So, We Moved!

Hello again! Things are finally settling down here enough that I'm going to attempt to rejoin the world a little bit. The apartment is nearly completely unpacked, although not quite ready to show off (it still needs some decorative touches). But that's okay, because I have lots of other things to tell you about while we finish perfecting our home. We did a lot of fun things right before we left St. Pete that I have yet to share, and we've been getting our feet wet in Jacksonville, too (quite literally, with our first trip to the beach this past weekend!). But first, I want to quickly recap the move itself.

Actually, before we get to that, another update: the subjects that Eric is teaching switched again! He is now primarily teaching Algebra 2, along with two sections of Geometry Honors. This, however, is officially official, so there shouldn't be any more changes. He started pre-planning at the school this week (he has a real classroom and everything!), and has jumped right into coaching with two-a-day practices. Things are happening!

But, to back up...we moved. After Institute wrapped up on Friday, July 26th, Eric stayed one more night in Jacksonville to facilitate the deliveries of our new living room furniture and new washer and dryer the following day before heading back to St. Pete. When he got back home, we did a few fun things on tap but only had a couple of days to finish up packing and cleaning before the move on Wednesday, July 31st.

We actually picked up the moving truck on Tuesday, and my dad was kind enough to help us load it up. All of our belongings finally emerged from their holding cell (my dad's garage) and we separated our furniture from his as we pulled things out of the house. Eric was an absolute spacial-reasoning wizard in packing that truck, let me tell you. We really didn't think everything would fit, but somehow, Eric made some magic happen and we got nearly everything (minus a couple of unimportant storage bins) onto that truck. It was a thing of beauty. While he did that, Ellie and I finished up packing/organizing/rearranging/cleaning inside the house. (Well, I did. Ellie pretty much followed me around whining. I mean, you'd think at 16 months she'd be pulling her weight around here by now, right?)

Checking out the empty truck

Hot.

Ellie discovered a new toy a little prematurely!

Helping Papa with the heavy lifting

Sit break!

Yay for new adventures!

On Wednesday, my mom and stepdad arrived at our house between 9:00 and 9:30 a.m. Ellie actually slept in until 8:30 (because, of course, it was a day that we had a million things to do so we couldn't even enjoy it), which threw us off a bit, so we were in a bit of a rush to get things done quickly and get on the road. Eric, Gary and Achilles left first in the truck, followed by Ellie and me in our car and my mom in her car.

Jacksonville bound!

We arrived in Jacksonville around 1:30 p.m. My mom, Ellie and I arrived first, followed very shortly thereafter by the guys in the truck. Eric also had two saintly TFA friends who volunteered (yes, volunteered) to help us unload the truck, and they arrived right on time. Honestly, these guys voluntarily helped us move a two-bedroom apartment's worth of crap to a second floor walk-up. In the heat of late-summer Florida. And even in the rain. SAINTS, I tell you. We couldn't have done it without them.

So, the guys did the unloading...

Eric's masterpiece

Upstairs!

Unloading in the rain

...Gary helped with some unloading and other general set-up...

Assembling our dining room table

...my mom kept Ellie out of the way and entertained...

Naked playtime on the balcony!

...and Achilles followed everybody around being generally unhelpful.

"I serve no purpose here whatsoever."

As for me, I ran around and tried to keep things organized, but there aren't any pictures of that!

Thanks to our helpers, all the heavy lifting was done in just a couple of hours. I must say, the beer and Publix subs we provided (read: sister Kelley provided - thanks, Kell!) were not nearly enough payment for all that work. 

After Eric's friends left, we finished up some organization, Gary and Eric returned the truck and picked a couple things up from the store, and then we picked up some pizza for dinner, because I'm pretty sure you have to have pizza for dinner on moving day.

Pizza time!

After dinner my mom and Gary headed home, and we were left to survey the task at hand:

The living room

The living room/hallway

The dining room

Our bedroom

And that was that. We were all beat.

Resting with the kids in Ellie's room

But, as I mentioned earlier, I am pleased to report that our apartment no longer looks like it did in the above pictures. It actually looks like a home now! Still a messy home with some bare walls, sure, but we're almost there. I can't wait to share it with you soon!