They called a few days before and said instead of packing on the Monday and loading on the Tuesday, they would do it all on Tuesday, but no big deal since they could be done by 2-4 pm. We had prepaid the hotel, so we just used Monday to pack more ourselves and went on to the hotel. Nick went back to the house to switch out the washer and dryer for the one owned by the landlord and feed the dogs. I dropped him off early Tuesday morning and took the dogs to board. The movers did show up at 7:40, but it took them 2 hours to get the truck to our house. They had originally planed to shuttle everything in a smaller moving van rented from a town over, so it probably saved a lot of time, but it still felt ridiculous. Sam, Zoey and I hung out in the hotel. We watched tv, swam, went out to lunch. Sam and Zoey were both up until 10 pm the night before, but neither napped very well. I talked to Nick some, but his phone got low on battery, so I had to take him a charge cord. I got everything second hand, but basically these guys were not the best packers in terms of care or efficiency. They kept saying they would be done soon. In the end, it was 9 pm when they finally pulled away, obviously much latter than 4 pm. Perhaps they estimated badly, but we packed a lot and our total was just over 10,000 pounds of stuff, so not an immense amount. But it got on the truck. I hung out at a friends, left Sam to go back and help Nick, and then went back to pick her up and grab some pizza myself. We met the landlord, checked out, and went back to the hotel. What a long day. And Nick's old boss wanted to meet him for a drink. But the girls went to bed easier. We got up early, got the dogs and hit the road for Atlanta. I already posted about that part of the move. Nick and the dogs left Atlanta early to paint and meet the movers. Again, an experience as they were not the best and one guy got food poisoning. But everything important seems to have made it. We left a few outdoor things. And despite some horrible packing, nothing really broke. The girls and I rode down with my parents a few days later. Zoey is not a good car rider right now. She gets tired of being strapped up and sleeps well the first part, but cries most of the second for a 9 hour drive. Not fun. We got a lot done while my parents were here and the house is shaping up after a lot of time and money invested. It never seems to end on either one. Of course, we have bought a lot of non-necessities, but we will be here awhile so we want it to be nice.
Zoey has been filling up her time with many different activities. We finally set up the jumparoo for her and she likes it, but not as much as Sam who could jump for hours. She also got to exersaucer among the boxes when we first got to Lakeland.
After many iterations, we decided to fence a small area for the dogs, and even that was an undertaking. All I can say it, be sure you know where your underground sprinkler system is before you install a fence.
Sam loves to help, so she came out to join in. I was on the other side of the yard raking dirt into the channel around the buried fence up the hill, so that was too boring. She went over to help Papa. He was great giving her tasks (see the video below).
More helping.
Sam loves the pool. She always want to stick her feet in. We did not swim for a bit until we could get the water tested. Sam will have swimming lessons in a few weeks.
Here she is in the water. She still hates having her face splashed or wet, but loves playing in the water.
Nana was a big help with the girls while Nick, Dad and I did everything from build a fence to add a remote to control lights and fans (they had ceiling fans but controlled only by the pull string).
Sam wrote CAT all by herself. The "S" as well. We were so proud.
We celebrated Nana's birthday while they were here. Happy birthday to an amazing mother and even better grandmother. Sam misses you a lot. She even said she loves Nana and Papa more than Mama and Daddy. Guess we need to give more treats and less fussing :)
Zoey hanging in the high chair. Just chew toys for now, but food will come soon.
We got this float for $5 at Aldis of all places, so random. We Kellings all took turns. Sam liked being floated around.
We made a trip back to Common Ground Park.
Here is Sam helping with the fence project.
We stay so busy, unpacking, running errands, etc. Everything is so time consuming. The house is coming together, but it is hard. Sam seems to have given up naps, so we are on rest time only. Zoey is a challenge in naps as well, but doing a bit better, however, she is not much better on sleep at night, so although she slept amazing for an 8 week old she is now not so great for a 5 month old. Oh well, we will sleep someday.
