Packin' It Up! Packin' It On Up!

The past few weeks we have been wrapping things up here in Middle TN.

I have tried to say goodbye to various friends, but have been unable to do so. We keep saying, "How about next week?"

This coming Monday is our going away party with our college buds (just struck me funny to refer to them as that since I have been out of college for 15 years!), but we aren't calling it that. It's our "(insert last name) to Davis" party. It'll be the last time we hang out with "our group". Sad, yes.

I have spent my Dillard's gift card on Calphalon frying pans and Clinique make up since there isn't a Dillard's store out there.

Changed over our utilities and changed our address.

Have sold and given away a ton of stuff. Still have a chocolate fountain that has become a thorn in Collin's side. Maybe LBJ will want it?

What do we still have left to do?

Packing, packing, and more packing. We got a pretty good start though. The boy's room and our room are pretty much done. Just have the bathrooms, living room (which is almost done), and the kitchen. Guess that is the advantage of living in a 1000 sq ft. apartment. Have I mentioned yet, in this post, that we are moving into a 594 sq. ft. apartment? Still can not wrap my mind around that...which should be easy since it is so small! The apartment, not my mind!

Tuesday we pick up the truck. We'll start packing it then and finish up on Wednesday. This should seriously be our easiest move yet. I haven't even begun to panic yet!

Thursday...the wagon train is heading West! We are planning to do a total of 9 hours drive time a day. This will be very doable even with all of the stops and breaks we will take. If you have to have kids travel with you, you want our boys. Seriously, they are fantastic! They keep themselves busy without a tv in the car. We like listening to music and books on tape (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and The Enchanted Castle by E. Nesbit are this trips picks), talking, and telling stories. The boys read, draw, play, you name it! We just make sure to take breaks and stop at playlands or parks. This trip I made special travel binders with cool coloring pages, activities, roadside bingo, ect. I am also planning to give them a special "treat" to unwrap every morning and afternoon. I got things like bubble gum, a coupon for an ice cream cone, silly putty, and collective rocks. One is going to ride with me and the other with Collin in the moving truck. We'll switch periodically.

We should pull into Davis on the 24th or the 25th. I am excited to explore our new town. I think I am going to like it there very much.

We are scheduled to move in on the 26th. I am going to try very hard not to be overwhelmed by the size of our new home. We will make it work and it will work great. Not really planning to spend much time inside anyways. We'll be in Northern California!

So, if you are reading this and you are the praying kind, please pray for safety as we travel across America next week. And maybe throw one in there about us being able to settle in quickly and make friends. :0)