This Crazy Life : September 2014

Okay, Okay, I know this post has been long awaited by many of you, well I finally feel like I have a free second to sit down and give everyone a little update. I will be posting our journey as a series, sharing a little at a time. But... digging deep to share all the details with all of you :)

For those of you who don't already know... Billy was offered an amazing opportunity with an aerospace supply/manufacture company, in North Carolina. Very exciting!! So, we took a GIANT leap of faith, and relocated across the country.

Last visit to Stone

Getting yourself prepared and organized to move so far away from everything and everyone that you have ever known is not an easy task. For the first few weeks the decision felt surreal. I knew I was moving, but the fact that I would be leaving my family, friends, and life behind did not seam real. Aside from the phantasmagorical feelings I was having, the reality was that in just a few short weeks (3 to be exact) Billy and I would need to be prepared to move.

Going away party love from
Heather

A lot went into our move. We needed to find a place to live, decide how we would get all of our belongings there, purge, pack, organize important documents, budget, etc. And among all that we were busily trying to make sure we spent quality time with all our friends and family before we left. In the weeks leading up to our move, I felt extremely lucky to be able to spend so much time with all the important people in my life. Billy and I realized how supported we were by our families and friends, and I for one really felt the love!! We planned many outings, dinner's, and were even thrown a going away party (Thanks to all our amazing parents for pulling that off so quickly)!! A serious thank you to everyone that made us feel so important and loved before our big move!! You definitely did not make it any easier to leave you all!!

Packing up!!

Before we knew it, it was time for the actual move! So scary! The morning was a giant blur. Obviously I didn't get ANY sleep the night before, and we woke up bright and early to get our moving van, and get it all packed up. I was so surprised all of our belongings fit into our two Honda Civics, and one van. It wasn't until we were giving goodbye hugs, to our family, getting in the car, and driving away from the house that it hit me that I wasn't coming back. No longer would I be able to hang out with my parents/sisters whenever I wanted, or take Bella to the dog park with Kristina, or plan sibling outings, or eat dinners with my parents, or just simply drive home through the same streets I have always driven on. Of course it wasn't the last time I would ever be there, but I felt this sense of maturity and sadness come over me in that moment. No longer was it my house but it was now my parents house. No longer was I a resident of Carlow court, or Rancho Cucamonga, or even California.... And, shortly I would be building my own home with Billy, in the beginning stages of that "next step" in our relationship. There was so much I was afraid of, and so much I was excited for all mixed into one cluster of emotions that came crashing down on me right at the moment I was waving goodbye to mine and Billy's families as they watched us drive away.

Just about to leave.

Leaving that day was the hardest thing I have ever done. Good thing I was driving behind the carpool, because I was extremely emotional. It took me about 30 minutes to calm back down and focus on my driving. I was in my civic, Billy in his, and Billy's dad and Stepmom, Bill and Lil driving our moving van. We all had walkie talkies to keep in touch with each other during our long journey. I was so glad for this, it helped me feel less "alone" while I was driving. Which was good since we were driving all the way to Albuquerque on our first day... 12 hours away.

Flagstaff, for dinner.

Well the plan was that we would drive straight through until we absolutely needed to stop for gas. However... we stopped in Devore (about 20 minutes away) because we saw some black smoke coming from the van's exhaust pipe. We didn't notice anything serious, so we let the van rest a bit (the cajon pass is a big giant hill after all), and then it was back on the road. We stopped again in Barstow, then again in Needles, and in Flagstaff, and probably a few other places before we finally got to Albuquerque past midnight. The drive wasn't too terrible. I for one HATE driving long distances, so I was very worried that I would need many breaks but it wasn't until it got dark, and I couldn't really see anymore (I broke my glasses) that I asked Lil to drive the rest of the way. Of course, we had a hard time finding our hotel... but we finally made it and had NO trouble at all falling asleep for the night.