A fresh new start....

I have a lot to catch up on that I would like to write out for the memory of it and also to let everyone know what's going on.  So hang tight and we'll see if we can make it through it all.

I'll start off with the big move.  David and I tried to out smart it and so we decided to sell or get rid of a ton of our stuff because we kept thinking how it would be cheaper to buy it out here in Baltimore than it would be to rent a big truck.  Those trucks are pricey!  It sounded like a fun way to get rid of the old stuff and start new and  I kept imaging how nice it would be to have a fresh new start in so many ways at our new place.

I think she helps more with just her boots on.

As we packed up, we thought we did a really good job at de-junking and getting rid of or selling stuff.  Then as we were pulling all the extras together and packing up the last things, we realized that we still had too much for the space we had.  We packed the car and trailer as full as we could and dumped the rest.  I was frustrated at the time feeling that we had to throw too much stuff away at the last minute and that my thrifty-ness had gone a little too far.  I was wishing that we would have just paid the extra money to bring everything with us.

I had one more soccer game I was coaching and then my assistant was going to take over for the final two weeks.  Chad did a really good job and was a lot of help with those rowdy boys.

We hit the road and once we did, we both felt a sense of relief.  Once we left we felt good about leaving all that stuff behind and realized that it really was just "stuff" and we were excited for the brand new journey ahead.  It seems interesting now because I can't remember most of the things we left that I was so frustrated about...its funny how that worked.

We had a week of driving across the country and though it seemed intimidating, we were ready for the adventure.  We had 10 states to go through with 44 hours of driving ahead of us...Yikes!

We made our first stop in Idaho Falls and Rexburg.  We hung out with family and Nick and David took on the big task of repacking the trailer.  We had too much stuff in the car so they unloaded everything and packed every inch of that trailer full so we could all be comfy on our long drive. This helped us keep our sanity along the way.  They did a wonderful job and we all slept well.

We caught a student ward sacrament meeting (I forgot how quiet those wards are with no babies/children making noise!) and then we headed out.  We drove through the beautiful Swan Valley as we exited Idaho which has been home for us for quite some time.  Our car had a rough time lugging the trailer up and down the hills and mountains in Wyoming and we got an all time low for the trip at 9 miles per gallon...that was quite the heavy load!  We stopped in with Ben in Colorado as we all squeezed into his little room in the house.

The next morning we headed out and cruised our way to Omaha.  We stayed with the Dickson's and decided to take a break from driving for a day and went around town a little.  They showed us around town and we toured the Mormon Trail Center and the Winter Quarters Temple grounds there in Omaha.  We had a cool tour and it was neat to take a break to think about what they went through.  We thought our 44 hour drive was a little uncomfortable, but to walk as far as they did, with as little stuff as they had, in the terrible weather losing family and burying family along the way...our trip looks pretty glamorous and I didn't have much to complain about.

We ventured around the Mart and we all dreamed of all the fun furniture we would buy when we had pocketfuls of money.  A visit with the Dickson's wouldn't be the same without some games so we fit those in too.

We headed out late the next morning and decided we were just going to go as far as we could then we would get a hotel for the night.  We were on toll roads  for the most part of the rest of our drive.  We made it to some little town in Indiana and called it good for the night.  The downpour of the rain was wild most of the drive.  Semi trucks were kicking up so much water anytime we were near them  and we needed to calm our nerves for the night and take a break.

Iowa was full of corn fields and wind mills...and sunshine!

Katelyn liked hogging the big beds at the hotels and snuggling up with us and now she doesn't want to sleep in her  own bed...once she was spoiled she doesn't want to go back.

 She is always trying to help.  She is a quick learner sometimes!

We checked out of our hotel and we were off again.  We drove all day in the rain and then it cleared up as the night came.  As we would leave one state and enter another we got more and more excited as we realized we were getting close.  Indiana, then Ohio, then Pennsylvania....It was getting late, but we were so close we just wanted to drive a little bit further and be in Baltimore.  We knew we wouldn't move in until the morning, but being so close gave us the extra energy to finish the drive.  We got a hotel in Baltimore that night and then moved in the next day.

There were plenty of toll roads along the way.

This was one of the first signs we saw for Baltimore...we were getting close!

We were proud of ourselves...but we were probably more proud of Katelyn.  She has had her good and bad days in the car, and the whole trip I think we only took one stop for her when she couldn't handle sitting in the car any longer.  Of course we did have stops to change her stinky diapers...holy moly she can stink up the car and David and I had to pull over for those ones!  We stopped to eat as well and tried to coordinate that with getting gas.
 

All in all it was a good trip.  We didn't waste much time and we all still loved each other by the end of it. We learned that audio books are not our thing on long trips but we both enjoy them in spurts when commuting or  when we are puttering around in a quiet home, but they make us sleepy during the long stretches and we would much rather chat. We entertained Katelyn with snacks and Disney movies and singing.  She didn't care for toys much in the car.  We didn't see much of the beauty of the country because of the rain.  We spent a lot of time battling the fogged up windows and saw a lot of grey skies.  Once we arrived here in Baltimore it was beautiful and the fall colors were amazing.  I don't think I will miss the sagebrush of Idaho too much with all these beautiful trees around.

On our way to church there are beautiful back roads.