MINNESOTA...OUR NEW HOME

Well we are finally here and getting settled. It's crazy to believe that it has been over a year since we found out we could be coming to Minnesota and now it is here and we are all moved in. Things have gone very smoothly. It went a little something like this... At the end of April Chill and I flew out here to look for a house. We left the kids at home with our moms so we could be productive. I was worried we would need a week to find a place and even at that I wasn't sure how it would go. We met with our Realtor the minute we got into town and we were off checking out homes in no time. He was awesome and has done this many times before with people in our situation. He told us we would find a house in the next day or two (which I did not believe knowing the two of us.) House after house we went a lookin and we liked a lot of them but didn't love any of them. The last house we came to for the day was Chill's favorite and he told me this is the house. I didn't want to get my hopes up so I just said I felt we needed another day to look at homes. By the end of the 2nd day we had looked at a few more homes, went back to look at "Chill's Pick" and put an offer in. The following morning the offer was accepted and we were on our way to owning another home...kind of scary to me. We had the rest of the week to just play and check things out so we headed up to the Twin Cities to see what Minnesota had to offer. We of course hit the Mall of America which makes me really happy. It has just about ever store a girl could need plus an indoor amusement park. We played, ate, took some tours around town, found the temple and stayed in a nice hotel with a great view of Minneapolis. We called this my "birthday trip" which I was happy with. I was actually really excited when the trip was over. Rochester is a great little town and I felt it was perfect for us and our little family. I could already tell that we'd be really happy while we were here.
 

Jump forward a few months and we were packing our house in Salt Lake which was so weird to me. Carson was excited about the thought of moving but when it came right down to packing up his things he was not so happy! I knew the day would come when we would leave our little house on Washington Street, but it was kind of hard. The thing that made it easier was knowing my sister was going to be renting the house from us so it would still be "in the family." Packing a house is not fun can I just tell you. I mean it is fine until you get to the end and it is just the random odds and ends that you start stuffing in boxes. Thank heavens for good help. I couldn't have done it without my mom and sister Nat, and my mother in law. They were amazing. I was really good at avoiding the packing thing and they kept me on track. I knew once everything was packed and ready to go that it was really happening. We were leaving and I would be starting a new life...a life without the comfort of family just 15 minutes away, but I was excited for the chance we had for it to just be our little family figuring things out on our own. The last 6 years have been busy and challenging at times but I have always had family to make it easier. Now it is just us but I know we can do it. Plus I'll make some new friends to help me along the way. Anyway June 26th came faster than I thought and before I knew it our wonderful ward was over packing up the Penske which my entire life fit into and were were preparing for a trip across country. I know I was crazy to ride 23 hours in a Penske with Chill and his brother Brett, but I really wanted to go and get things settled in our house. Once again we left the kids with Chill's parents so that we could just get everything done.
 

The trip started off great...for the first 30 minutes until we got a flat tire on the trailer of the car hauler. Yeah we were at Silver Creek Junction just out of Park City. It was awful. I mean really....really. Lets just say I was not very happy about the whole thing and said many times...I think I'll just have someone come pick me up. It was just awful being that close to home knowing you still had a 23 hour drive ahead of you. To make matters worse it was 6...yes I repeat 6 hours before we were fixed and back on the road again. It was almost bedtime and we were all exhausted, but Brett and Chill made it through the night on 5 hour energy's and before we knew it the sun came out and it was a new day. Okay so the night was easy for me because I just slept. I had the easy job. I know it was rough on the boys but they just wanted to be there. We really did have a good time on the road. Listened to some good tunes, at some good food...I guess...And enjoyed each others company. I was so glad I hung in there because it was great. We laughed at our fat ankles that got swollen from so many hours in the car and we made frequent stops so that I could relieve my poor pregnant self. Chill made sure that I moved, walked, stretched enough to avoid blood clots...he was serious about it, but I guess you would be about something that serious. I will tell you pulling up to our house knowing that just inside those doors was a cool place to sit down and a hot shower made it all worth it. We obviously had no beds, couches, etc but we made do with what we could pull out of the truck for the night. Life was good, we had made it and I vowed never to haul our stuff across country again!

Brett stayed with us for 5 days and helped us get settled. It was so nice to have him around to help with little projects that needed to be done. He worked hard while he was here and we had a great time with him. Chill had to start work on July 2nd so Brett and I just got to hang out and check out the town.  I stayed and spent the 4th of July with Chill. We didn't waste anytime getting acquainted with the ward and the town. We hit the ward party early on the 4th and then hung out with some of our friends from Salt Lake and they showed us what Rochester had to offer. We saw a great firework show and then came home to see more fireworks our our bedroom window put on by some people in the neighborhood. I'll be honest I wasn't ready to leave when it was time for me to fly back. I wanted to stay, get settled, and get on with our new life...one small problem, our kids were back in Salt Lake so I had to go back. I sure missed them but it was so nice to get things done without them.

July 5th it was back to Salt Lake. I went and stayed with Chill's parents for the rest of the weekend. The kids did awesome while I was gone but I think they were worried I might leave them again because they were so clingy when I got back. They didn't want to leave my side! I was glad to see them. We had a great time with Chill's family. We went to the Symphony and Thanksgiving Point, spent some time with Grandma Molly, and went to the Oakley Rodeo like we do every year.

We packed up all our stuff and headed to my parents for the rest of the time. My sister was staying at my parents with her 3 kids so it was a little crazy but we had a blast! We played and played and that was about it. I was able to see a lot of my friends before I left so it worked out really well. We had a great time celebrating the 24th of July and my nephew's birthday and getting ready for Bear Lake.

We ended our family time with our annual trip to Bear Lake. I was so glad we got to go. I would have been so sad if we hadn't made it. As always it was so good to be together as a family for an entire week. I am really going to miss them all but I know this moving away thing is only temporary. The kids all had a such a great time together and it was nice to have that time before we all went our separate ways. The trip came to an end far to quickly and reality set in for all of us that it was time to get serious and pack up to get ready to go.

Chill's parents came out to see us the night before they left. They took us to dinner and gave the kids some gifts. I had to just pretend like it really wasn't goodbye because I just don't like goodbyes. Its hard knowing we are taking our kids away from their grandparents. For us we get to keep these little munchkins with us, but for them I'm sure it's hard to see them go. We hung out and talked and played for quite a while and then they left.

August 4th was the big day for all of us. We packed and got ready to go. My sister and her kids left for the airport at 5:30 pm so they could fly home and then the kids and I hopped in the minivan...Yes I said Minivan...we bought a van for this ever growing family of ours...and headed out with my parents who were so kind to drive us all the way to Minnesota. We left about 7:30 pm and dad drove through the night. Yeah I know I am crazy to take that trek across country again but it had to be done so we could get all of us and the van to Minnesota. The kids did absolutely amazing. Honestly I couldn't believe how well they did. About an hour into the trip Bailey wanted to get out of her seat, but once she got over that and realized we were going to live in the car for the next day she was fine. It really couldn't not have gone better. I drove a few hours the next day so that my poor dad could get a little rest. It took us about 22 hours to get there but we did make quite a few stops so we could relax and run around with the kids. It really wasn't so bad. I had it great in the back seat of the van. I stretched out and took quite a few naps and enjoyed time with the kiddos, but once again when we pulled up to the house I knew life was gonna be good because we had that behind us. When Bailey saw Chill she burst into tears and jumped on my lap. She didn't want anything to do with him....for about 2 minutes and then it has been all dad from there. I think we had talked for over a month about how we were going to see daddy soon and once he was actually there it was a little overwhelming for her. It was almost 6 weeks that the kids and Chill were apart. That is a long time for us!

My dad could only stay for a day which we were sad about but so grateful he got us out here in one piece! Mom was able to stay with us for a week and a half which was so much fun. We already miss her so much but are looking forward to all our visitors that are coming in October when the baby is born. The kids haven't really skipped a beat. Carson was so excited about our new house and they both slept in their new room with no problem from day one. They have adjusted so well. We have met some new friends in our neighborhood and ward and we are just loving it here. It is a beautiful place and we are feeling so blessed. So so blessed!