Month: July 2013

Moving Day… Oh What a Day.

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Moving day has now come and gone. Sorry I couldn’t be more up to date with this, but the last 48 hours have been very stressful. As an update we are doing great but as with all big things, our moving day didn’t go off without a hitch or two.
To start off, the night before we received a call that our truck broke down and a new one was being sent. That was a blessing in disguise as we could have been out on the road with our truck packed to the gills and have it break down. But this break down meant that we couldn’t pick up the new truck until the morning of the move. OK, nothing to freak out about.
The following morning we went to pick up the truck and were met with a few issues. Luckily it all worked out, but it meant that we were late getting home. When we did get home the movers were already there waiting for us. Yikes. On top of that, only two guys were sent to pack up our whole house when there should have been three. Ok…
Finally have the truck, now its back to the house to pack it!

Not having the right amount of people wasn’t horrible but after they did the initial walk through of the house we received the most stressful news of the day. Our movers, whom we have worked with several times before, did not feel that all of our things would fit in the truck. WHAT! There was panic and stress for most of the morning but we did finally reach a solution. Our movers were amazing and fit almost everything into the truck. Whatever didn’t fit would go on Grandma Zoe’s pod when she moved in a month. We would then pick it up from Spokane when everyone was settled. Hallelujah! Thank you Grandma Zoe for sharing your POD with us and saving the last of our things!

Once the truck was mostly packed and we had most of what needed set to go, we headed on over to say our goodbyes to Grandpa Pat, Nana Fiona, Aunt Brittany and Uncle James and Sam. It was late, frazzled and certainly not the amount of time we had hoped to have but we still had the chance to see everyone and say our goodbyes. More like, our see you laters. It was tough to leave and I know there were a few tears from most of us but we had to go. We will see everyone again soon.

So we made our way home and met up with Grandma Zoe while Shaun and I finished packing the truck and cars. It seemed to take forever but we finally did it. There were a few things left behind but luckily we would see those things again in a few months. The girls had the chance to play and keep burning energy, despite being exhausted and Grandma Zoe had the chance to spend a bit of extra time with them. After our goodbyes, we tossed two very sleepy girls into the CR-V, Shaun situated himself into the moving truck and we hit the road. It was 3am but we were determined to get out of Los Angeles and over Grapvine. We did just that and landed in Tejon Ranch for the night. We knew it was time for sleep when I ended up driving the wrong way down a street, which resulted in tears and a horrible need to close my eyes. I don’t think sleep ever felt better!

Goodbye house! You gave us two wonderful years. Thank you, family and friends, we love you and miss you already but we will be back to visit. This is The Wharton’s of Pienza Lane, signing out!
My view for the next few days of travel. Moving like a snail is going to be tough!

My adorable little travel buddies. They did an amazing job in the car, well so far.

My view hasn’t changed and the scenery outside is pretty dull, but at least the sunset is gorgeous tonight.

The following morning, well day, we woke up somewhat refreshed and ready to hit the road. And by ready to hit the road I mean reluctant to continue driving but we knew we had to in order to get to where we needed to be and get this whole process over it. Our goal for the day was Oregon but as with all travel like this, we play things by ear. My job was to stay behind Shaun and make sure his car was ok and parts werent flying off of the truck. Hey, it could happen its Budget for crying out loud!

Through the Central Valley in California Shaun had to watch out for a tomato truck. Let’s just say those things make us a tad jumpy. If you don’t know what I mean refer to this post from last August during our trip to Spokane and Seattle and you just might understand. Once that bullet was dodged Shaun started to speed up again. Well, he did this too fast and the truck stalled. Because I was driving behind him and didn’t always have direct contact, I had no idea what was going on. All I knew was the we were pulling off of the road, flashers were on and I was freaking out. The one thing that weighed heavy on my mind about the trip was breaking down. It seems silly but hey, who wants to deal with a truck that has our entire life strategically packed into it? Luckily all Shaun had to do was slow down, restart and then we were on our way again. Crisis averted! Although my nerves were shot.

The remainder of the drive was pretty uneventful. Our late start in the morning meant that we didn’t get to cover as much ground as we had hoped to. Shaun and I decided to stop in Redding, California and get a fresh and earlier start in the morning. I didn’t want him to have to tackle the winding road through Shasta/ Trinity area in the dark. We figure that tomorrow we can hit the road early and continue on our way with the hope of arriving in Seattle tomorrow night. Here is to hoping that we have a good nights rest and a great start in the morning!

Almost Packed!! I think?

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Despite yesterdays events and loss, time is ticking away and it feels like things are coming along. Some furniture has been sold, others were taken away as they were too old and tattered to be sold and our belongings are methodically but quickly being packed into boxes. Its coming along and we are running out of places to sit but I guess as we get closer to our deadline we shouldn’t be sitting around anyway.
Our bedroom furniture is gone! Wow this is feeling real.
The boxes are piling up all over the house. Only a few days left!
Bye, bye old couch! You did well for us over the last 7 years but its time to put you out to pasture.
Thank goodness for these chairs! At least someone gets to sit comfortably in the house!

I am sure that when moving day is upon us in just a few days, I might be singing a different tune but so far so good. T-Minus 2 days and counting. Tick tock!

Goodbye Jack…

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Tonight, with heavy hearts, we had to say goodbye to our pup Jack. In all of the chaos of moving his health started to fail and we knew he probably wouldn’t tolerate another move, especially one out of state. Luckily, we were able to find a wonderful vet who could come to our home. Instead of putting him through the stress of going to the vets office, a place that already makes him shake and whine, a loving person came to us and allowed Jack to slip away in his own home and a place where he felt most comfortable.

I said my goodbyes to him, even risking a full on allergy attack to give him one last huge cuddle. Shaun stayed with Jack as I knew my inability to hold myself together would be a distraction, although I now feel guilty that I wasn’t with there with Jack. I am sure I will create plenty of torment for myself over this but I know it was for the best. Shaun said it was quick and he was very much at peace.

Watching and trying to catch a fly without breaking a lamp. This was the last photo I ever took of our boy Jack.
Its going to be hard not having this guy around. When we adopted him from the shelter he came with some issues. Some were correctable, some were not. He made us nutty and he was a total spaz but he was our spaz. Its going to be hard to adjust without him but we know he is in a better place. So to Jack…
We love you and miss you so much. You were a nutty dog, but you were our nutty dog. We love you buddy and we know that you are enjoying all of the free belly rubs you can get, wherever you may be. 
Rest In Peace Jackson Jefferson Montgomery Wharton – May 2004 to July 9th, 2013

Yard Sale!!!

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Today was our yard sale. What a crazy day! I think we quite literally hit the ground running the moment we arrived at Grandpa and Nana’s house. We arrived an hour before the official start time of the yard sale and we couldn’t get “the goods” out of the rental truck fast enough! We had to have someone stand at the truck to keep people from getting into it and going through our things. Yikes! 
Oh well, it worked well for us as a good 70% of our things were sold within the first hour, maybe less. The following few hours were nice, selling our things and spending some time with Patrick and Fiona. Their neighbor even came over with two little chicks, one of which was born just that day!
A little Japanese chick, born that day, came to visit us at the yard sale.
Fluffy little chicks!

We had a great day and made some decent money for new furniture purchases when we arrive in Seattle. We also went home with a bit of a sunburn but in the end it was all worth it. Now, the clock is ticking and we are officially less than a week away from moving day! Scary but exciting. Lets just hope we can get it all done.

Our House Keys Or Bust!… Day 5

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This morning we woke up realizing that our hotel sat right along the Umpqua River. The view and the morning was gorgeous. We stopped for breakfast and then prepared for the last haul home. It would be a longer day but nothing we haven’t done before. We would be spending our 4th of July on the road through some beautiful country, so who could complain right?

The drive was uneventful and I had hoped that maybe we would see some fireworks in the evening as we drove through central California and into the Valley but that didn’t happen. We either missed it or we couldn’t see it. Oh well. We made it home in time to see the girls and get to bed at a decent hour and that’s all that mattered. Now begins the major packing!

Our House Keys Or Bust!… Day 4

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Despite a sore, painful back and being dog tired, we came back to the house to finish some work before hitting the road today. I finished the painting and Shaun tried to build the girls new beds but his back continued to spasm. We did all that we could then finally threw in the towel and hit the road.

Unfortunately we hit the road at the completely wrong time. Not thinking that it was the 4th of July the next day and people would be leaving down to for vacation we got on the road at around 3pm. Dumb move. It took nearly 3 hours to get from the house in Bothell to Tacoma.  We eventually took the time to stop for dinner and wait out the traffic. Once we were back on the road we hauled it to Roseberg, Oregon where we will hopefully get some sleep. I honestly don’t think that will be a problem tonight!

A pretty view of Rainier while sitting in holiday traffic.

Our House Keys Or Bust!… Day 3

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Last night we arrived in Seattle (well Redmond to be honest) super late or early depending on how you look at it. We stopped for some much needed sleep and an unneeded show from the couple in the room just across from the elevator.
This morning we woke  up and headed over to pick up keys. Good news… we now have them and officially have a new home here in Seattle! The bad news is that its very hot and with zero AC in the house, all of the projects we wanted to get done will have to be done in humid 90 degree weather. 
Our new home… So pretty.
First night in the new house. Well actually, we never stayed in the house because of Shaun’s back and the heat!

We took on our projects for the day of painting and building some furniture and were doing great until we ran out to do a few errands. It was in the men’s care aisle of Target that I found Shaun hunched over having a painful back spasm. Too much work in the humidity and heat and lots of sweating took its toll on him. We had planned to stay in the house for the first time and save some money but there was no way Shaun could spend a night sleeping on an air mattress. So, we found a hotel room with AC and plan to enjoy some peaceful rest.

Our House Keys Or Bust!… Day 2

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After a nice little rest we hit the road and hauled it all the way from central California to Seattle. The day was beautiful and I was so excited to finally have the scenery change from brown to green! The move and our change to Seattle is finally starting to feel very real. Excited and nervous all at once but I am always up for a grand adventure. I cannot wait to get our keys tomorrow.
The middle of nowhere, somewhere in Central California.
Mt. Shasta. Finally seeing some green!
A beautiful sunset through Oregon!