First Half of my Summer

So I think I will just say in a nutshell what I have been doing. Then when I find my thing to down load pics I will put them up (it has got to be in ONE of these boxes!)….

******Mid June—left for Maryland. My little bro. Shawn was getting married!! Finally!! Well, I have five brothers and I have wanted a sister for 29 years now so it was about time you know?!! I went to help my Mom a little with things that needed to be done the week before and then the wedding and reception went really well! I totally love Janna and they both were so happy! I will be so fun to have another girl in the house and maybe even some cousins for Harrison someday…☺. I stayed for a few extra days, of course getting a bad cold after everything and then…

******End of June –flew to Utah. Ryan’s family all flew out and we all stayed in Park City for the July 4th week. We boated (water-skied and tubed) at Jordanelle reservoir, went and road all the rides one day, went shopping at the outlets and hung out watching movies. It was fun and relaxing.

******I then was going to fly right back to TX to finish packing but my Mom made me an offer that I couldn’t refuse. So I asked if Ryan’s parents could watch Harrison for a day and then my mom would fly out early to Utah (they were all flying out for Shawn’s Utah reception mid July) and watch Harrison for two more days. This way I could go to pack without the wonderful help of a 2 yr old, and fly back for the reception in Utah, so…

******I flew down to Texas on a Monday, packed all day/all night (except 2 hours I did lay down from exhaustion!) And was ALMOST ready when the packers came at 9am. They weren’t supposed to be till between 10 and 2 and I REALLY needed that extra time—but of course when you need them late, they are early. So They started taking things apart and carrying them downstairs while I though all the rest in boxes and they help tape them up. Luckily I saved the cloths for last so I just had to literally throw them in! They finished early afternoon and I pretty much fell and laid on the stairs for 45 minutes trying to get enough energy to go get something to eat (since it had been the day before that I had last eaten!!) But I just sat there. Finally, I found some chips and salsa that I was going to bring to my brother and sister in laws that night and finished them off—great nutrition huh??!!

Anyway, I tried to start cleaning (in between some naps on the floor) got through the oven, microwave, some windows and all the trash when I literally couldn’t lift my arms anymore so I gave up. Cynthia, my sister in law, offered to help me clean the next day, and I couldn’t have been more thankful! (Her and Travis—Ryan’s brother, had already helped me pack up some of our things—which was a HUGE lifesaver since Ryan was already working in San Fran! Thanks Trav and Cynthia—I couldn’t have done it without you!!---One side note—Last summer when I did the same thing—pack up and get moved while Ryan already started working in Texas, I swore that would never happen again—so here I was just one year later…. what in the world was I thinking???

So I drove and crashed at Travis and Cynthia’s house. Wednesday, Cynthia and I got up early so we could make it to my place to put out the trash (which I think was around 12 bags, plus some furniture). Then cleaned and cleaned and cleaned. All I can say is that place looked better than when we moved in and IT WASN’T WORTH IT! I had to meet with the manager so we ran the couple errands that I needed to (sell back extra boxes at Uhaul, returns at the store, drop off a ton at salvation army), grab something to eat (thanks to Cyn reminding me to eat) just in time to make it back for my apt with the manager. Things went well (she was actually amazed at how clean it was—said it was the best she’d ever seen and wondered how long we really lived there—again, it wasn’t worth it—we should have left it less clean and gotten more sleep ☺). But, at least I got my deposit back. We then raced home to beat all the really bad traffic. Ryan’s other brother Brett came by that night to say goodbye and then I went early that next morning to say goodbye to Allison, his wife, and then ran to the airport to catch my flight back to Utah.

Well, this is getting WAY TOO LONG so I will write the next half of my summer on the next post. I had had a great time so far, but was thoroughly exhausted by the time I got on that flight. I was also sad that because I didn’t get back for the week or two I had originally thought I didn’t get to say goodbye to anyone in my ward or anything…. so I am so sorry and I hope that I can keep better in touch now that I am officially in Cali!