7/7 - The move from AL to FL - Part 1

Tweet

Here is what was planned for our move: Thursday and Friday - pack; Saturday - pack truck; Monday - delivery of goods.

The moving company called and said they would be at our house between 8 and 10 to start packing. Much to my surprise and frustration, they showed up at 7:15am. I wasn't ready for that. It was craziness after that. They were determined to pack us in one day (it has always taken 2 full days). Needless to say, they did manage to pack us in just one day. I was shocked but pretty excited. They then told us they were going to load everything on Friday. I actually didn't mind that because loading on Saturday, when the boys would be at home, would be very challenging.



I didn't even get to eat breakfast on Thursday because the first thing they head for is the kitchen. We bought the packers pizza for lunch and ate a slice ourselves. For dinner, our friend was nice enough to invite us over. That's one of the hardest things about moving is that I really HATE eating out for every meal for a week so it was so super nice that our friend, Rusty, invited us over. It was lots of fun after a stressful day of running room-to-room making sure they didn't pack stuff with bright yellow tape that said, "do NOT pack please." Her husband, Eric, grilled some chicken, onion, and zucchini and the kids made fruit kabobs. That was Aiden and Eli's first time making something like that and they had a blast. Aiden stacked his fruit nice and high. Eli couldn't get more than 2 pieces on his stick without having to eat his fruit off his stick. It was actually quite funny. The kids watched TV for a bit after dinner and we chatted with Rusty, Eric, and Bailey, the other therapist that works with Rusty. It was a late night for the kids but very fun. Aiden was so sad to say bye to Mrs. Rusty. She has a heart of gold and you can tell, truly cares about Aiden. She was trying to hold back the tears. She has helped Aiden progress leaps and bounds and I will be forever grateful for that. I am also so grateful to call her MY friend, not just Aiden's therapist.
OK. Back to moving. The movers shocked us on Friday (although I was ready by 7:15am this time) by loading everything in to the truck by 2:30pm. It was amazing timing because literally right as they were closing the doors to the truck, it started to down pour! After Brad got done signing all the paperwork, they had to run back out to the truck in a horrible down pour. God has awesome timing and thankfully none of our stuff got wet.













We stayed at the empty house on Friday afternoon so I could continue cleaning and fixing everything up. It took much longer than I expected but that's because I believe in returning a house in great

condition. We tried to touch-up the walls and that proved to be a nightmare. There were only about a dozen different types of paint a closet in the garage and none of them were labeled. We would open them up and see if they were close. Brad experimented a little and we quickly found out a few paints that did not match. After much searching though, Brad finally found the right color. I went and touched up about 2 dozen spots. For the record, I like the walls to look brand spanking new when I move it so we filled in holes where we had pictures hanging and then some scuff marks from moving and such. Also, the paint on the walls at this house was horrible. It was a cheaper than cheap flat paint and it would rub off instantly if you tried to wipe a mark off the wall. I'm so thankful that we used nice paint in our house (which is now a rental) because in the end, we will save money by using a slightly more expensive paint but at least it can be wiped versus having to repaint walls since the cheap flat paint cannot be cleaned. Back to the touch-up painting: It wasn't drying right. It was too shiny. I go back and check the can and it is definitely a perfect color match ... but in semi-gloss. What? I finally find the flat paint of the correct color and then  have to repaint all the stuff I already touched-up. After a long afternoon of cleaning and painting, we all just sleep on the floor or air beds.


We got up Saturday morning and I finished cleaning up around the house. Since the boys had very minimal toys at this point and I had shut doors to most of the rooms because they were done being cleaned and were now off limits, they got creative. They both like to help me vacuum but then my battery wasn't having enough time to charge when I needed to use it so I had to take that "toy" away. They then discovered they could throw Aiden's blankie into the fan and that was pretty funny. I wanted to tell them to stop it but I remember having such a blast doing similar stuff with my sister so I just let it go. A small blankie wasn't going to hurt the van.

The boys played a new game for a bit to. Rusty let me have this I Spy preschool puzzle game. They love I Spy books and I knew this would be awesome for them when I saw it. It's something they can do on their own (while I clean/unpack) and that they enjoy. (Thanks Rusty).

At 1:00pm we had a birthday party to go to. Aiden (and eventually Eli after he woke up from his nap in the closet) got to see his friend from church, Maddie, one last time before he left. It was lots of fun for the boys since there was nothing for them to do at the house. 

I loved the set up of their backyard. They was a pool with a fence around it but also a trampoline, playlet/fort, and still some open room. It also gave me one last chance to say bye to the friends from church that I made.

After the party, we went back home to change and then headed off to Rusty's house. She was nice enough to let us stay there since her family was out of town. Even though she said the boys could sleep in her boys' beds, they both wanted to sleep on the ground in their sleeping bags. It was too cute. Aiden kept asking when "Mrs. Rusty was going to come home." He really wanted to see her again but explained to him we wouldn't see them again before we left. Brad and I had got to sleep in a bed which was a much needed break. :)







It started to rain on our way home from Maddie's birthday party so I just backed in to the garage. How sad is it that the only time in 1 yr that I parked in the garage was the day before we left? I will never forget at Christmas time in Iowa (and lots of snow) that Aiden says, "Why are we driving a car into the garage" as he is laughing. Brad and I had to laugh at that as we told him that what you are supposed to do with garages.











On Sunday morning, we drove back to our house, put Brad's bike in the back of his truck, picked up a few last things, filled the cooler, and headed off to Florida. Thankfully, it was an uneventful trip and we made it safe. The boys did a great job taking turns picking movies out to watch. Mrs. Gini, the pastors wife of our church in Alabama, gave them each a Veggie Tales DVD so they watched those first. We actually had dinner with them on Wednesday night at Bass Pro Shop and it was really good to sit down and chat with them. Eli eventually fell asleep in the van and took a 1.5 hr nap which was really good. We left Alabama at about 10am and pulled in to Orange Park (west Jacksonville) about 5pm.

I'll let you know how the unpacking went in Part 2.