Are we there yet?

Say this with me in your best impression of a very whiny five year old: "Are we there yet?"

No, not yet. Sorry. Because before we can get to Singapore, there's a few stops along the way.

Stop one was really more of a pre-stop. You might remember I mentioned the trip to Alaska in the last post? Well we took our two little ones up to Wasilla for my brother's wedding. (My dad never did show me where Sarah Palin lives.) Turned out to be a very lovely wedding (Congrats K & K!) and a great excuse to see everyone (and remind ourselves why we don't live in Alaska any longer.) Plus the plane ride from Portland to Anchorage was a great dry run. For example, we learned that Cade needs water, plenty of snacks (not the expensive kind bought on the plane), his huge ninja turtles pillow and full battery power on the tablet.

Next was a series of stops as we road-tripped from Klamath to the Salt Lake area where I have a bunch of family. After we closed on our house, packed up the uhaul with our remaining stuff, cleaned the house sufficiently for the new owners, and tried not to get emotional as we said our goodbyes, we drove away. We stayed that night in Burns reliving memories of a previous lacrosse related outing and having fun in the indoor pool. Then the next day we crossed into Idaho. So long Oregon! We went shopping in Meridian before staying in, oh gosh, what was the name of that town? It's only been a few weeks but hmm, let me think. Burley! That's where it was. 

The next day we crossed into Utah. Buh-bye Idaho. We visited my Grandma and had a nice time catching up with her. I helped her learn how to use her phone so she could text and we took a selfie together. Then we went to my aunt's house for dinner. I have a large extended family and realize that I love large gatherings because of this. Dinner was awesome. For me. For my kids, it took a bit of warming up to all the relatives as more and more people came through the door. We did make a very important connection between my family and my love (and Elise's love) for black olives. It's so fun to say "Oh! That's where you get that from."

Saturday morning the kids and I took a flight from Salt Lake to Chicago. After we were past security, Ross started his long drive to St. Louis. (Side bar, Ross's dad meanwhile is driving our uhaul o' stuff from Klamath to Illinois. We can't say thank you enough!) So the kids and I fly to Chicago. Thankfully I felt prepared after the Alaska flights. In Chicago, Ross's mom met us at baggage claim and said the sweetest words I've heard in a long time: "dear, I'll take the kids; why don't you go get something from Starbucks right there?" Ahhhhh, love her! From there, we loaded into a shuttle van and drove to Geneseo . . . you need to look that one up? I'll wait . . . where my father-in-law had already arrived with our uhaul. 

And that brings us back to me living in my in-laws basement. Which really has been an ideal setup. Elise is in the laundry room and I can shut the door so it's nice and quiet for her. Cade is in the guest room and feels like he has his own space. And I've completely taken over the rest of the basement. It's spacious, I can call it my own for now and they even set up a TV/dvd for me. I am so thankful for how this has all worked out.

In a few weeks, Ross will come collect us and we will head to St. Louis and fly away. Good thing I still have a little time to wrap my head around that. Then it's on to Singapore!