We're Here!

It was a bit of a rough journey, but we've made it!

Helen at 2:30AM after 14+ hours of travel. 

For the sake of documenting it, here is a breakdown of the moving process.

Our entire household was packed up on Monday, April 30, and then drove away the next day. But not before I added another 52 cans of whole wheat and 20 cases of my favorite brand of diapers and wipes. 

We then spent Wednesday, Thursday and Friday visiting the dentist, spot-cleaning the house, buying last-minute items and saying our goodbyes. We spent the night at the La Quinta by the freeway on Rayford Rd. (Wednesday - Saturday)  with two adjoining suites. I think it was the best hotel setup we have ever had because all the kids had a bedroom/living room to themselves. It's proximity to our old neighborhood meant we easily squeezed in several fun playdates while Scott got in a few more days at work, and several friends graciously fed us dinner once our house was empty. Friday night, our last night in Texas, a few friends even stopped by the hotel to say goodbye. 

And then suddenly, Moving Day was here! There was a lot of stuff to keep track of -- 3 squirly children, 6 suitcases, 5 personal items (including the boys adorable little backpacks) and 4 carseat pieces. It was such a relief to leave most of that at the ticket counter!

It was fun to experience first class. Unfortunately they'd oversold it and Ian was bumped to coach. He sat immediately behind us on a row with only one seat. He said he felt like a captain of a spaceship and still talks about how 'lucky' he was to get to sit there while we were all stuck in the seats up front. 

We had a layover in Toronto and going through customs in the middle of the night was less than pleasant. We had to collect all our stuff again and haul it across the airport. There just wasn't enough adult manpower. Scott had one overloaded cart and I had the stroller and baby, a roller suitcase and the diaper bag. That left one other overloaded cart and believe it or not, Ian and Joseph pushed and pulled this cart --stacked over their heads-- through a queue that snaked through a large room, then up a steep ramp and around some sharp corners. That is where they ran out of steam and a customs agent took pity on us and pushed it the rest of the way.

The cart they manned is in the front. 

After clearing customs and changing planes in Toronto we headed for St. John's. It was a short flight, and the fact that the boys got to watch movies the entire way made it bearable for all of us. They willed themselves to stay awake the entire time!

Once we arrived in Newfoundland we gathered all our bags again, got the boys' temporary residency all sorted out (The middle of the night is perfect! No lines!) and got the carseats in the rental van, and headed off into darkness and dense fog, without a map, in search of our interim-living. Miraculously, Scott got us there without too much trouble. Getting all our suitcases up to the third story of these adorable brownstones was less simple. Fortunately everyone slept in until 9:30am the next day. After getting lost on the way to church (then finding a gas station that would take US dollars for a map) we made it to church halfway through the second hour. It was nice to meet some branch members, but our boys ran around like lunatics and caused all kinds of disturbances. We even had to excuse ourselves from Sunday School because we could hear them screaming and carrying on in Primary down the hall. Fortunately many of the families had been through similar moves and assured us we could still be friends. 

This crazy behavior would become a theme in our next two months in Newfoundland. Thankfully, our kids are now more or less back to their normal selves. 

We stayed in #18 at the Hometel for several weeks until our household belongings arrived. Free breakfast was a highlight because it gave us something to do first thing in the morning. The daily housekeeping was nice at first, but eventually I began doing the cleaning myself because it made life seem more normal. 

Our Hometel house had three bedroom suites, a living room and a full kitchen. It seemed great on paper, but the bedroom doors all locked automatically from the inside and there was no deadbolt on the exterior door of the house... so for a worrier like me it wasn't realistic to have the kids all in separate rooms spread across three levels of the house. So we put the kids to bed all over the house and then moved into the same room when Scott and I went to bed. I am positive housekeeping thought we were nuts when they saw we'd removed the couch cushions every. single. night. and crammed them all on a bedroom floor.

We really only brought one toy with us -- some blocks that snap together to built a castle that a neighbor boy in Texas gifted the kids before we left. They proved the perfect toy because the boys built and rebuilt them into ships and cars and planes multiple times a day and never tired of them.

Here the blocks are a hot air balloon. 

A tank.

One of the many flights of stairs. This is where the boys were sent to play when Helen was napping in the downstairs closet.

We took turns putting on The Three Little Pigs. 

We didn't bring a single toy for poor Helen! So sometimes there was nothing left to do but shred the phonebook. 

On May 15 our lease began and we started spending the day in our empty house, running around and playing with a few toys left in the basement. We discovered the house was excellent for Hide-and-Go-Seek. The two kitchen sinks also provided for hours of filling and dumping, washing and splashing. 

The boys found these nets and hauled them around the backyard. We later learned they are intended to cover bags of garbage, so that birds don't peck the bags open. We no longer play with the nets...

Helen loved walking along the back deck. 

There is a neighborhood park behind the rental house and we spent many afternoons back there. Sadly, we always have the park to ourselves. 

A week after we arrived in Newfoundland, dandilions bloomed across the city. It reminded us of the Texas Bluebonnets! These dandilions were far bigger than I had ever seen before, and it appeared that they were regarded more like a wildflower than a weed. After a long dark winter, I think I would welcome them too!

My favorite thing about the little park is that it is light on equipment, but abundant in open space to run, hills to roll down, and has a gigantic tree that is made for climbing. 

As tricky as it was to not have a real house or more than a suitcase of belongings (which only included a Texas-Summer-Worthy wardrobe!), this was actually a really happy time for us. I recorded the following during that time:

The kids and I have been having so much fun together this week. We've been cooped up in the hotel for the most part, but it's been really pleasant. We've colored, built towers, wrestled, read the same stories in The Friend magazine, and it's all felt so fun and fresh. And the boys have been their sweetest, most patient selves. Without a car, a cell phone, a calling, no real commitments or any real domestic responsibilities (I could get used to having daily housekeeping!), could it be that I am less distracted? I hope my "fun mommy" self becomes a permanent part of our St. John's experience.


After playing with our new friends The Coopers on Wednesday, we stopped by Bowring Park on the way to pick Scott up at work. It's a large park with walking trails galore and at least a couple great play structures. While pushing the boys on the swings for much longer than I normally would, the boys began to exclaim "You are the best mommy! This is so fun! I am always going to remember the best day we ever had at the park!" And it really was that fun. It was one of those moments in time that I will remember when they are grown.


Even once we moved into our house, it took several weeks to get a cell phone (and we didn't have a land line either) and even longer to get internet. Back then we were far more rested and far less distracted. Sometimes I miss it! But it wasn't all rosy. We were ready to settle into what would become our new normal life.

When I felt as though I could not bare to live out of suitcases and in temporary housing any longer, we were told our stuff was still at least 10 days away. And I cried. A few hours later, we heard the truck was actually waiting for us at the customs office in town! Scott signed off on it the next day, and that Saturday it was unloaded.

Our driver/packer was fabulous and from our entire household, only one candle stick was broken. Amazing! Next, we set about making the house our home.

Brought to you by Ian.

Newfoundland is an incredible place, and we've had lot's of adventures already! More details to come!