A Big Boo Boo...........

It's Saturday afternoon and we are still on track.Kinda.......
Last nite,we had a boo boo.Lori was getting out of the trailer and had a bad step which resulted in a broken ankle bone.Fortunately she wasn't carrying anything which could have made things worse.I think she was pushing too hard,was tired,and lost her focus on what she was doing.But at least she won't need any surgury to repair the damage.The broken bone is in her ankle,where the tibia forms a brace or collar for the foot bones.I guess we are lucky that it was a simple stress breakage.Cause it could certainly have been worse.As it is,she is in a lot of pain,even with vicadin to help manage it.We borrowed a wheelcair from the hospital but our house is not wheelchair friendly,tight squeezes everwhere.So I'll try to find a walker for her today.
Got the walker--only $56.00 not too bad.
Lori is awake now so I've got to go.

Another Step Completed

  Today we picked up,loaded, and returned the U-haul U-Box .It's amazing how much stuff we got in a 5'x7'x8' box.And believe me --that box was stuffed.So that was a major accomplishment.
   With only 3 days til we hit the road there is still a lot of work to do...but we will make it happen.Runs to the dump,disasemble the water bed,and start throwing stuff in the horse trailer.A trip to the vet to get the dog certified is set for Friday.Close out the post office box Saturday.And all the final left-overs on Sunday.We are very close.
   Oh...and we got the keys to the new house today in the mail-------sweeeeeet.Pretty soon we will be walking into the house for the 1st time..We both are anxious for that.I think the reality is starting to set in a little.By the time we get on the plane Monday nite we'll probably be exhausted--but so excited too.We are ready.

6 days to go!

Mark is home and we are very busy getting last minute details & packing done. I finally got the plywood panels attached & most of the caulking done on the trailer, but there are still a couple of seams that need to be done. Hopefully the rain will hold off for a couple of hours so I can get it done. Even then it wont be totally water proof but with the tarps it will work. 

We will be draining the waterbed today, that will be the first thing to load up in the trailer. It will get a bit crazy here the next few days. We will need to do a couple dump runs before we can load up the truck, which will be the last thing to load. The TV, computer and the lighter boxes will go in there.

Oh yea, a small set back in the rental of this place, the guy backed out at the last minute. It's kind of a big deal but the manager has a couple more families lined up & has assured us that she will get it rented by the 1st. I am disappointed but not really worried. The main attraction of the new house was that we could afford both if we had to. We also found out that we will not be able to pick up the truck from Tacoma until Sept. 6th because of the holiday! That is going to be inconvenient but the rental truck will have unlimited miles, we will just have a couple more days rent on it. The hardest part for me will be going with out a computer, but we will have the laptops with Mark's phone internet so we will make it work.

It is amazing how many small details have to be worked out for everything! I was remembering how crazy it got in the last minute when we got ready for the move here from Aberdeen! I do believe it is going much smoother this time (at least so far) 

I will try to post at least one more time before I pack up the computer. The next few days will go by fast and soon we will be walking into our new home for the first time! 

          

Travel Arrangements Confirmed

Getting down to the wire now and working on all the little details. Got the trailer home & registered, the flight for me, Mark & the dog have been made & paid for. Mark reserved a rental car, he got a 4-door truck similar to ours, very awesome! You do good work Husband! =) The barge reservations have been made & we can pay anytime by phone or at the terminal. There was some drama over the last couple of days that have put me a bit behind but now that the travel arrangements are confirmed I should be able to catch up ok. 

I will be picking up the plywood & supplies for the trailer today. It has been raining the last couple of days & it does leak, more than I thought it would. But I'm not as worried about getting it totally water proof as I was. We will tarp everything real good. I have also been lining most of the boxes with trash bags, so everything should stay reasonably dry. A friend is coming to pick up the freezer & table. That's the last of the furniture. I figure by this time next week that new sofa is going to sound pretty good!

One of the dramas was regarding the house keys. We can't just pick them up, all the keys are returned to HUD so all door locks have to be replaced. Anyway Travis is taking care of that & will send them UPS to us next week. That way we wont have to disturb anyone when we arrive in the middle of the night.

Well I better get back to work, still tons to do before we are ready to start loading up. 10 days to go!

Now The Pysical Work Begins

It feels so good to have the closing over and done with.Not the labor comes into play.
On Tuesday,Lori will pick up the horse trailer we'll be moving our meager possessions with.It has a few holes in it that probably should be sealed to try to make it waterproof.We have the silicon already,there are quite a few small holes though.Then--register the trailer in her name (she's excited by that),send that info to TOTE for the barge,and more packing.
I get home in a week from today--and then I've got a ton of stuff to do--packing ,dump runs,give-aways,and more.Lots to do.
Lori has been great about getting so much done already..I can not thank her enough.Awesome job my wife.
Looking forward to getting this done ,getting back to Washington,and seeing our new house for the 1st time.An exciting time for sure........
Lots more to come.........................

Fixed the comment section

It has been awhile sense I used blogger and I was in a bit of a hurry due to the excitement of the subject matter and I did not spend the time to get it set up correctly. (then I forgot about it) It is fixed now so Y'all can tell us what ya think about the photos & stories now! 

Oh and as you can see Mark is posting now too so he can tell you all about the great Washington fishing & hunting details coming soon! I am sure he will also be sharing some of his amazing Alaskan north slope photos & stories.

2 weeks from today is the big move! We can't wait to be there!!   

Lori is doing great

Thanks to the hard work of one sweet little lady--this move back to Washington is happening.Thank-you wife..for all you do.
To those that are paying attention--------we'll be seeing you soon.......

More Packing

Today went surprisingly fast! I also got a lot done. I have a big part of the packing done and as you can see there is still lots of room! I still have the desk & computer (the computer will go in the truck) & 2 or 3 more office boxes. The TV & electronics (also go in the truck) 1 or 2 kitchen boxes & some odds & ins. We just might be able to take the tall book shelf! Or maybe the old stereo  =) Next week will be busy too, closing tomorrow and picking up the trailer Tuesday. The next 2 weeks will go fast! 

Closing Day is Set, Travel Date Confirmed! Seattle Arrival Aug. 29 at 11:29pm

It's funny how well everything is falling into place. 
HUD called me early Friday morning to arrange a closing appointment with the title company (Monday the 15th) & to let me now how much the closing cost will be. It's going to be $2000 less than we had figured! About an hour later I got an email from our realtor for the house here and we have a renter! He will be signing a 6 month lease for the full amount we were asking! By late Friday afternoon we had the barge & flight to Seattle reserved & confirmed!! The barge will be a bit less than the quote because the trailer is not as long as first stated. THEN as if that just wasn't enough excitement for one day, Mark called late Friday night with the Seattle flight conformation. It turns out I had a bunch of Alaska airline miles saved up (Thank-you Wells Fargo!) and my ticket is only going to be $17.00!!!! Mark's ticket of course was a little more, he got a round trip because he will have to return for work. I budged about $800.00. His ticket is $500.00! 
Now that the biggest, most expensive & stressful part is over I feel a great draining of anxiety. There is still a ton of stuff to be done but we are finely over the hump! The rest is down hill as we concentrate on the move. We will miss Alaska, it has been a great adventure that we will cherish forever! But for many reasons Washington is calling us back. I'm actually kind of glad we will be coming in at night, there is nothing like the Seattle night lights to welcome you home! 

           

Packing

No news yet, email & both phones remain quiet... to quiet!
In the mean time I continue to pack. I am making progress! I have been real worried about having enough room for everything. I taped of the area of space we will have in the trailer & the U-haul tote box, then started moving the boxes around to make everything fit. 

This is the tote space. It is actually taller than the cabin ceiling so there will be room for 1 more row of boxes on the top. The blankets & stuff in the corner will be used to stuff the nooks & crannies so there is room for a couple more boxes there. The row of boxes on the far left will be the ones we can mail or UPS if we have to. However it looks like there should be room for them. There really is not a lot left in the house & there is still the truck canape. 
The picture below is the trailer space. The lager area in front is where the mini & bed will go. They will take up almost all of the floor up to 4 foot. The trailer is also taller than the cabin ceiling, a little over 7 foot. So we will have that whole trailer length times 3 foot high. The space in the back is from the floor up to 7 foot high. I am hoping to get the tall cabinet thing Mark is using for his clothes & the wood dresser in this space. And there should be more room for boxes here too.

Tomorrow I start on the main stuff in the house. I have a little bit more to do in the office (including the desk) It will be taken apart & packed in a mirror box. The file boxes are almost empty & I will pack as much of the office stuff as I can in the drawers. 
I noticed last night while I was eating dinner & watching TV that there was an echo in the room. A sure sign of the "in between" stage. 

We have sold a lot of stuff but there will be much more we will leave behind. This next photo is step 1 going to the thrift store. There will be at least this much if not more inside the house, but I think most of that is going to a friend & her kids. 

I hope we will get the news soon, this week would be nice so we can get the actual moving & travel arrangements made. Oh well, maybe tomorrow....         

See you all soon!