Now that I'm typing this 8 months after the move, the majority of the memories of how crazy it was have faded (or maybe my mind has just blocked them!) The logistics of lodging, shipping, storage, car switches, planes, etc etc just make your brain run constantly for months! We should be professionals by now considering this was our SIXTH OVERSEAS MOVE (that's just nuts right there!!!) The only Army move we've done that didn't involve an airplane was the move in Germany that was less than an hour away (which was still a complicated move because Leevi was out of town until the day movers arrived and Luke was a newborn!) Add in kids and dogs that you still have to care for (and feed, lol) and it's just not easy! Thankfully we always have amazing friends that are willing to help in any way and we definitely couldn't do it without them!
We had three separate pick-ups of shipments for this move: main household goods, things we put into storage, and the final pickup of last minute things we need until the end (under 1,000 lbs) and then the final organization pile was what was coming on the plane and things we needed to survive for at least a month without our stuff! I had lists of lists constantly growing!
Sweet baby girl made the adjustment without a glitch!
OMG!!!!
A super fun empty basement! The jungle gym went into storage!
She decided that this was the month to get into EVERYTHING!!
She learned how to pull herself up and I quickly needed her to learn how to get back down!!!
Stinker!
Kailee made a to-do list, ha!
Staying busy in an empty house
We had a few half empty cans of spray paint that aren't allowed to get shipped so we let the kids do some random projects to keep busy.
They made a Shopkins stage
Luke made a car ramp
Sigh...
The pile by the fireplace was the start of the storage shipment in addition to the furniture downstairs.
The kids got to keep a Rubbermaid tub of toys to put in the final shipment
Hiding out in my room while the movers packed up
We kept telling the kids that with these chores they'd earn at least a two year paid vacation to Hawaii!
A tent in the empty basement (man, we miss that basement!)
Our last meal in the Missouri house!
She was the BEST assistant cleaner!!!
The insanity of moving with small children!!!!!!
I really don't know how we got all of that out of the house!!
We moved into the hotel on post so we could get the house cleaned. Leevi and I alternated cleaning and kid watching. I was surprised at how emotional I was walking out of the house for the last time. We loved that house and the memories that were made there. Maybe a lot had to do with our last baby being born in that town and some lifetime friendships that were made. As much as I hate the goodbyes, I secretly do love to move and set up a new house and start a new adventure! Not sure what we will do when we retire!
Hotel life!
Our flight out of St. Louis (2 hours away) was super early in the morning so we took an airport shuttle to another hotel the day before. While it was a good plan, it was equally stressful getting our 20 some bags, stroller, dog and kids unloaded into another hotel room and then reloaded the next morning at 4am. UGGHHHHH, I'm not sure that Leevi and I slept at all that night!
She was amazing! Crazy that this was her 5th time on an airplane!!!
Kailee went to Six Flags one last time with the Heberlings and then they brought her to the airport hotel to say our goodbyes.
Having fun at Six Flags...a good way to close out Missouri!!!
3:30am wake up call for the shuttle to the airport! The stress of potentially over sleeping only added to the stress of the whole move!
Holy moly!!!!! 16 checked bags, 10 carry ons, three carseats, a double stroller and a dog!!! Oh, and four kids!!!!!
Some how we made it and nothing (or nobody) got lost!!!!
Thunder ready for his first airplane ride!
The St. Louis airport has an awesome playground built like an airport...
Playground security
Playground tram
X-ray!
So awesome!!!!!
We finally boarded and saw Leila waiting for her turn!
Coconut and Honey bear along for the ride!!!
We played pass the baby a lot!!!
The kids are great travelers!
We flew from St. Louis to Seattle and then had a short flight from Seattle to Spokane where our seats were split up. Kai wanted to act like she was flying unaccompanied and took the seat alone, ha! We also had some drama with this connection and missed the flight because we were late leaving St. Louis. Leila somehow made the connection and when she arrived to Spokane, the people back in Seattle got an earful from Spokane because she wasn't supposed to fly without us. We were going to be stuck in Seattle for a few hours but got quickly bumped to the next flight to get to Leila!
We stopped in Washington for a week before we continued to Hawaii...to be continued!
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