The McGarys : August 2015

My mom and sister are amazing. They flew to Florida to help us pack up the house and then drove with us to move across the country. I hadn't seen either of them since Jayda was two months old. And they only had two days to spend with my brother's family before we all left.

my oldest sister Shannon and my mom (Gwen)

So many amazing friends came to load the moving truck. When we moved to Jacksonville in 2011 our moving truck was way bigger than we needed but for some reason it was cheaper than the smaller one. This time the smaller truck was cheaper (by a lot) so we got it. You can guess that four years and two more kids later we have some more stuff. The truck proved to be a very tight fit. We had to let a few things go. Some guy was driving through the parking lot and paused to take a picture of the group. He said he'd never seen so many people show up to help someone move.

Since my family was only there for a two days and we headed out early on a Monday morning I couldn't figure out how to get our carpets professionally cleaned over the weekend and then stay clean until we moved. So we decided for the first time to leave all the deep cleaning to our property manager and eat the cost. All we did was fill the holes in the walls and vacuum. I don't regret it one bit! It took away lots of stress and actually didn't cost as much as I thought. We still got a fair chunk of our deposit back.

with Grandma Sebastian

We had a few other stressful things to worry about anyway...like our van. Oh mylanta that van had me worried sick before our road trip. We took it to the dealership two weeks before our move. We told them to make sure everything was in tip top shape so we wouldn't break down in the middle of the desert in July. Among a few other things they replaced the battery. They said it tested low and was really corroded.

A week later we all went to the store but we only needed a couple things so Brad stayed in the car with the kids and watched a movie while I ran in. As I was paying for our items Brad called and said the van died so I should come get the kids and bring them inside the store while he found someone to jump it (good idea since it was 101 degrees outside). We sat on a bench right inside the door until Brad called again and gave us the OK to go back to the car.

We were gonna let the kids continue their movie while I nursed the baby, and then head home. Two minutes into the baby's meal the van died again. The random person that had jumped the van was gone now. I waited until the baby finished eating and by the time I sat her up every single one of us had beads of sweat pouring down our bodies. And then of course (because this is a cardinal amendment to Murphy's Law) the baby had a huge diaper blowout. I stripped her down and changed her diaper as fast as I could. I don't even remember if I had extra clothes for her. We got out of the van and it was actually a relief to step into the sunny 101 degree weather because the van had gotten even hotter than that already.

This time while the kids and I were inside, a store employee happened to pass Brad in the parking lot and was able to jump our van again. Brad kept the charge going quite a bit longer this time to make sure it held. He called and told us to hurry back to the car. We got all buckled in and ready to go while the two vehicles were still connected. Finally they took off the jumper cable and I noticed the air conditioning and the radio weren't working but the van was still running.

We could tell the van was NOT back to normal so we got out of there as fast as we could. It was being super sluggish and we felt like it would die if we slowed down too much or stopped - so of course it was the SLOWEST drive home we've ever had. We hit EVERY red light and each one felt like an eternity. I suggested we say a prayer and Jayda wanted to say it. She thanked Heavenly Father for every thing in our entire house and then we directed her a little to pray about the car. Brad and I continued praying in our hearts the whole way.

We made it into our complex and I kid you not - the SECOND we pulled into a parking spot, before Brad even shifted to park - the van died again.

Since these types of things always happen over the weekend we packed our family into the corolla for church the next day and then took the van back to the dealership on Monday. They informed us the alternator was bad and caused the brand new battery to die. They replaced the alternator, charged the battery and sent us home.

Later that week (after my mom and sister had arrived) we felt it was taking the A/C unusually long to cool down the van. *Sigh*. We stopped at an auto shop that had worked on our a/c in the past. They said the a/c was fine but the battery was testing lower than it should for being brand new. *Sigh* again. This was our moving weekend. Early Monday morning is when we packed up everything for our road trip but we stopped at the dealership one. more. time. before embarking across the country. They replaced our battery for free.

At this point...we left our Florida home of four years.

Our first day on the road the kids did spectacularly well, although we didn't have much a view until nightfall. As we cruised through the mountains of Georgia we noticed one of the brake lights on the moving truck wasn't working. Then Brad called and said he didn't have much control of the truck so we pulled over. He got out, fiddled with some stuff and when it appeared to be fixed we continued on. We wondered if Brad had exceeded the speed allowance of the governor and that caused it to shut off. Was that the end of it? Obviously not. Even though Brad was careful not to speed it happened again around 9pm just north of Chattanooga. This time we pulled into a truck stop and he called the moving truck company.

It sounded like it was gonna take awhile for someone to get out there so the rest of us decided to continue on to the hotel, hoping Brad could catch up later that night. The mechanic arrived at 2am and chewed out Brad with yelling and cursing because he had to get out of bed and look at "Brad's" truck. And he couldn't even fix it. A tow truck arrived at 4am and took Brad to a nearby hotel. At this point Brad realized his suitcase was with us in the van. So he slept at his hotel in his street clothes, called the company at 9am and waited patiently for a new moving truck to speedily arrive seven hours later at 4pm. The one and only acceptable service provided by this company was that two men arrived with the new truck and they transferred ALL our belongings. We had left our hotel that morning as usual and were well on our way to our next destination by the time Brad finally got out of Chattanooga at 5pm, almost 24 hours after he got there.

With the exception of a 2 hour nap Brad drove ALL night to catch up with us in Kansas City and indeed he did at 8am. We presented his beloved suitcase of clean clothes, said our hellos and goodbyes and continued our journey again. Brad stayed in the hotel room and slept for only 3 hours before hitting the road again behind us.

Our last hotel was in Cheyenne Wyoming and we were pleasantly surprised to walk into a two bedroom suite. I think Brad arrived only an hour after us. He and I got to sleep in a wonderful king size bed with plenty of room for Taylor's pack n play and the girls to sleep on the floor. Around 2am the radio suddenly blared from the alarm clock on my nightstand and nearly gave me a heart attack. I was too groggy to attempt figuring out the buttons so I tore the power cord from the wall as fast as I could. I sat there listening for the baby to cry or the kids to wake up scared but somehow no one else woke up! I was so confused. It was like when a fire truck sounds its engine right in front of people at a parade. Scared the living daylights out of me.

Yet again my robot/hero husband got less sleep than the rest of us and left the hotel before anyone else had woken up. He drove all the way from Cheyenne WY to Boise, ID that day. His dad joined him in Pocatello to help him load our stuff into a storage unit in Boise.

Bear Lake

We stopped for gas and lunch in a city called Little America. It was pretty and an interesting place to see. I remember standing in line looking at the menu and reading about a fruit smoothie. We joked about how these smoothies were probably made with milk and a squeeze bottle of berry flavored syrup. As we looked behind the counter we actually saw a girl making the smoothies. Next to the blender there was a carton of milk, a row of black bananas and a squeeze bottle of berry syrup!! I couldn't believe it.

Enthralled with the view of the mountain pass to Logan.

The rest of us stopped in Logan to stay with my sister Hayley for a night. I remember posting on Facebook how we made it to Logan. That was kinda misleading because my destination was actually Rexburg. The road trip with my mom and sister ended in Logan though because they stayed and caught a flight out of Salt Lake City and headed home to Minneapolis.

Avi and Taylor. He's twice her age.

Asia and Taylor

Asia, Eden, Kallie, Jessa, Jayda, Shannon and Avi, Hayley and Taylor

Jessa, Kallie, Asia. Jessa's face is awesome!

It was great to see my sister and it was my first time in Logan. I didn't realize how beautiful it is! I'm so grateful to my mom and sister for helping us move. I couldn't have done it without them. I probably would have been a more sane and lovable person had we flown but I'm still happy we drove because we saved a lot of money and still got to spend more time with my family.

Shannon, Eden and me, Hayley, Asia, Kallie, Jayda

I continued on with the kids to Rexburg (to live with Brad's parents for an undetermined amount of time, in case you didn't know) and the time it took to drive there worked out perfectly. The baby napped the whole time and our movie ended right as we arrived. Brad's siblings visited from Boise and Salt Lake so partying with the McGarys started right away! The very next morning was the 4th of July parade.

4th of July parade in Rexburg Idaho

We spent the rest of the day playing at Trent's house in Rigby

and checking out a neighbor's car and tractor collection.

Emma, Kallie, Ellie, Ari

Kallie has always been a sidekick to her grandmas. She was attached to my mom our whole road trip and she's been attached to Brad's mom since we moved to Rexburg.

Mikayla and Taylor in the mirror

We moved to Rexburg just in time for harvest. Every time I'm here during this time of year I discover more foods that I like. I've been scarfing down beets and cabbage like there's no tomorrow. Who knew I liked beets?

Podding peas while watching Studio C.

Slide the City. Love all the community events in small towns!

Ahhh, real grass. We can actually walk through it barefoot and sit down.

Brad's maternal grandparents lived two streets away. After they died, his parents bought their house and now rent it out. But they still work the huge garden and we take the kids there to play in the yard.

Since we've arrived there have been raspberries, peas, beans, beets, cabbage, apricots, cherries, mint leaves, gooseberries, lettuce and purple beans in the kitchen being preserved. More to finish growing the next few months. It's a cool feeling eating food straight from the garden because it's the only way to know it's truly organic. Brad's parents work SO hard growing all this food and preserving it. I've only seen a glimpse of their hard work. I just benefit from eating it all.

The girls were helping Grandma cut off the stems from the gooseberries. As Grandma was cleaning up afterward she found a clump of hair stuck to one of the scissors...

Every time I finish nursing Taylor and I sit her up, her ear sticks to her head on the side she was laying. I always laugh as I peel it away.

The weather is so different here than Florida! It's July and August but when we go to the splash park the kids say they're freezing cold after getting wet one time.

It feels like spring. With the exception of a couple days, the weather has been perfect for sitting outside in the grass for a picnic or playing on the swing set.

I forgot to change Jayda's regular diaper out for a swim kind so she looked pretty stylin' for awhile. And I love Taylor in the back round of this picture.

Jayda looking out for the underdogs.

Swiping as much candy from Grandma as they can.

After cousins from Brad's side went home, cousins from my side arrived! Got to spend some more time with Hayley's family from Logan. Her in-laws invited us to stay at a lake house and the kids had SO much fun partying even more.

Asia, Gracie, Eden, Kallie, Jessa, Jayda

Trying on Asia's glasses

Holding hands on a walk

Gotta love living two blocks from the temple!

Jayda on a tractor wearing overalls

Three nieces stayed with us two different times this month. The first time their oldest two siblings and parents went to youth conference (I think) and the second time they went on a pioneer trek to Martin's Cove.