Moving to California; part 1

The tale of moving begins with Jose.  

Senior Jose showed up at our 2800 square foot house to pack it up...by himself.  He didn't speak much English but I was actually quite impressed by his quick packing skills.  While he packed, the kids and I tried to stay out of the house as much as possible, but we also had to take Maya with us.  She decided to be a complete diva that week and refused to go in the back where she belongs.  She would steal one of the kids' seats and then refuse to move.  

We booked a couple of rooms at the Inn on base so we had a place to put our stuff/hang out while the movers where in our house.  I made the kids do a little school work and we started reading Pippi Longstocking.

I was thankful to be able to stay at the Inn and not an empty house, but I was not prepared for the week of essentially camping.  And our two rooms were far away from each other, so we were basically apart all week and constantly shuffling and juggling kids and the dog and our stuff and jobs that needed to be done.  It was exhausting, as moving notoriously is.

By a miracle, everything got done.  Jose packed up our entire house in a day, then it took 2 men 2 days to load up everything.  It took another day to have the carpets cleaned and to clean the entire house, which surprisingly was not as bad as I had anticipated.  We also fit in a doctor's appointment, a work dinner and Maya's 3rd birthday.

Ben had his end of tour ceremony.  We weren't allowed to take any pictures of the ceremony, but it was amazing.  I wish I could have taken a video to capture all of the wonderful things said about Ben.  There were great challenges that came with this command, but Ben's work blessed so many people.  I am so proud of him!

Chaplain Jenkins, Ben and Chaplain Ellison

And their RP's...don't ask me their names :)

Chaplain Jenkin's giving Ben his awards in their office:

By the end of the week, it was time to start saying goodbyes.

Our last trip to Chili Peppers:

We went to the empty house so the kids could say goodbye to the house and their neighbor friends.  We also had to release Hermione, Alison's fish.

I will not miss those tile countertops, but I will miss all the memories that filled that house.

We went to the White's for dinner one night and the kids decorated cookies.

We also had dinner with Justine's family.

Our last Sunday at church, they had a little reception for us.  Saying goodbye to these families was hard, but we also find comfort that we're only 5 hours away...I'm pretty sure the Yuma heat will drive them to visit us.

The boys and I hit the road for California right after church.

The kids will always remember Yuma with fond memories, but this is Yuma in all reality:

A town full of snowbirds doing the most insane things.