Until Next Time, Georgia

And just like that, we closed one chapter of our life’s story and we’re starting a new one. Last week was packing and moving week for our family, and it was an extreme case of hurry up and wait, and also an extreme case of being very bored and very busy at the same time.

During the initial assessment of our house and all of our stuff, they scheduled us for three full days of packing everything, and one day for loading it all into the moving van. Since we had so much time allotted for packing, I had a laundry list of things I still wanted to do those days, so color me surprised when the packers came in and packed everything but the garage and half a room in ONE day.

I also had big plans for doing some FB live videos to show those of you who are new at a PCS move what to expect, but they were just like quick little worker ants and went right to work! They actually accomplished so much that they said the didn’t need to come back the next day.

Thursday rolled around, and they finished their job just in time for us to grab dinner with friends and finish things up for moving day.

With the exception of waking up to Maddie getting sick in her crib, the day started out fine and dandy. The movers even rolled out the blue carpet for us (don’t worry, we aren’t anything special; they do it to keep from ruining and messing up the floors while the move everything), but around 3:30 pm my husband called to tell me that they’d need an extra day to move everything out and onto the truck. The truck they brought was already 3/4 full, and they didn’t allot enough space for our stuff.

I thought he was kidding. He was not kidding.

I was livid, because we had a very set schedule for the next two weeks driving across the country for our trip. Luckily, my husband knew this, too, and since I was out of the house, he handled things and told them that they’d finish it that night. Since the moving company was under contract (and that contract said they’d finish that day), they worked around some things and sent in another crew and another truck to finish the job.

They finished things around 9 pm the night before we left, and to be honest, I’m really nervous to see how things will arrive (and what will be missing), when we get our stuff back in July. Our packers seemed wonderful, and our moving guy worked very hard, so all in all it was a good experience. When we moved to Italy they left all of our clothes and stuff in dressers (and then they just sealed up each dresser accordingly), but this time they emptied everything into boxes, so I’m kinda scared to see how much stuff and how many boxes we’ll have to open.

I’m so thankful for my friends over the past few weeks. A friend not only watched both girls while packing/moving was underway, but she also watched our dog, and her own three kids while her husband was deployed! We also had someone let us borrow an air mattress, sleeping bags, sheets, and towels. Since we’re staying in hotels for so long, it’s was nice to stay in our house for as long as possible.

We ate at our favorite restaurants for the last time, and with the exception of how much I’ll seriously miss my friends (although, thank goodness for technology this day and age so we can stay in touch), I’m excited for our next adventure in California.

Right now we’re somewhere in middle Illinois, and I’m mooching off of my cell phone’s hot-spot signal to write this post while my husband drives. I’ve been in the driver’s seat for the past couple days, and then I’ve been so tired that I pass out almost as soon as we get the girls to bed.

Tomorrow we’re spending the day at the St. Louis zoo, and then we’re hitting the road again. Still to come on this road trip: Kansas, Colorado, Utah, Vegas, and then our new home in San Diego! If you want to keep up with our trip across the country, make sure you’re following me on Instagram!