Our Journey to our New Life

Gilbert, AZ to Lexington KY= 1785 miles

Arizona-New Mexico-Texas-Oklahoma-Missouri-Illinois-Indiana-Kentucky

We left Gilbert the morning after graduation, June 9th. 

Our buyers were coming at 10 AM that morning to walk through the house and pick up the keys. 

Trent was busy packing the van (to the brim) and I was busy doing the final wipe-down of every nook and cranny of the house. Several friends stopped to say goodbye and helped me finish up the house cleaning. It was so nice to be surrounded by some wonderful friends and I was so grateful for the last minute push to the end. 

I can't do a moving post without a picture of or truck. 

We did ABF which means we packed the truck and they hauled it to KY. Packing it was no small effort. Since we paid by the foot, we were bound and determined to use as little space as possible. With some purging of junk in the several weeks prior and careful packing into the truck we accomplished that goal. We were so happy to use fewer feet leaving AZ than when we arrived in AZ.

Packing the truck was a very hot, miserable experience. We were happy to have lots of help with the large items. The hottest day was spent arranging every little bit of the truck. Trent and I spent ALL day out there. It was about 112 degrees outside and much hotter on the inside. Trent even had burns on his arms from touching the truck. We were relieved to have it done.

After the car was loaded, many tearful goodbyes said, and last minute errands run we headed on our way! The anticipation of all that lay before us was almost tangible.

Goodbye, Gilbert! 

 Heading out of the Phoenix valley.

Are we really moving to KENTUCKY???

These two were champion travelers. They spent many, many hours keeping themselves content in those seats. What is Nathan listening to? Nothing! He just likes having those headphones on and pretending he is a pilot or fireman. I think he was a fireman at this point in time.

Our favorite pit stop in New Mexico

We were excited to get to spend some time at the Squires before heading eastward. The kids were thrilled about the fun sleeping arrangements that are available.

 We spent Sunday there. It was a great day to spend with their family. Our family was pretty wiped out from the whirlwind few days we had and it was so great just to hang out and refresh for the whirlwind to come.

Trent enjoyed giving the boys a photography lesson on the rooftop of their shed. 

And captured those perfect, New Mexico clouds and the stellar night sky (the red lines are airplanes blinking across the sky as the picture was taken). 

The night before the big journey continued Nathan woke up several times throwing up. I was so worried that he would be super sick and our trip would be really difficult. 

We woke up the next morning very relieved that he seemed to feel better. However, when we got on the road he started to be really uncomfortable and felt like he needed to go potty every few minutes. We were literally having to stop for him every exit, including a gravel pit with some antelope in the field. We put him out on our training potty in the gravel looking at the antelope in hopes of some success--nothing. With several days worth of driving ahead of us we were discouraged.  There were many reasons we knew that Heavenly Father was blessing us in the details of this trip and this experience was just one- after fervent prayer that Nathan would travel comfortably he was just fine the rest of the day. We were able to travel several hours at a time and make really good time.  

Nathan on the potty in a gravel pit off of one of the exits. There are antelope in the distance if you click on the picture to make it bigger.

 Everything is bigger in Texas! Including the biggest cross in the western hemisphere.

Dacia, this picture is for you. :)

Sunset in Tulsa, OK

We stopped for the night in Joplin, Missouri. It was late and dark and we were all exhausted. Trent was checking into the hotel and I pulled Nathan out of his carseat in the parking lot. The instant he was out of the car he threw up all over the parking lot several times. It was such a blessing it happened when it did. He rested comfortably the whole night through and was his jolly self the next morning. 

The following day was a good travel day. The goal was to pull into Lexington late that night!

Here we are crossing the Mississippi River.

 Catching a glimpse of the St. Louis Arch from a distance.

And the beautiful sights of the Midwest. I LOVE the middle section of this country. I couldn't get enough of all the farmland and country side. 

Our little silhouette with our wagon on top was entertaining whenever we'd catch a glimpse of it. This picture makes it look like we're going really fast. I think Trent was playing with the camera or something. 

 We were so excited to see this sign pointing us to Lexington!

 Welcome to Kentucky: Unbridled Spirit. We are almost there!

We pulled into Lexington after midnight, and just as I was coming down with Nathan's stomach bug. We were so grateful our new neighbors had insisted that we spend the night in their basement. They were asleep but left their door open for us. Every detail had been thought of and we were so happy to be greeted by this sight:

Our moving truck was delivered bright and early the next morning. Trent and a crew of neighborhood boys and folks from church got everything unloaded. I spent the day feeling sick and pretty lousy but so happy I hadn't had to feel that way during the long drive. 

Even though we had a lot of projects and settling in ahead of us we were RELIEVED to have gotten our family to the other side of the country and start acclimating to our brand, new life.

Details on that to come :)