Moving Part 1: Let’s Get This Party Started!

As we transition out of the townhouse playground of Northern Virginia, Jon and I feel excited and ready…there have been definite signs that it’s time for bigger and better things. For example, our favorite Mexican restaurant (the place that put me into labor with its spicy salsa bar 🤣) is relocating and shut down! I don’t know about you, but no tacos= no bueno for me! Also, our AC in our house has broken twice since we brought Emmylou home (in swampy, hot summer weather, of course). Although these are small hurdles, we are taking them as a sign that it’s best we just move to Australia. 

Packing up was fairly uneventful- we took the minimalist approach and are only taking that which we need and storing the rest.   The movers came to pack and move us out in 2 days.  We did have 600 pounds of air shipment to pack and mail down on our own, which proved to be more work than we anticipated.  We ended up air-shipping down a lot of our things…which will be nice when we arrive but was overwhelming at the time (those customs forms are a bear)!

The most dramatic reaction to a box being packed was, not surprisingly, Penny’s! As we stuffed her food bowls, bed, toys and beloved blanket (binx) into a cardboard box, she looked on with concern. She sniffed the box as we loaded it up and went back inside to pout (laying on the carpet just isn’t the same)! I suppose moving affects us all in different ways. 🤣 We reassured her the box would meet her in Alice, but we’re not sure she got it…

Jon has been the hero of this move; managing the coordination of paperwork, scheduling and planning, while I have been the captain of the home front; keeping the 2 month old alive (and flourishing, I might add) and packing during nap time. Penny has been working hard to decrease the squirrel population in our neighborhood and keep all delivery trucks far from her baby sister. If our mailman is reading this, we’re SO sorry you were never able to become friends.

Thanks to the packers/movers, moving day was a breeze (thank goodness it was breezy because the AC was out and it was 100 degrees) and the girls seem to be coping with the transition just fine! #allthenaps

After moving out, we have been in a (not-so-pet-friendly) hotel.  Penny and Emmylou have been real troopers in the small space and dealing with the heatwave.  Jon and I have been so grateful for our family and friends for their support (texts, visits and encouragement) as this transition phase has been a bit more stressful than we anticipated.

Penny departed this morning and flies through Minneapolis and LA to Melbourne (more details on her trip to come).  Please keep her in your prayers the next couple weeks as she travels and is quarantined.  We can’t wait to see her in Alice in 14 days!  Our last few days here will be spent soaking up time with family.

Happy Trails,

K, J, EL & P