The Move to End ALL Moves

This move was a doozy.  Welcome, but miserable, nonetheless.  This house was one of my favorites.  I really grew to love it.  It wasn't huge, it wasn't perfect; but we really did make it HOME over the five years we lived there.  (By the way, five years is the LONGEST we have ever lived in a home to boot!)  So it makes sense that we had made ourselves comfortable.  We had lots of storage space, and lots of little nooks and crannies to squirrel away our hoard.  And squirrel away we DID!!

When it came time to packing, I didn't even know where to start!  Thanks to my buddy Laureve, I was able to pack the first few boxes in the basement to break the ice and get the ball rolling.  After that, it was non-stop boxes, tape, bubble wrap, sweat, and tears up until packing the truck.  The more I packed, the more STUFF emerged from the recesses of my nooks and crannies (that sounds a little inappropriate, sorry).  Haha!!  Anyway, it was daunting...to say the LEAST.  We kept thinking, this is A LOT of STUFF!  I wonder/don't think/fear/have all manner of anxiety that this stuff isn't going to fit in the truck we have rented.  I don't know HOW we are going to DO this!!!!!

My homegirls from the RS came on Tuesday to help me pack boxes INSIDE the house.  They tackled my kitchen with impressive force and speed.  So much so, I didn't have ANY food or paper products for the next 48 hours!  Haha!!  BUT at least it was packed, which I was ever so grateful for.  Turns out Carol Taylor worked as a professional PACKER with a freight company years ago!!  Hello!  And Sandy Earle, who worked in the clothing business at Marshall's for years, packed my suitcases and bundled my hangers with such precision and expertise, it was like a work of ART!!!   I love my sisters in the gospel!!

So the BIG DAY arrived on Thursday.  We headed over to Streator, and after a quick Mickey D's breakfast, we rented our 26 footer from Uhaul, and got started.  Our buddies, the Bryants came to help us assess the damage.  The thing about the Bryants is that they stayed POSITIVE the whole time.  They never gave us crap about our hoard, they just HELPED us pack it the best, most efficient way possible.  I really, really love them for that.  They didn't JUDGE me, they just SERVED and LOVED me anyway.  :)

So hours into the process, it sloooowly and painstakingly became apparent that it wasn't ALL going to fit.  Larry, out of the KINDNESS of his heart, offered his pickup with a trailer to offset the big, awkward stuff: bikes, trampoline, playhouse, lawnmower, etc.  He actually offered to DRIVE to MICHIGAN with us to help us get all of our junk out of this darn house of ours...ON TIME!!  (Oh, did I mention that we were getting KICKED OUT of our house early because our buyers decided to move up our CLOSING DATE to FRIDAY?!?  2 weeks AHEAD of schedule?!?  It was okay, except for the fact that we didn't know if we would have to be making an extra trip BACK to freaking Tonica to retrieve the rest of our EXCESSIVE earthly belongings....where on earth would we keep it so that we didn't have to mess with the closing?!?)   

That evening our TEAM of helpers arrived...the EQ, YM/YW, friends from Tonica, friends from church, friends from work.  IT WAS INCREDIBLE!!  They descended on our house like spider monkeys, pulling out every box and piece of furniture to the FRONT lawn!  It was horrifying!  Seeing all of my stuff on display like that...I didn't know whether to laugh (because ALL of my furniture is WHITE and from IKEA!!), or to cry because I seriously have over 1 million clear plastic bins FILLED with JUNK!!  And there it was for the whole, wide world to SEE!!!!  And of course, I had an audience of Tonican gawkers on the front lines, doing what they do best!!

My buddy Laureve kept me inside (I came later to find out) because she wanted to protect me from the horror outside.  IN addition to the shame of having the contents of my house puked out all over the lawn and driveway, it was also becoming INCREASINGLY apparent that we were going to need to rent ANOTHER UHAUL in order to get all of our stuff out of the house by noon the next day.  AT that point, I really did just want to cry.  Another one of my buddies showed up and offered her trucking service free of charge, OUT OF THE KINDNESS OF HER HEART, to come pick it up in the morning and store it in her garage until we could figure out what to do with it.  I think that offer kept my head from exploding...what would I have done without all of these FRIENDS of mine?!?

That night we finished sweeping, and wiping down our BELOVED HOUSE for the last time.  We planned on getting another truck the next day, and the Bryants planned on driving their own truck/trailer and extra truck, while Mark would drive the 26 footer, and I would drive the van.  (The Rendezvous was already in Michigan because we drove it over during the reunion.)  THAT was the PLAN!

WE made it to Midland on a Friday night.  We unpacked the 26 foot truck with the new WARD Saturday morning.  We also had to ask WARD members to come BACK a few hours later when the BRYANTS would arrive to unpack Truck #2, 3, and 4.  Aye yi yi...the shame!!!!  Way to kick off a new start, eh?!?  Nooooot goooooood.  (Remind me to tell you about how Mark went to help a family that moved out a week after we moved in, and MANY comments were made to the effect of "wow, this is going really FAST! is this ALL you have?!?  this is WAY LESS than the Browns had...this went SOOOO much faster than it did at the Browns house...etc, etc, etc.)  Yep, pretty much.  AWESOME stuff, huh?!?

So anyway, that's the story of THE MOVE to END ALL MOVES!!  If I didn't know it before, I HATE MOVING!!  Also, did I mention that we will be moving AGAIN in approximately 9-12 months when we BUY the last house we will EVER BUY!!  This marked our NINTH move, y'all.  Sad, huh?  Lucky #10 will be the ringer, I JUST

KNOW IT!! 

Day Family Reunion--Crystal Lake 2013

Amidst all of the chaos of finishing summer semester, selling our house, packing our house, finding a place to live, and MOVING we were able to take some time out for the Day Family Reunion at Crystal Lake!  I'm so glad we did!  I was able to forget about the madness at home, and really just soak up time with my family and it was wonderful!!

Here are a few pics that I remembered to take...but sadly, there were so many missed photo opps. The week was jam-packed of fun memories!!

The first day we kicked off the event with lunch in Beulah, followed by family pics taken by Kristen Pierson.  So glad we have a photog in our midst now!!  That night we had a opening ceremony where the Griswolds had burned CDs that had a family song from each of the families.  We had to guess which song belonged to who by what was going on in their lives over the past 3 years.  Now we have a fun momento to listen to as well!

The second day was tubing down the lazy river.  Much of the family attended, but those who didn't hung out on the beach and had a good time anyway.  

The 2nd night we had a new Day family tradition:  The Chopped Challenge!!  Teams consisted of each original Day child with one of their kids.  The first round was dessert, and the winners from that round went onto the final round of appetizers.  The overall winner took home the coveted "Day Family Chopped Champions apron" until the next reunion. The Normans did a great job organizing this event!

Avery and I were the Chopped Challenge Champions!!  We are soo proud!!

The third day we took a trip to Sleeping Bear Sand dunes, and conquered the mountain!  It took forever, but we made it!  The view was spectacular!

 We took a scenic drive over to the dunes overlooking Lake Michigan.  The drop was so significant that they had warning signs for potential hikers.  It reminded hikers that rescue efforts would be at their "own expense".  Haha!!

Obviously, I chose not to take the hike down to the lake...didn't want to have to pay my rescue worker's fees to bring me back up the dune.  :)

The third night many of the families went into Frankfort for souvenir shopping and dinner out, and we all joined back up that night for s'mores with a beautiful sunset!  These two lovebirds (Ryan and Gretchen) took advantage of the scenery and I couldn't help snapping this pic! 

The fourth day we did the annual pillowcases where all the cousins decorate their own pillowcase and then they all sign each others. The ladies did some crafts after the kids were done.  That afternoon we had to say goodbye to the Normans and Ryan Day's family.   It was so strange after they left, but it was also nice to be able to get more talk time with the remaining families.  

The last night we had a big backyard bbq, and then took night boat rides.  It was a great way to finish off the festivities.

I seriously don't know if I can wait until Summer of 2016 for the next one...sniff, sniff.  This was one of the last reunions where EVERYONE would be able to attend.  By the time the next one rolls around, a lot of the grandkids will be mission-age, married, in school, etc.  It makes me all teary to think about.  Time marches on, and I am hoping that my kids have strong enough bonds with my family to always know who their family is, and that they are LOVED by so many awesome people. 

Huge shout outs to the people behind the scenes who made this whole thing possible!!  Everybody played a part somehow, and it wouldn't have been so special without all the extra steps people took to make it that way!  I love you all so much!!