Well, we finally did it. This experience reminds me of a kids song we listened to a lot growing up. "When you don't wanna say goodbye you can say hasta luego, so long, see see you later. I wanna see you very soon again my friend. See, see, we'll see you tomorrow. You are my special amigo." lol
For those who didn't get the pleasure of jammin' to David Jack on the daily in 1993, here is a piece of my childhood. :)
The last few weeks in Utah were hard because we were saying goodbye to everything and everyone that we interacted with. That's kindof a lot of pressure, plus we were trying to not be all moody and pessimistic. But this ended up being our last time at the field. Since I know large fields of grass are Jakey's favorite thing, and I also know that they're hard to come by in Arizona, it was sad to leave.
It may sound stupid but I love the vet we had in SoJo. Josie and him built up quite the relationship because of the surgery and all the physical therapy. So I had to take a picture and thank them an extra 4 times before we left for caring so much and getting to know the J dogs so much. We just went to get their shots renewed but it was also good to say goodbye. I hope we find a really good vet in AZ because we've been to other Veterinarians in Utah that almost treated them like a number.
I went back to Summit to get a letter of recommendation and because I forgot one of my books. It was good to get a chance for a picture and say goodbye one more time. Now that I'm out here I'm realizing that I got really lucky to love the people and my job, so I hope I can find that again.
It's Wedding Season!
We were invited to 2 weddings on one day! So I went to the good ol' BBB for the registry and the understanding that I'd get free gift wrapping. Little did I know that they don't wrap it for you..... they just give you the stuff at a station.
45 minutes, a half a roll of tape, and countless strips of wrapping paper later, I was done wrapping the freakin toaster. I kid you not, there were multiple BBB employees laughing at me from their registers. Instead of helping me, they decided to make me guess incorrectly on the size of paper I'd need each time, swear under my breath, and listen to the obnoxious "Wedge" commercial over and over and over again. I kept getting the tape stuck to itself and I couldn't rip the wrapping paper across the metal thing straight. Looking back, I can see how that would be a little amusing. By the end I was sweating, and so frustrated that I practically wrapped that sucker in 400 yards of tape. For the second present they finally told me they had a box to spare me the immense trouble. The beautiful gift wrapping talent my mom has must have skipped a generation. When Dallin saw the gift he said, "Let's tell them Austin or Kensley wrapped it." lol
The first wedding was for Aeron Downer, and he works with Dallin. Funny thing is, Aeron actually asked me out years ago before he knew I was with Dallin and before he worked at Clearlink. Cray right. We got to see Aeron and Erica get engaged, so it was awesome to go to the reception too. They are so happy and cute together.
I went to my childhood bestie's wedding second. It was so good to see her because I haven't seen her in about 5 years. Back in the day we ran that elementary school lol
This was the first time I'd met her new husband Coby, but it was so fun reminiscing with her whole family about all the weird stuff we used to do. I tied her legs together with jump ropes to teach her a back handspring, and I was there when her niece was born. It was one of those times where it doesn't matter how much time has passed because you seem to pick it right back up again.
It was like a Riverside Elementary reunion. Katie, me, Mel, Morgan, and Brianne. It was so weird seeing them as adults lol
Swim Sunday
We went to Dave and Sara's pool again because ours is always packed with 6-year-olds cannonballing and babies crying. This is Dallin's "do we have to take a picture" face.
My Political Ideas in a Nutshell
When people start talking politics, I just tune out. I agree with this. Why can't people just be cool?
Look! They got new collars!
Sara got them these in Hawaii and it was time to break em out! Thank you!
The Boys are Back in Town
We got together with Dallin's friends from high school before we left, and went bowling. I went because we apparently didn't get the memo that it was a guys' night... lol so at first I was thinking that it was going to be weird. But they were all so cool and I felt involved still. I think it's actually easier for me to interact with dudes than girls. It's hard to put my finger on why. Who'da thunk. But anyway they kept me laughing all night and they were great to see again.
The "Adventure" of Packing
In my opinion, people only call something an "adventure" when they're trying to spin a crappy situation into a positive thing. It's code for, "this sucks but let's make the best of it." And that's exactly what packing was. This was definitely not the amount of boxes by the time we were done, this is like mid way. My mother is a saint for packing up my brother and then packing up my house for 2 straight weeks. I'm not even kidding- that's all we did. It was awful.
She gave me these cool vacuum seal bags! They worked like a charm!
Lol she seran wrapped it and then wrote on it. In case we couldn't tell it was the board.
We started off like this, very thorough. But near the end there was so much that Dallin and I just threw in boxes while running around trying to be ready to go. So anything that was packed the last day might be broken or lost, but at least we got the job done! lol my mom would be appalled at our packing job that last few hours.
It started out really fun, we were just packing and talking, but then it got weird. It's almost like after being stuck in the house for that long doing one thing you start to lose your mind. It was like the only thing I could change to just try and do my hair different so I was all over it. I look like pippee long stocking. So that's cool. At one point my mom said she might just fake her own death and sneak off to the Caribbean. She also endured my relentless venting since I've been stressed. At one point in the conversation she said, "This may shock you, but I do have flaws." lol Now that I'm looking at that pic on the left I look like I have a little bald spot....
WARNING: Images of Herpes ahead. (lol I couldn't resist)
My stress manifested itself in several ways. This was one of them. First I got the bottom one and then the next day I got the middle top one. I looked like a lip injection gone wrong.
Thinking about houses..... still.
I was so excited when we got all this over with and settled on our decision with Oakwood. Now we're doing this all over again in AZ. Still deciding what we're going to do for a house and where to live. So in the mean time, I pin and pin away (most we can't afford of course). Another source of stress because we're kindof homeless as of now.
Boo Lebron.
We followed the final games and we were very sad with the outcome. Dallin and I hate Lebron with a passion.
hehehe.
It bugs me, however, that this meme has a spelling error.
He's a travelin' man
This was me on one of my several trips to the airport. Another hard part about the AZ preparations was that Dallin was gone a lot and he was exhausted all the time from going back and forth. We are glad the back and forth is over at least.
Meanwhile on the home front...
Jake and Josie could tell somethin big was goin' down. They were anxious, whiney, and they were all of a sudden fighting a lot. They both seemed to want more attention, and we had to take away a few toys because they started world war 3. It was so unlike them, and I felt bad because they were taking the change hard. Jake waited by the window for 2 days until Dallin came back, and they both had a full melt down because of the Strawberry Days firework show. Great timing guys.
BREAKING NEWS: DALLIN GRAFF IS HUMAN AFTER ALL
I felt like I was the only one getting all freaked out about the big move. Dallin is so positive and easy going that sometimes it doesn't seem human. Well, it turns out, mine was just early onset anxiety and his was late onset anxiety. About 3 days before the move during his freak out he said, "We're not only losing our safety blanket. We're rubbing feces on the safety blanket, lighting it on fire, and throwing it off a cliff." Lol So comforting. As sick as this might make me sound, it was actually relieving to know that I wasn't alone in that lost feeling. I've been fine since accepting that this is happening, and I wouldn't want to do this with anyone else. It's nice to have him because he knows when to coddle me and when to say "buck up buttercup." lol
Insomnia's a jerk.
I don't feel like I've slept since the end of the school year. My bed has become a magical place where I suddenly remember everything I was supposed to do or have coming up. And even if it's not about day to day things, my brain goes into overdrive about useless subjects. For example, one night at 3 am I decided how I would have wrapped my egg if I ever had to do the science experiment where you throw an egg off of a high thing and try to get it not to break. (Maybe it was all the packing materials on the brain. Seran wrap, then foam, small to large bubble wrap, hard plastic coating, in a box, all attached to a big parachute.)
I even took sleeping pills and I still could not sleep.
This was another reason I couldn't sleep. Josie has such a loud snore! It's more obvious when you're the only one awake that she's sawin' a log. The video is all black because it was during the night, but turn your audio all the way up. It gets better near the end. She's such a dainty little flower. :)
Loading a Moving Truck is Dreadful
But we did it! I felt bad for asking people, and I thought Dallin had and he thought I did... anyway we dropped the ball on communication there a little bit. I was worried about how it would work out, but it went really well. We had so much help loading the truck on Saturday. I have to thank Brian, Jon, Ricky, Tom, and all the others who helped out. Since we had so much help loading and my mom and I had packed everything up so tightly, it went pretty quickly.
The Graff Farewell
After a day of loading we went to dinner with Dave and Sara. They had just gotten a new puppy named Charlotte. Look how cute!
It was good to spend time with them talking and meeting Charlotte.
It got more sad from there because the next day we said "sianara" to the rest of the graffs. Like I said before, sometimes Dallin doesn't show or talk about anything negative. So I was a little surprised that he cried when we were leaving his family. I feel bad because he is under a lot of pressure with all of this. And now on top of that he is missing his bromance lol
I was more emotional about it 4 weeks ago, so when it came to saying goodbye I didn't cry. But it also could be that none of it had sunk in yet. And it was also a consolation that we will be back in November. (Check out Kensley's duck face!) Lol
I always feel bad when I make everyone get together and take a picture. I remember how I felt when my mom or aunt always did that and it was so annoying. But now I guess I've become that. lol
So thank you for entertaining my weird need to document everything guys.
At the Green's
I didn't get a picture of the actual move, but this was the aftermath. Lol dallin was sweating so hard!
The next 2 nights after the move we stayed at my mom's. We got to enjoy the fruits of Tom's labor and watched a few movies in the new theater. I love that theater so much it made me want one.
Tom was saying he'd never gotten a tie for Father's day, so we of course bombarded him with ties. We ate, and as a final celebration of father's day and our move, Jakey and Josie got a bowl of ice cream.
The kids gave him a wallet. They're very thoughtful.
The day after we loaded, we wanted a little R & R. This whole process has been extraordinarily stressful, because we didn't always know where we were going to go and where all our stuff was going, etc. So part of Father's day was getting a couples massage. I was able to snap this beaut :) The therapist and I had an uncharacteristically amusing conversation for a massage. Parts included how ironic it is that Floyd Mayweather has body guards when he's made his living off of beating people up and how I get weird carpal-tunnel-like-hands when I get massages. Lol It was good for me to relax and laugh.
Journeying South
The day finally arrived that we were to set off for Arizona. After sleeping in later than we should, two lost sets of keys, my mother stocking coolers at the last minute since we forgot, Jake running to the neighbors, cleaning out through fridge at the townhouse, forgetting the zip code to the credit card for gas, we finally got on the road. Lol you may think I'm exaggerating, but it's all true. I forgot my shirt at my mom's, the dogs didn't want to take their calming tablets, and we found out minutes after leaving that where we're going doesn't allow pets.
We were so grateful that Tom offered to drive the truck because Dallin was nervous about driving it and i have never driven in road trips for longer than 5 hours. Poor guy had a rough itinerary for 3 days thanks to us. Because of the craziness of the morning I didn't get as emotional saying bye to my mom. I thought it was going to be hard for me so it's a good thing I was distracted. I was worried about how the dogs would do in that long of a car ride, and nervous that we were going different ways and Tom didn't have a gps. I think the same might be true for my mom, she was good and distracted too. She babbled off a bunch of things before I left but it wasn't weepy or anything. We're so good at this because "There's no crying in baseball!"
Our Family is the Best
Dave couldn't help us load the truck because of his injured shoulder, so instead he went and cleaned the WHOLE HOUSE WHEN WE WEREN'T THERE! Are you kidding me? Best gift in the world. I am very empathetic towards the horrors he saw... I'm glad he still likes us after that experience. Lol I'm ashamed. Below is a picture of Jake and Josie saying "thank you for cleaning our house!" With him doing that, Tom helping drive, all the guys helping load, my mom helping pack, it was incredible. My dad even helped us out in his own way from clear across the country while he was remodeling Trenden's new house and helping them move. Then, Kaylynn and her mom and dad Mary and Eric agreed to watch the dogs for us since they weren't allowed at the clearlink house. In the end everybody came out of the woodwork to make this possible for us, and I know we couldn't have done it without them.
So this was us in the car for 9 and a half hours. I am proud of the kids and how they handled it. We only had to stop 4 times and they were fast. Don't get me wrong- they absolutely HATED the experience. They had a ton of padding, seat belts, their beds, the calming pills, and those bones to chew on, but none of it really helped. It was as if they were concentrating so hard on, "don't throw up, don't throw up, don't freak out, it'll be okay, etc..." the whole time. They just stayed in one spot and stared and shook a little. So it was sad, but at least they didn't have any gross bodily functions happen in the car.
I did better than I normally do on long road trips too! Dallin said I wasn't nearly as whiney as usual... lol
Anyway, at the end of it we were all elated to be out of a vehicle.
Everyone in Utah kept saying things like, "Wow why are you moving there? Good luck, I could never live there because it's so hot all the time." I looked up the average temperatures for each month, and I consider 75% of the year to be nice weather. Which is better than Utah with it's 50%. In my educated opinion (since I've been here 4 days now lol) anything over like 95 just feels hot. I will look at the temperature when I feel like it's going to be 120 and it's 100. Or I'll think its not that bad so it must be 100 but it's 115. The truth is, you don't really want to be out in it regardless of whether it's 95 or 118. So all you Utahns just be quiet. We'll send you pictures of the sunny warm weather when you're having to scrape your windshield and shovel snow. :)
Arizona Days
It hasn't been a full week yet here. But here's what's transpired.
Tom helped us unload the truck and return it, and then before he flew back he met Calvin for the first time.
The dogs have been staying over there and I've been going to visit a lot. This is Kaden, Dallin, Jake, and Kaylynn's hands...
This was through the windshield so it's not the best picture. But this is where we're staying temporarily until our rental is available in a few days. It's nice that clearlink has a place for us to go. It's such a nice house. Only downfall is that I miss the darling fur children. But look at the palm trees!
We played pool and darts with Tom before he went back, and I'm actually getting better because now I can at least hit a ball. Tom had the worst of both worlds having to do all the work and then leave right away. He was so tired and unloading was not easy. We hired two guys to help us but they were an hour late. And it was so freakin' hot. ("Der" I know.) So anyway, he's quite the hard worker to do that for us.
So now I'm just one of the guys! lol This is Nate, Dallin, Spencer, Jordan, and Jay. Not pictured his Jake (the human Jake). There was only this many people for 1 night, and other than that it's been us and 3 others. It's been fun! It's obviously a change, but they're great guys. (Meaning I don't wear a robe all the time or sing in the shower anymore) And I feel lucky they're letting me hang around. Just for the record- Jordan challenged me and Jake to Harry Potter trivia challenge and I won with flying colors. BOOM.
We had our first experience with Nordstrom Rack when I was looking for a dress for my interview. It's a fashionista's wonderland! And if you thought I meant me.... Well let's just say Dallin left with like 8 new things and I just left with 1. ;)
This was me on the morning of the interview. I loved the dress, but the interview not so much. Turns out they weren't looking for a teacher, more like a person to supervise lunch. And it was an hour away. When I was driving home from the interview I was really discouraged and missing Utah. I loved my job there, so that has been one of the hardest parts for me to adjust to. I guess all I can do at this point is hope for the best. Like my grama always said, "It'll all work out in the end. If it hasn't yet, it's not the end."
So I've been opening up my mind to every possible option of what I'd like to do or be good at. I think this will be a fun opportunity to change things up and try new things. I've been applying and we'll see where life takes me. I know my mind will be at ease once I have a job. Recently I've been feeling really poor. lol
Meanwhile in Florida
I am so jealous of my dad and shelly! My dad had to go to Florida for a meeting, so Shelley tagged along and they made time to go to Universal Studios. THEY WENT TO HARRY POTTER WORLD WITHOUT ME! I don't think they understand the magnitude. They didn't even go in the shops on diagon alley. You mark my words, I will go there one day. And I will be the biggest geek of them all.
Gold nails were weird. I don't think I'll do that again.
The J-Dogs Got a Haircut!!
Look how happy they look! It looks like Josie's saying, "CHEESE," and it looks like Jake's doing the splits. Anyway, Mary recommended us to this groomer and they were delightful. They truly cared about the dogs and did a little extra to make sure my "babies look cute" (the groomer really said that.) Anyway, the owner was so friendly and talked to me for a really long time. He ended up telling us of a few more places in the area to look at houses, and about the Gelato place next door.
Looking out as the sun is going down and seeing palm trees makes me feel like I'm on vacation. It is so pretty. I always told myself when I was little that I want to live in a place with palm trees. As I grew up the thought became less realistic in my mind. Who'da thunk we'd end up here? We've both decided that wherever we move, we must have a palm tree, or it just ain't right.
After looking at house after house after house, we went and babysat Kaden. While babysitting, we then proceeded to go look at more houses. Here he is with his fruit snacks in his dump truck passed out in the car. That's the good life right there, ladies and gentlemen.
He loved it once we went in though. In every room he walked into he would say this really breathy, "Oh Wow!" like it was the most magnificent thing he'd ever seen.
It was fun hanging out with him, but definitely a challenge. For example, neither of us could figure out that car seat contraption.
It's not a good time for us to leave Utah for another reason. Dallin's Papa's health has been failing the last few days and he's really wished he was up there to be with him and the rest of the family. I have a video of him and Selena playing catch last year, but I can't figure out how to get it into this post. So you have to click on this link and then scroll 75% of the way down. We wish him well because he is the best.
This has been an extremely long post this time. Lots of stuff going on now days. Here's to hoping we can live a life full of all the following.
My last sentiments for this post are that we're really missing our Utah peeps and we're thankful for all you did to help us. And the other thing is "Ah! This is freakin' scary!"
(Especially after Dallin's little comment the other day. He said, "Oh my gosh you wouldn't believe this thing I heard.... well maybe I shouldn't tell you. But after hearing that and knowing where we're moving I want you to carry pepper spray."
So comforting. Wish me luck!
