The Moving Trip

Of course we couldn't make our move as simple as just packing up and driving to Idaho; instead we made a whole road trip out of it. And while we were so ready to be done by the time it was all over, I wouldn't trade it for anything. Justin's family left Sunday morning and we got serious about finishing the packing.  Monday morning was boxing up those last things and cleaning, cleaning, cleaning. We picked up the truck at noon and thanks to a large moving crew everything was loaded in no time. We ended up having TONS of extra room in the truck. We pulled out of town around dinner time and headed to Carlsbad, NM. It was a little sad to say goodbye to our Texas house. Lots of good memories. That night we swam in the hotel and went to bed.
Tuesday morning we headed to the Carlsbad Caverns. They were SO COOL! I was glad we decided to squeeze them into the trip. Matthew was pretty scared at first because he was afraid of the bats. But he eventually loosened his grip on my hand and was able to appreciate the beauty of the caves. Koyle did surprisingly well walking on his own most of the time, and Landon was pretty good. He started to get really tired and ended up falling asleep on Lindy's back. It was quite the hike down in; I was surprised at how steep it was most of the way down. I did fine walking but my knee did start to hurt again towards the end because of how I was waddling down the steep path while trying to hold a kid. It would have been fun to do the full loop around the main room but that was another mile long and the kids (and pregnant lady) were starting to get tired of walking and hungry for lunch. So we just did the short loop around which was still amazing. The Earth is full of such beautiful places and it is crazy to see what some water and minerals can create. After lunch we loaded up to make the drive to Gilbert, AZ. It took us a little longer than anticipated because the truck was pretty slow going up the hills, and the poor guys roasted their brains out because the AC was broken in the moving truck. But we finally arrived at Missy's house that night.
The next few days we spent just swimming in the pool and hanging out with the family. I could not keep the boys out of the water and I even enjoyed getting in and swimming myself. Cooper got to come with Grandma and Grandpa and Matthew was happy to have a playmate. He especially enjoyed swimming with his snorkeling gear.    Wednesday night Jeff and Sarah Rosendahl came over to swim and it was great catching up with them. It had been far too long since we had seen them last. We finally met Torsten for the first time...and he's 2!
Thursday night was Rylee's graduation. We ended up getting lucky and the weather was beautiful-just right for an outdoor graduation in Phoenix. I was happy that the timing had worked out so perfect so that I could be there to celebrate with Rylee. I love that kid so much and its still kind of weird that he is so grown up now. 

Lindy was teaching me to be a cool kid and showing me what this whole Snapchat thing was about. So of course we had to steal Rylee and Baylee's phone and send a message.

Friday we helped clean the house and then we did a family luncheon at a restaurant and then headed back to Missy's to finish up preparations for Rylee's graduation party. Of course there was lots of yummy desserts Missy had made, and of course there was some more swimming involved.
Saturday morning we were off on the road again. This time headed to the Grand Canyon. Why not add another sight to the trip, right? We didn't end up spending very much time at the Canyon, we just went on one short trail to an outlook and that was about it. But we still got to see the Canyon and once again marvel and the beauty a little water can make. There were a bunch of elk all along the path. They were so close you could almost touch them and they pay one drop of attention to the people. This was just a random spot of rocks but I LOVED it for some reason and couldn't resist taking a picture. The kids found this little rock crop and would have stayed and played on it all day. There were LOTS of tears when we told them it was time to go.  The boys were especially fond of the "city bus" we got to ride on into the park! We drove all along the Canyon on our way out so we got to see more of it as we drove too. After lunch we made the trek to Southern Utah where we stopped to stay with Brian and Susan Lindsey in Canairville. Funny story-my mom had been in touch with her about us staying the night, but when we called to tell them we were pulling in and asked where we should park we realized they thought it was just my parents coming to stay...not all of us! But of course they didn't care and we threw together some beds for the rest of us. We were just grateful for a place to sleep and get out of the car.
 This was our view all week long.

Sunday we hung around with them for a while in the morning before heading off for the last leg of our trip to Pocatello. We stopped in Provo to drop Lindy off at home. We were so grateful for her help all along the way and I felt special that she had saved and spent her money to come visit us and be a part of this whole thing. Hopefully she had a good time; we tried to make it feel like a vacation and not just helping her sister move...again. We got to Pocatello around dinner time and ordered some pizza to feed our faces. Jacque was so excited for us to get there, it was really cute. She had put some streamers covering the entryway so the boys could walk through them when they came in. She also bought me a flower for my new house and had some nice smells diffusing through the house. We unloaded our mattresses and bags to sleep for the night. It was a nice moment when everyone else went back to Jacque's house and we were left alone in our new house, just our family for a few minutes of peace. 
Monday morning our family arrived and the unpacking began. We were able to get everything unloaded and all the beds, bookshelves, tables, etc. put together before everyone had to take off for home. We couldn't have done it without all of our awesome family. A huge thanks to Mom and Dad and Lindy for making the entire trek with us. And to Jay and Tami and Jamie and Clayton and Mandi and Ryan for driving up to help us unload on Monday. And to Jacque and Travis for providing lunch for the whole moving crew. You are all the best and we love you more than you know!