Packing/Moving is over!

We are so glad to be done moving, packing, and unpacking. We have had a busy year and a half in Utah and we are exhausted. This little town of Greenwood that isn't really growing or thriving, seems like the perfect fit for us right now to just take it easy, and enjoy just being us. We have laughed (really laughed) more in 2012 already than we did probably in the whole year of 2011. And it feels good!
I feel sorry for everyone who saw me our last week in Utah. Christmas party included. I looked awful. Yes I am wearing dress pants with an unmatching brown shirt and my hair is not combed. Couldn't find anything else after getting thrown up on. We were packing. We were moving and saying goodbye. We were sick. And I was still working. You can see how Katie feels that we were done packing and actually sat down --- on the floor.Gracie had fun playing in our empty house for a little while and eating chili out of mugs with plastic spoons.
We will miss the inside of our house and our few friends.
This was the outside of our house for 3 days! It was a huge eyesore, but definitely the way to go. ABF was great to work with and it was the best move we have ever had.
You only pay for the space you use and then they fill up the rest with other freight to ship to the same area. It was very affordable. We had the YM come help us load it, and then the 2 awesomest YM leaders stayed to help us restack things higher so we didn't take up as much space. They saved us $400. Here is the view from the top.
Here is the view of the bottom. Yes I did run out of boxes, so I used black garbage bags last minute much to Luke's dismay. They did "okay." But definitely not as good as boxes. I don't think I will do it again even for the soft stuff.
Here is how much room we had left in our trailer. They helped us save over $400.

Luke snapped this happy pic of Kate while packing. I had just cut her bangs even.

As you can see I worked on a quilt for my friend Molly and her first baby. It was like putting a puzzle together with no picture of what it was supposed to look like.
Molly lost her mom not too long ago to cancer so I really feel for her, not being able to share her kids with her mom and have her to help her learn to be a mother. I think that is why I stayed up till 4am doing this one night in the middle of moving. When she told me her colors were purple, I remembered that Lenna had given me all of these awesome triangles and squares in coordinating purple fabrics that her ward had cut just waiting to be turned into a quilt. I knew they were meant for her. I used a high loft batting instead so it made it puffy and comfy. Biggest mistake was the light squares were supposed to be in a 5 grid pattern. Somehow got that mixed up going too fast. err! I didn't see it till I was binding it!
I also took pictures for the McNinch's family Christmas photo at a cool location (not pictured in these because we got kicked off cause we didn't pay a photo shoot fee), but I tried to take Katie's 1 year photos at the same time. Way too cold. Way too dark. She was not happy, but she still looked cute.
I guess we are going to have to settle for the place in Walmart here real quick.
She is already 14 months.
This was on our drive, Luke wanted me to take a picture. We have been this way before when we moved to Pennsylvania for the summer. It is a covered bridge monument thingy over the freeway in Nebraska.

Here is a picture of the famous arch in St. Louis, MO. It would be fun to come back and spend some time in this city.
The girls had a lot of fun sleeping in hotel beds with us for 2 nights and of course eating their breakfast and hot chocolate in the morning. The first night we stayed in a divey Days Inn in Ogalala NE, so the second night we stayed at this nice big conference sports center hotel in Columbia, MO. Night and day! Our longest day in the car was 11 hours and our longest leg with out stopping was 5 1/2 hours. That is EXCELLENT, considering a 3 year old, a 1 year old, and Luke's record the day before of stopping like every hour to go the bathroom about 4 times in a row. I have to tease him because it was super funny. The girls did so well in the car, we could not believe it. That my friends is why you don't just use the DVD player even if you have one. You hold off and teach your kids that they can entertain themselves until you really need it. We would only use it at night, after dinner and it was dark so they couldn't play and see each other.
Our only mishap is pictured in this photo. Gracie gave Katie the cheetos in a baggy that was open while I was sleeping. When I woke up I asked Katie to hand them to me, which she did just upside down!! So they went all over in her lap and her carseat. The only one not happy about it was me. Minor, minor mishap. Cute girl but tired. Katie cried less in the car on the trip than she does with me everyday! What a blessing.
And that leaves us with Christmas in Kentucky at my brother's for another post. We had very Merry Christmas.