for a bit while we got checked into the hotel and Jodie brought us dinner. It tasted sooooooo good after a long day and we were so grateful for it.

Hotel #1 is pretty nice. We had to have a place that would allow kitties, so the choices were limited, but I'd stay here again. The bed is super comfy.

Parker's favorite part

Tonight as I type this, (feeling a little icky...stay tuned to see if I'm catching the bug or just exhausted......Please pray no one else gets the bug!), I feel blessed by all the wonderful acts of service being given to us this week. We are so blessed with great people here in St Robert and we are truly going to miss them. 

It was a hard day, but my babies are sleeping peacefully.  We got news tonight that our household goods will delivered the day after we receive our keys in Utah.  Happy day!! The Lord is aware of us and continues to bless us. Things may not be going perfectly, but as a wise friend reminded me today, tests often come when we have big blessing on the way. :)

Move to Utah....Day 1

Let me start off by saying this story does not begin here.  Read here to see recent car troubles when my car broke down on our way back from Nauvoo.

We recently purchased my grandpa's old truck that has been so well taken care of and little miles on it thinking we would fix it up for Sam.  Well, we knew there would be a little money involved in fixing a few little things before we headed to Utah, and we were fine with that. Sam drove it around for a bit and then it started making some noises. Some clanging noises. And then it started stalling. And then it started backfiring. And then it started clanging louder.  So, we took it in. What was wrong, you ask? Engine valves. Which would mean....you guessed it....a partial engine rebuild. So, having experienced this with the other car a few weeks before and knowing the wonderful man who fixed our car for 1/3 what he could have charged us was over 2 hrs away......we decided against it. Point is, we ended up with a Tahoe. And we love it. Things happen for a reason, and we were meant to have this Tahoe, I guess.  

Then last Friday, right before major moving prep began I felt like my face had been run over a truck and was running a fever. Sinus infection. And those always take me down.  Hard.  

Today was busy. We worked all day long getting the things we want to take with us all ready to live in a hotel for the next 10 days. Figuring out the kitty travel situation and just all the craziness with moving. I made some cute maps for the kids with little markers on each city we will be staying in. Parker LOVES maps and he is excited to be the "map holder".  

A very bust start to a very bust 2 weeks.

You are my sunshine......

I was so excited to hang out with my Daisy and her family today.  We have been friends for so long now!!!  It's sad we haven't done this more while we've lived relatively close. We spent all day talking and eating (Tim is an AMAZING cook) and just having too much fun.  She has been a steady constant for me, and her family has been essential in my life.  Such wonderful examples.  I love her and am so glad I have a lifelong friend in her. She is my sunshine. :)