the move

Whew! The move is done! Like many moves, it took LOTS of amazing helpers to make everything go mostly smoothly.  MeeMee watched Ben Friday for our closing and most of our moving day Saturday.  She even took him to Skip which in not a tiny task. 

We had the Josephine closing early Friday morning and ran a couple errands (black fan) before heading home and loading both cars with fragile stuff.  The second closing was late afternoon so we had time to celebrate briefly before heading to the new house closing.  The sellers had done all their stuff the day before so it went very quickly.

After that we were off to the races and Papa Jim met us at the new house to install Ben's new fan, which was a must in his agreeing to take his room instead of the master. ;)  The fan, as most things do, took much longer than expected so we unloaded the cars and I cleaned a bit before heading back to the tiny tudor for the last night.

The movers arrived at the late end of their window and got right to work.  I had suggested more than once that they make sure to get the playset parts and garage packed first because we'd purchased quite a bit of small furniture since I got the moving quote.  I knew we could move those smaller things with cars but that the big stuff had to go in the truck.  5 men and none of them listened to me so they had to make a second trip in the dark.  I think they pulled away after 8pm but had certainly gotten the job done-well and quickly. 

Cole, Amy and Papa Jim helped all day with smaller loads, furniture assembly and cleaning.  A little smart planning meant everything was assembled and set on clean floors and we all slept in our own comfy, clean beds Saturday night.  We are overwhelmingly grateful to our friends and family for their help.  Having Ben gone and all those extra helpers made ALL the difference.

The mountain views from the new hood are breathtaking.

We awoke early Sunday and Ryan, Ben and I headed back to Josephine one last time for the last few items and a good final clean.  We didn't have to be out until Monday but it felt great to get it done.  After about 30 minutes there, Ben asked, "Can we go home now?" and we knew the new house was just great with him.  We had a great walk around our tiny tudor saying good-bye to each room and thanking our home for taking such good care of us for 3 years.  Leaving is certainly bittersweet and there is much about the character and charm of the tudor and the neighborhood that can never be replicated.  There is also a lot a family gives up to live there and in such a small space and we look forward to our next adventure.

My first house-warming gift, from friend Tisha, filled with ideas for lots more space.

 

The playset is dwarfed even in this small section of our yard.

Papa Jim's help continued Sunday as he and Ryan tackled the playset assembly.  Ryan headed out of town for work today and having it done will be a savior in letting me unpack.  Speaking of........
 

ugh!