It was tough saying goodbye to the kids this morning but we are looking forward to arriving in New York tonight…only 5 1/2 hours to go! Most of our driving time is spent listening to podcasts and collaborating on crosswords, really helps the time go by. After making a rest stop to let Captain hang out in the grass, we decided he would need to be medicated the rest of the trip so he’s now laying at me feet feeling nice and sedated…poor guy. Well, onward we go!
Fueled by coffee & ibuprofen,
Brett and Kate

We’ve put in some long and productive days, packing, cleaning, painting, grouting… you know, the usual finish all those projects you started a year ago because there are literally no more tomorrows.

Note to self: a bottle of beer is 12oz. The perfect size to measure out the 48oz of water needed for a box of grout. (Yeah I totally had to drink and use a beer bottle because we had packed everything else.)

I think we are at a good point to call it a night, finish the loose ends in the morning, have a cup of coffee and let the movers do the rest.

Can’t believe we have this many boxes,

Brett

Now that we’re 2 days from leaving, apparently we’re working so hard Captain is exhausted just watching us…

It’s official – we’re roommates…there’s no turning back now We spent all of yesterday moving the last of my stuff over to Brett’s place and into his storage unit, which leaves all of his stuff still to be organized, packed, and labeled. Speaking of labeling, I’ve decided to implement a probably-annoying-but hopefully-worth-it-in-the-end box labeling/tracking system, which of course is helping the packing process as much as it’s making it more frustrating. Each box is numbered, assigned a room, and given a summary of contents, while also being color coded. Not only does this ease a bit of my anxiety, but will hopefully help the movers out a lot too…once I give them the handy-dandy spreadsheet that accompanies my craziness.

Luckily, my last day of work was on Friday so I’ll be at home for the next few days just working on getting things ready. As for Brett, he has one day left in the office on Monday, will be working from home on Tuesday, then will be off for a week starting Wednesday.

While it looks like the next few days will be nothing but early mornings and late nights, we’re totally ready for it and very excited to be so close to leaving!

Packing up and shipping out,

Brett and Kate

We knew from the get-go that we wouldn’t be driving straight from Chicago to Philly, since it will take 5-6 days for the movers to actually arrive with our belongings…however, we finally figured out last week what our exact itinerary will be:

• Movers came this morning to load everything up, and as soon as everything was packed and the house emptied, we and our stuff started on our separate paths
• We are at the start of the first leg (5 hours) to Detroit where we will stay the night at Brett’s brother Chris’s house and get hang out with the nieces and nephew (yay!)
• On Friday, we will make the 6 hour trip to Brett’s parents house in New York, where we will spend a few days of much needed relaxation while we wait to meet our stuff in Philly
• Once we get the green light from the movers, we will commence the final 6 hour leg of our trip and head to Philly to get the keys to our place, see it for the first time, and hopefully be ready for the movers to move everything inside our new home

currently homeless,

Kate

For anyone we haven’t gotten a chance to really talk to about the move, or for anyone we have talked to who wasn’t really listening, here’s a summary of our life the past 2 months:

Thanks for checking in on us, and now that the basics are out of the way, the fun begins

Cheers,

Brett and Kate

Thanks so much everyone who joined in sending Kate and I off in true Chicago style.

A beautiful view from the boat.

It really meant a lot to us both to have you all there.  We could not have asked for anything better and know that we will miss you all terribly.

Here it is – the place you can go to find out what we’re up to while we make the big move! We know you all are just dying to follow our every step and breathe, and well, we like you SO much, we’re more than happy to share it all with you. Some real posts will be coming over the weekend, filled with all the updates up until this point, and after that you can expect a few entries a week with big news items and hopefully lots of pictures. But until then, we just want to welcome you to our page and thank you in advance for (maybe) adding us to your weekly internet browsing routine

Virtually yours,

Brett and Kate