Moving....

Ok, Can I start by saying that I NEVER want to move again..... ok, except to come home, but never again!  Obviously, that is unrealistic and I just need to come to terms with the fact that our future is uncertain! 

After about a week or so trying to adjust to a new member of the family and trying to get back on my feet, we dove into packing.  I tried to get a few things packed up before Jared came, but I didn't do a great job.  Not only did I not have the energy to do it, we just didn't have room to put the boxes! I would pile them up somewhere and then it just got in the way of other things we needed, especially with the baby's arrival, we were pulling a lot of things out.  I probably packed up about 10-15% before and then we packed up the rest about a week or so before we left.  I would describe our moving experience in three words:  Miracle, chaos, and family.  It was pure chaos for about 3 days before we left, as we were pulling out of the house I finally felt relief that we pulled it off and it was literally a miracle we did, and lastly, we would NEVER NEVER EVER have accomplished all that we did without FAMILY!!!

Our plan was to leave for Phoenix on Wed the 11th and we started doing serious packing on the Thursday before.  Mike's family stepped in and did so much for us! They helped with meals, packing, kids, running errands, etc etc.  You name it, they did it! Mike and I got to the point of being so exhausted physically and mentally that we couldn't move, but we did not have the time to stop.  I still don't know how we did it. I felt terrible because I was not worth much.  I packed stuff, organized, and told everyone else what to do.  Then I would get breaks to nurse the baby or change him and I always felt guilty, but I needed it.  It took me longer to get on my feet physically with this baby, but I really think it was because of how much I had to push myself to accomplish this move.  Mike's younger brothers were such a help to us.  They helped Mike carry and load everything!  The night before we were to leave, we were really questioning if we would pull it off.  My younger brother and his fiancé came up that night and helped out so much! I felt so guilty because they were getting married in a couple of weeks and had plenty of things they should have been doing, but they took the time to help us! They were really helpful because I think we were all so burnt out and they were fresh and full of energy and motivation! To make a long story short, we ended up making our deadline and hit the road the next day. 

Among all of the chaos, we took two pictures! Yes, two! So terrible! 

Mike took these pictures because he was impressed that I was holding a baby and folding laundry at the same time.  Hey, I'm a Mom and that is all I need to say! 

A small glimpse of the chaos! 

My brother has a huge snowmobile trailer and let us use it to haul everything down.  It was such a big help and we were so grateful we didn't have to rent a truck and pay their ridiculous fees! The trailer was filled to the brim, but it worked great.  Then, he also let us borrow his truck because the trailer has a special hitch and has to be pulled by his truck.  Plus, his truck had the guts to pull the huge load.  So, we left him our subaru and we drove down my parent's suburban and Mike's two brothers drove our civic down. We left on Wednesday to get a head start because of the kids.  We were feeling pressured for time because we had to be in Phoenix by Friday to get the key to our house or we wouldn't get it until Monday.  We left Wednesday afternoon and pushed to Vegas and stayed the night with my Aunt.  My parent's drove the trailer down for us and left Thursday.  We were so grateful we didn't have to drive that trailer on our own.  My Dad is an expert in that area and did a great job getting that huge load safely to Phoenix.

Everything worked out so well.  Everyone made the trip safely and we actually made pretty good time. I was very excited, nervous, and flat out unprepared for the next chapter in our life.  I was really excited to see our house.  Mike had made many trips to Phoenix and after a lot of time, thought, prayer, and stress, he found us a little house.  People would find out that I let my husband find us a house without my approval and they would think I was crazy, but I would quickly reply, " You don't know my husband! He has better taste than I do."  I trusted him full heartedly and I was not disappointed.  I had seen a few terrible pictures from the realty company and Mike tried to sketch me the floor plan.  I was VERY happy and loved it almost instantly.  We were so excited to finally have a place to call our own. 

Friday morning (13th), we dove into moving in.  My Dad had to get back home and so we needed to unload the trailer. The men unloaded the whole trailer in just a couple of hours! Amazing! My Mom and Mike's brothers were going to stay with us for a few days to try and get settled and then we all had to rush home for my brother's wedding.  Mike's brothers were once again beyond amazing and were so helpful to Mike and moving the large items and boxes, etc.  If I could have had one person by my side to help me, it would have been my Mom, no thought needed.  My Mom is an energizer bunny! She never stops, just goes and goes!  She dove into cleaning the house and moving us in.  She watched over me and made sure I didn't over do what my body could handle, she helped with Jack and Jared, she helped with meals, etc etc.  Having moved before and  had experience setting up a home of her own, she had great ideas and advice as to where to put things etc.  Mike and I couldn't have accomplished half the work on our own, compared to what we did with everyone's help. 

Setting up the kitchen and a tired Mommy

 Grandma and Jared (living room connected to our kitchen)

We set up the computer in the office to entertain Jack 

 

Jack's Room

Living Room

Kitchen

The office is to the right of the living room. 

Master bath

Jack's/spare bath

Jared's Room

(Jack call's it Grandma's room and Grandma's bed)

Master

Our cute little house! 

Out of order, I know, sorry!)

This is our community pool that is just 4 houses down! 

Sooooo nice! 

Our "front" door. 

 Can someone please explain to me why Arizona has a fetish with putting the front door on the side of the house? I will never get use to it.  It is so unwelcoming in my opinion. 

Our backyard.  So excited to have 2 lemon trees! 

Another view of the house.  

You can see our "front" door. 

As a side note, I have been terrified about Phoenix summers.  To our surprise, the weather has been really nice while here.  We have had nice breezes and the temperature has been warm, but nice.  Maybe we will survive? 

After about 4 days of hard work, we were about 70% moved in.  How grateful I am we got that much done!  Mike's brothers ended up flying home and we all drove back to Utah. 

I still can't believe we pulled it off, but we did!  Family, family, family! Thank you to everyone that helped.  I know I didn't mention everyone who helped and everything they did, but please know we have not overlooked it and appreciate it with all of our hearts! 

Well, I guess all I can say is, "Welcome Home.... in Arizona!"