After three short months of preparing physically and emotionally, on June 8th, the Martin Crew said 'See ya later' to Sudduth Circle and Fort Walton Beach.
I cannot begin to express the amount of strength we pulled from Jan's presence, as she drove my car the whole way, helped with countless last minute (heavy lifting) projects, and added laughter to a situation that I was struggling to cope with.
There were many tearful goodbyes, and almost as many missed final hugs before hitting the road.
Daniel had been practising for this year's "Dancing with the Stars & Stripes," but when our move date got pushed up two weeks, causing us to leave before the big night, he instead got to show off his latest performance at the weekly party.
It included two lifts, one of which had me in awe with its level of difficulty and yet smooth execution.
The whole family has enjoyed Daniel's time at Fred Astaire dance studio and absolutely adore Natalie!
On the morning we were heading out, we took one more trek to the Gulf to say goodbye
There were storms with lightening 11 minutes from the coast so there wasn't much swimming, but the sky was amazing and the waves were huge. The beach might just have been crying over our departure....
With no change of clothes, we took the two minute drive home with Potatoes like this!
Jan quickly cleaned him up and helped us prepare for the long journey.
I must say, I sat on the floor and sobbed without control for at least 15 minutes. Body wrenching sobs over some of the hardest goodbyes I have yet to face in my life. I know I will see my dear friends again, but this has been my absolute favorite chapter of life thus far...Zoey, marriage, Alexander, a stronger group of friends, as well as a stronger sense of self, than I have ever experienced. I am looking to the future and know that we have so much joy ahead, but sometimes my stomach catches and I just feel overwhelmed (of course my pregnancy hormones do not help in tempering this!).
Leaha and I went to the library before I hit the road and got Flat Stanley on CD to listen to on the trip. I figured having our own to take with us would be a fun distractor.
And so we began the journey.
Hotel sleeping had its perks... breakfast served and cleaning duties passed to someone else., but it would be nice if they provided sheets to the pullout sofa!
We were blessed by many friends with books, coloring and activity sets, and new toys to help take the edge off the trip for Potatoes. Also potentially helpful- he got diagnosed with bronchitis and the start of pneumonia 12 hours before we left, so I imagine that curbed his typical level of energy just a bit. Poor kid.
On our second day, we got to stop in Dallas and spend time with our dear friends, and Daniel's oldest friend, the McDaniel family. Chris and Daniel have been friends since grade school- not an easy feat with Daniel growing up an Army brat.
Kristen has become a truly exceptional friend of mine, and we were so excited to share in our growing baby bumps!
Hannah was the cutest thing, ever, though, as she woke up from her nap and Chris's mom, Ellen, also visiting, said, "the little boy is here to play with you." Hannah puts a hand on her chest proclaiming, "Oh! My dreams have come true!"
Later Daniel was tossing the kids up in the air on the trampoline and she exclaims, "Don't throw him too high....I love him!!"
We had such a great time and cannot express our gratitude for being able to stay in a home (already accommodating family guests) during our long haul across country.
Day three!
Route 66 Dinosaur Museum
Getting ready for Aunt Robin and Uncle Beau to come to Vegas soon with Beau's job....museum dinosaur exhibits!
Though he was on antibiotics, poor kid woke up every morning with a fever and sometimes just needed extra Daddy time. It was hard for him having Daniel in a different car every day.
Luckily we took our time at our stops so that everyone could recharge
Jan brought a map and helped Alexander color code each day's portion of the journey. The line was VERY long from start to finish....
Our princess surprised us all, staying calm during the packing and the moving truck days, but the road trip was hard on her. She hates hotels and one time, I went in the back to get something, and found her quietly whimpering (she did not see that I was back there). It broke my heart.
Our final pitstop in Flagstaff.
Driving into Vegas- We Made It!!!
Yup....it's hot
We are so enjoying our time at Bryan's house and cannot believe his generosity in allowing us to camp the entire Martin Crew here as we house hunt (especially being that Daniel did not confirm we were planning to do so until the day before we arrived...).
The dry heat is so different, allowing for lots of time outside and enjoying Vegas parks and restaurants.
For Father's Day, we headed to Vegas Comic Con and watched as Potatoes received Jedi training
I treated Jan to a pedicure as an utterly insufficient thank you for being there for us during this time.
Zoey has finally stopped looking in Bryan's backyard for a pool and immediately relaxed once we got here. She is hot, but appreciates the cold tile and is doing well.
Overall, we are trying to adjust and simultaneously figure out our future. With the amount of time we will spend here ultimately unknown, it has become hard to decide exactly what kind of house is best for us. Additionally, we have some loose ends in Florida that are wrecking my sleep and playing a role in our house hunt as well...stuff virtually out of our control that will resolve eventually, somehow. Here's to faith it will all come together sooner rather than later as we begin our Vegas chapter!
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