Moving to Idaho

Well it's official. The move has been made and while we're still living in boxes, I'm starting to feel like someday life will become normal again. The boxing up in Virginia was a huge undertaking and as I said earlier I never could have done it without help from many friends and neighbors. My parents came out for my cousins wedding and spent the first part of their vacation helping me load the ABF truck. We had guys from church come at night and help Dad a little with the loading. After getting everything done, having check out inspection and saying bye to some friends we headed for the wedding in Maryland.

The ABF truck half way through loading.

That was the beginning of our drive across the country. The kids got to swim in the hotel swimming pool with Grandma before the wedding and all four of them loved it. It was a nice treat and a way to get out some energy after our busy and confusing week. The wedding was very nice (read below if interested) and we enjoyed seeing some family members.

Swimming with Grandma Gass

From there it was another 4 days of driving across the country. My parents drove as far as Cincinnati with me which is where we met my Mother-in-law. She flew in to finish the drive with me. My parents headed off to Nashville the next morning and then back to DC to catch their flight. It was nice having them with me. The kids loved having both Grandma's at the hotel with them at the same time.

Grandma Newbry with the little girls just on the Idaho border.

The drive was uneventful. The kids were very good and we only had bad weather the first day when we hit a rainstorm just outside Cincinnati. I almost lost the waverunner cover, but luckily my dad was behind me and was able to call me. We pulled over on the freeway and had to take the cover off. Past Cincinnati we hit a few minor rainstorms, but not much. The car did great, the kids did great, and we were so happy to have Grandma Newbry there to help. It sure made it easier for me.

We just had to stop and take a picture when we made it to Idaho. Four and a half days in a car with 4 small kids is quite a feat.

We made it to Idaho around 5:00 on Tuesday night. We spent the night in Grace and was joined by Kenny who came up to greet us. The kids were so happy to be out of the car, to be at Grandma's house where they could run around, and of course to see Daddy. It was so nice to finally be a family again. The next day we drove to Idaho Falls to see the new house. Kenny did a great job choosing it. It's in a wonderful neighborhood, in a great area. I think we're really going to like it here. We have spent most of our time since arriving in Idaho visiting family. While I've enjoyed seeing everyone I must admit I'm looking forward to a weekend with just our family at our house.

Our new house with the kids sitting out front.

This past weekend, when we were at my Mother-in-law's for the fourth, she asked me what I like most about the new house. I had to think a moment and decided I wasn't able to narrow it down to just one. I love that when I go to put the baby to bed I don't have to walk up the stairs to do so. I know that sounds lame, but I like having the kids on the same floor as me. I love being able to walk outside at night and feel the peacefulness. The air is dry and cool and the street just has this peacefulness that Virginia didn't have. Maybe it was because of all the people, I don't know for sure, but I do know it feels different here. I LOVE the garage. I didn't realize how much I would love having a garage big enough to pull my van into. When we first unloaded the moving truck the garage was too full of boxes to put the van in. After 3 days I had to move the boxes around to make room for the van. I missed the garage so much.

Riding their bikes in front of the house.

I think the best part is how much the kids love it here. In Virginia we lived on a hill (everything there was hilly) but here we live on a flat road. The kids have discovered their bike and they absolutely love riding them. It has been so much fun to watch them ride up and down the street, so proud of themselves for being able to do so. They love the big back yard and the little playhouse built into the wall downstairs. Sarah Kate has told me many times that she never wants to move. That right there tells me they like it and that is music to my ears. We loved our time in Virginia and at times I miss the house and the life we had there, but we are so happy to be here.

Catching Fireflies

My blogs are kind of out of order, but the most important part is that they're all here. The night of my cousin Sara's wedding they had a wonderful dinner that was preceded by the typical wedding program. It was late at night and though the program of talks by best man, maid of honor, father, father-in-law and so on was wonderful, my four children were tired and not cooperating and I was tired of trying to keep them quite. I decided it would be best for us and for anyone around us if we quietly (yeah right) slipped out until dinner was served. We went out the front door of the building to a nearby grassy area and to our surprise we found hundreds of fireflies. It was a delightful distraction and I was so glad the kids got to see and catch them before we moved.

Sarah Kate holding a firefly. Leave it up to her to be able to catch one her first try. I loved that she wasn't afraid of them and that she just went right ahead and caught them.

Ben's first firefly he caught himself! Sarah Kate was very good to share the fireflies she caught, but Ben wanted desperately to catch one himself. He kept trying and after about 10 minutes he caught one all by himself.

After about 15 minutes or so of firefly catching I decided to take the kids back in. They had to tell everyone they saw about the fireflies, even the photographers who were packing up to leave. They told my Aunt Diana who had never seen fireflies before. The kid, of course, had to take her outside and catch her one.

Aunt Diana holding a firefly. She thought they were very neat how they really do glow. If you've never seen one you're missing out. They're really are cool.

Showing the kids the firefly. The kids loved sharing this with Aunt Diana.

Sad Goodbye's

As exciting as our move to Idaho is it does come with some major disappointments. The number one disappointment is the friends we're leaving behind. I am always amazed at the generosity of people in circumstances were it would be so easy to not be generous. I, of course am talking about the huge amounts of help I received from friends those last two weeks I was in Virginia. I was in the hospital Tuesday with my kidney stone and had so many people come to my aid then, and after that the help just kept coming. They sent around a sign up sheet at church for people to come help me for the next week and a half. I had meals every night, I had someone watching my kids almost every single day, and I had at least one person coming to help me pack and clean every day except Sunday. I was so amazed at the willingness of people to come and help me move, knowing that they likely would not see me again in their life. Looking back on it I'm not so surprised, given the people who came to my aid, that's just their personality. It did, however, make me even more aware of the type of people I chose to surround myself with while living there. I was very lucky to have had the friends I had, to have my children have the friends they had, and to have met the people that I met. I hope to one day be able to repay all the generosity I receive, most likely not to those who helped me, but to someone else.

I want to share some pictures of the many friends we left behind. Most are the kids friends, but we will miss them all, young and old.

Sara's Wedding

My cousin Sara got married on Friday June 20th. She was married in Fredrick, Maryland which was very handy for me because it was on my way out of town, the weekend I was leaving. On Friday night, thanks to my parents, we spent the night in a hotel in Fredrick with Grandma and Grandpa Gass and went to the wedding at 7:00 that night.

Sara, her new husband Jack, their son Jackson, and her parents Aunt Peggy and Uncle Andy

Funny story about the wedding. Being that I was in the process of moving across the country I had a van FULL of stuff and I was pulling the waverunner. We left the hotel at 6:30 thinking we'd have plenty of time to get there before 7:00. We arrived around 6:50, but didn't count on having to park the waverunner in a small dead end parking lot. I had to get my dad to back it up and park it or I'd still be there trying. We finally got it parked and I discovered I couldn't find Sarah Kate's second shoe. It was buried in the back behind one of the lemon tree's. Strange place I know! While I was trying desperately to locate the shoe my Uncle Ted called my dad wanting to know where we were. They were ready to start, but because we were in the parking lot looking for a shoe they decided to wait a few minutes until we got in the building. Thanks everyone for waiting. Maybe next time I move I'll be more organized, but I wouldn't count on it.

We got sat down and moments later the wedding began. Sara looked beautiful in her wedding dress as she walked down the aisle to the wedding march being played on the violin by my cousins 9 year old daughter Andie.

Walking down the aisle

I was sitting in a horrible place for taking pictures, but I was able to see them as they got married. It was a lovely ceremony and I enjoyed watching the smiles on their faces.

Jack, Sara, and Sara's brother Tony

After the wedding ceremony they took all the traditional pictures you take after a wedding. This, of course, takes a while so after having a few snacks provided inside, the kids enjoyed some running around time before dinner.

Gracie loved looking at my Uncle Ted. He's my dad's only brother and he lives in Florida. We haven't seen him in at least 3 years.

This is Hannah at dinner time. I love her big brown eye's and beautiful face.

Ben running and playing with the other kids that were there. Ben loves to run around and giggle.
Sarah Kate with Uncle Ted. She really took a liking to him and I think he quite liked her as well.

The Last Day of School

Getting off bus #50 one last time.

Sarah Kate's last day of school was on June 13th. It was a bitter sweet day for her. She loves school so much and was sad to leave her teacher, friends, and classroom. She, however, was happy to be moving to Idaho. It's a tradition at our bus stop to throw water balloons at the kids as they get off the bus on their last day. The kids are very aware of this tradition and were all very excited for it. It was a very hot day and the water balloons were a welcome coolness. The kids all grabbed the water balloons as quickly as possible and all 250 of them (balloons not kids) were gone in less than 5 minutes. What a fun way to end the school year.

The water balloon fight.

Look at my cute kid. I can't believe she's already done with kindergarten. Where has the time gone?

We also had an end of school party in the common area behind our house. Most of the kids from the bus stop came and enjoyed some fun in the sun and water while the parents talked. It was great timing for us because it allowed the kids to have a party with their friends one last time before we moved.

Hannah enjoying the sun and chips as you can tell by her messy face.




Sarah Kate and friend Madison getting ready for the balloon toss activity.


Ben and Conner tossing the water balloon.

Hannah and Gabriella sharing some snacks. I promise Hannah played in the water as well, she didn't just eat junk.

I love this pictures. Poor Lexie was not expecting Ben to shoot her. But look at how much fun Ben's having.

I guess the water gun shooting was a boy thing. Luke sure enjoyed shooting Sarah Kate more than she enjoyed being shot.