Friday, August 07, 2009

We're Here! Whew!

We're safely home in Burke, Virginia. Hurray!

The last week has been such a blur. The highpoints were all the hugs I captured during our visit with my family:
My Dad.


and my Mom.


and my Grandmother.


The Casualties of The Move were:
One U-Haul truck tire. Karen's brother, Ted, drove our U-Haul for us. Somewhere in Nebraska, he felt a tire blow and safely pulled the truck to the side of the road. Karen and Ted called U-Haul who promptly sent someone out with a replacement tire. The funny part of the story is that the guy they sent was over 80 years old. He could barely move the truck tire and had only a hand-cranked jack. So they sat in Nebraska for a while. A long while. But they did get back on the road. Karen and Ted made the 3000 mile trip in 4 1/2 days. Amazing.

My left hand. Our cats arrived in TN on Friday 7/24 after traveling air cargo all day. They finally poked their heads out of wherever they had been hiding in my Mom's house on Saturday night. It was a pretty traumatic trip for them. I knew that trying to get them back into their carriers on Wednesday was going to be hard. I just didn't know how hard. My grey tabby cat, Phoebe, went in easily. My white calico, Chloe, fought us tooth and nail. I got seriously bitten. One bite/tear by my left pinky was so deep and long that we thought I was going to need stitches. All in all, I had six cat tooth punctures and many scratches and bruises on my left arm. And guess what, Chloe still wasn't in the carrier. Both cats are staying with my Mom until I can go back and get them.

Our dining room table and our sleep number bed. Our dining room table had something fall on it breaking several of the tiles past repair. So we got a new dining room table. Our sleep number bed has two punctures- the punctures have been patched but are still slowly leaking. We have replacement parts on the way.

Right now, Karen and I are so tired we can't see straight. Karen made one heck of a trip across country. She and Ted really busted the trip, especially since the truck had a regulator that wouldn't let you go over 70 mph. It rained on moving day here in Virginia but we survived it. I did one heck of a job of painting two bedrooms and then unpacking us in three days.

But the BEST NEWS was that on Wednesday August 5th, we found out that we had SOLD OUR OREGON HOUSE!!! You can't imagine how incredibly happy and relieved this makes us. Thank you, thank you to all of you who have sent us your best wishes and prayers. Thank you!

Kylie and Karen flew to our new home last night. And it was so great to here Kylie say, "I love our new home Mommy!"

I'll be contacting those of you who read the blog and have mentioned that you live in Virginia--I can't wait to meet you! And there will be lots more pictures to come. For now, I'll leave you this one of Kylie thinking, "Hmmmmm....... I like my new backyard."

12 comments:

Scooby Mommy said...

Congratulations on selling the house. I'm sure you're really pleased. Great to get an update. Have been checking daily to see if you got moved safely. Take care, & health to enjoy your new home!

ECW74 said...

I have lurked forever on your blog but have to comment today because I LOVE VA. I lived in Ashburn, VA which is about 30 miles NW of DC out Rt 7. VA is so amazingly beautiful. I really miss it. I think you will come to love VA, it has much to offer.

Soupy said...

YAY~ I have been checking daily for reports and praying for a smooth transition - I cannot fathom moving cross country- YAY for kylie loving her new home :)
congrats on selling the OR home- what a relief! Good luck settling in!

Beth said...

Congrats on selling the house and on a (relatively) smooth move.

Welcome to Northern VA! I have been reading your blog forever and our kids are only a few weeks apart. We live in Chantilly (in South Riding), about 15 miles from Burke. Please leave a comment on my blog if you'd like to get the kids together for a playdate (or pool date)! =)

All the best in your new home!

Caroline said...

Yay for selling the house. I know that is a huge relief for you. Now you can really enjoy your new life in Virginia.

Can't wait to see pics of the new house.

Teaberry said...

Burke, huh? We are in Oakton, which is two towns over! I'd estimate it's about a 10-15 minute drive, depending on traffic! At the least, we are totally in the very same part of the county! Neato!

ajs4ever said...

So glad you made it safely!! I hope you enjoy your new place even more than the last!!!!!!!

hrllo said...

I have an aunt and uncle who live in Fairfax which is not far from you! We

Laurie said...

Oh, I'm just so happy that you all arrived safe and sound. The picture of Kylie hugging your grandmother is absolutely precious. :)

Stef said...

SO glad to see that you are back! Have missed the pics of Kylie.
Cats are interesting to get into their carriers aren't they? Maybe use a cat tranquilizer? or a cat xanax before trying to get them back into the carriers, so you don't lose a hand this time.:)

Michelle said...

Before moving to Guam, we lived in Virginia for 2.5 years at Langley Air Force Base in Hampton. It wasnt the nicest place in VA so we didnt care for it. Had we lived in a nicer area I think we would have liked it. Many well wishes for your family in your new home!

Alayna said...

Glad you made it safely! And congratulations on selling your house out here! We look forward to hearing about your adventures as you get to know Virginia...