2018 Spring

Devon completed his MBA!  He graduated in April 2018.  Movers packed up our belongings on Friday April 28th, we enjoyed one last weekend with my parents, and we left Utah on Monday, May 1 for Devon's new job in Columbus, Ohio.  We took an adventurous road trip visiting many friends and family along the way.  We arrived in Ohio on May 14th, closed on our new house on May 17th, and Devon started his new job on May 21st.  But before we left:

ice cream after Edmund's last soccer game (Christian insisted on sitting by himself at the table behind us!),

a taste-testing night of Coke vs knock-off cola brands conducted by Devon for the purpose of teasing my dad,

one last trip to BYU,

a goodbye to Mrs. Hyatt (Faye's 2nd AND 3rd grade teacher),

a goodbye to Mrs. Ficklin (Carter's 1st grade teacher),

a goodbye to Ms. Seibach (Edmund's 5th grade teacher),

a goodbye/birthday party for Edmund,

a goodbye to my folks,

a goodbye to my grandparents,

another goodbye pic,

and a goodbye to all our worldly possessions!

And, we are off!  Our first pit stop near Moab.

Fun in the hotel.

We spent our first night on the road outside of Los Alamos, NM.  Edmund's 11th birthday was the following day and he got to choose the activity that day (thus our travel route for the first day so we could arrive at the desired destination for his birthday).  We spent the morning of May 2, 2018 at the Bradbury Science Museum in Los Alamos and had a wonderful visit.  Our next stop was Amarillo, TX (out of convenience) where we failed in our attempt to find a really good BBQ dinner.  Crazy Charlie's, or whatever it was called, was a grave disappointment.  But, the crazy cars were not!

a pit stop in Amarillo, TX.

Our next destination was Bartlesville, OK.  Our dear friends, the Millers, who we met in Madison after we were married hosted our family for the evening, complete with a piano recital, outside games, and dinner.  Next, we traveled on to MN with a stopover in Iowa for the night.  In MN, we stopped by the Haalands (who have taught all three of our kids in Primary) for a lovely visit, stopped by our old apartment, (the kids all agreed the playgrounds and paths had shrunk), and hosted an outdoor potluck where we were able to visit with many of our dear MN friends.  We spent the evening with the Xiongs, went to church the next morning with our old ward -- the New Brighton Ward -- and spent the remainder of the Sabbath with our friends, the Howlands.  After spending the night with the Howlands, we took off to Madison, WI and spent a few days with Devon's mom.  (Originally, we were going to drive to Nauvoo, but the kids' behavior had us reconsider our options.)  From WI, we drove down to IL and spent a couple of days with Nate and Julee and family, visited with the Carters at Uncle Tom's place and took our last pitstop in Bloomington, IN at the Nelson's for dinner.  From the Nelson's, we drove to Plain City, OH where we stayed at a guesthouse on a farm for a few days while we awaited the close of our house.  

The outside of the "coreway" to our apartment in MN.