Top 20 ways to move in a week and (mostly)survive!

This post is for Suziepetunia. She is one of my closest friends and is more like a sister than just a friend. We met briefly 8 years ago, but then 6 years ago became running partners and a lifelong friendship began. In March of this year, her husband was offered a great, exciting job opportunity, but the bummer for me is that the job is in another state. We had recently become next door neighbors and were enjoying the time together. I thought we would be next door for a couple of more years. I was very disappointed, but excited for them to have a new adventure. Her husband has already started his new job, so much of the packing and moving would be done by her- this week! They had a pod delivered to her house last Friday and the fun started! Taylor helped her over the weekend and then had to go do that work thing! She made a list of which area she would pack each day. She was very methodical about it and I was impressed with her optimism. :-)
Here are some of the highlights that made the move successful:

20. Let your neighbor's husband and your husband play Tetris with the boxes to get as much space out of that tiny pod. Finish with the beloved mattress!


19. Pass on some of your unwanteds to your good friend!
18. Somehow in the middle of all this, help your son earn his green belt!(figuring out that a good friend who also happened to be a 2nd grade teacher could help him write his reports! Thanks Trina!)

17. Find your son's DS that has been missing for 9 months and be able to laugh at the irony that it was found in its correctly labeled bin- where it should have bin!
16. Allow your husband to give away your perishables by first attempting to auction it off!

15. Let your neighbors light a big fire with your stuff you are throwing out! (wish I had a better picture- it was too awesome to take my eyes off to get the camera)

14. Have your kids help! (Even if they sometimes put boxes on their head.)

13. Give your 12 year old the label maker and she will have fun!

12. Go running 5 of the 6 days you are moving even if you are exhausted. Some of those runs will end up being walks, but they will all be worth it.

11. On the last run, do your most favorite(hard) run and take lots of silly pictures! (Spencer, you can see the view is much better on a clear day! Wish we had your mad photography skills to capture this! We had to ask random strangers driving by!)

10. Follow your list and when your packing for the day is done- celebrate with your friends and kids! Go bowling followed by Sonic (Although 10 kids under 10 really was a little crazy!) Enjoy having just 1 kid to get ready because another good friend (Ranell) had your other kids for a few hours.

9. On a beautiful day, even when your list isn't done yet, join your good friend at the pool (without your kids!) and get a break! Then let your kids come and swim while you get back to packing!

8. Let people take your kids and have members of the ward help you when you are about to have a mental breakdown when you realize how much you have left to do.

7. Stay up until 1am going through clothes and loading the truck with your best friend, and find things to laugh about. Such as boxes in boxes and bags of bags. Maybe you won't get these jokes later, but it helped us to survive!

6. Enjoy the meals brought by many good friends who love you. (Even share them with your neighbor!)

5. Get rid of your guilt by taking pictures of some of the sentimental items that you are throwing away.

4. If in doubt, throw it out. (Especially at the end!)
3. Find out how much you are loved by having a party on your own property the night before you leave and have over 100 people show up.

2. Have help from great family members who show up to help finish things off.

1. Let your neighbor do the fun stuff and take your kids to the Balloon Festival while you finish off the last of the cleaning!

I could go on and on about my friendship with Sarah. Very shortly after beginning to run with her, I wrote this post about her on her 30th birthday. We were instant friends. Spending hours a week running and talking sure cements a friendship. She has seen me at my best and worst and loves and accepts me as I am. She was there through an ADHD diagnosis, the loss of my father, my frustrations with my weaknesses, and all the fun stuff in between. We have some great memories that I will always cherish. Our families became entwined as our friendship grew. Living next door these last 8 months has allowed us to have even more experiences and makes it that much harder to lose them. I know we will keep in touch and I do look forward to hearing more about her new life with her family. I am just so grateful I had these last 6 years with her. The memory that sticks out to me that shows her dedication and love as a friend is when she offered to come with me to California to watch Bryce while I was at my dad's funeral. It was the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me and I don't know if she knows how much it meant to me. That is one of the hardest, most awkward times to be around someone and she was willing to do it. Taylor took time off work also so she could be there. I knew then how special her friendship was. We were pregnant at the same time and had Bryce and Alice 6 weeks apart. That was also a special time to share. There are so many more memories I could share. I feel lucky to be her friend.
Good luck in this big step, Giles Family. We love you and will miss you so much. Sarah, I still look forward to many, many more years of friendship and memories, even if many of them will be long distance. You are amazing! There are great things ahead for you- I just know it!
(PS This started as a top 10, but there was too much to share! This process was not easy by any means, but with a good friend it is always more enjoyable. It was like a big slumber party without the frozen panties!)