Well, I'm switching up the blog. The purpose of Kickin' It with Quincey was to provide her with a baby book when she is grown. 2 years and a couple hundred blog posts later, I think I have fulfilled that goal.
So, now I wanted to start a blog about our little family and the adventures we have.
And my, we have had a lot of adventures these last couple months, starting with a huge new chapter in our lives.
WE MOVED!
We moved back to Wyoming and are so happy for it. But what an adventure the move was. First of all, let me repeat the words that a wise man, also known as my father, once said... "You always have more stuff than you think." And that couldn't have rung truer for us. But let me back up.... For about a year now, there has been talk among Joe's company about opening up a TetraTech office in Wyoming. Of course, this talk was exciting, but it seemed to be no more than talk. However, in the middle of 2021 there started to be more than talk. Joe was asked to come to Denver to have some preliminary conversations about what opening an office in Wyoming would look like and how realistic it would be. Then, months later, verbal offers were floated but it still took a few more months before a formal offer was on the table. It didn't take long for Joe to put ink to paper and before we knew it, the time to move had come!
We didn't have a formal date that we had to make the move so that gave me lots of time to slowly round up boxes and start packing them one after another. Although it was great not having a date we had to get to Wyoming, it was hard to figure out what we could live without and what we couldn't quite pack. And, as the days and weeks ticked by, the results of that question continued to change. But finally, it was time to put our first home we have ever owned on the market. Luckily, our neighbor was the broker when we bought the house and they had become good friends, so we decided to ask him to be our broker for selling it as well. He was worth his weight in gold!
We worked for a couple months to stage the home just right. That actually ended up being a lot of fun and we wished we would have invested more time into decorating before we were doing it just to sell the place! Here are some pictures of our home.
Finally, the day came to put the house on the market - April 1, 2022. What a day of mixed emotions! We had grown to love our home so much and, as much as I wanted out of the city and back to Wyoming, I did NOT want to leave my home. It was the home I created a family in, the place Quincey took her first steps in, her first giggle, her first meal, her first EVERYTHING! We did so much to that home. Joe made the most beautiful grass yard in the back, we planted flower gardens, vegetable gardens, made a fence, created a stream, and the list goes on and on. It had become our home, our safe place. But it was time to begin a new chapter.
Within 2 days we had an offer and we accepted. Closing date was May 12, 2022, so we had over a month to find a place in Wyoming (still didn't' know what town) and get there.
Two weeks out we secured a place in Lander, Wyoming and rented a Uhaul for May 2, 2022. Then, it was all hands-on deck and by all hands, I mean just 4 hands. Mine and Joe's. It was a lot of work, a lot of lifting, a lot of stacking, a lot of organizing, a lot of hauling, and a lot of driving! But we made it. We pulled out of our beloved home on May 2, 2022 with the largest Uhaul in tow. And behind that Uhaul, a tow dolly to pull Joe's jeep. And behind my vehicle, and trailer to pull motorcycles.
Initially we had thought that the biggest Uhaul offered would be more than enough. Oh, were we wrong. Even though we had disassembled almost everything possible (and yes, I mean everything down to stools) we still were left with a garage full of "stuff" and worst of all, all our houseplants! I had already booked a one-way ticket back to Albuquerque in a couple days because we had a last vehicle that had to be driven up to Wyoming so I was determined that my plants would make the drive with me then. And, I would have never believed it but I did end up getting almost all the plants in that vehicle. I did have to leave about 10 behind but out of approximately 40 plants, leaving 10 behind seemed reasonable.
So, May 2, 2022, we pulled out of our driveway for the last time as a family and started the long drive to Wyoming. All in all, everything went great. Day two started with Quincey throwing up. That was not fun. Just a month earlier she started getting carsick and, although I had given her medicine 20 minutes before we jumped in the car to make the final push to Wyoming, she threw up within 15 miles. She was miserable and we were miserable because of it. It did not make for the best morning start. But, after a change of clothes and some snuggle time, we hit the road again and arrived in Wyoming, back home, by that evening.
It was actually quite emotional driving back into Wyoming with a family in tow this time. Joe pulled over and came to the car, asked me to come out, and just gave me a big hug. It was a lot of weight lifted off our shoulders to be home after the stress of moving!
Like I mentioned, I jumped on a flight a couple days later and rounded my plants up and some odds and ends but still, not everything would fit. Thank God for our neighbors and real estate broker! By the time I arrived they were already at the house preparing it for the final walk through and helped me get everything else to the dump or find new homes for it. I was so overwhelmed by their desire to just simply help neighbors in need!
So, our new chapter began. I moved to Albuquerque 4 years ago to follow my heart. I left a lot of things in Wyoming in hopes of fulfilling dreams in New Mexico. 4 years later, and so many dreams fulfilled, I have returned to Wyoming with the most amazing husband and child a small-town Wyoming gal could have ever asked for.
Feels good to be home!
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