The Move

We took a vacation to Utah in July and decided after returning home to Houston that we wanted to get back to our family in Utah. Tom actively started looking for a job and not long after he started he got an offer! We were shocked we honestly didn't think anything would happen for at least a year. Once he got the offer they told him that if he accepted it he would have to be there in 3 weeks! So quick! We prayed about it and felt it was right so he took the job. We started packing right away.

After 4 and a half years of living in Houston, we moved back to Utah. September 8th was a bitter sweet day. We finished loading our two U-haul trucks, Tom's truck and my car. Did the last of the cleaning on our rental home locked the doors and then said good bye to our AMAZING friends. We made some life long friends living there! I love them all dearly and will always hold them close to my heart. 

Tom, Me, Jarrod (Utah friend), Mana & Ammon, Annette, Rachel & Andrew, Mike
Avery, Cole, Benjamin, Michael, Jennie, Caralyn & Elliott

Adriana Mejia

Ruben Mejia

Many, many more friends not pictured!

Grandpa with the kids

My dad and our good friend Jarrod flew in from Utah to help us drive back. We have way too much stuff and couldn't have done it with out them! You guys ROCK!  

The 8th was a Saturday and by the time we got out it was getting later into the day. We made it to Fort Worth, TX that night. Fort Worth is only about four hours from Houston but with all the stops and the fact that the U-hauls top out at about 75 mph it took us 6. My goodness this was going to be a long trip! Little did we know it was going to be an EXTRA LONG TRIP!!

When we got into Fort Worth and stopped at a hotel for the night, Tom noticed that the truck my dad was driving was leaking oil from the rear hub because the seal had gone out. We called to get someone out there but they couldn't do anything that night because non of the repair shops where open. The next morning called again and they said they were going to get someone out ASAP. We weren't able to get back on the road until 2:00 pm. Sunday afternoon. All that time that could have been used driving was used waiting instead!

We were able to make pretty good time once we were back on the road. We drove until night fall, ending up in Amarillo, TX and stopped for a steak dinner. After we ate we were all feeling pretty good so decided to drive on. As the food started to settle we all started to get sleepy so we stopped and got a hotel in Tucumcari. 

We headed out bright and early that next morning. We drove and we drove and we drove! After driving for about what seemed like forever, Tom decided to take us down a road that looked like it would be more of a straight shot than the road we've taken before. So we took it. By this time the sun was getting close to setting and it also had started raining and the road we were on turned out to be made from washboards! It was one of the bumpiest roads any of us have ever been on. A paved road! After about 20 minutes on this road we pulled over to the side and notice that my dad's truck was gushing anti-freeze! We knew we didn't have much time and we were about half way between Shiprock and the next town, so we decided to push it to the next town before the truck started to overheat.  We got on the road and about 5 minutes later Dad said the engine was starting to run hot already.  Luckily, right as he said this over the radio we came up over a hill and saw a gas station!  We pulled in and realized that this gas station was actually an Indian reservation that consisted of only 1 store (the gas station/grocery store) and about 10 houses. We were in beautiful downtown Beclabito. After calling U-haul roadside assistance again it took the repair guy from Shiprock about 3 hours to get to us.  He checked out the truck and said that one of the radiator hoses had a hole rubbed into it from the frame it was vibrating against (probably due to the bumpy paved road made from broken washboards).  It was going to be a quick 15 minute fix.  Unfortunately, the hose was back in Shiprock....so...he had to return to Shiprock, "borrow" the hose from another U-haul truck, then drive back which turned it into a 3 hour and 15 minute fix. WooHoo. We got as much sleep as we could in our vehicles so we could press forward as soon as the truck was fixed. It was between 11:00 and 12:00 when we were finally able to get back on the road again. What a freakin` adventure this was turning out to be! We drove for about another 3 hours and made it into Moab! YAY! Finally a familiar place! We decided to stop one last time and get some good sleep.

We got into Syracuse UT, Tuesday, September 11th, a day later than we expected! We were all exhausted! The kids did AWESOME! We called family and they all showed up to help us get the trucks unloaded. It felt so nice to finally be home! What a long CRAZY trip!

Thank you again to all of our wonderful friends and family in Houston and in Utah that helped with our huge move!! Thank you! Thank you! We love and appreciate you all!