Transition Weeks

We had to be out of our house in Sioux Falls on May 30th, but we didn't gain possession of our new house in Coralville until June 4th.  We also had to stick around Sioux Falls for the movers in case they needed us and to sign paperwork when they were through loading our things.  We also wanted to be in Sioux Falls that Saturday, because my parents were coming to town to help my sister with some wedding plans, and they were gracious enough to help us clean our house as well.  So we spent two nights in Sioux Falls at a hotel.  The kids and I found plenty of things to keep us busy including swimming at the hotel, visiting friends one more time, and of course, another zoo trip, while Paul worked those two days.  When the moving company no longer needed us to stick around and the house was clean, the kids and I headed to my parents while Paul stayed with his brother Joel in Sioux Falls for a couple days as he had shifts to work.

On Monday the 3rd, I took the kids to a park and somehow I managed to lose my phone.  I'm thinking it had to have popped out of the stroller as I was folding it up to put back in the van before heading home.  Of course, I didn't realize it was missing until after Ruby was in the middle of her nap.  So I ended up waking her, loaded the kids back in the van, and went to look for it.  I couldn't find it anywhere and assuming the worse, I think someone probably took it.  :(  That evening, Paul drove to my parents and picked us up and we drove the rest of the way to Iowa City (with no phone for me).  We drove by the new house around midnight and saw the carpet cleaners still hard at work before we took possession the next morning.  Better late than never!!  We stayed with Jon and Stef that night and closed on our house the following morning.  The movers were able to deliver our stuff that same day so we got to work unpacking quite quickly.  We spent one night in our new house and then headed back to my parents for a week because Paul had to go back to Sioux Falls for another round of shifts.

We had a great week in Sibley and my parents thoroughly enjoyed having us around...I think!  Ha!  They kept Ruby quite busy with lots of fun outdoor activities, like feeding the birds and pulling weeds in the garden!

We also visited my grandparents, known as Grandpa and Grandma Great, while we were in Sibley.

We also made a couple trips to Sioux Falls, one for Jace's 4 month appointment and a new phone for me...and one to visit Brandon after his knee surgery.  We also got to meet up with Daddy for both of those trips!

Then we headed back to Coralville to the new house!  I'm sure Ruby and Jace were wondering if we were going to live out of suitcases forever!  ;)  We got a ton of work done on the new house in just the first few days.  Gary, Ruth, Jon, and Stef were huge helpers in watching our kiddos while we unpacked and got settled.  

We also got to see our good friends Jen and Evan and their cute kids before they moved to Denver.  Had they stayed, we would have lived on the same street.  We overlapped on Dempster Drive for only a week, but at least we got to see them before they left.

After four days, Paul had to make one more final trip to Sioux Falls to do his last week of shifts at Avera.  I stayed in Coralville this time with the kids but since we were mostly unpacked and settled I didn't have to worry about that while Paul was gone!  My parents also visited the weekend that Paul was gone so it was nice to have some company.  

It was wonderful having Paul back for good after a week away.  We sure did miss him.  Paul started at the University on July 1st and that has also been going very well.  Although we miss seeing my family on a somewhat regular basis, we are enjoying our new home and seeing the majority of Paul's family quite frequently.  And I think it's safe to say that we can call this place... HOME.  ;)