Michigan - The First Two Weeks

We left our WV house at 9 am, Wednesday, June 26. Due to some drama with U-Haul, (It had been a while since we used that rental company... We had forgotten how tough they are to work with.) we had to go pick up the car carrier on our way out of town at a place about 20 miles away. Thank goodness we had Sarah, a third driver, with us to drive the corolla! Then it took time getting it hooked up to the truck and getting the car secure on it.

(During that time a child who shall remain nameless managed to let Pebbles out of his carrier just long enough to get guinea pig poop on her seat of the car and the back of her shorts... Even after the big talk we had about NOT getting Pebbles out while in the car.)

We left Charleston at 10 am.

I drove the van and Billy drove the truck with the car carrier. I wasn't jealous at all watching that car bounce around behind him. That was a lot of weight to be in charge of on a few fast turning wheels and I was glad it wasn't me.

We stopped for lunch in Ohio at a rest stop, and ate the last few things that had been in our house that morning: cold pizza, apples, carrots, chips and some pecans. It was grassy so we let Pebbles roam and he was very happy. I can only imagine what he was thinking, but he was a good sport that day. What am I kidding, he puts up with our overly-loving, often not-so-gentle kids EVERYDAY! He deserves a reward.

We got back on the road and drove the rest of the way. I must say, it was nice to only drive for around 7 hours this time instead of 20 hours like last year. The kids didn't get super bored or whiny. 

And then we arrived at our new home for the next 12 months.

And it had power! (After last years' lack of it the first 6 days, I was just nervous something would go wrong here too...)

The landlord was here when we arrived and showed us through quickly, giving us the keys. You see, we only ever saw pictures of the house online. A realtor (complete stranger) we randomly called walked through it for us, so you could say it was a bit of a gamble... Just adds to the whole "adventure" don't you think? 

And then the unpacking began. And the cleaning. (A huge shout out to John, the lone church member who came to help us unpack our truck. Poor guy. He was a trooper. We enlisted the help of the kids with the lighter stuff; even Megan, who told me she was "muscle girl" and a superhero for helping carry toys upstairs.)

Two weeks later we are mostly unpacked (Well, what we're opening this year, which is less than last year.) We have figured out the quirky lights and thermostat, found Kroger and Target (2 and 5 minutes away), visited the Detroit Temple (thanks to Sarah for babysitting) and are ready to start exploring the area.