Keeping Up with the Moodys: Backup a Little...

Before we got here to Elizabeth City (hereafter, referred to as EC) we had quite another journey!

We said goodbye to my parents in Augusta on Tuesday. In case you're wondering, yes, it was a tearful goodbye! The kids and I had so much fun staying with them, and I was sad to be leaving them. I think a part of me also realized that everything was really happening. Moving to EC was no longer an eventually type of thing - it was actually happening! We were really moving to our new HOME...like permanent establishment...as in, no more moving around from city to city, make new friends that you're not moving away from, plant flowers and trees if you want because you're going to be here for a while, send out new address cards - officially change your address on your driver's license type of move! When I hugged my parents goodbye, I think that's when it actually started sinking in that it was truly official.

We drove to Charlotte on Tuesday to visit family there for a couple of days. We had a great time playing with cousins, visiting old friends, and taking a trip to IKEA where we found Cayman's big boy bed. We strapped the big box to the top of the van, and the long box (holding the sideboards) slid down the middle of the van, in between the kids, and resting next to me on the console. The big box on the top survived almost the entire trip to Raleigh. We were about 30 minutes outside of Raleigh when all of a sudden, I see cardboard and paper flying off the roof of the van in the middle of the interstate (Ian and I switched places for a while so I could ride in the peace and quiet in the Camry and he could enjoy the..........well, joyful screaming in the van for a little while.) So I laid on my horn to alert Ian that we needed to get over and pull off. Of course it was around 4:00pm, and the interstate was crazy crowded. I was so scared the entire bed was going to go flying off the roof! Thankfully, the cardboard just started ripping. The bed was exposed on top, but there were no other issues the rest of the way home. We tightened down the straps and took off again down the interstate, traveling a little more slowly this time around.

We headed straight to Chick-fil-A where we got to see some of our friends (unfortunately we still didn't get to see everyone...) and Cayman and Charis got to stretch their legs and play in the play area. We then went to Kyle and Jennifer's house where we were going to be staying until we left for EC (officially, that is...) K and J were at the beach for the week, and they graciously allowed us to stay at their house! It was great -- just like being home again! :) Brandon and Stacy and Cooper came over for supper that night -- it was just like old times again....with the minor exception of three children running around screaming and laughing -- that is NOT like the old times. :) Much better though. They introduced us to the game "Bananagrams" -- LOVED it! (Ian didn't like it that much though because he lost and wasn't allowed to use Spanish words. So I probably won't get to play it unless I'm around others who aren't nearly as competitive as my dear hubby....) The next day was very busy. The kids and I went to visit with the Eitels while Ian went to the storage unit to do some stuff...I can't really remember what all he did! Then after naptime, we all went over to meet baby Wayne (Nate and Megan's little boy, who is absolutely adorable!) We went out to eat with Jamie, Reid and Emory at my new favorite restaurant that I have been craving ever since that night - Chubby's Taco. Supper wasn't quite enough hang-out time for all of us, so they invited us back to their house so the kids could play and we could all chat. Whenever we go to friends' houses, I always feel so guilty because Cayman acts like he has the time of his life playing with all their cool toys. But then I just remind myself that he has plenty of cool toys himself, he's just gotten bored with some of them, which means it's time to start toy rotation!! Because I have somewhere to put toys when they're in storage!!! Yay!!!

Saturday was packing day -- we went to pick up the truck, buy some packing supplies, and then wait for the movers we hired to call us. Ian went on to the storage unit when I put the kids down for nap so he could get a headstart on packing the truck before the movers got there. My poor hubby was out during the hottest part of the day working HARD alongside those movers to get all of our earthly possessions packed up TIGHT in that truck. I had to go later with the van to pack stuff into the van and make decisions about what was going to be left behind because all three vehicles were packed to the brim with all of our stuff!!! It was very overwhelming. We had entirely way too much stuff!! I'm so glad we had purged a lot of our stuff. I still have more purging left to do but haven't found the energy to do so yet.

We got to hang out with Kyle and Jenn all night Saturday (they came home from the beach around noon). Cayman still loves his Uncle Kyle and Aunt Jenn Jenn. I think Sadie enjoyed the extra company too! We let them all three take a bath together for the first time. But apparently, Charis is a little possessive over her bath water. She kept hitting Sadie in the face.... :( So bathtime was cut short, and it was straight to bed for my kiddos! Jennifer and I went out for a little girl time to Goodberry's for icecream (holy mackeral I have forgotten how good Goodberry's tastes!) It was so much fun to spend alone time with one of my best friends!!

The next morning, we were all up bright and early to head out on our trip. Ian led the way in the moving truck towing our Camry, then the kids and I followed in the van. The trip took us quite a bit longer than it did the first time... Ian missed about 10-12 bright orange DOT signs warning that the bridge was closed ahead and there was a detour. So we drove right until the road ended and somehow he managed to turn the huge truck/Camry around on a two-lane road. I definitely should have gotten a picture of that. Not only that, but we could only drive 55mph down the highway. So it took us about 4 hours to get there! But eventually we started seeing our signs for our new town. And we could not have been happier!