We hit the ground running and began looking for houses as soon as we woke up Thursday morning.  We have now survived-just barely-4 solid days of house hunting.  We chose to avoid the very very expensive storage option for our stuff and have to find a home before our truck gets here on Saturday.  Thus the mad rush to find a house.  We have seen a grand total of 26 homes.  Some were so frightening and smelled so horrible I could barely bring myself to walk inside them.  Some were beautiful in a not so beautiful place and some were not so beautiful (yuck!) in a very beautiful setting.  It’s been really hard to make the decision because of that!  Some had closets that were made into bathrooms so that should you want to, you could go to the bathroom AND use the sink to brush your teeth at the same time!  Most were either too old and yucky, too small, though new, or too big and expensive.  And NONE had garbage disposals!  Sigh.  I’m going to truly suffer here I can tell.  On a good note though, we are zeroing in on a  house in a beautiful town called Berkeley Heights about an hour west of NY.  The streets are lined with trees and the houses all have shutters on them- MY DREAM TOWN!  I’ll post more on that as we make progress there.

The boys have been very cooperative and good tempered about spending the last 4 days looking at houses.  For which we are very grateful!  But they are indeed bouncing off the walls when they are not strapped into the car. (So we keep them strapped in as much as possible)  Unfortunately, there are no straps in our temporary housing-a Residence Inn room with a kitchenette and two bedrooms with a living room area.   There’s only so much you can do with 3 small boys in a small hotel room.  So far they have passed the time jumping on the beds, setting up obstacle courses to jump over and onto the couch and they run from one bedroom to the other yelling like wild Indians.   I’m quite sure that the people above, below, and next door to us are ready to tear their hair out-I sure am.  🙂   I keep waiting for someone from the front desk to call and say they’ve had complaints.   But we are grinning and bearing it.  Ok, just bearing it.  I will be honest and say that patience is wearing very thin.  Hopefully we won’t all end up killing each other before this week is through. 

Stay tuned.

The Goodbye
Well, we managed to get moved out without incident. Ok, one broken chair but it was already partly broken anyway. Here’s the truck that took not only all our stuff away, but 3 other houses worth too. And our home all packed in boxes.

We said goodbye to our nice new (by New Jersey standards) home and after one last stop at Zazynias, our favorite restaurant, we said goodbye to Duvall.  We LOVED our time in Duvall and are leaving so many good memories and great friends.   Thank goodness for the internet.  Rock has a new slogan for Facebook.  “Facebook means never having to say Goodbye.”  We then headed to our hotel at the airport where we said goodbye to my parents. Sniff.  We will sure miss living that close to them. It’s been so nice to have family that close!

The Airplane
We got up early Wednesday morning and took the shuttle to the airport. When the driver of the shuttle asked us what airline we were flying Rock told him “Alaska”. Said Go Go incredulously, “We’re moving to ALASKA???!!!” I still don’t know how we managed to get 3 carseats, 4 BIG suitcases, and 3 big carry-ons up to the ticket counter, but we did. I’m sure we looked hilarious bumbling our way along the terminal. Believe it or not THAT was the hardest part of the whole trip! Blue Jeans did have a meltdown while waiting for the very slow check-in line. The only thing that would appease him was when I let him pull one of the carry-ons around. 

This become a hazard as he narrowly missed many an innocent traveler, but hey, I think most of them would take that over the screaming banshe.
We got settled onto the plane and before we had even taken off Blue Jeans had gone through our entire bag of tricks.  But we still got through the flight with no major incidents!  The boys were really pretty good.  Of course, the portable DVD player was very helpful. 

Auntie Bean, please notice the sunglasses.  Go Go would go NO WHERE without them.  Thanks so much. (grrr) If I hear, “Where are my sunglasses?!” one more time I’ll shoot myself!  It was a good source of humor for the flight attendants, though, I must say.  Blue Jeans of course would have none of the seatbelt.  He spent any time he had to be belted trying to take it off.  But luckily the flight attendants were understanding and the turbulence cooperative so he got to wiggle and wander between our seats a lot.

5 hours, 1 dirty diaper changed in an airplane bathroom (so fun!), 1 screaming fit (only) and lots of airplane snacks later, we landed in New Jersey.  Another fabulous quote from Go Go upon landing.  “Wow.  We were the MOST important people on this plane!”

Our next feat was to get the rental car which was a long walk and a bus ride away from the airport.  We decided not to try it with all our luggage and three boys who were bouncing off the walls by this point.  So the boys and I parked ourselves in the airport for 45 minutes while Rock went to get the car.  Like I said, the DVD player has become my very best friend.

Blue Jeans got bored with that after about 5 minutes and kept himself busy running from one thing to another.  Telephone booths, flirtatious female passengers and a hair pick in the holes of the seats kept him happy enough.

Finally we were able to check in to our hotel in Rutherford.  But we had some very hungry boys on our hands so we got to turn around and head back out.  We found the nearest Taco Bell which shall here after be known as the Explicit Lyrics Taco Bell.  I certainly hope not all fast food restaurants are like this here, but when the music on the radio being blasted in this Taco Bell was had me blushing, we couldn’t eat fast enough.  At last we were able to put the boys to bed about 11:00 (8 pm PST).  And that was the end of Day 1.  Stay tuned for more adventures from the great migration.

Hymas Family Summer update.

We spent all of May and half of June getting the house ready to sell. I wrote more checks than I’ve ever written in my life to get it ready! We spent the rest of the summer trying to keep the house spotless. (So fun I just can’t wait to do it again someday!) After our two week trip to Utah the middle of August we came home and had one week to get ready for the move. In that week we sold the house. Thank goodness!
I am now sitting here waiting for the movers to show up. They’ll be packing our house up today and loading the truck tomorrow. Then we fly out Wednesday morning for New Jersey!!! We will be renting a house there and though we don’t have a place to live yet, we have about 20 homes we have found online that we’ll look at over the next 10 days. Our goal is to find a place before our stuff gets to NJ in 11 days! Crazy goal, but I think we can do it. We’ll be staying in temporary housing while we look for a house.
Can I just say that I’m so looking forward to driving all over northern NJ looking for houses day after day with 3 small boys and then returning to a little apartment in which I get to keep them from bouncing off the walls. Weehoo! Can’t wait! I’m thinkin that the portable dvd player is going to become our very best friend!
Really, though, I am excited our big adventure is finally here. It’s been a long wait!

After stuffing himself at our favorite Duvall restaurant Go Go said, “My head was squishy, but now it’s hard, so I must be full.”

Tonight at dinner I spelled something to Rock to avoid the boys understanding. Mr. President asked what I’d said and Rock led him astray by saying that I’d probably said something about aliens in the attic and that he wouldn’t want to know anyway. Go Go, clueing in to the most interesting aspect of that thought then asked in suprise, “We have an ATTIC??!!!”

For Launna and David, who I know will find this especially amusing.

I am not a camper.  I really really want to be a camper, mind you.  My whole life I had glorious plans of being a camper for my kids.  I wanted to create beautiful memories camping in nature, roasting marshmallows, and sleeping under the stars.  However, the older I have gotten and the more children I have had, the more I am finding that alas, I am not a camper after all.   Sleeping on the hard cold ground, eating dirt and fending off the bugs is just not my idea of fun, especially with small children.  And I will freely admit right here that I am a wimp.  That being declared, let me share the conditions under which I will go camping: 
1.  Sunny
2. No Rain
3.  Warm
4.  No toddlers (if at all possible)
5.  Few bugs
6.  No Rain
7.  Flush toilets
On our campout this weekend the only one of those conditions that was met was#5- Bugs don’t like the rain either.

We headed up to Mt. Rainier so that the boys could see the big mountain up close and do something I have great memories doing as a kid.  It wasn’t going to be a scorcher of a weekend, but the forecast showed decent weather so up we went.  I should have known that it would not work out the way I planned when we drove towards the mountain and because it was so cloudy Go Go said, “Where’s the mountain?  I can’t see it?”  We had to explain to him that it was hidden behind the clouds.  “But we might run into it!” he worried. 
The clouds did not disperse the closer we got to the mountain.  But it was not raining,  so even though I was frustrated that they wouldn’t even get to SEE the mountain, I tried to stay positive.  (Rock would disagree with that statement, but it’s all relative, right?)  There was no rain whatsoever until we passed the Mt. Rainier National Park entrance and paid our 15 bucks.  As we drove in the rain to our campsite I continued my efforts to stay positive.  I can do this, I told myself.  I want my kids to have a good experience, so I can be tough.  I can camp in the rain, I told myself. 
We got to the site and set up camp.  It became dismally clear very fast that we were not prepared for rain.  It was 50 degrees and we had no warm jackets and nothing to cover anything from the rain.  Within an hour I was freezing, wet and miserable.  Blue Jeans was freezing, wet and muddy from head to toe.  Note: wipes do not work on wet muddy pine needle covered fingers.  Our little runner went back and forth between dangling his toes over the cliff on one side of the campsite, to running into the road on the other side. Within two hours our camping chairs were filled with water, our picnic table and its leaning tower of camping equipment put up high to avoid wandering toddler fingers was soaking wet and there was a mud puddle in front of the tent. 
To say I was grouchy by this point was an understatement.  And then I felt bad for being grouchy and having a bad attitude.  I was so cold and miserable, I just started to cry.  I know what you are thinking.  You’re thinking, “Wow, what a wimp.”  And you would be right.
Finally after one too many near misses with the fire and Blue Jeans, I took my overly emotional self and our squirrely toddler and locked us both in the tent and just sat there.  Blue Jeans climbed on the cooler, played with the flashlight and tried to pull the tent down on top of us.  At least someone was having a good time. 
At this point you’re thinking that I had already lost it, but no. The straw that broke this campers back was when I opened up the cooler to get out the ketchup and mustard for the hotdogs.  I went to lift the egg carton which was soaking wet from the melted ice and it dissolved in my hands dropping all 12 eggs into the cooler and onto all the rest of our food.  THAT was when I lost it.  I grabbed the bag of ice and chucked it out the tent door nearly decapitating my husband in the process.  And then I broke down and cried some more. 
It was then that I decided to go home.  I was fully planning on going by myself, but eventually everyone else with the exception of Grandpa was miserable too and so we gave up and broke camp after dinner. We did stay long enough for the boys to roast marshmallows.  I am not heartless, you know.   As we took down the tent we found a huge puddle underneath it that we all would have been sleeping in.  And at that moment I was reminded of a book I recently read where the woman was describing her idea of joy. 
      “I think of being in a tent, snuggled up in a sleeping bag,  listening to the rain.  Contentment.  Joy.” 
If I had been able to, I would have laughed at that moment.  
Maybe next time my boys want to go camping, I’ll send them over to HER house.   

Blue Jeans during the 2 seconds we got him to sit still and before he was totally covered in mud.

Dedicated to my mother
When it’s 100 degrees and humid with no air conditioning- it’s too hot.
When your baby boy has a wet (sweaty) head all day long even in just his diaper- it’s too hot.
When 5 year olds at a birthday party would rather sit in front of the fan than play games in the water- it’s too hot.
When a bowl of ice cream at every meal is just not enough -it’s too hot.
When my arm sticks to this desk table as I write even at 9:00 at night with 8 FANS running in my house it’s too hot.
When I am willing to leave my screenless doors open wide for all the Crane flies on the west coast to get in through, just to cool my house down, it’s TOO HOT.

We’ve been spending extra time down at Grandma and Grandpa Wesel’s house this summer.   
Ice cream x 3.

Blue Jeans in his favorite chair.  Grandma thinks it’s her chair. 
Boy is she wrong.

The older boys and I went to the the state capitol one day.

My what a big head you have, George!

1. On the way to church Dad was teaching the boys about the Liahona and Go Go said, “It’s just like a GPS!”

2. Don’t Mess with Superman.

3. Our Peeping Tom

For the past several weeks we’ve been working on this tooth. Dad tried the pliers, an old family tradition, I’m told, and one that I think is horrible to the extreme. But who am I to stand in the way of tradition.

Finally today Mr. Pres worked on it for about half an hour at which point Dad went in with the pliers again and it just fell out into his hands with nary a pull. And here it is! Tooth #1 for the Tooth Fairy’s stash!

Sorry for the close-up, but this was the best we could get. Later when we were talking to Grandma and Grandpa on the phone, Grandpa tried to explain the concept of inflation and the tooth fairy to Mr. Pres and I was hearing amounts of $5.oo thrown around! What Grandpa doesn’t know is that the Tooth Fairy already used up her part of the stimulus package, it didn’t help at all, and she is now asking grandparents to chip in to offset inflation.

Go Go’s commentary on the event:
“Wow! He’s almost an adult now!”
When we were discussing the gaping hole in Mr. President’s mouth he said, “Gaping holes are good.”

Mr. President’s commentary on the event:
“Now my toothbrush will get stuck 2059 times!”