We Have News...

Amidst all of the chaos of the smoke saga in March & April, Ken was offered a job in Utah. After flying out there to visit and check it out, he is accepting the job and expects to start in May! So that means that while we just barely got back into our house (and are still basically camping inside our home), we're transitioning from unpacking to re-packing!

The Packing Craziness

Unfortunately we can't just keep everything packed from when we moved out of our house for the smoke/soot cleaning because it all happened so quickly that;

a) it wasn't all packed efficiently and
b) we didn't have time to clean everything before we moved it out

...so we still have work to do!

This means we're unpacking all of the boxes, cleaning what still needs to be cleaned, throwing more things out, and trying to sell some things that survived the smoke but we don't want to bring across the continent with us! Then we'll re-pack and make an itemized list of what we've packed in each box for when we cross the border.

Why We're Excited About Utah

Smoke Saga - Part 3

It's time for part 3 of this crazy smoke saga! If you're not up to date, check out my first post about finding our house filled with smoke and my second post about the first week of this smoky adventure. I'll pick up where I left off last time, with a daily account of what we went through during week 2.

As you can see from the photo below, week 2 involved a lot of purging of smoky belongings.

As I look back on this week, I remember being in a bit of a fog as we kept our heads down and just did what we had to do. During the previous week I don't think any of our friends (beyond our parents & our sisters & brothers in law, and a few friends who follow me on Instagram) had heard what was going on. We hadn't even had a spare moment to think to tell anyone.

Thankfully this week, the word started to spread and we were so grateful for all of the help we received! We had friends come to wash and move furniture, several who took laundry home to wash (3 times, with vinegar, & hang to dry) and a couple even came and took me out for cheesecake in the middle of the day- what a relief to get away for a bit!

Smoke Saga - Part 2

I've finally found time to get down some of what's been going on with the Smoke Saga I wrote about a couple of weeks ago. Today marks exactly one month since we came home to find our house filled with smoke and we are still living at Ken's parents' house. If you haven't read my first post, you can catch up on what's been going on here.

Here is what happened during the first week after "The Incident":

April 2018 Sharing Time Link Party

Welcome to the April Link Party!

5 Ways to Prepare for Spring

This post is sponsored by Bayer. To make sure these products are right for you, always read and follow the label.

It has been a rough few weeks for our family, with everything that's been going on with our home this month, so I am very ready for the hope, promise, and beautiful weather that come along with Spring!

We can all identify the subtle signs of spring - birds chirping, longer days and blooming flowers. The warmer weather signifies a fresh start with more time outdoors, bringing your garden back to life, and of course, spring cleaning! While these telltale signs are positive for the most part, its common to feel unprepared when the new season comes so quickly (even when you've been waiting so long for its arrival!).

Here are a few things that signify spring is around the corner, with tips for a smooth transition:

Smoke Saga - Part 1, The Discovery

The first two weeks of March have been like nothing I've ever experienced before. As a result of chicken left simmering unattended, we came home one evening to fire alarms blaring and a house full of smoke. That evening I held my breath as I hurried through the house gathering pajamas and a change of clothes for each of us so we could spend the night at Ken's parents' house. It hadn't occurred to us that we might be moving out of our home for weeks or that we would soon lose many of our belongings to the smoke and soot from this protein fire (without flames).

It's been a full month since I've posted here (if you don't count the link party). The last 2 weeks of February we were in Florida for the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration. I have plenty to share with you from that experience, but haven't had any time to write about it yet. Today I have another story to tell you.