Going home - with a few extras

It was time to say goodbye to Glendale, AZ. We helped clear out the house and pack up and deliver Kyle's household goods to a storage unit. We spent several hours cleaning their house top to bottom. We split up three of the four kids in two cars and headed out to Minnesota.  Tiffany and Amelia stayed behind to tie up any loose ends and they will fly to Minneapolis at the end of the week. We will spend 2.5 days getting back home.

Ellie is ready to go, watching a movie.  She was in the Honda with Judy and I.

Erik and Charlie were in the van with Kyle. They are all smiles.  We left Glendale right after lunch and spent the first night in Albuquerque, NM. Ellie and Erik traided spots the second day.

Charlie was so tired he fell asleep and stayed sleeping.  In the morning I found him underneath the air conditioning unit.

It was lunch at a fast food joint.

Charlie likes to eat out, but he also loves to run around alot. The second day was long but we made it to Wichita, KA and the third say was even longer and we made it back home before it got too dark.  We already had Charlie-proofed the house for an extended stay of the grand kids and had beds ready for those tired kids.  Tiffany and Amelia flew in on Saturday.  The best part of their stay with us is that while they were here, Kyle landed a job with Hertz in Oklahoma City.  To go along with that there would be another move for them. This is how it happened: Tiffany flew down to search for a house to rent and stayed with my niece Rosie while searching; Kyle flew to Arizona to get a big rental truck, get their household goods and start driving to Oklahoma City.  The kids stayed with us and Judy and I left the next day with their van and our car and made it there in 15 hours, with several stops. This has been their longest drive ever. By the time we got there, Tiffany already had purchased a fridge, dining room table and benches, and washer and dryer. And after that got a couch - all on Craig's list. But in the middle of all this, Kyle needed to start his job and his first week was in New Jersey.  So it was up to me to get the truck to the new house and unpack it and return it to the rental agency, while Kyle was out east.  It is just amazing how with all this turmoil, everything seemed to fall right into place. The kids were registered in school (within walking distance), and started school the day Judy and I left for home.  Another plus is that Kyle's office is a 5 minute drive from home.  The distance between our two homes is 798 miles and can be driven in 12 hours or less, depending on stops.