A 2300-mile journey!

With everything packed up either in our ABF trailer or our minivan, we headed out early on the morning of August 6th. The driving went well for the most part. Heather kept the kids entertained with snacks and games and some fun children’s CDs. Meanwhile I cruised through the mountains of Utah and Wyoming. We stopped for lunch in Rawlins, Wyoming where they had a McDonald’s with a Playplace. We ate and the kids played for awhile. Both Nathan and Amber got a little car sick and threw up on the way there so we broke out the children’s allergy medication (it helps with motion sickness in kids) the rest of the trip. In the afternoon we continued on until the kids were worn out. We spent the night in Sidney, Nebraska.

The next morning (August 7th) we were up early and in the car moving. The traveling went much better since we were out of the mountains. With a flat, straight road we made excellent time and stopped in Council Bluffs, Iowa for lunch. Heather helped tremendously by making up fun games for the children to play. They would choose a word to call out each time we went under a bridge and then break out in a chorus of it each time we passed under a bridge. After lunch we pushed onto Cedar Rapids, Iowa where we stopped at Jared’s older brother’s home. They have four kids that were all excited to see some new cousins. Jared’s older brother, Andy, couldn’t resist engaging Jared in a wrestling match and showing off his superior skills (or weight, whichever it may be).

We spent the next day (August 8th) with them letting the kids play, cleaning out the van, repacking stuff, letting Jared catch up on some work, and relaxing. In the afternoon, Andy and Jared loaded up some guns and went out to a nearby range. Andy trained him on each one and Jared got to shoot of some pretty fun guns! We used paper plates as targets but also brought along some old pans which we pulverized. Jared was able to hit the targets some of the time, but did a fair amount of missing. In the evening after the kids were in bed Heather and Jared took on Andy and his wife Devon to some foosball. Intense though the games were, we lost. (Must be that homecourt advantage).

Sunday (August 9th), we were up early and got everyone ready for church at 9am. Afterwards we loaded the van up and headed on down the road. We needed to get to Paducah, Kentucky. It was a wonderful stay and we thoroughly enjoyed the company and especially all the yummy food Devon cooked for us. (Definitely and incentive to return!) The kids settled in and slept for the first part of the trip having been thoroughly worn out by their cousins. We made good time through Illinois until Jared took a wrong turn and headed 20 miles in the wrong direction. That and an underestimation of the time it would take to get to Paducah we finally drove into Paducah around 10pm. We grabbed our toiletries and hauled the kids inside and got them cleaned up and put in bed before collapsing ourselves.

We woke up on August 10th excited that this would be the day that we would finally arrive at our home in Athens, Georgia. Amber saw a Hardee’s right across from the hotel and we all agreed that would make a great breakfast. We headed south going through Kentucky and then into Tennessee going through Nashville and then Chattanooga. We finally crossed the border into Georgia and the kids were cheering upon the announcement. (Note: Heather and I had been talking up this move for a couple of months so the kids were excited about each new development.) We timed our trip through Atlanta to miss the rush-hour traffic and headed on to Athens. We pulled into our driveway around 4pm. When asked if he liked the house, Nathan replied that he thought it looked funny.

The last few days have been a whirlwind of activity. We have gotten our ABF trailer with all our stuff, I have attended several orientation activities at UGA, I’ve been busy getting all my paperwork together for classes to start, unpacking, entertaining kids, checking out stores for items we need, cleaning, getting all the stuff hooked up, etc. As I write this we are pretty well set up, still need a washer/dryer, beds for the kids and parents (Kyra sleeps in style in her crib, the rest of us are pretty much camping), and some other stuff. But the water runs, the water heater was turned on today, internet is available, the phone works, electricity works, and the house is in good condition. Furthermore, I am all registered for my classes, met with my advisor briefly before he took off to Iceland, figured out the busses to and from campus, and had our first home-cooked meal in the house (Mac & Cheese, don’t get too excited).

Lots more for us to do but we are enjoying the home as are the kids!