Moving In and leaving

What a crazy few days it's been. Friday morning we woke up and had to run a few errands (including breakfast!) before heading to the new house. For months I wondered how I would react upon entering the house, or even if I would. I feared that I would be paralyzed, overwhelmed by the feeling of relief that we finally made it, happiness that all the stress of buying the house was over, and the sadness that this house was not my home and that there was no [bed]room for me. When we walked in, I tried to busy myself with taking pictures for mom's and my blog, ignoring how the house was just as empty feeling as I was (a little dramatic, I know).

Turning left from the entrance way is the formal living room and formal dining room

Walking straight from the entrance way are french doors going into the family room (entry to breakfast nook/ kitchen on left then door to backyard in center)

Standing in breakfast nook, facing front of house, is the kitchen and, through the door, the formal dining room

Now, when my parents decided on this house my mom informed me that it had an intercom system but that it most likely didn't work. I had never heard of such a thing even existing in a house so I was pretty stoked at how much an intercom system may improve communication and lower the volume in the house (no more yelling up and down the stairs or across the ouse at one another). As we walked through teh family room and into the kitchen, I saw it. I turned the dial and spoke. Next thing we all heard was my voice echoing throughout the house. "Forget about being sad! This thing is awesome!" was the very next thought :)

Then we turned around to be in the breakfast nook, which looks out on the backyard, and saw the sparkling blue pool!

Back of the house and the pool

I reminded myself that though I would be leaving in a few short days, I should make the most out of the time that I had left with them here. I decided that right then and there I was going to change my mood and just have fun with the new house. We ran around looking at the different rooms, unpacked the road trip SUV, and got ready for the pool.

Clarke's room

Blake's room

Clarke playing guitar before pool time

The boys got ready a lot quicker than the rest of us and tried out the hot tub (spying on them from mom and dad's room)

Even with an empty house, we had a lot to do and explore. Around 7pm, with our stomachs growling, dad took us off to one of his favorite restaurants: Boomerang Diner.

He explained that while the food isn't the most amazing, it's the environment and the people that really make it what it is.

So ready to eat and sleep!

I think we look more awake then the boys did

By the end of Friday, we were all exhausted, found comfy spots on the floor (except mom and dad, who had a blow up mattress), and passed out.

The next morning, Saturday, we were all up and ready for the movers to arrive. We quickly learned that you don't realize how much stuff you won until you have to unpack it all. We had a lot of fun finding spots for everything but it was exhausting. Halfway through the day I took a short break to take pictures of our progress.

Figuring out what goes where in the breakfast nook

Kitchen stuff was some of the first off the moving truck

Not too much in the family room yet

Blake was the first to get stuff for his room

We all worked really hard from the time the truck got there at 8am until almost 7pm, stopping only to grab some food and rest our feet. I was really impressed with my siblings who never stopped working, never complained, and were always available to help each other. At the end of the day, even though we were exhausted, we gathered together in the almost complete game room, and watched a movie (Twister!).

Sunday was almost exactly the same. We finally got to sleep in but once up we worked hard all day. At one point while I was walking through to put a box away, I found this.

I don't blame him

He only stayed there for five minutes and then was up and working hard again. Near midday, mom suggested we check out the library to see if they had wifi to update our blogs. We went but, obviously, their internet was not good enough to post anything. We also went to Books A Million (kinda like a amazon store, primarily with books, but also with fun little stuffs) and Walmart to do some grocery shopping. Since I wouldn't be with them for my birthday, mom suggested that I choose the meal as a birthday dinner. I almost always choose corn (on the cob) and fried zucchini. I was lucky that walmart had corn but I had to choose a different main food item - brocolli and chicken casserole. Then for dessert, I chose strawberry cheesecake. It will certainly be one of the things I miss most but perhaps I'll loose a little weight without it - mom's cooking. We ended another day with a swim in the pool, tested the hot tub, and watched my choice of a movie (The Postman with Kevin Costner). It was a fantastic day.

Now today is Monday and I am writing this in the Detroit airport (my connecting flight is delayed so I had enough time to hop on my laptop). Everything seems to be going by so quickly that being gone has fully hit me. Tears were of course shed but I expect many more in the near future. I love my family with my whole being and will miss them dearly. I'll miss seeing my siblings grow up, playing their sports, hanging out with friends, and goofing off. I'll miss having coffee with my mom in the morning. I'll miss the long debates my father and I have (even when they get a little heated). I know that it isn't goodbye forever and we're already making plans for the holidays. It's just goodbye for now; see you soon. I love you family! I always have and I always will. Now, I have to be off onto my flight, headed back to Portland. Until next time, readers, live long and prosper!