June 18: The Beginning

June 18: Our things arrive. About 10 men carried 200 boxes and furniture into our house for 10 hours. It was just crazy.

June 19: The move package allowed for “unpacking”. We didn’t think we’d want much of it, but as it turns out, we were so glad to have it. Mark and I each went with a set of unpackers, and we got every box out of the house. We had a “full unpack.” It was a long day….but it was such relief to have all the wrapping and boxes out. It’s incredible how much paper is used in professional packing, and getting rid of all that bulk made such a difference. So, in the first few days, believe it or not, most things were put away. Not necessarily organized, but it was very much livable.

The "unpacking" consists of taking things out of boxes and putting them on a "flat surface".
 

This truck was packed with the broken down boxes and paper, and they left more in our garage that couldn't fit.

The rest of the week we just worked on the house and tried exploring a little. Mark was off that week, as he had bid it off 9 months before, as we had planned to fly to Maine to surprise Steve for his birthday. But, with the delay in our closing and belongings arriving, we weren’t able to go to Maine. We were really disappointed, as Mike (Mark’s brother), Camille and their 3 kids also flew to Maine to surprise him. It would have been great to all be together. But, it was also nice to have Mark home for a week after getting here to get things settled together.

The kids met friends on our street immediately....Lauren met Addison, another 1^st grader, and Ryan met Connor, a 5^th grader, and that made the world of difference for them. They loved playing at one house or the other, or outside, riding bikes, etc. 

The kids adjusted really well quickly, and love the house. They continued to Facetime a few TX friends, but mostly looked forward.

June 27: My Mom retired from the VA and started driving on the 28^th with my uncle Will to Denver, arriving June 28. (My mom also sold her house…in 1 day, and decided to retire and move to Denver to be close to us and my brother)