Saying goodbye to Ann Arbor!

It’s really hard to leave a place you LOVE! A place full of wonderful people, places, and memories.  Of course the people are at the top of the list of what we will miss but then there is downtown, Frito Banditos, Washtenaw Dairy, Buhr Park Pool, Gallup Park, the Michigan Barn, football Saturdays, libraries, libraries, and more libraries, parks, parks, and more parks, and Zingerman’s Sweet Potato Fries! I’m so grateful we lived there for SIX years. We truly felt like it was home and neither of us would complain if we ended up there permanently (not likely).  Even Charlie asked if we could move back “home” to Michigan after we were done in Maryland. The sting for Charlie and Matthew has been lightened by the fact that most of their friends have moved or were moving away around the same time as us. Thankfully they are learning to love Maryland and have become really good friends for the first time in their lives. They really don’t have any other options right now (or at least friends that live close).

Matthew and his delicious cookie and the boys: Ben Quinn, Jude Price, Matthew, Charlie, Oliver Kotter, Spencer Nielson (not pictured- James Tang)

Matthew has been in a playgroup with the same group of boys for the last year. He has loved them all (maybe even James). Lisa (Ben’s Mom) was nice enough to throw Matthew and Jude a goodbye party!

The younger siblings in the group (Addison, Caleb, Harper, and Lucy). Charlie was happy to tag along to Matthew’s party (I love their squinty eyes). 

This was our last “morning out.” I vividly remember attending morning out the first week we moved in (2005) with little baby Charlie. It was actually held at the same exact park. 

Kirsten and Siri                                                                             Anne, Candice,  and Lisa

Lucy managed to get into lots of trouble with our home being torn apart for packing. This was after she found an open jar of peanut butter to play in!

This is us with the Thompson family (Dave, Darlene, and Shannon). They have lived right next door to us for the past year and consequently we have become great friends. Their daughter Shannon was a favorite pal of not only Charlie but of Matthew. Even thought he was a couple years younger than her, he was very devoted. 

Rochelle and Jude came to say goodbye right before we drove away. They have been in the ward for the last three years but Rochelle and I started running together in the morning a couple of months before we moved. As with all running partners, she probably knows more about me than she cares to know.  We stopped at the Gibson's so we could say a final farewell.  Eden was one of Charlie’s first friends when we moved to Ann Arbor (she was almost a year older than him but they were roughly the same size). Since that time both families have added a couple more kids to the mix. Thankfully, they are moving to Boston so I’m sure we’ll be seeing them.

This picture was taken about one minute before we drove away from Hemlock Court. I wish I had taken a picture the day we moved in five years ago (we spent a year at an apartment). Charlie would have been 19 months and I was barely pregnant with Matthew. Wow, how time goes by. I’m so grateful we were able to live in this little townhouse. It was very affordable and allowed us to live comfortable through school (and we actually made money on the deal)!

The night before we drove out of town we stayed with the Wintch family. I’m not sure how I got out of there without snapping a picture of them or their cute boys (I stole this picture from facebook). After a very long and stressful day, they took us in and and fed us delicious food. Not only that but we were able to laugh hard with them late into the evening. I’m so glad we have a pleasant memory of our last night in Michigan. Thanks for the hospitality Matt and Lindsey!!

At exactly 6:00am the next morning the three boys took off in the moving truck. The little boys were giddy to have the experience of riding with Dad in the big truck. Lucy and I took our time getting ready, ate breakfast, and then hit the road. Thankfully, the trip was a breeze. Lucy slept a lot of the trip and was content for the rest. Seth was able to go faster than we anticipated so It took me most of the drive to catch up. We were only 30 minutes away from our new home when Lucy threw-up (car sickness). Thanks to the GPS I found a close gas station and we were back on the road in no time. I was greeted at my new home with a wonderful sight, the Elders Quorum from the Rockville Ward!! It was a hot and humid day plus we had a lot of stuff plus a lot of stairs, but they moved it all in! I am convinced there is a special place in heaven for people who help with moves:)

After all the work was done, the Cherrie’s rolled into town. Just kidding, they helped a ton putting all our stuff together!! Natalie and Mike were great friends from Michigan who have since moved to Tucson. They were in DC for a wedding the exact week we moved to DC. It was comforting having friends around in a completely unfamiliar place. They were our first official house guests and didn’t complain being surrounded by “stuff.” My favorite memory of the whole move was unpacking my kitchen with Natalie while she made a delicious dessert of baked chocolate chip cookie with ice-cream on top, yum! I also loved watching Mike drive up in their rented Corvette, so Mike.