Iowa or Bust!

After months of orchestrating the move, hard goodbyes, and our week as homeless wanderers, we were feeling very ready to get going. Iowa is an 18 hour drive from Utah and we were tackling it with our van, a giant moving truck, a bearded dragon, an injured dog, nine people (including one nursing baby), and everything we own in the world. Whew! The secret to success? Good attitudes and lots of snacks. 

I drove the van with the dog and all the kids except Eliza. Hazel was my awesome backup driver. We packed up and left super early Friday morning. Lionel isn't a big fan of the car, especially in the evenings, so our goal was to get as far as possible between each stop before he was too grumpy and needed a break. I have no doubt the Lord rained down tender mercies on our trip, because he did great! One of those tender mercies came in the form of freeze dried peaches from Angie. Any time Lionel got fussy, we'd give him a peach to suck on. Those peaches saved us! 

We had some fun stops that day including ice cream for breakfast at Little America.

Then while driving through Cheyenne we caught a practice of the Thunderbirds! They flew right be the window as we were pulling off the highway for a planned stop. They must have just started, because we watched them fly for a good 45 minutes. We couldn't have timed it better if we tried! Day 1 was a success, and we made it through 10 hours of driving. 

Day two the kids and I drove the last 8 hours from Nebraska to Iowa, while Michael and Eliza got started from Provo. Eliza was finishing up FSY, so Michael picked her up from BYU and they headed out in the moving truck with the lizard. 

It was slow going for the truck, but they had a good day and made it over halfway. The kids and I got in to Iowa City in time for a quick run to the grocery store before making it to our new home!!! 

Of course we had to hunt for fireflies first thing. Luckily, we caught the last few of the season. 

Day 3 Michael and Eliza finished the last of their drive. It was a long haul in that big truck, and they didn't make it in until after dark, but they made it! 

Meanwhile, the kids and I attended our new ward for the first time. We then spent the day exploring the house and killing time. Our new home was built in 1900, so it was fun to discover some of its character and stories. Like this plaque on the front porch...

... or these amazing hand-carved trim accents. 

The kid's favorite find was this mini furniture set from the 70s that we found in the attic!

It was a LONG summer and a LONG journey getting here,  but we made it!

And Iowa is still the beautiful,  wonderful place we remember! Here's to an incredible new chapter

The Goodbyes

The goodbye part of moving is so hard. It's hard to close a chapter of your life, say goodbye to the places and people you loved, and step away from the familiar. It's also SO MUCH WORK.

Here we are in the last hours of cleaning out our old house smiling on the outside but exhausted and questioning our life choices on the inside haha! The kids spent the last hour on the front porch keeping the little boys safe and entertained while we finished up the last bit inside. Lionel was so exhausted he crashed right on Conrad's lap.

But we did it! We got all of our stuff moved into our garage, the house cleaned out, and closed! The next step of the moving plan was to stay in the vacant rental house Michael's parents own for a week until we could close on our Iowa house and move. BUT, we found out the night before we were supposed to move the house wasn't going to be safe for us to stay in. Enter improvising...

My parents hosted us one night, but they live so far from the friends and things the kids were wanting to do. Plus, we're loud and a lot to handle! The next night we already had plans for a campout in a friend's backyard with a parade the next morning. That was a fun night! 

But, not having a home base was rough! The little boys were losing it from a lack of routine. Poor Walter kept asking when we were going to "his bed." Plus, Hailey was really struggling too. We were ready to cut our time in Utah short, have Eliza and Michael skip FSY and Deaf Symposium, and start heading to Iowa early. But then our sweet friends the Lee's begged us to come stay with them for the week. They had a big basement with plenty of space, a kennel in the barn for Hailey, and wouldn't be put out by hosting 9 people because they're just amazing like that. 

So we moved in with them for the next six nights. They not only hosted us, but made our last week in Utah joyful. They were so kind and accommodating and patient (even when Walter hit a biting phase and kept biting their poor daughter just a bit younger than him). The older kids had an incredible time with their friends the whole week. Thank you Lees! We will never forget your kindness to us that week! 

Soon it was time to load our things from the garage into the moving truck. The ward showed up BIG TIME and we knocked this out in under two hours. Amazing! 

Then squeeze in dinners, friends, and last goodbyes. I didn't take nearly enough pictures.  I think subconsciously it was just too hard. I will say, the one beautiful thing about moving, is it's a bit like attending your own funeral. So many people share heartfelt things with you, and it's very touching! 

Pulling out of the Lee's driveway and off to Iowa was SO hard and sad. But goodbyes are like ripping off a Bandaid, it's best done quickly. We tried not to dwell in the sadness as we drove and instead started looking ahead to our new adventure. 

This chapter in Utah was a great one! But the Lord was calling us on to the next chapter...

Baby Lionel, Chapstick, Bingo, Mr. Messi

This cute baby has so many nick-names, I'm not sure he knows his actual name. 

Sometimes he's Chapstick...

When he's playing with Walter he's often Bingo (because Walter is Bluey and Lenora is Mum). In fact, if we don't call him Bingo, Walter will say, "That's not Lionel, that's Bingo!"

If we do use his real name it's always Baby Lionel - never just Lionel. 

Sometimes he's Mr. Messi - thanks Conrad for this one. 

In school Lenora labeled him... 

Regardless of what he's being called, he's always happy and smiling when he knows he has your attention. 

Michael also gave him a name sign! He hit his face on the faucet one day and got this little scar. His name sign is a bent-finger L with your thumb facing up, scraped over your cheek like this little scar. It's tough and unique. 

Whatever you're called we love you! You're always full of smiles. You love food! You want to move so badly (sitting by 5 months, crawling by 6 months, and pulling up to stand at 7 months). Kids are taking bets on if you'll be walking by Halloween. Look out world for Mr. Messi, Baby Lionel, Bingo, Chapstick!