so long, ohio

We left Ohio for the last time yesterday. It was a little bit sad and a little bit exciting at the same time. Of all the things we’ll miss the most, our friends are at the top. (Followed closely by Trader Joe’s and Rita’s…)

Jen and Dave (with whom we spent the last couple days while our house got packed up) are amazing. Jen is going to be the best mommy EVER and Dave, our Olympic hopeful, just threw his farthest throw of the javelin last week — woo hoo!

Dan, Emily’s other half, is insanely funny and quirky and just perfect for Emily. We’ve had some of the best times hanging out with them! Missed you, Emily!

JD, Sara‘s other half, represented the Whitlock family. Sara was home resting from her surgery last week and their bookworm daughters were visiting family. JD and Sara, we love you so much and are so thankful to have you (and your wisdom!) to turn to! JD is from Rochester, NY, which is only about an hour from where we’ll live, so we’re hopeful we’ll see them again soon!

The Atherton family — how cute! Brett and Jackie, we love you to pieces and have missed spending time with you both these last few months of transition with your second child and our move. Jackie is the BEST dresser EVER…should have gone shopping with her more often!

(Most of) our house church at Milano’s — we missed those who were absent and are so thankful for amazing friends.

On the way out of town we stopped for one last hug from Susy — going to miss her SO MUCH. She is my daily running partner, confidant, friend, voice of reason, and one step ahead of me in life…I honestly don’t know what I’ll do without her.

We made a pit stop at Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams on High Street in the Short North in Columbus. Their ice cream is insanely good (and creative!) and deserves its own post…once we get our hotel unpacked, I’ll share our trip with you!

After I drove through torrential rains (three times!), got soaked running from Starbucks to the car, and Wendy’s messed up my kid’s meal cheeseburger (and I was forced to eat a piece of Andrew’s KFC–eeww!), we started seeing signs for Buffalo. Woo hoo! The drive always seems way longer at night.

We got into the Staybridge Suites here in West Seneca, NY, and unloaded our entire car. Boxes are everywhere.

Shenanigans, part 6 or 7 or 8…

After the packers left and Andrew and I did some cleaning/rounding up around the house, we settled in at Jen & Dave’s to hang out before Jen came home from work. Translation: Andrew fell asleep and Dave and I watched a movie. Defiance. Daniel Craig is hot. In an older-man sort of way.

Jen was up for some shenanigans when she got home, so we headed down to Rita’s to meet Emily for some water ice.

Andrew wanted to make sure he said goodbye before we leave. Emily introduced me to Mint Oreo Cream Ice–yummy! I’m kind of a Rita’s “purist;” I grew up on Rita’s back when there were no “Blendinis” or “Mistos” or cream ice. Mango has always been my favorite (along with everyone else apparently; it’s there most popular flavor and is available every day) with plain chocolate (something I have yet to find at the Rita’s here) being a close second. Anyway, back to being a purist. I like my water ice plain or a gelati. No mixing for me. I splurged and got a gelati with vanilla custard.

Jen and Dave can be pretty goofy when they want to be. That, and Jen was already up past her bedtime.

I look so pale. And I want Emily’s hair. She’s so beautiful!

And because Rita’s at 9:45 at night wasn’t enough sugar for our bloodstreams, Andrew got a craving for pizza. We threw caution to the wind and headed to Little Caesars. Sadly, they were closed.

Not to fear; we drove to Emily’s where we plopped down on the couch and turned the television on. Has anyone ever heard of “Heartbreakers?” Neither had we. It was weird.

Emily prepped fruit for her early-morning drive and we said hello to Dan via phone:

Hi Dan! We missed you last night!

Then, the inevitable happened: Pizza was ordered.

It may not have been the best, but anything covered in cheese while hanging out with dear friends is just fine with me.

And you better believe my butt was on the treadmill this morning working it all off!

Movers are here loading up the truck and the basement is empty already.

all boxed up

The packers showed up this morning at 8:30. Thankfully (or not), I’d been up since 5:15, so at least I’d had a chance to get some things done around the house.

HOWEVER, I’ve come to the conclusion that no matter how organized, how much time one has or how many lists one makes…there is no way to be (or feel) completely “cool” with the moving process. My lack of peace this morning was partly my fault; I wasn’t as productive this week as I’d hoped I’d be. I could have worked harder. Could have organized more. Could have, could have, could have…

Well, the house is pretty much packed up. We got through it as well as we could today. Our movers were nice, although I will say I’m always a little anxious about the whole process. There is just something about being at the mercy of someone else that scares me. Not that they’ll break my stuff; that they’ll be less than truthful with me. Cross your fingers and say a prayer for us!

The bathrooms are cleaned and I left cleaning supplies out for tomorrow. I don’t think the movers will take very long to load the truck…we don’t have that much stuff! A good portion of it will be coming with us; our Pilot is going to be jammed! All our food, all our cleaning stuff, almost all our clothes and shoes…

We’re settled into Jen and Dave’s for the last couple days before we leave 🙂