Moving

Wow. Moving is such a chore. I felt like we were packing forever. We worked so hard to have everything packed up before our family came into town for Graduation. We wanted to be done with the work so we could visit and play more. We were able to finish, but boy was it a lot of work! How do we have so much stuff? I really don't know. The entire side of our house was full of boxes. And with how tedious packing is, we had to take regular breaks. Hence the picture of Jackson in the baby bjorn. Ha. Those boys are so silly.

We were lucky to have lots of family in town to help us load the truck and clean our house. It's amazing how quickly things get done with so many people to help. The truck was completely loaded in under two hours. We had a 26 foot truck, the biggest you can rent, and we still had trouble fitting it all in. I was pretty worried when they were loading. It looked like there was no way it would all fit. Lucky my dad is crazy good at tetris and we had nine strong men to do lots of maneuvering of our possessions.

And after the truck was packed, my parents, my mother-in-law and two of my sister-in-laws helped us clean. We had that house scrubbed in no time. I really don't know how we would have done it without so much help. Troy's siblings even watched Jackson and Clara for us while we did all of the above. That was life-saving.

We made it out fairly early the morning of June 3rd. By this point, I was ready to leave. I was exhausted from saying goodbye so many times and was ready to have the whole thing over with. My Dad went with Troy in the truck and my Mom came with me and the kids. My mom and I moved more slowly than the moving truck. Go figure. We had to stop often enough with the kiddos that we were behind.

Despite that, all was going pretty well until we were about 15 miles outside of Cedar City. The van started shifting by itself and smoking like crazy. My stomach dropped. I just knew it was the transmission. I called Troy and told him our van was smoking. Luckily-- and this really was a blessing-- Dad and Troy were stopped in Cedar for lunch. The car stopped smoking and acted fine, so we kept driving to meet them. We arrived with just enough time to take it into a transmission shop before it closed. They said they had to wait until morning when the engine had cooled to confirm a shot transmission. Lovely.

Troy and I stayed in a hotel that night with the kids. My parents drove the moving truck to Bountiful. The next morning, my mom got up early and drove to Cedar City to pick us up in their car. And we had to leave our van in Cedar City as it couldn't be fixed for 3-5 more days. So what was supposed to be a day break from driving turned into less than a half day break. My parents were kind enough to let us borrow their big car to get us the rest of the way to Spokane. They helped us get moved in and partially unpacked (which was amazing.) Then they flew back to Salt Lake (their original plan as they were headed out on a trip) while we kept their car with us until our van was repaired. Once the van was done. Troy's parents drove to pick it up in Cedar City and then they drove it all the way to middle of nowhere Montana to meet Troy for a switch. Troy came back to Spokane with the van, and Neil and Christa took my parents car back to Bountiful. The whole process was rather long and complicated.

I was pretty frustrated when all of this was happening. I couldn't believe this had happened to the van we just bought. Not to mention that it happened in the middle of our move. I know the situation definitely could have been worse. We could have been stranded in the dessert somewhere. However, it also could have been a little bit better. Like why couldn't the transmission have gone out in Spokane after our move was over? I had to try really hard not to have a bad attitude about the whole thing. And... maybe I'm still trying. ;) The almost $4000 price tag has been hard to swallow. Oh well. You know, things happen for a reason, right? And it ended up okay. We made it to Spokane thanks to the generosity and help of both of our parents.

Funny story about this. Our friend Matt Serafine saw a post on Instagram about our car breakdown. He called Troy to see how things were going. Troy said something like, "Well, you know, it could have been worse." And Matt, in classic Matt Serafine style, said, "Could it?" Ha! At least we have really great friends to make us laugh when I thought crying would be a much better idea. :)

Lindsay playing ninjas with Jackson during our very short mid-move Bountiful visit.

 

Missoula, Montana. Holy cow is Montana beautiful! Definitely the most beautiful part of the drive. We stopped at Five Guys to eat lunch and enjoy the beautiful scenery. After leaving Arizona, all that green was a welcome sight. The rest of the drive to Spokane was beautiful too. I wanted to take a few more pictures, but it turns out the babies kept me rather busy. I think I spent more time out of my seat belt attending to children than I did buckled. The joys of road tripping! Thank heavens my mom was there to drive with me. I would have seriously lost my mind without her.

Saying Goodbye

{Saying Goodbye}
Basically, saying goodbye is no fun. In the weeks leading up to our move I did my best to soak in as much time with our beloved Arizona friends. We had lots of BBQs, swim parties, park days, etc. etc. I had just had Gray, but I tried not to let that slow me down much. Luckily my recovery went well and I was able to keep up with almost all the goodbye activities I wanted to attend.

Several months before Gray was born, Troy and I decided we wanted to give some of our friends goodbye gifts. Troy got Dr. Pepper t-shirts for his friends. And I made these home blocks for my friends. I personalized them for each couples residency. I got the idea from a pintrest printable and had so much fun bringing the image in my mind to life on those little blocks of wood. They were pretty well received, which made me happy. :) I also made some different signs for some of our friends who weren't moving. Crafting is fabulous, yes? I love it.

I went to a Relief Society activity two weeks after Gray was born. Everyone there thought I was crazy for coming, but I didn't want to miss out on anything during our last few weeks in Arizona. While we were there the Relief Society gave those of us who were moving these cute journey frames. My friend Helen made them. She is fabulous in so many ways. I love my frame. I think of her every time I see it.

{Jackson's Friends}

Probably the single thing I was most worried about when it came to moving was Jackson having to leave his friends. He is such a social little guy. And he just adores his friends. It's because he had so many good ones. One Sunday in church Jackson's little friend Sailor gave him a note wishing him luck in Washington. Adorable.

Jackson got in lots of time with his buddy Colby before we left. They are just two peas in a pod those two. Amanda was an absolute saint and watched Jackson several times for me while I packed. And then not only did she watch him but like planned fun activities like playing in the sprinklers and going hot tubbing in the bathtub. He loved it. And I loved that she texted me pictures of their activities. So fun.

Jackson also said goodbye to his preschool group in May. He loved our little preschool trade each week. Like I said, he's a social little man. We also had to say goodbye to Kids Korner at Fry's. It's a free babysitting area inside our fave grocery store. It was sad for both of us to say goodbye to that place. Jackson loved it there and I loved dropping him off while I shopped. Turns out not so many grocery stores are as generous as Fry's when it come to free babysitting. Sad day.

{Clara's Therapists}
Saying goodbye to Clara's therapists was very sad. We've been with them for so long and they've helped Clara grow so much. We miss having them in our home each week and being able to visit. They are such great people.

Richelle our Speech Therapist.

Richelle was actually in our ward. I had so much fun getting to know her through therapy. Richelle's sister has Down syndrome. I got to meet her, which was so fun. Richelle is so generous. She was always buying something for Clara. And she would always take Clara in church if ever we needed an extra hand. Clara beamed everytime she saw her. So sweet.

Danette our Occupational Therapist.

And Tom, our Physical Therapist.

Tom was so influential in keeping my sanity when Clara was small. I was weighed down with the new responsibilities involved in Clara's care. He kept telling me how well Clara was doing. That I didn't need to be the therapist because that was his job. That I should just love her and play with her. Over and over he told us that Clara was a "gross motor rock star." I never got tired of hearing that. Troy and I had so much fun visiting with Tom each Friday afternoon and getting to know him and his family. Clara loved him, and we loved him too. Our first Friday in Spokane Jackson asked if Tom was coming over. We'll all miss him.

{Our Doctors}
Saying goodbye to our doctors was super hard. Ever since Clara was born we've been to A LOT of appointments. I have felt very blessed to have such able and caring physicians taking care of our girl. Dr. Folkestad, (my ObGyn seen below holding Gray) was so great after Clara was born and throughout my pregnancy with Gray. He was so conscientious of my concerns. I so appreciated that.

And Dr. Vargus, our pediatrician, was simply the most fabulous pediatrician of all time. My friend Natalie referred me to him. She has a 5 year old little boy with Down syndrome. When I first saw Dr. Vargus I was overwhelmed with keeping all of Clara's specialists straight. He organized everything and kept it all straight for me all while telling me what we should check next. I loved how he was always one step ahead of what Clara might need. Once he even stayed late to see Clara when he saw we made a last minute sick appointment with someone else. Fabulous I tell you, fabulous! I feel like we might never find another pediatrician that measures up to Dr. Vargus.

{The Wildflower Crew}
Kindi, Amanda, and I have made a tradition out of going to the Wildflower Company for each others' birthdays. We all get the chopped salad-- the most amazing salad of all time, my mouth is watering thinking about it, yum-- and then we get to indulge ourselves while talking and laughing. It's basically the best way ever to spend a birthday. The week before Graduation, we decided to go one last time. Kindi drove, which meant we got to drive in Adam's car 'pinky.' :) The salad and the company did not disappoint. We had so much fun.

I officially said goodbye to both of them separately the next week. When Amanda came over we were both bawling. It was not pretty. Or fun. So sad. Kindi came over a couple days later. She'd heard about what happened with Amanda and so forbade me to cry. It was still sad. I'm going to miss these two so much. We've done practically everything together over the past three years. Good thing they both have family in Utah. The Utah connection is making me feel lots better about saying goodbye to many of our friends.

{Church Friends}
Four years in the Sierra Verde Ward really made it feel like home to us. We met so many wonderful people there. I think the ratio of awesome people is higher in the Sierra Verde ward. ;) Many of the great people I met through my time in Young Women. All those little Miamaids are grown up now and moving on to great things. One is married, two are on missions, and three graduated from high school this year. I got to go to several of their graduation parties. So proud! I made little Dr. Seuss plates for graduation gifts.

We also had to say goodbye to the kids' teachers. Zefa was Clara's nursery leader. We sure love her. And Jackson just loved his "Brother MacDongald" (aka McDonald.) And of course Troy was sad to say goodbye to the Bishopric. He has been the executive secretary for the past two years and has gotten to know them well. So many great people that we'll truly miss.

I made a slideshow about Arizona. We have made so many great memories over the past four years. Our little family went through a lot there and because of that made some pretty incredible friends. I made the video so we could remember all of the great things that have happened to us. We have been so blessed.

The Whiting Family.

Barry, Robyn, Jackson and I, and Paige.

Bishop Francis, Troy, and Brother Whiting.

Goodbye Arizona from Brooke Bushman on Vimeo.

Gray's Blessing

Gray was blessed the Sunday after graduation. It was so fun to have so many family was there for Gray's special day. We were quite the group sitting in sacrament meeting. It was such a nice blessing. I'm very grateful for Troy and his worthiness to use the priesthood on occasions such as these, and all the time really. Little Gray was very good during the blessing. I was grateful for that. I was worried he might cry through it as that is sort of his mode of operation these days. We sure love you "little baby Gray Matthew" (as Jackson calls you) and are so glad you made your way to our family.

Our cheer section.
Left to right: Hannah Mckenzie, Mason, Graham, Stacy and Matt Serafine, Mckay Bushman, Neil Bushman, Brad & Lexie Johnson, Stephanie and Boston Bushman (in front), Bella and Matt Bushman (in back), Lanson Bushman, Regan Bushman, Jackson, Me & Gray, Madi Bushman (in front) Suz Bushman, Ashley and Nikita Mecham, Troy, Bryan Mecham, Great Grandpa Mabey (in back) Great Grandma and Grandpa Wignall (in front), Great Grandma Mabey, Matt Barneck, Christa Bushman, Grace Bushman, Brenda Barneck.

And of course we had lots of other people from our ward in our cheer section that aren't in this picture. Like the Ashbys, and the Wahlstroms, and the Francis', and the Petersons (who were there in spirit), and I could go on and on. We love our Sierra Verde Ward so much.

{added 9/3/2013}
In July I finally got Gray dressed up in his blessing outfit to take some pictures. I still can't believe I forgot to take even one close up of him in his outfit on blessing day. I guess we were just the tiniest bit distracted with our move and graduation festivities ;) So yes, he is MUCH bigger in these pictures than he was on the day of his blessing. The bonus is, he was smiling. And of course he looked as cute as ever. Cute baby Gray. We sure love this little guy.

Bushman Family Pictures, 2013

Suzanne was the greatest and took family pictures for us while we were all together for Troy's graduation. Have I mentioned how lucky I am to have this most amazingly talented photographer for a sister-in-law? She is the best! It was really hot when were taking pictures, The kids were good sports considering the less than pleasant conditions. Clara was not amused at all. Good thing we took pictures of our little family first when she was nice and happy, because by the end she was a mess. I'm so glad we got a new group picture that includes Nikita and Gray before Mckay leaves on his mission! Yay for family pictures. Troy and I disagree on this point, but I feel like you can almost never have too many family pictures. :) Thanks again Suz!