Road Trip

Last Thursday evening, Luke and I packed our bags and went on an adventure! It was hard to say goodbye to the other guys in our life (Ethan, Aaron and Darin), but after lots of hugs we were on our way. With my parents move coming soon, they needed some reinforcements to help in their packing. We made an overnight stop on Thursday in Maryland at my older brothers house and then arrived in New Jersey at lunchtime on Friday. My brother arrived Friday afternoon to help for the weekend too. 

We definitely accomplished our goal in getting a good chunk of the packing completed. My mom had already done a lot, but after living in a house for 40+ years it is inevitable that packing is going to be complicated and time consuming. I think/hope we provided good encouragement too! Luke was a great packing buddy, but he also managed to squeeze in some fun. Here he is trying out a BMX bike that is larger then his current bike. It was his first time using hand brakes and he loved it! We had flurries off and on all day Saturday which was super fun to ride in. 

Another part of our goal was to bring back a load of fragile/personal items that they didn't want the movers to handle. The van very quickly got filled and I'm especially enjoying sneaking a peak at all the childhood family photos we brought back!

only partially full... still lots more room

We had a great system with Luke. He probably moved between 30 and 40 boxes to the garage with a dolly. He loved doing this and organizing the boxes once he put them in the garage. 

And he still had time for more fun... he found this baby toy in the garage and kept himself busy!

Meanwhile on the home front, Darin had a great time playing with the other boys. The first night though, Ethan cried himself to sleep because he missed Mommy and Luke. He actually called me on my cell phone when he woke up Friday morning while Darin and Aaron were still sleeping. They soon got used to us not being there, but it was nice to know we were missed. Big thanks to Darin for manning the fort, stepping in as substitute teacher, and providing tons of exciting entertainment for the boys. 

On Sunday, my sister-in-law and nephews came back to pick up my brother. 

Here are my cute nephews that wanted to get packed!

On Sunday evening, my mom, dad and I took a break and went out for dinner in town. 

So proud of my sophisticated guy! 

After four nights away, it was time to get back home. As we approached our house, Luke said, "Do you think they'll remember what I look like?" :) He was so excited to see his brothers and they quickly came out to greet him before he even got out of his seat. They were jumping up and down and banging on the window anxious to hug Luke. This was definitely the longest they have been away from each other. A very special reunion. I got some of the best hugs ever!

We had a really good and productive trip. It was great for the boys to have time apart, but I missed being together as a family of five. Now on to the laundry, grocery shopping and school planning!! And don't forget blogging! :)