Hello, all. I am still alive. It's just been an incredibly busy month. I spent a week packing everything we own. It was a lot more than I expected it to be. We filled an entire 16' Penske truck, my car, and Philip's car. And then the dogs rode in my parent's truck. It was insane. I have no idea how we fit most of that stuff in our little apartment. We did have our Halloween stuff in storage, but that was about it. Where did the other stuff come from?? :S
Then, we had our going away party. It was pretty fun. Not everyone came, but we weren't surprised. The really important people were there. :)
Then, we drove to Pennsylvania to visit with Philip's family. We spent about 10 days there and it was a wonderful time. He has a great family. I actually like my future in-laws. :) First we went to Lancaster County where we visited his mom, stepdad, nanny, pappy, and other relatives on his mom's side of the family. We were there from Sunday night until Friday afternoon. Then, we drove to his dad's house. His dad and stepmom are wonderful people. I can see a lot of Budd (Philip's dad) in Philip. :)
However, his dad and stepmom are heavy smokers. I was fine while we were there, but when we left on Sunday to stay with his Grammy and Poppy, I developed a cough that I have not been able to shake. It's not that bad, but it wakes me up at night and Philip keeps threatening to take me to the doctor. I'm sure it will go away eventually. It's gradually getting better. :)
His Grammy and Poppy are wonderful. His grammy can COOK. She is amazing. I think Philip gained 10 pounds while we were there. I have a little more restraint, but I know I added a little extra padding, too! ;) We had a very relaxing time while we were there. We read, played games, played croquet (it was my first time), and ate a lot. :) It's a good thing it was relaxing, because we needed it for the days to come.
We drove back to Charlotte on Wednesday night. It took us about 10.5-11 hours to get home. We each slept for maybe 2 hours in the car and then for maybe 2 hours when we got home. Then we got up, went to pick up the Penske, and started loading the truck. It was INCREDIBLY hot and humid. And miserable. For the first few hours, it was just Philip and I. Then Brandon came home and helped for a little while. Then, for the last little bit, we had Joe to help us. I told Philip that once we get settled in Colorado, we definitely need to find more reliable friends.
We went to dinner with a few friends that night and then slept for a few hours. My cough was the worst that night. I blame it on having to sleep on the floor in the dusty apartment (after moving everything around). We each only got a few hours of sleep because I kept us both up. We got a late start because we had to try to clean up some before we left and then get the last of our stuff in the truck. It was more than we thought it was. Then, we got on the road. Finally. :)
We spent two days driving out here. We stayed overnight in St. Louis the first night. However, it took us over 15 hours to get there. It was miserable. Lots of traffic and the Penske truck can only go so fast up the mountains and around the curves. But, we made it. :)
The following morning, my parents met us at the hotel (they live in Northern Indiana). We went to breakfast and then set off on our journey. It took us about 12 hours to get from St. Louis to Denver when we went there for vacation in May. This time, it took us about 17 hours. D: It was incredibly frustrating. My parent's truck broke down while we were still in Missouri. Luckily, we found a mechanic when we stopped at an auto parts store and he was able to get it fixed, but it was still a hassle and added a few hours to the trip.
Then, we hit a storm in Kansas. An all out hell-storm. I have never seen so much lightning during a storm. It was scary. And I like storms. By this time, it was dark and my mom doesn't like to drive in the dark, let alone driving in a storm in the dark. So, we had to go much slower than the last time. And, instead of stopping every 300-400 miles, we had to stop every 150-200 miles. The Penske did not get very good gas mileage. So, the trip lasted FOREVER. But, we finally made it home. :)
And, when we walked in the door, the first thing we saw was that our kitchen floor was flooded. >:( I was not a happy camper. My dad took a look and saw that it was just a leak under the sink. He did what he could for that night and then we put a bucket under the leak. We cleaned up the kitchen, unpacked what we needed for the night, and went to bed!
It was another rough night with the coughing, but I managed to get some sleep. The next morning, we unloaded the whole truck. My parents and my sister were an amazing help! It was wonderful. Then we started unpacking and showing off our new house. :)
We had a week of my parents and sister being here, but those stories are just going to have to wait until next time, because this blog is definitely long enough. Just know that we've had no more problems with the house and we are incredibly happy to be home. And, it truly is. We have definitely found our home in teeny-tiny Keenesburg, Colorado. :)
