MOVING!

July 24th, 2011

Since the beginning of June we had been anticipating a possible move. Knowing the move was probably in the future, we began making all sorts of preparations...

• Planned a last minute trip to visit my dad and Megan at the farm before we were out of driving range.
• Cleaned out our storage in the unfinished basement (Sold, donated, or trashed lots and lots of stuff).
• Held an early birthday party for the kiddos.

On July 15th, the move was finally reality. An official offer was made for a job. Kevin visited Arizona to become acquainted with his new office and look for a rental house. His new office wanted him to begin work on July 25th. This gave us 10 days to square away a rental house, pack up, and leave. We had two good prospects for rental houses when he returned to Utah. We started applications for both houses, but both ultimately fell through, leaving us with absolutely nothing. THIS WAS STRESSFUL! No house meant Kevin would have to leave for work without me and the kids. It also meant we wouldn't be moving until he found a rental house that matched all our needs.

We eased up on the packing, STRESSED a lot about having no house, and prayed somehow it would all work out. On Friday morning (the 22nd) I had a random thought cross my mind. "What about that first house Kevin went to?" The owner was running late and missed the appointment because Kevin had to continue on to his next appointments. I found her add on Craigslist. It had only been posted one time, two weeks ago. I wondered if this meant it had already rented out. I got her on the phone immediately, and the house was still available! She had gone out of town because of a family emergency. She approved us by that evening. Kevin and Mark picked up the rental truck. We packed like crazy for the remainder of the night and the entire next day. Luckily we had a lot of help from Kevin's parents. We couldn't have made the move without them. It was such a packing frenzy! We were in bed by 1 am Saturday night and woke up at 5 am Sunday morning to head off to our new home.

I was extremely tired, but of course in charge of driving one of the cars to Arizona. Luckily I only had Susie in the car with me. She is a great car buddy. We arrived at our new house at about 5:30, but couldn't begin unloading just yet, because the house wasn't completely ready. We had to promise the landlord we would finish cleaning the house for her. We had pushed her into letting us rent the house so quickly, and we were desperate!

At about 9 or 10 that evening, a huge group of Kevin's extended family came over and helped unload our truck in about an hour. A huge rainstorm hit right as we were finishing. :) We were so grateful for all their help. We were exhausted. Kevin had to start work the next morning.

Kevin's parents were also a huge part of the move. They drove the rental truck for us. Tyler rode with them for half the trip. Amyah rode with them for the second half. They helped us get situated into our new house.

For never having seen the inside of the house, I was very pleasantly surprised. Kevin peeked through heavily screened windows while he waited for the missed appointment. The house is in very close walking distance to our elementary school. It has grass in the backyard! It is small, but has lots and lots of closet space. We love the neighborhood. We are in very close driving distance to almost any store we ever shop at. We've made some great friends already who live just down the street. The kids walk to and from school with our friends each day.

Pictures will be posted soon. Maybe. :) It's pretty obvious how quickly I post things lately.