Comedy of Errors

The last six weeks have been chock full of craziness. When Dave found out about the opportunity for our family to travel, we quickly convened and jumped at the chance. The initial date for our departure and arrival in Washington D.C. kept shifting. Dave was finally able to nail it down after a week and a half of uncertainty. I set to work packing boxes. We rented a storage unit and began moving our things little by little. Eventually we had only beds, a chair or two and kitchen supplies.

Dave then received a letter in the mail one weekend in March telling him that he was included in the promotional process at his employer. The process would take place while we would be gone. Lots of talk about staying and not going, preparing for the interview process and general disbelief at the timing occupied most of that weekend. The following week found us very unsure as to whether we would even be going or not. I worried about living temporarily with my parents since we had to move out of our home. Dave worried about everything. Finally it was decided that our family would still travel, but that Dave would return for the testing process. It was a big relief.

The kiddos were great through it all. However they soon began to get sick with a stomach virus. We were homebound without many of our creature comforts for what seemed like an eternity. As each child improved another fell victim to the virus. Fortunately Dave and I escaped. 

As the date came closer, Dave moved more of our possessions out of the house last week. We planned our moves strategically and decided he would take the last Friday before our departure off work to clear out the garage and help clean up the house before we turned over the keys. Much to our dismay he became ill and ended up in the hospital most of the day. His visit to the hospital caused a lot of anxiety, since we didn't know what was wrong for a bit of time. Fortunately he was released with a diagnosis and was on the mend. With the help of my youngest brother and his nephew, we were able to empty the house on Saturday. Dave supervised since he couldn't help as much as usual. 

The whole family worked together on Sunday to clean bathrooms, refrigerator, stove and cabinets. As we packed up to return to my parents' home, Benton began to complain of a stomach ache. The extent of the ache was revealed when he vomited after being buckled into his carseat. It was a mess. we threw towels over him and drove to my parents' home. One of us cleaned up Benton while the other took all the carseats out of the car and began that cleanup process.

The next few days were spent lounging and recuperating. The car was serviced resulting in quite a few more repairs than we anticipated. It was even taken back as it appeared something was not done right. Finally we set off on our adventure last Thursday. Our trip has been full of recovering kiddos, too much highway food and a whole lot of audiobooks. We are recovering for a few days with Dave's sister. The break in the drive is nice and the kiddos are enjoying their cousin and a whole of tramping.