We Heart Small Homes

So, our move went INCREDIBLY well! We began at 8:00 in the morning, and had the van packed at 9:30. We had 5 five INCREDIBLY nice people from our ward come and help, along with one of the sweet kids from my Primary class. I think he just wanted to see me cry... :)

We left at 10:00, and headed to D.I. to pick up a mattress for Grace's bed. She's been trying to climb out of her crib for a while now, so we moved her over to a 'big girl bed.' We got to our new apartment at about 11:00. Two members from our new ward came to help, and they got the ENTIRE truck unloaded in 45 minutes! Wow! I thought it was something that would take all day, and by 1:30, we had the truck returned and were done!

So, since, we've cleaned up our old apartment, turned the keys in, and have been un-packing and cleaning our new apartment. We are on the lower level (SO happy about this! Grace and Adam can run and stomp and jump without abandon now!), and totally lucked out: we live under an older couple who have lived there for the past 18 years, and plan to stay there. They are totally quiet, and it's SO nice. We haven't been to our new ward yet... when we moved in, Grace and Adam were still coughing and throwing up, so we kept them home. I felt super bad asking the ward to help us move in, and then not showing up for church the next day (slackers much?), but I think I would have felt worse, introducing ourselves by Grace throwing up on the pew or something.

Our apartment definitely has some quirks that we hope get worked out in the next week:

- the shower won't turn on without using a wrench
- there is a crack in the middle of the bathtub
- the dishwasher isn't attached; if you open it, the entire thing comes out
- the sinks and toilet leak
- the phone jack doesn't work
- there is no wood under the kitchen sink cabinet... just a partially rotted piece of wood and grossness

So, it's been an adventure.

One thing that has completely surprised me, though, is how much more homey this apartment feels than our last. It's a LOT smaller (I think about 400 square feet smaller), but it feels so much better. Everything is right there, including the kids' room. Mike and I were talking about it, and we think it's because the quirks and the smallness remind us of our dorm at NAU. We lived in a 423-square-foot dorm for almost 4 years and LOVED it. I don't remember complaining about the size too much... I knew it was small. But, it was were Mike and I 'grew up' in a lot of ways. We learned to depend on each other. We went to school and learned and grew. I became more independent. Mike's more confident. Adam literally grew up there, and Grace spent her first half-year of her life there.

And this apartment, in a lot of ways, makes us feel that we are back in Flagstaff. Things have gone so, so, so much better this week than they have in a year. Adam's a completely different kid. Grace is sleeping through the night. Mike and I have been more happier and relaxed. I know that this probably is due to more of Mike being around more, but I really think that it makes us feel like we're 'home' in a lot of ways. It's familiar to us. Kind of a 'comfort zone' I guess.

But, anways, I'd include pics but the camera is still being crazy. Oh, well. Hope you're all doing fabulous! Can't wait to see our Arizona family SUPER soon!