Moving

We moved to Maine at the beginning of January. Back in September Mike started to seriously look for a new job. The one in Utah just wasn't a great fit for him or our family. We were looking everywhere. After a lot of interviews Mike got serious about a job in Maine. He went out to interview and by Thanksgiving we had made the decision to move and take the job. It was not an easy decision for me to make. I was comfortable and didn't really want to go outside my comfort zone. I felt like it was the right thing to do but I was not happy about it. You could say I learned the lesson that the right thing to do and what we want to do are not always the same.

So Christmas was a lot of packing and organizing to leave just a week for so after the start of the year. My dad came out to drive across the country with us. We decided to rent a truck which meant Mike would be driving the truck while I was in the car with my dad and the boys. We did the drive in 4 days and we only reserved hotels a day at a time. So every night at the hotel we would reserve the next one depending on the weather on the route.

We woke the boys up super early the morning we left. They were so confused about what we were doing and where all our stuff was. I could tell Daniel was anxious and so we made sure he had Pooh and Teddy and other things that make him comfortable so he wouldn't be too nervous. I think it helped him to have his Papa there too.

Day 1

We left on a Friday morning and our goal the first day was to make it to Ogallala, Nebraska which was 630 miles away. Mike couldn't go as fast as us so my dad and I went ahead which meant we could send updates about the road and weather to him. The first day we stayed on average 20 miles ahead. We drove through Wyoming and some of Nebraska and of course Utah. The weather was the worst on the first day. We had snowy roads in Wyoming and I was so grateful to have my dad with us so he could drive.

Thankfully the boys napped in the car and we had lots of toys and snacks to keep us all occupied. Daniel really loved being able to watch his Thomas movies and Paddington. The first day wasn't too bad cause its just the first day so you aren't tired of the car yet. It ended up being less than 12 hours so when we got to the hotel we had time to run around and relax before bed. When we got to the hotel I let the boys just run up and down the hall until they didn't want to do it anymore.

The drive across Wyoming was snowy and pretty. It was nice to enjoy the mountains for a bit before it got flat.

Day 2

The second day we went from Ogallala, Nebraska to Peru, Illinois which was about 715 miles. It was our longest day. We had to drive through most of Nebraska, all of Iowa and about half of Illinois. The good part about the day was that we only hit a little snow in Nebraska as we were leaving the hotel. Other than that the drive was clear and smooth as far as weather.

Nebraska was a surprise. I expected it to be flat and boring but it has hills and it would be really green if it hadn't been January. I wish we had been in the summer cause I think it would've been pretty and we passed lots of fun stuff that I wish we had had the time to stop and see. We did make the time to stop at Winter Quarters in Omaha, Nebraska.

It was amazing to see. The visitors center is really nice and the sister missionaries there were great giving us a short tour since we were traveling and had 2 boys who at this point were free from the car and had no interest in being still. The boys had fun trying to pull a handcart and turning the wagon wheel. We learned the pioneers would tie a scarf to a spoke of the wheel and would measure distance by how many rotations it made. They figured out that 360 rotations of the scarf was a mile.

We went outside to see the burial site of the over 300 people who died in the winter of 1846- 1847. Over 60% of the people who died were children and elderly. Many of the children were between birth and 5 years of age with most of the deaths being children under the age of 2. It was a beautiful and heart braking place to visit. It is beautiful though that the temple is right next to the memorial.

The rest of the drive was just long. Iowa felt like it was never going to end. I'm alright if I never go back to Iowa. It was really hilly but nothing to really see. I was so happy when we made it to Illinois. We got to the hotel late and then Mike got stuck getting the truck into the parking lot cause a car was in the way so the front desk had to call every room in the hotel to find out whose it was so they could move it. We were so tired by the time we went to bed.

The boys did great in the car considering it was such a long day. Daniel had struggled to get into the car that morning but they were great! Daniel also loved staying at the hotels because he got to share a room with my dad. He just thought it was so cool that he got to have a sleep over with Papa every night :) We loved it too cause I think Liam slept better without Dan in the room too.

Day 3

The third day we went from Peru, Illinois to Buffalo, New York. The trip was about 605 miles. The weather was clear and it was nice to be going through more states and cities to make the time seem to go faster. We went through Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, a bit of Pennsylvania and then into New York.

We saw lots of snow but nothing on the roads so the day was easy and I did a lot of driving. We had lots of toll roads which even though you have to pay to use I actually preferred because they weren't as busy. The boys were great again! They really surprised me on this trip. We had some incidents but overall they were great and ate and slept and played well. One thing that helped was a divider we had between them so they couldn't throw things at each other or stare at each other or touch each other. It was a life saver!

Day 4

The fourth (and last) day was the shortest day! The distance was only 580 miles and knowing we would be home at the end just made it easier to hop into the car and go.

The drive through New York and Massachusetts was really pretty. We got to Maine and the boys lost it. After 4 days and over 2000 miles they lost it an hour from the house. The barrier finally broke and they were screaming and yelling and going nuts. I was almost in tears by the time we reached the house at 5pm. Thankfully we had lots of help from the ward with getting the truck unloaded. It wasn't a horrible drive but I told Mike if we move we aren't leaving the East coast cause I am not doing that drive again unless its for a road trip.

Thank you to my dad for helping us drive cause I could not have done that drive by myself. Thank you to Mike for driving solo across the country and getting our stuff there. Thank you to the boys for waiting until the last hour to lose it cause if it had been sooner I would've lost it. We made it home though :)