"Moooovin' on Up..."

Our closing was scheduled for the Wednesday afternoon after graduation, and so we *planned* to be on the road to North Carolina by Tuesday evening (Yes, 48 hours after all our guests left our house) at the latest.

26ft Truck + Car Trailer + Car = A Long Ride 

Have you ever tried to host guests at your house while simultaneously trying to pack for your cross-country move? In hindsight this probably wasn't good planning but...YOGO (You Only Graduate Once. No? Oh ok.)  In all seriousness, even though it was a stressful process to say the least, we actually made a ton of great memories :-)

In the pre-move planning stages, we realized that movers was ridiculously expensive, so we decided to do it ourselves. Nate rented a 26 foot truck - HUGE! And we thought, "Surely we won't even fill this thing, especially since we filled a 20 foot dumpster with all our junk a week ago..." HA. Long story short, we filled the truck with our stuff, and filled my little brother's 12 foot truck with things that just would not fit (i.e. things for his college apartment).

He thought he was so cool in the truck

At 2AM on Wednesday morning, we were all set to hit the road (still determined to make closing), but Nate realized that the truck's trailer lights were shorted out -_- Honestly, I think it was divine intervention because we were exhausted and it was probably safest that we just went to sleep...

After some much needed rest, we pulled out of the driveway home for the last time, and said goodbye to Indianapolis. It was a rainy morning, which set the tone for continuing the crying outbursts I had been having throughout the evening prior as I listened to Miranda Lambert "The House That Built Me" on repeat. I know, I know...but I'm really, really good at being dramatic. Sure this wasn't my childhood home, but it had so many memories, and the bigger picture here is that I was moving the furthest away I've ever been from my parents' home. Don't judge me.

The drive was LONG. Normally it takes about 10 hours by car. However, by car following a 26 foot Penske truck towing a car, going 50 miles an hour (or less) the whole way, it takes about....16 hours.

We obviously did not make the closing. Fortunately, we prepared for this by having a power of attorney ready to sign in our stead. What we were not prepared for was that when we got to Virginia the lights in the truck would short out again - causing us to have to check into a hotel and finish the last 3 hours of the trip in the morning. This was seriously thee most anti-climactic trip ever.

So close!

Finally, on Thursday morning we made it! When Nate was packing up the truck in Indy, I helped a little with the really heavy stuff because I am so strong, he told me that he looked into having a moving company help us unload when we got to our place. I assumed that was the plan. However, when we got there, it was just us...

Trickery.

My mom came along for the ride and stayed with us for a week. This was immensely helpful because she was able to keep the kids while we unloaded and ran around town for Home Depot & Lowe's errands. She also unpacked our kitchen, helped me clean, and pretty much did anything I was too overwhelmed or stressed out to do.

Dame's Chicken & Waffles with my mom

Doing grown up things (i.e. trimming our bushes) 

We have been Durham residents for almost two weeks and we absolutely love it! The area is beautiful and everyone is so friendly. Not long after moving in we discovered that we live next door to another 5 year old boy. Couldn't have planned this any better if I tried! Nate started his new job the Monday after we arrived. It seems like a great fit so far and I'm so excited for him :-)

Residency orientation starts June 12th. Needless-to-say, I am in "try and get everything done while you can" and "try and do something nice for yourself too" modes until showtime.

Over the last year we have added Johnson child number two, got two new jobs, graduated, moved approximated 700 miles, and bought a house! I told the hubby we aren't allowed any more big changes for a while... Nothing wrong with some good ole' monotony ;-) 

Home Sweet Home!