Another cross-country adventure!

 

Well, the last month has been a whirlwind of emotions, as moves always are. We will forever miss Yakima and the wonderful people we knew there! Before we left we tried to take advantage of a few of our favorite things, including:

The beautiful outdoors/hiking:

Picking produce. We're definitely fruit snobs now and will not eat an inferior blueberry:

Ricardo did much of the packing because I worked a lot for the last month before we moved. That was a nice change of pace because I have done lots of our packing in the past! Pictures while hanging out with dad those last few weeks:

New water bottles for the road trip. 

First trip to the store in months. She's semi-compliant with mask usage. She likes the idea at least.

Picking wildflowers:

Getting pretty agile on the scooter.

COVID is awful for many reasons, but moving during a pandemic was especially sad because there were lots of people we didn't get to see before we left. We tried to be responsible and keep things to a minimum but had to see a few dear friends before leaving.

Like our best neighborhood pals who we already miss so much!

And these sweet kids who loved my kids to pieces. So grateful for them!

And of course our other fabulous neighbors/babysitter/Caroline's BFF.

Wish we could just take everyone with us! Also, my job! I had the sweetest co-workers who I already miss. They were so kind to make me a road trip supply kit with snacks and activities for the kids which was definitely utilized on our trip.

Another big Penske truck. He said he wouldn't do it again, but he did! After researching the cost of shipping our stuff and a car to FL, Ricardo decided he didn't want to spend an outrageous amount on moving and that he would drive a truck/tow a car out to FL, then fly back to road trip with me. I told him he didn't have to (since 2 years ago he said "don't let me do this again"), but he insisted, so this trooper of a husband drove across the whole country twice in 2 weeks. First, we caravaned to Utah, then parted ways. I stayed behind for 5 days while he drove across the country at record speed with the help of his dad who flew into Utah to meet him. He then unloaded all our stuff in FL, even had time to assemble bunk beds and arrange furniture, and then flew back to meet me back in Utah. Husband of the year (every year)!

Before they left, we were able to visit Ricardo's cousins who live in Utah and his dad was able to see his sister who he hasn't seen in awhile. The little cousins had a blast too!

While he was gone the kids and I had fun hanging with my family in Utah. I usually visit lots of friends while in Utah but basically kept our visitations to my brother/sister/aunt and uncle this time, with COVID. The kids had a blast with their little 2 year old boy cousin who they love more than their own sister most of the time. We were able to do some fun outdoor activities while there. It was nice that pools and splash pads were open.

Sharing snacks!

Aiden was very proud of his pet fish and kept wanting to show them off:

When we visit Utah we typically stay with my Grandma for part of the time, but obviously couldn't do so this time around. We did visit her in the backyard on Sunday afternoon and it was so nice to see her. The kids love their great-grandma and it's fun to see them playing in her yard, just like I did as a kid every summer. 

6 feet visitations.

Enjoying tomatoes from Grandma's garden.

After Ricardo came back, we headed down to Bryce Canyon. Neither of us had ever been before, and we loved it! We had a blast. My college roommate gave us great tips on what to do in Bryce and Moab the next day. We did the best hikes thanks to Carrie's advice!

We headed to Moab next. Again, neither of us had ever been! We loved it and are already planning a longer trip back. We only had a day but did as much as we could. The kids absolutely loved this water hike and could have stayed all day.

We went to Arches for the afternoon. The temperature discrepancy in the sand (shade versus not shade) was crazy! It was a hot day in the desert, but amazing sights!

The kids also go to see some real dino tracks in Moab, which was a highlight for our dinosaur fanatics. We then drove to Denver that afternoon/night. Such a beautiful drive, we were sad that it was dark while we drove through some of the best parts. The U.S. truly has such beautiful and diverse scenery. There's so much to see in our own backyard.

In Denver we stayed with some sweet friends from dental school. It was fun to meet their cute new baby and catch up with them. Jeni babysat Russell when he was a baby so it's always fun to get them together.

Driving through Kansas there is a town called Russell. We actually saw several Russell landmarks on the trip. We assured Thomas we would take him to St. Thomas someday.

We stopped for lunch in Kansas City and saw these residency friends who had moved away about a month before we did. One perk of moving a lot is friends all over the country! So fun to stop and see people along the way.

Our next stop was in Missouri. We stayed with some dental school friends there on their property. They have the sweetest family and it was so great to catch up and see them doing well. We had a shrimp boil for dinner (so fun!) and rode horses the next day. My kids are still talking about this experience. It was definitely one of our favorite parts of an amazing trip!

Catching frogs:

Their pony is very strong and can pull a cart full of people. He runs fast! The boys had a turn and then we took Caroline. Ricardo may have crashed us into a fence, but we lived to tell the tale. It was so so fun!

The next leg of the trip was pretty long-no major stops until Jacksonville, FL. The kids really did much better than I expected in the car. Russell read lots of books, Thomas did lots of sticker by number books, and Caroline made a lot of messes! But, minimal crying and complaining so I'll take it. 

When we moved to Jacksonville 4 years ago the first people we met were these friends who lived down the street from us. Russell became great friends with their little boy during the 2 years we were there. We both moved away at the same time, but have kept in touch. The boys have been pen pals too! They actually moved back to Jax earlier this year so it was so fun to hang out with them for a few days and get all the kids together, including the 2 who were born after we both left!

We were also able to see these other dear friends at our old beach hangout. 

We wrapped up the trip by visiting my parents' house in Orlando and enjoyed seeing them/the kids enjoyed swimming in the pool, and then we finally made it to our new place last week. Ricardo has been MIA the past week since he was studying and then taking his pediatric dental boards and then doing a virtual military duty. So, I got to unpack alone with the kids, so fun! I found out that they love opening the boxes to see what's inside and then they lose interest. :) But, somehow we got it done!

Last week Thomas started preschool. He is loving it so far.

Caroline turned 2! We went swimming with cousins and had them over for cake that night. Caroline seemed to understand that the festivities were for her and loved it.

Can't believe our baby is 2. We all love her to pieces. She loves her big brothers (especially Russell), her baby dolls, riding her scooter and bike, eating anything and everything, and climbing anything that can be climbed. She's a little crazy but we just adore her!

Well, I think that takes me all up to date on our moving adventures! On to another chapter of life. Hoping we love it as much as we loved the last one!