Unpacking

Monday, October 17th.

I decided to run to the grocery store before everyone was up to grab something for breakfast and lunch.  I knew that Kim and Kyle were coming with the truck sometime late that morning.

I got a call when I was at the checkout.

Hi Pam.

Hi Kim, how are you?

Good.  What are you doing?

Just getting stuff at the store for us to eat today.  What are you doing?

About to pull up to your front door.

Oh My Gosh! I will be right there! It will only take me a minute!

You never know how the neighbors will react when someone new pulls up into the neighborhood. 

It is one thing to pull up in a U Haul.  It is another thing to pull up with a Big Rig.

Our new neighbor Chris walked out his front door to go to work and (thankfully we weren't blocking his driveway) said that

You know this is Peterbilt country?

Kim...    Well, it's a Volvo and it rides real nice.

Chris....    So who drives this thing?

I point at Kim.  Thinking that I can push "all" the blame on my big sister.  It's her fault.

Chris....     I dig chicks who drive.

Come to find out he made a living driving trucks and drove a Peterbilt.

Kim hadn't heard his comment about chicks driving.  I laughed.  He is a really nice guy along with his wife PJ and daughter Emily.

 It took us just as long to unpack this thing than it did packing it.

We were all so tired and loopy. 

We all moved slower but worked just as hard.

All the kids were awesome pitching in.  Though I did find Victoria in a corner playing with Legos that had been packed away for almost two months.

My cousin Kathy, her husband Troy and their youngest son Blue drove 45 minutes from Malad, Idaho to help us unpack. They came just at the right time. We had pretty much had enough but didn't really know it until they arrived.  It gave us that last Ummph to finish.

Blue jumped right in and had the fridge out of the truck with the help of Jared and Kyle.

It was awesome to just stand there and watch these young men doing it. And not me!

Once again, the ramp that my Dad built was perfect and yes Mom, you probably could launch a rocket off it.

My Dad has these really cool clamps that he uses in welding.

I was really surprised that he entrusted these clamps with us to use to clamp the ramp to the truck.

Jared was holding one and you could just see the gears working in his head...... like.....hmmmm, what could I use this for,.......It looks like something you could measure Kaleb's head with.......hhmmmm.

Kaleb sure puts up with a lot from his big brother!

 This was the first time that Kathy and Kim saw eachother in 20 years!

It was great.  I got a chance to be around Kim for the longest time in many years with this move. 
Just another blessing!

And I get to live near my cousin Kathy after all these years.

We used to be really close when we were really little.  They spent the week with us at our house while their Mother went to work.  I loved it.

One last picture of the cousins before Kim and Kyle have to head to Wyoming to pick up a load and then back down to Phoenix by the end of the week.  It was great that Kim could cooridinate the use of the truck and have Kyle ride with her for the week while Kyle was on Fall break.

Just another blessing in this move!

Thanks Kim, we could not have done this move without you!

Love ya!
Day 2 of our new life!

A Sunday Drive

Sunday, October 16th was quite a day.

In the old days, folks would set out in their jalopy for a brief Sunday drive that probably only took them 5 miles round trip.

Well, our Sunday drive began before the sun was up and ended after the sun was down.

It was estimated to be 742 miles and a 12 hour drive. 

HA. 

I don't think Mapquest knows about lunch and bathroom breaks,

not to mention spilled soda,

tired eyes,

and panting dogs.

Kirk drove his truck with both boys, Victoria, and both the dogs.  (Heee heee)

(I figured after me driving the long haul twice when we went looking for a place to live, that the kids would have so much more fun with DAD than in the boring van with Mom and Daphne and the two kitties and don't forget the hermit crabs that I tried to pawn off on Kyle before we left. 
He didn't want them.  Oh well.

 I had the most peculiar feeling leaving our home of 17 years.

It felt like we were just going on a long trip, only I didn't have to worry about locking up our valuables.  Everything of value traveled in our two vehicles. 

My sister and Kyle was traveling just a couple hours ahead of us on the road.  We kept in touch with the cell phones asking along the way....  so where are you now, or did you see the...........

 Daphne took this picture out the window.

We couldn't believe how pretty the hills were.

I had never seen such a vibrant yellow during this time of year.

Daphne took this one out the windshield.

When I was a kid I remember crossing the state line and thinking that I should be able to see a "line" or something.  But no, it just looked the same as the other side.

We were so tired driving, we had to make quite a few stops just to close our eyes.

We found one spot at a trail head in the middle of no where.  There were quite a few cars parked so we figured it was pretty safe to just stop there.

Kirk and I napped with our windows open...because it was still warm, while the kids just sat there with the dogs either talking quietly or reading. 

My back and neck were so stiff from the previous weeks that my hands were numb. 

 Did I say we were tired. I didn't see these pictures until after our drive.  Sammy and Henry rode in Kaleb and Victoria's lap.  They look a little crammed. Aah it's good for them.

 Spoiled Rotton Dogs.

 Kaleb had moved into the van with Daphne and I.  I could barely see him because he was way in the back and I had left the middle seats at my cousins in Idaho so we could pack valuables in the van.
Sammy makes a good pillow for poor Victoria.  Henry was sitting on the floor with his head resting on the seat.

Kirk took this himself.  I don't know what is more cute, the distant stare of Victoria riding along bored out of her mind or Sammy resting his chin on the back of Kirk's seat while sitting in Victoria's lap.

Mattie and Toby did amazingly well.  I felt they were told old at the age of 15 to drug them for the trip so they did it "cold turkey".

They only howled for the first 3 hours and then when they figured that their situation wasn't changing I think they just gave up.  So they bumped along in their individual carriers set on top the ice chests facing eachother and where they can see out the front. 

They actually did quite well with "Cat Woman" (Daphne) sitting where she can talk to them to keep them calm.

Who knows how the hermit crabs did.  Every once in a while we would hear one of their shells crash into the glass making a clunk sound.  So we knew that they were crawling around their tank.

They probably thought there was a 14 hour earthquake or something.  I told them that they were going on an adventure.

It's funny, after 8 hours we pretty much have no pictures.  We were all so tired.

At one point we stopped in Ogden, just 1 hour away to gas up to make it the last leg of the trip.

It was dark, extremely windy, raining and so cold that Kirk and I were instantly shivering uncontrollably the minute we stepped out the door.  The kids didn't believe us that it was that cold but were not willing to get out to test it.  I think it had dropped down to 20 degrees with a wind chill probably making it below zero!  Atleast it felt like it.

We arrived in our new home atleast for the next year, tired, sore, and a little cold.

Victoria made it to the top of the stairs and crashed with her pillow.

Out like a light!

Day 1 of our new life.

Moving Day

October 15th, 2011

  The day we have been waiting for. 

 The day it all happens. 

A day of sadness and total excitement. 

The first day of the rest of our lives!

Our little home of 17 years.

There are so many memories that are embedded within the walls of this house. 

Memories that we will just have to bring with us.

On the flip side...I am so happy to not have to fix another thing on this house!

I am so happy to MOVE ON!!!

We are so blessed.  My sister Kim drives for Knight Transportation. 

She arrived early Sat. morning to help us load all of our worldly posessions into her truck.  She offered to drive it to our new home in Logan, Utah.

I don't really know how we would have done it without her. 

My heart skipped a beat when I saw her turn the corner onto our street.

It brought tears to my eyes. It was pretty cool to see her coming down the street in this enormous diesel truck.  The very sister I grew up with and played Barbies with when we were little.

My sister, the truck driver.

My Mom brought breakfast and lunch for all of our workers. 

We had homeschool and church friends and neighbors help us load the truck.

The kids later told us that moving day was a great day and a lot of fun.

There was quite a bit of laughter, playing and kidding around that took place.

I had everything boxed to try to make it easier for all our helpers.

We couldn't have done it without them.

It was so hot.  We took two lunch breaks and drank quite a bit of water with the temperatures in the high 90's to low 100's.

Something that is pretty much going to be a thing in the past....hot and sweaty.

Everything fit... from the refridgerator to the potter's wheel.

One of the delimmas that came with using my sister's truck was the fact that it came without a ramp.

She just backs up to loading docks and never needs a ramp.

After some thought, Kirk and my Dad collaborated and my Dad built a ramp, that my Mom said

"you can launch a rocket off it".

My Dad, the tool and die maker.

That ramp was so sturdy. 

We ran up and down it all day with boxes and furniture and it never shook!

Thanks Dad. 

Before moving day Kirk was sure that it would only take about 3 hours to load the trailer.

HA...it  literally took 7 1/2 hours.

Unbelieveable I know!

It was hot and everything needed to be stacked and secured.

The BFF girls!

Or should I say crazy.  They found plenty to do while we loaded the trailer.

 We were exhausted that night.

We all slept in our living room that night on the floor and watched the Pirates of the Carribean on my laptop.

I think I fell asleep after the first 15 minutes.

We had a big day ahead of us driving 14 hours north with two cats in carriers and two dogs.

Kim and Kyle left ahead of us and will meet us in Logan on Monday morning sometime.

God's hands are in this move.

I can't wait to see what he has planned for the rest of our lives.

We Can Do It!

I have always loved this picture of Rosie the Riveter.

I don't necessarily like the whole Womans Lib movement but I do believe in the rights of women.

My parents raised strong women.  Plus I think genetically it was passed down through my mother.

We have been known to "hold our own". 

This world needs strong men and women who are humble and compassionate.

I was feeling the effects of this whole "Move to Logan", and thought of this picture as I was organizing and packing.  Moving takes so much organization and planning.

I am a good planner and yes..I know...a Control Freak with a capital "CF".

I think that was yelled at me this week as I was unpacking something to make it fit better in a different box. 

Go ahead, I can handle it.  The fans did fit better when I re-packed the box...you have to admit it.

Anyway, I have used every single skill I have to make this move with the exception of CPR.

I don't plan on using that one.

So with a little elbow grease and buckets of Faith,

WE CAN DO IT!

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.  Phillippians 4:13

We're on the Move!

It is hard to believe but on Sept. 15th 2011 the kids and I left Phoenix with it's 100+ temp and traveled up to Utah to begin our quest for a new home in Logan, Utah.

Our first stop was at my cousin Rich's house in Payson, Utah after an 11 1/2 hour drive. 

We had a great visit.  He showed Kaleb how to catch grasshoppers by their back legs.  Rich was flicking grasshoppers at Daphne and into her hair.  It was hysterical because she just laughed.  If one of her siblings were to have done it you would have thought blood was to be drawn.

Rich can pretty much get away with anything with Daphne.

 The next stop was at my Aunt Carol's new place with the Shillig family in....

I can't remember the name of the town.

Anyway, she has a really nice room over the garage with her own bathroom.

It is really nice and has a wonderful view because the house sits up on the side of a hill.

 Everytime I look at Aunt Carol I see bits and pieces of my Dad. 

I think they have the same eyes and some similar mannerisms.

I hope they can get together soon and visit.  It would be good for both of them.

Brother and Sister.

Two Men and a Truck

We have been blessed by a friend of ours passing down boxes to us. 

Quite a few of them were never used.  How awesome to have clean boxes. 

To Kaleb it means a blank canvas.

I was laying in bed one morning staring at the stack of boxes in our bedroom and noticed that some of the men in the truck were different than others.

I later caught Kaleb with a sharpie hard at work. 

I didn't really have to guess or catch who had used their creative skills to enhance the label.

It is always pretty obvious as to who's doodle it was.

I found these through out the house.

The guys on the right look like little Amish men.

 Then you have a little chemist and a magician. 

I think the guy on the right has an afro.

 A welder with a freaked out driver!

The next guys are brushing their teeth.  I guess they are multi-taskers.

 Then you have the men actually using a "map".  I was very impressed.

I like the flat tire.

 Farmers and musicians...

 I want to know what the dynamite would be used for.
The driver on the right is holding the steering wheel that came loose.

Drivers with their cup of "Joe".

Drivers with hamburgers and fries.

I think these last guys are priests.

I loved finding these little doodles.  Kaleb makes me smile.