the MOVE

May we never, ever, EVER have to make another move as grizzly as this one.  From packing our house, to packing the UBoxes, to trying to sleep 2 infants in hotel rooms, to driving through mountain ranges with 2 infants who probably had ear infections....  wow.  Some dark days.  But we kind of want to document them.  Just to remember that life wasn't all smiles and roses this summer!

I'm kind of a stresser and very much a planner, so we started packing months and months in advance.  Kudos to Jeremy for being my box-moving monkey.  What a trooper.  Our front room looked like this for a very long time before the move, with boxes lining every wall.  The babies loved the extra space to wiggle.   

Here are our UBoxes when they arrived.  Our lives were about to be shoved into 3 tiny boxes.  Thanks to some help from church friends, WE FIT!  Still can't believe that.  Jer and those guys filled every last square foot.

Despite my whining, I really did love the drive across country.  I was feeling overwhelmingly patriotic through most of the drive, through the Appalachians, into the open plains, through picturesque towns and huge industrial cities, so much farmland and grazing land.  Loved it!  The Arch was a definite highlight.  It felt fittingly symbolic for our family to cross it on our move from east to west.    

We didn't get pics of Aunt Katie and Uncle Van's safe haven in Colorado, but weren't they a welcome sight.  Thanks for putting us up, the ragtag bunch we were.

Here's Ruthie in her favorite sleeping spot:  the tub!  Her bassinet fit just right.  This wasn't just a moment of desperation on the trip, this is where she slept for 6 solid months.  That's right, folks.  Ruthie's boudoir was our second bathroom from January to June.  It made for some blissful nights for us in our tight quarters in Bethlehem, and we got the most sleep of the trip the one night it worked to sleep her in our hotel bathroom.  Just look at how at home she is!

Here's heaven on earth, aka Midway.  Thanks to Aunt Janet and Uncle Russ for housing us too.  Jeremy looks at any picture of Midway and his breathing slows a bit.  It's peace defined.

Sammy found a new BFF.  Followed Elkie around everywhere, wriggling as quickly as he possibly could wriggle.  What a sweet doggie.

The boys had a super fun surprise when the neighbor rode by on her Clydesdale Sam.  She offered both of them a ride!  Isn't he beautiful? 

The last day was the absolute hardest.  Maybe because we had to leave Midway and GET BACK IN THE CAR.  We pulled into Henderson on the 7th day as six pools of grumpy, crying mush.  It was grueling, even with the welcome stops.  Needless to say, we rested well, and we've all recovered since.  I can't see these pictures without a little whimper of grief though.  Hard times.  Grateful that they're now only memories!