...what it will be like to move all the way down Rt. 95...

So, we're finally here In FL and have even rested up a whole day. Now, we can started sharing a bit about our move. :)

Moving day: It went really well. The movers from Wade Odell Wade showed up right on time and had no trouble parking their humongorous van in our parking lot. Angel, our driver, and his crew did a great job! They were careful and courteous - we're very pleased at this point. It took them a while to load the truck b/c they had to rearrange a bit to fit everyone's stuff in (we were sharing this truck with several different families) but when they were done, they had room to spare. Since the moving crew will be the same one in FL - we plan on tipping them here. [We did feed them a scrumptious lunch of Stop-n-shop subs, though. We recommend these sub sandwiches - very tasty and easy on the wallet. :)] If the crew does a good job here, we'll definitely leave them glowing feedback here.

Packing: Looking back, we're so glad we colored coded the boxes with the different rooms and numbered them. We wrote the contents on the box on a separate sheet of paper, so we can find things we need without opening box after box. It has already helped us once when we realized we packed something we wanted to give away & found it immediately - yay! Let's hope that it will work just as well when we need to unpack. Will be back to report. We also loved the self-sticking bubble wrap that we got from my sister (she had leftovers when she moved) - this stuff is perforated every 12 inches and sticks to itself and/or your goods to make packing super easy. Plus, it was very entertainment for the kids when we wrapped up their stuff just so they can unwrap it - haha! Thanks to all those wonderful friends of ours - those that helped us entertain the kids so we can get some serious packing done (Jenn, Kathryn, Sandy, Scott, Fanny, Julie), those that lent us packing tape (Dave, Christina), and those that brought us yummy food (Scott, Sandy, Fanny, Tineesha). Without you guys, we might not have been ready on Thursday... :D

Driving down: Goodness, I think it was the longest drive that we've done in a while (even between the 2 of us) by ourselves [we had to drive separately since we had to bring down our 2 cars]. We did get to stop about halfway at my parents in Cary, NC but having the 2 kiddies along was pretty hard. But after about 4 traffic jams (GPS did save the day a few times), several stops, and 1 torrential downpour, we made it to our Auntie's house on Sunday around 11pm.

We did learn a few things, though. 1)Always have lots of snacks on hand that are easy to pass to the back without you having to look. (e.g. Pretzels, Pretz sticks, etc) 2)Have multiple sippy cups available in case the kid throws them somewhere that you cannot access w/o having to stop the car. 3)Borrow or buy some new-to-them DVDs for the toddler that likes videos - it can buy you hours of time! (Thanks, Jonathan, Jeremy and Zach for lending us your DVDs!!) We loved our portable DVD players for this trip. 4) Try to stop every 3 hours or so but make sure you can get food/gas/bathroom all in this trip or you'll hafta make even more stops. 5) Learn how to pump your own gas. (This is for you, New Jerseyans!) 6) Make sure you pack enough diapers and wipes for your entire trip. 7) Definitely get realiable headsets for your cell phone. If you have Verizon like we did, we got to chat, safe and hands free, for about 6 hours total without paying a cent. I wonder what the Verizon Wireless biller will think when he gets our bill of 360 in-network minutes. Haha! :) Alrighty, enough of the unsolicited advice.

So, we picked up the keys on Monday and got to take our first look at the townhouse. It's a great place, guys! We're so thankful and pleased. And when the realtor told us about how we got the place, we knew it was God. Basically, I was just surfing the web in the moring for houses to rent, like I regularly did 3 weeks before we were about to move, when I happened upon the ad for this house. It fit the bill in every way, so we gave a call to Auntie Celina living close by. So she went to see it right away and called us right after she saw it to tell us to take it. What we didn't know was that the realtor has just listed it when I called. Also, after Auntie Celina had called to see it, 15 other people had called about it shortly after. So, if we had hesitated in calling our Auntie or if she had no time to see it that morning, we would not have gotten this steal of a house. Plus, the realtor told us he had initially told her to rent the place out for $2000/mo. But since this woman wanted to rent it out right away, he suggested $1500/mo but somehow she decided on $1200/mo., which was exactly what we could afford. Amazing, eh? Gotta love it!

Anyhow, we're just waiting for our stuff to get here. It's scheduled to arrive tomorrow moring between 9 and 10am. So, I can't wait to get set up. We have some food and cleaning supplies, but that's about it. Oh, one more fun thing. I called to see when our stuff would arrive and my move coordinator also told us that our stuff weighed in less than what was estimated and so it's cheaper than what we had expected. Praise the Lord. He really watches over his sheep, even all the way in sunny Florida! :) Pictures to come...