Moving Day: VA to NC

We have been in our new house/neighborhood/city/state for almost a month now which is crazy. It's strange to look at these photos of our old house and think that someone else is living there now. Hopefully enjoying it. These past few months have been a whirlwind. Ben was out of town the entire week leading up to the move and the week before that each one of us came down with some kind of stomach bug. I was glad that I had gotten an early start on packing. Ben's work trip was actually to North Carolina so he was able to drive his car down and leave it in Raleigh and then fly home which worked out nicely.

We loaded up the last of our belongings Saturday morning (November 30). Ben got on the road driving the truck while I waited at the house to do the final walk-through with the new owners. It was strange to hand the keys over to someone else and then drive away. I took a video of the girls giving a tour of the house before we left so I'm glad we have that fun documentation.

Everyone was anxious and excited on our drive to Raleigh. We eventually caught up with Ben and stopped for lunch. The last hour of the drive felt like an eternity, especially with the girls asking "how much longer?" every two minutes. And they were always shocked and disappointed at the answer. Simon was content for the whole drive, chewing on broom sticks and any other junk that fell his way.

The kids started running around like crazy in the empty house when we arrived. We only had a few minutes before Ben arrived with the truck and people from church showed up to help us unload. They had their work cut out for them, hauling lots of storage bins to our third floor attic. But they had the whole truck unloaded in under two hours, brought two dinners to us, and helped Ben return the truck. It was a very nice welcome.

One of the guys that helped us even returned a few days later with his leaf blower and cleaned up all the leaves in the driveway for us!

Enjoying our first dinner in our new home.

Finally collapsing at the end of the day, surrounded by boxes.

Oh yeah. And it was Ben's birthday! Lame for him. But hey, he got a new house! I made him buy his own birthday cake when he ran to the store for a few essential items that night. We were so grateful that everything went smoothly with the move and were humbled by all of the help we received from friends and family.

U.S. Botanic Garden and a D.C. farewell

Thanks to a very thoughtful family member who arranged a cleaning service for us, we were able to take a break for a few hours after loading the truck while someone else cleaned the house. (So incredibly nice during such a stressful/exhausting time.) It was the perfect chance to see one of our favorite holiday displays in D.C., the Season's Greenings exhibit at the United States Botanic Garden. We reminisced about seeing this exhibit for the first time several years ago when it was just a train exhibit outside of the gardens. Now they have a fun theme every year with trains winding through creative structures made using plant materials in addition to the many famous D.C. landmarks made out of plant materials, lots of festive poinsettias, and a large decorated tree. This year's "World's Fair" theme was really fun.

I loved how they used bark to make the continents on this globe.

I'm sure this won't be our last visit to D.C., especially since we're only 4 1/2 hours away. But it was fun to visit one last time before we moved and fit in one of our D.C. Christmas traditions.

Loading the truck.

We loaded our truck on Black Friday. I had been packing boxes for several weeks leading up to it so it wasn't too overwhelming at the end.

 

We rented the biggest truck that U-Haul has but were a bit worried about everything fitting. Supposedly the truck would hold the contents of a 3-4 bedroom home. But we also had a completely full attic and two packed sheds. We were overwhelmed with gratitude for the help we received to load the truck. At one point I counted 25 people helping. They emptied the house in no time. Eventually the lawn was full of our belongings and the truck already seemed pretty full. I was sure we would have to start throwing things out or leave a lot behind and store it and return for it later. But there were some crazy engineers in that truck who packed it as tightly as possible and in the end they managed to fit just about everything. We ended up giving away a few things and leaving a car load of stuff with some friends until we can retrieve it. But we were amazed what was able to fit. There was not an inch to spare in the truck. 

Thank you, friends!!

Donut break. These kids were such great helpers!

Everyone watching the magic happen.

The kids thought it was pretty cool to spend the night in our empty house. It was a strange feeling.

Oliver passed out pretty quickly. It was a long day.

Thanksgiving.

Our kind friends the Littles had us over for Thanksgiving dinner along with some other good friends, the Browns. It was so nice to get away from the packing and chaos at our house and just enjoy a nice afternoon with great friends and delicious food.

Rolls ready for the oven. I had already packed up everything but made sure to keep out what I would need to make rolls, stuffing, and a salad. Cooking made Thanksgiving feel a little more normal, and less like the day before moving day.

The older kids.

Amelia with her best friend Abi.

Oliver and his buddy Calvin. He really misses his weekly play date with Calvin and his other friend Peter.