Moving Time Again

It's that time again....we are once again on the move! Everything has been packed and shipped, including both cars, and is currently floating across the Pacific Ocean heading back to the mainland. Jonah was such a big helper for the movers! ;)

Another Move

It's like Groundhog's Day…we woke and moved again!
We are finally settled into our new house.  It quite the polar opposite of our high rise condo in the city.
Along with a move comes a little stress and a whole lot of mess!  We are hoping we can stay settled here for a while….time to place our gypsy tendencies on hold for a minute.

Packing up the elevator.

 The first weekends mess to tackle...

 Never mind the mess….we have bananas!!!!!

Endless Unpacking

Boy, oh boy.  We had a mess of stuff and boxes filing into our house on the day the movers arrived.  It was all welcomed as we were over the air mattress.  

 There was stuff strewn about everywhere with very little rhyme or reason for its placement.  Even though all boxes were labeled by the rooms from which they were packed, this is a whole new house with less rooms and a different place for everything.

The movers arrived around 9:00am and were finished unloading and assembling of the big furniture around 4:00.  They asked if there was anything else they could do, but I felt it totally unnecessary for them to actually unpack the boxes as I had no idea where they should put things.  So I was left with A LOT of boxes to unpack.  Eric was in the office and asked me how it was going.  We had been longing for a little comfort, consistency, and structure to our empty chaotic house.  I was trying to warn him not to be too excited about coming home to comfort, consistency, and structure so I sent him this video.

I am happy to say that exactly two weeks and two days after they arrived, we officially have unpacked every box.  Now the daunting task of getting everything arranged and finding it all a home within our home.  Our first visitor arrives next week.  Nothing like a deadline for me to get things done!  Pictures coming soon of our comfort, consistency, and structure.

The Move

At 4:30 a.m. on January 1, 2012, we set off from Uncle Dave's house to Sky Harbor International Airport where we began our journey to our new home.  After a semi-quick flight to LAX, we were finally awake enough to snap a few photos.  As early as it was, my boys were still looking handsome!

 Noah and Caleb are amazing travelers.  They love airplanes, the layover was not a problem, and they both can carry their own backpack and roll their own carry on.  Jonah on the other hand, just ads more things to carry.  It's a good thing he is so cute.  The first flight to LA wasn't so bad for him.  I think he slept the entire time....because I was sleeping. :)  There was a TON of fog in LA that morning and we flew around the area for about 25 minutes before we attempted our second landing.  Our plane to Hawaii was not completely full and somehow our row ended up with two empty seats!  This translates into both boys getting a window when they want it, as well as Jonah getting his own seat.  He can't sit up on his own yet, but with a few plane blankets and a travel pillow or two to prop him up, he was buckled in his own seat belt, traveling like a three year old.  This translates into Mom having two free hands!  At one point in the flight, Dad, Noah, and Caleb were on one side of the aisle, and Jonah and I were lying down in the three seats on the other side...as if we had our own bed.  It's a good thing I have no shame.  Jonah's only trouble came as we were landing in Hawaii.  I'm sure it was his ears popping because as soon as Dad was able to get him to take his pacifier, he was fine.  (Best thing I ever learned while traveling with littles, have them suck on something during take off and landing...a bottle, pacifier, juice box, anything to pop their ears)

 Once we finally landed in Hawaii, we hopped on our bus to Alamo rental car...and waited, hoping all our stuff would fit in the car!  Boys are still looking good after 10+ hours of traveling.

 We finally made it to the house and the boys were so excited to get inside!!!

 We headed out to eat right away, and of course we wanted to eat on the water.  This marina and water sports area is less than 1/2 a mile from our house.  The boys love walking around on the docks looking for fish.  They are used to seeing big ugly carp or bass fish.  Here they are looking to catch a glimpse of some exotic tropical fish.  One of these days my camera will be ready when one is spotted.



A Bit on the Big Move

Yes, we are moving. And yes, we will still need sunscreen.  Honolulu, HI it is.  Eric has accepted a position within his company that has relocated us to the island.  What an exciting adventure for our family!
There was never a specific date for us to move.  It was sort of a situation like, "the sooner the better, but we know you have a young family and a house to sell."  We started talking with the boys about it, and they were on board.  Lets face it, we could move to Idaho, and I could make it sound exciting to the little guys.
The next challenge was to put our house on the market.  It is December.  We are getting ready for Christmas, which usually entails a large mess, not an immaculate house.  Remember, 3 boys does not equal extreme cleanliness and a beautiful house.  God was on our side.  We listed the house on a Friday, and received a contract on Saturday.  And another on Sunday.  We were all signed and locked in by Tuesday morning.  No more showings. Barely 5 days of immaculate house.  We did it.  But wait a minute....we no longer have a house.  Hence, Eric and I, on a quick trip to Hawaii to find us a place to live.  We knew we wanted to rent, as we know nothing of the different areas and neighborhoods.  However there are no agents for renters in HI.  You are on your own!  So, three days, two cell phones, and craigslist.  Make it happen.  We needed to find a place to live stat, get Noah registered for school, and open a bank account (there is no Bank of America, Wells Fargo, etc. on the island).  I'm happy to say, we achieved all three items with seven hours to spare!  It was important to us to move in the beginning of January, as opposed to the end, in order for Noah to start school at the beginning of a new semester with his new class.
Now the scramble on the mainland begins.  Two weeks to gather all our belongings, transfer all medical, school, and banking documents, and say our goodbyes.  The latter of which, I am not good at.  Oh, and throw the Christmas holiday in there and everyone traveling to see family for the holidays....our days with AZ family and friends are numbered.  So sad.
We are looking forward to new friends, new adventures, and LOTS of visitors.

From Driveway to Driveway...

A measly 35 hours. Is that all? From Uncle Dave's house in Saint Louis, to our new home in Scottsdale. We jam-packed the cars with boxes and laundry baskets from which we had been living out of for the past 34 days. We said our prayers for both cars to make it and at 4:05 a.m., we hit the road. Made it all the way to Springfield before stopping for breakfast. So far, so good. By the time we hit Amarillo , I was sweating a bit. My check engine light was on and I was refusing to turn on the air conditioning. Sort of my warm-up for living in the desert. We stopped for a full-service oil change, which made me feel a little better. Finally, after 18 hours on day #1, we stopped overnight in Albuquerque.

On Tuesday, we broke up the monotony of driving and stopped at meteor crater. Holy science nerd! Pretty cool, I must say. Here is a picture of our nephew, Corey, sitting atop the rim.

Once our drive hit Flagstaff, AZ it was all downhill from there...literally. I'm pleased to say, we made it to our new house. Minimal fighting, no air conditioning, no speeding tickets, and no accidental detours. Pretty amazing. Oh, and I spotted liscence plates from 39 different states and Mexico.

If you are like my aunt, and need a detailed log of our trip, here they are. Day 2 I was slacking a bit.