Our Move

This last week has been crazy but I have a moment to update so I guess I will.

We had hired a moving company to move us so we wouldn't have to drive a large moving truck this year like we did last year. We were really excited about this. We simply had to pack the truck when it arrived and then they would drive it to Utah. Well on Thursday last week we got a call from the company, our customer service rep told us that the truck that was in route to our house had major mechanical failure and was no longer going to arrive on Saturday and they couldn't tell us when a truck would be arriving. WHAT! grr We tried to work something out for 2 days but then on Friday we had to bag it and call Penske to reserve a truck for that day!

Thanks to my family we got the truck all packed pretty quick. My brothers did a great job moving stuff really fast. Dan's mom flew down on Friday night to drive back up with us so that Dan didn't have to be alone in the truck and so that she could help me with Ava in my car if I needed her to. I'm thankful for all of our family because we could not have done the move without them.

The drive was pretty bad. I'm thankful I never had to drive our moving truck but the first day we drove from Tempe, through Bullhead City and Vegas to St George. Boy it was a horribly long day. Took us 11 hours to get to St George. Ava screamed the last hour straight and there was no where to pull over. It was bad.

Finally on Sunday we got into Orem and got our keys. Once again family and Dan's amazing friends came over to unpack us on a record hot Utah day. It took about 2 days to get our main furniture set up but Tuesday night was our first night sleeping in our new place. Ava did wonderfully, Tiny didn't. We let him sleep in the living room and sadly enough that didn't work because too many windows equals one whiny dog. We moved his bed into the 3rd bedroom which will now be the Office/Tiny's room/Guest bedroom.

Last night everyone slept well. I was able to feed Ava at 5am, get her back to sleep, take Tiny out to go to the bathroom and back in without ever waking up Dan. This is always my goal. He doesn't mind helping but I'm stubborn and really like to do it myself and let him sleep. I never thought I would be a morning person but waking up at 5 is totally fine by me now.

Today we are going to get our new Utah licenses, title and registration. Too bad Utah is dumb and couldn't figure out how to make 1 DMV where you do all those things at... we have to go to 2 places.... ugh Utah.

Sold the Honda

We decided a few weeks ago that we are going to sell both of our cars and become a 1 car family. We really didn't need two cars this year but there was no extra money to buy a car this last year. We figured we would now sell both the cars and once a good (newer) used car came along (bigger of course) we would buy it!

We didn't expect to sell the Honda this quick but my brother Brett's car started leaking gasoline and seeing as its from 1979 my parents decided it was finally done for. We have to get everything signed over pretty quick. I have no idea what we are supposed to do with the plates or the registration or anything. I think we know how to sign a title over but I guess we better figure out pretty quick what to do with the rest.

Now we are going to have to squish into the Focus to drive up to Vegas and then up to Orem. Oh well we will just make it work. This move is just happening so fast, its driving me nuts. Its hard to sleep at night trying to plan everything out! blah.

Oh and if anyone has any good recommendations for cars that fit these qualifications, let me know:

1) good in snow
2) 4 doors
3) bigger than a hatchback ford focus
4) decent enough gas mileage

:) I actually wish Dan would let me get a minivan but I think thats a big fat NO

4 Month Dr Appointment

Ava had her 4 month appointment today! I tried weighing her last week on the 15th and she was 16.12 pounds on her actual 4 month day. Today she was 17 pounds even, 27 inches with a 17 inch head! She is so big! I can't believe she weighs 10 pounds more than she did when we brought her home from the hospital! She is in the 97th percentile for weight, 99th for height and 93rd for her head. We are trying to finish up everything for our move. I can't believe how quick this move is. It is going to be really good for us to move into a 3 bedroom place of our own but still very hard to be away from my family!

We are Moving

Hopefully this is our view from our bedroom (if we get the condo)

We are moving back to Utah. I realized today I have moved every single summer for 7 years now... one summer I even moved 2x... I HATE moving.

Our "vacation" to Utah was supposed to be a vacation. Literally a few days before we were going to leave, these 2 interviews fell into Dan's lap out of no where. He did both of the interviews and by Friday he had 2 job offers. He accepted the offer of the job he liked more and that happened to be in Lindon, Utah.

We went searching for a condo with our 1 day left in Utah.. we found something that was small but we could have made it work. We thought my mom's car was going to break down so we stayed 1 more day. Car was fine but I am sure glad we stayed. We found a condo 1/2 a mile from the new job that only cost 25$ more than the much much smaller condo that was 2 miles down the road.

So it looks like in 2 weeks we will be back on the road to Utah. We are not driving a moving truck this time. We are hiring a company to move our stuff. Should be a little less stressful. We are praying that everything goes through okay with this move. We are also praying that we are able to sign the lease to this condo this week.

I will miss AZ sooo much. I have cried buckets of tears and keep trying to look at all the good things, but its still hard. It's really really hard to go back to live in a place that made me miserable every winter and that was so far from my family.

Hopefully being a stay at home mom will be a lot easier (on my anxiety) than being a working busy student (when it comes to having to go out in the snow).

Moving

Dan turned in his final on Tuesday right after his last class! We were not expecting this so we were not planning on leaving until Friday! Wednesday came and we had nothing to do, so we went and picked up the Penske at 11:30 and brought it home. That was pretty eventful. We had PLANNED on towing the Honda behind the Penske, but that was vetoed pretty quick!

I drove the truck home with the full size dolly behind it (all four wheels would be off the road, instead of just 2 like we had ordered but they gave away)... I hit a curb on the way home and manuvering a 16 foot truck with a 12 foot (?) tow behind it was hard, I couldn't imagine it with a car on it!

We had some issues with the tow and as soon as we had it in our parking lot we just about destroyed it and immedately took it back! So now we get to drive 2 cars back from our sealing in 2 weeks :( not to mention its our anniversary and we will be spending 12 hours in seperate cars.... oh well, at least the day before we will have had a wonderful day! After that we had a few problems getting the ramp out of the truck because it was stuck... so the Penske guys had to come hammer it out of its wedged position... no fun.

Dan's friend Adam came and helped us pack the truck... he is amazing! He was like our go to guy when we needed anything done! He crawled over a ton of stuff and man we couldn't have done it without him! Mark and Kathy came over as well to help us pack the truck and to clean the apartment! It was so nice because it only took a little over an hour for us to clean the apartment!

We loved our first apartment because it was the first place we shared together, it was ours! We had some great memories there, but to say the least we are excited to move on and find another (bigger) place! This apartment will always be our first home and it still feels so weird that we aren't going back.

We hit the road on Thursday at 7:15. Our plan was to go through Saint George and Vegas and hopefully get to Tempe 12 hours later! I was pretty nervous about driving the big truck but I took the first leg because I knew I had to get used to it. We didn't realize how small the front seat was until Dan got in... His knees were up against the dash no matter what he did. I felt bad for him. He drove most of the way because it was more comfortable.

I was suprised that we ended up getting pretty good gas mileage. We were able to go the speed limit (I was nervous, poor Dan). We did have to make a detour through Laughlin Nevada/Bullhead City Arizona because we couldn't go over the dam in the truck. Thankfully we pulled into Tempe at 7:30 AZ time, so it wrapped up a 13 hour drive!

I was suprised but as soon as we got in, Dan wanted to start unloading the truck. My mom, Dan and I unloaded all of our boxes that were in the back part of the truck and left the furniture on. This morning we got up around 8:30 and the 3 of us pulled off the furniture! I couldn't believe we did it with just 1 guy! Dan's amazing!

Exactly 48 hours after we picked up the Truck, we returned her safe and sound to her new home in Tempe. We were glad to give her back, because we hated driving her! haha.

Today we spent most of the day unpacking (and sadly have made 2 trips to in n out burger).... I was able to hang out with Kate and then we went to dinner with Kirk, Kate, Marilyn and my Dad. It was a nice day, but I am tired!

Tomorrow I am helping Kate shoot a wedding for my friends Bryn and Jason! I am so excited!!!

Adam, our amazing moving buddy! He helped us move into apartment in July and was still willing to help us move out!

This is Penny the Penske with all of our furniture in. It doesn't look like much but it was hard to move and pack it.

Here is Dan saying goodbye to Lilac #65!After we had stuffed all of our boxes in... oh man were we exhausted! I was happy that the truck wasn't too full though. We ended up adding a bunch more bags in after this however.

This was the truck that got us from Utah to Nevada to Arizona in less than 48 hours from start to finish! Go Penny the Penske!

This is what I spent the most time working on today.... setting up our bedroom.

This is what Dan spent most of his time working on today....... setting up his media room! No fair!

We Made It

We got into Tempe tonight after a 13 hour truck drive that took us detouring through Laughlin Nevada. There have definitely been some ups and downs in the past few days. I am covered in cuts and bruises but we made it. I was hoping we would get in and just relax, but we have already unpacked half of the moving truck... we are freaks. I'll update more later...

Moving Update

I am so tired. Packing and cleaning is taking so much out of me. We are almost done (I think). We have moved a ton of small boxes and things to Dan's parents so they aren't in the way when we are moving our furniture out on Thursday, but I really wish we didn't live on the 3rd floor right about now. I wish it was all magically done.

Today Dan and I went to the UAC for a little going away lunch. It still doesn't feel like we are actually going anywhere. It may take a few weeks for this to set in. It was good to see everyone and say goodbye, but I try to avoid saying goodbye to people, I just don't like to. I will miss everyone at work and I will (eventually) miss not having a place to go to work everyday. Hopefully I will find a job sometime this summer.

On a happy note, tomorrow is the last day of class for Dan's undergraduate career!!! Go Dan! I am so proud of him!

Moving the Calkins

Living amongst boxes getting ready to move to AZ!

Bird Seed Bandit

I can't believe tomorrow will be June 1st! June is my favorite month of the year. This year I am excited to add another day to celebrate in June. We will now have June 27th as our Sealing Date, June 28th as our Wedding Anniversary and June 29th as my Birthday.

We started packing up a bit ago and I have made a little more progress in that area. I feel like I have gotten the kitchen pretty well packed. Its a little strange that in 10 days we will be all packed and out of our apartment!

Today was our last Sunday at our ward. It was nice, but I can't believe the year is over. I will miss the friends we made, but I know we will be hearing good things from them in the future. It was really nice to have our friend Jackie come by this morning and chat with her for a while. I know there is definitely a reason I met her this year. She has been such a wonderful example to me and I hope I can be like her in so many ways!

I am feeling a lot better about life. I was having a rough time for the past few weeks in regards to health insurance and life after Provo. I have picked myself up and dusted off and I feel like we have a plan and that whatever happens, it will be for the best. I am excited that we are moving and that we will have a new beginning in Arizona!

Tonight we had dinner at Dan's parents with Aunt Joan and Uncle Mo. Kathy was telling us about the bandit that has been stealing bird seed out of their bird feeder when he ran by on the street! Later we go home and she emailed these picture to us! I had to share because he is such a cute little bird seed bandit!

2 Weeks 2 Days till Move Day

We are moving in 2 weeks... I still haven't decided when my last day of work will be... I can't really face it yet. I love the people here and have worked here for over 3 years. I feel like part of my identity is getting taken away. I have grown to love working and just hope I am able to find a new job soon.

I have also fallen in love with the people at Jamestown. I adore the residents there and I can't believe I have to leave them in 2 weeks. My friend Helen is always so excited to see me and tells me she has been looking for me (I don't think she realizes I don't intern everyday). This week I get to go on the Scenic drive with them up Provo Canyon. I am beyond excited because I love love love Provo Canyon, but sad because it will be my last trip up the Canyon for awhile.

I thought moving would be so much easier. I thought leaving Utah would feel so different. I am so happy to be moving back to Arizona. I cannot wait to be near my family and friends down there that I have been away from (pretty much constantly) for 5 years. It will also be hard to be away from my family and friends I have made here in Utah. Since my 3rd date with Dan I have been a part of his family and have spent so much of my time with his mom. This will be a tough move.

I do really hope we are able to get our little pug, that we have been hoping for, soon. I think he will be a nice addition to this new chapter in our life. That is all for now.

June Plans

Its official. We are moving in 6 weeks from tomorrow and are coming back up to Utah 8 weeks from today! haha I guess we can't stay gone for long! We just bought our plane tickets to come back up for our sealing!

Everything has just worked out that this is the best scenario, there was already so much done for our sealing in SLC that it would have been too much hassle to change it to Mesa. And it was best for us to start the job mid June. Oh well, it will be a wonderful weekend with the family and beautiful weather I hope.

We will spend our anniversary driving my Focus back down to Arizona on Sunday... We will be back late Sunday night in time for me to sit around all day Monday and relax on my 23rd birthday!

Moving Day: June 12th

We decided today that our official moving date is June 12th. Dan finishes his last final the day before, but doesn't have his internship that week so he can help pack things up. June 12th is just under 7 weeks away, I can't believe it.

I need to get a lot of work done on my online classes because they have to be all complete about a month after we move. I have 8 exams total... ugh I better get started!

We are coming back up to Utah the last weekend of June for our Sealing in the Salt Lake Temple and we plan on flying up and driving back on our anniversary!

We are moving to.......

Its not a big surprise (this is what I have been wanting pretty much since I arrived in Provo 5 years ago)... Dan got a job in Tempe and we are feeling very blessed!! I have just started looking for jobs. We expect to move down sometime in late June!