32 things about moving

I started writing this on January 16th.  Then I got a little busy.  Pretend that I finished it on that day, mmm'kay?

Last year I did a post on my birthday about 31 things about my pregnancy.  I kind of like the idea of posting about something big going on in my life instead of just about myself, because, seriously, how could I think of 30+ new things about myself each year?

1.  I hate moving.
2.  I could never do it alone.
3.  Beautiful, organized, color-coded labeling only works in the beginning.
4.  I am very, very grateful for Felicity Hansen, Hannah Wanstrom, and Jenn Dubriuel, who watched my kids so I could pack.
5.  It was very weird to realize that I wouldn't be going certain places again, like my favorite grocery store.  True, I could make a point of going there if I wanted to, but why would I make a big deal about a grocery store?  It's not a big deal, it's a little deal.  But it's still a deal.  At least, in the middle of the night on the last night in my old house it's a deal.
6.  Always make sure you know where your wedding ring is the entire time you're packing.
7.  Use this formula to decide the size of moving truck you will need:

((number of bedrooms  +  number of people)  x  years since your last move)  +  the greater of you and your spouse's systolic blood pressure  x  the number of cookies your child has eaten in place of dinner in the week preceeding the move  =  the square footage of the truck you need. 

[Note: No matter how careful your calculations, it will still not be big enough.  That is not because the math is flawed, but because you simply have accumulated too much crap.]

8.  Ryan Cook is the Master of Disaster when it comes to loading a moving truck--he was a hero!
9.  Despite his heroics, everything did not even come close to fitting.
10.Despite my mom's horse trailer, the tack room on the horse trailer, the cab of the truck pulling the horse trailer, our two cars, the moving truck, and the cab of the truck, there STILL was not enough room for everything!
11. It is very embarassing to have all your really good friends and family move the tiny (and not so tiny) bits of your life around, especially when they all don't fit in the vehicles.  (And I had even been getting RID of stuff for months!)
12. I have discovered that two sides of my personality are in conflict.  The side that likes to be frugal, save money, get things for free or cheap, and save them for when I need them is in conflict with the side that doesn't like clutter, hates to store things we never use, and longs to throw out every one of my husband's boxes of childhood memorabilia.
13. While every one of my bags and boxes of sewing stuff that I haven't touched in the last year is necessary and useful to keep, my husband's boxes of Star Wars stuff and Legos are just taking up space.
14. I hate moving.
15. I am very grateful for the 14 year old kid in our ward that came over when I offered to pay him, helped us pack boxes for 3 hours, and then said we didn't need to pay him.  We didn't even know him.  But we know what kind of parents he has.
16. My brother took Annalee on the last night we spent in Idaho Falls so we could pack in peace and get to bed at a decent time (she was pretty wired).
17. My sister in Logan took Annalee the weekend before we moved.  Did I mention she already has 3 kids and one on the way?
18. My dad drove Annalee to her aunt's house and my mom drove her back.  She was heavily sedated with an in-car dvd player, but it was still an incredibly inconvenient and selfless act.  Then they kept her at their house for two days.
19. The day we left, January 14th, we called our property management company to see about getting the keys to our rental.  They were terribly confused, as they thought we were coming on the 27th.  Um.....WHAT?!  Luckily, they very kindly allowed us to move in anyway.
20. Due to an oversight on my part, we did not have any water when we arrived.  I went next door and said, "Hi, we're your new neighbors.  Our water isn't turned on.  Could we fill a few buckets with water?"  And then we were at least able to flush the toilets.  We bought some water to drink, but oh, how I wanted a shower!
21. Nathan's cousins were so awesome in helping us unpack!  They had already nearly completed the truck when the new elders' quorum arrived.
22. Our bishop helped up unload, welcomed us and then said, "See you tomorrow!"  I stared at him, slightly brain-dead and embarrassed.  "Well, we don't even know where our Sunday clothes are."  "Oh, that's okay," he said, you can come in jeans, we'd understand."  I considered it.  Even without a shower, I decided I needed to get to Church.  But after a very long night of kids waking up a lot, we woke up 30 minutes before our ward was going to start.  Next Sunday!
23. Since we didn't have water, internet or food, we went to McDonalds to satisfy those needs.  Boy, Nampa is turning us into heathens!
24. Even though we haven't been to church yet we can tell we have a great ward.  They have been bringing us meals and cookies and seem so happy we are here.  For a ward with a lot of rental units, I was expecting burn-out and an indifferent welcome.
25. I can't find my shower curtain, all our clean white underwear, the detergent to wash the diapers, the camera charger, the dvds (what is Annalee supposed to do?) and my wedding ring.
26. Organized, color-coded labeling was a brilliant idea--given 6 months I'm sure I could have packed everything that way.
27. I hate moving.
28. It always takes 10 times longer to pack than to unpack.
29. Things I'll miss about my Idaho Falls house?  The rhubarb.  The cherry tree.  I was going to list a lot of other things, but I think everything else will either be even better in the next house (like my closet) or will be something I can recreate (like the decorations in the kids' rooms).  What I'll miss most of all?  Being 20 minutes from my parents.
30. I hate moving.
31. When we moved to Idaho Falls, I hated moving so much that I told Nathan we were not moving for a minimum of 5 years.  That was 5.5 years ago.
32. I know this move was the right thing.  It was hard, very hard in a lot of ways.  But we saw the hand of the Lord leading us here.  We have been greatly blessed by the service of family, friends, and strangers.  We'll be moving again in a few months, from our rental to a house, but after that WE ARE NOT MOVING AGAIN FOR AT LEAST 5 YEARS!