Road Trip & First Days

Blog updates... Sorry for the delay!

Monday July 14th 

Ribs and racks - Mr. Wonderful made amazing ribs for din-din and assembled a nice back rack to haul my books to school.

Packing Prep Day - Tuesday July 15th

Shout out to to KD for all of the help and SPACEBAGS!!!! :)  Get yours today!  At www.spacebags.com; those infomercials do not lie!  100 lbs of clothing, all made into a nice, manageable load.

Thanks to Papa and Opa for assembling the wiring, roof rack, and rack basket, along with loading up my Toaster.

Packing Day - Wednesday July 16

Time to play Tetris! Oma, Opa, and Papa all helped pack, stuff, and jam all of my belongings into my Element.  She is not quite plum full, but almost.  Finnegan has a nice space behind the front seats to stretch out and also look out both windows.  Hopefully he will enjoy going for a "ride" tomorrow.

Thursday, July 17th

Day 1 - Road Trip: MN to NE

6:30 AM - KD stops to say “see you later” :)

7:00 AM - departed from Home. Hard to say goodbye to my family.  Made sure to get many, many, many extra squeezes.  The tears were a flowing, that’s for sure!  I love my family so very much and moving across the country is definitely going to be a BIG test for all of us.  But everything is going to great! I am sure of it!

Home - 30 mins - Passengers: Finnegan and Me. An easy drive, just was running a lil on “Deli” time. 

30 Mins South - MN - Passengers: Mr. Wonderful, Finnegan, and Me.  Mr. Wonderful drove to give me some time to recoup and calm myself.  Not many tears, tried to get a entry key made near the MN/WI border, NO DICE!  It was hard to say goodbye to Mr. Wonderful and his pops, but a “see you tomorrow” made it easier.

Shout out to CeeCee’s amazing fam! Cappy, Ricki, and Susie!  They are so supportive and kind!

Hot Mess Express (CHOO CHOO!) - CeeCee, Finnegan, and Me - depart for NE!  Finnegan was a superstar dog!  He had a lot of sitting and laying in the back on his blanket, but what a happy boy.  He loves going for RIDES!  Made it through MN, IA, and almost through NE.  Hotel was FAB-O and Finnegan was great!  Finnegan liked the room more than we did!  He explored the room for 15 mins by jumping for bed to bed to burn off some of extra energy.  He was a traitor though, snuggled CeeCee all night long.  I guess I’ll have to start sharing snuggles now.

Friday July 18th

Day 2 -  Road Trip: NE to CO

Up early, yummy breakfast at Penny’s Diner and on the road!  Icky tummy for me, CeeCee was pilot this AM.  Finnegan and Me rested most of the AM.  Stopped for gas and to check the ties…. RAH ROW!   Heat+Plastic= :( My poor books! Tim at Auto Zone hooked a sista up with a tailpipe down deflector.  Two snaps for Tim at Auto Zone and his crew in Fort Morgan, CO!

The Rocky Mountains tested the packed Element.  Traffic was very heavy (stop & go)… the poor thing got HOT!  We pulled her over, lifted the hood, and let her cool down.  After that she was GOLDEN!  The sights in the mountains were breathtaking!  After the minor incidences, it was smooth sailing until our hotel that night.

Saturday, July 19th

Day 3 - Road Trip: CO - UT - Northern Part of AZ

Finnegan is very confused as to how to potty on dirt!  Poor pup had better figure it out soon, grass is becoming scarce in these parts!  

Today was a fun road trip day, fun songs in the cars, great accents, and also beautiful views!  Utah was spectacular!  The rock formations, the stones, valleys…etc!  Everything was so pretty!  Off to bed early to finish the last leg of the trip tomorrow.

Sunday, July 20th

Day 4: Road Trip: Northern AZ to my “new” home.  Such an easy day of driving.  The day went fast. Arrived “home” and immediately unpacked the Element.  Got settled into our new room and started to establish a routine for the pup.  Went to a friend's cancer benefit and had amazing authentic Mexican food!  Yummy!  Also, went to look at a rental property and I am in LOVE!  It is very close to  parks, shopping, and work… hopefully all works out to move in quickly to really begin to get settled :)

Monday, July 21st

Woke up early to beat the heat.  Took Finnegan out for a nice, long walk throughout the neighborhood.  There are quite a few things on my to-do list today and orientation in the afternoon.  A few setbacks are keeping me from moving forward with certifications but I know it will all itself out.  I am very excited to begin my new teaching position.  It is going to be a lot of learning, but I am looking forward to that and growing professionally.

Sending you positivity and sunshine!

As always,

Nikki Jo