We are in.  We are unpacked.  We are soooo happy to be here.

The last week in Salisbury was very busy.  We started packing for real and then decided to unpack and thin out some of what was already done.  Double packing.  Nathan found out he had several boxes of "stuff" that he didn't know existed and has just been moved and stored for the past few years.  (Most of it is currently in the living room now.  He's determined to go through it and keep only what he really wants and only what he knows is there.)

And of course, Charlie got sick.  Then Lil'Nathan.  Then Mary.

The day of loading the van (a Thurs) we found ourselves without help, thanks to the spread of a violent stomach bug.  We both think it worked out better that way, though.  It allowed us (mostly Nathan) to load at a slower, more organized pace and really focus on packing tightly.  Fri morning it was clear the "leftovers" were not going to all fit.  No way.  (Previous moves we had the option of moving some things early and of picking other stuff up later.  Not this time.)  So Nathan rented a second truck, a little one.  We threw the rest of our stuff in it (bags of clothes, the trash cans, the cleaning supplies, the fishes, the rat, the guinea pig, Joseph's mattress, all the plants, the bikes,... you get the idea.)  We parked the 2nd truck at U-Haul (after transferring the animals to the van) and drove up the big truck for the closing.  Our Salisbury closing was being handled by our attorney.  Seemed saner that way.  It was.

The fish waited here in the garage (bad idea, by the way) and the rat stayed in the van, but the guinea pig came in to the closing and watched Toy Story with the kids.  The closing was quick and flawless and we did a few little errands and then came to the house. We found the betta fish floating and quickly tried revive and warm them.  2 of the 3 made it, one did not.  (Fishy, the giant goldfish, was fine.) An hour later, exactly at the time we asked for help to be here, 5 guys showed up to help us unload.  Everything pretty much went in to the garage so we could unpack without tripping, though they did take all the food storage down to the basement.  :)  Lil'Nathan was invited to a psuedo YM activity and was thrilled.  The rest of us had pizza and started getting bedrooms ready.  Elisabeth was already running a high fever and I got sick before morning.

Sat morning we still had to return to Salisbury and get our other truck.  And the kids wanted food, so we had to get a few things from the store.  Not too much unpacking happened that day, but Comcast came and we got hooked up to phone and internet again.  :)

Sunday I stayed home with the baby and Nathan and the kids went to church.  All the kids, except Charlie came home delighted with their classes and teachers.  Charlie said he liked Sunbeams in Salisbury and didn't want to go to this one.

Mon was lost to the DMV, but by the end of the day we were licensed and registered in NH.  A good feeling, even if not a good photo.  (My MA license was a GOOD picture. sigh.)

Tues Nathan was back to work.  We unpacked and made phone calls, and Wed and Thurs were pretty much the same.  Fri we were ready to go grocery shopping for real--glorious day!  And we got Lil'Nathan's bike fixed up and safe for his upcoming Scout trip.  Sat was another day of joy and bliss--we took all the trash and recycling to the dump.  And General Conference started.  Between sessions we went to a piano store and may have found a piano, we'll see.  Sunday was more Conference and I started a pair of baby socks for a friend who just had twins.

Mon the heating people came to put in our new furnace.  Tues we woke up and discovered 3in of water in the basement--the sump pump failed some time during the night, causing all of the workers' tools to be submerged or to float. Happily the furnace was already hung on the wall and received no damage. Yay for Home Depot renting us that lovely big thingy that pumps out your basement at 50 gals/min and for Nathan working so close that he did all this and was still only a little late.  A plumber came by and put in a new sump pump. The furnace guys were only delayed an hour by our flood and lost only one digital thermometer--despite literally being able to pour water out of their drills.  By Tues night we had heat and hot water again.  Sara and Hudson made the trek up here and spent the day with us, too.  He is getting so big and so smiley!  And he looks spiffy in his new sweater, if I do say so myself.  :)

Wed we found out our neighbor to the left is nice, even if not happy about our water running through his property as it drains from the basement.  He knows we are working on a solution, though.  I spent all of Thurs calling and meeting with people to figure out how to stop so much water from being in the basement.  I was told there are ways to do it, but also that this will likely be as bad as it gets b/c it is currently melting season.  We have a few ideas, a few proposals, and one more person coming.

Fri the kids and I went to Salisbury to get back our MA excise taxes.  One of the reasons for going was also to get a plant stand I'd seen at a garden center over there.  It was still there and we brought it home.  (I love it!  I'll get you a picture soon.)  We also brought home a new Japanese Maple (named Maiko), two blueberry bushes, and 2 packs of pansies--but we only went for the plant stand. We then went to Lowe's b/c Home Depot (which is all they have here) doesn't have the shower heads I wanted.  We left with 2 shower heads, 3 smoke alarms, 3 door locks, a fire extinguisher, 2 escape ladders, a battery recharger, and a squeegee--most of which was intended. 

The next day was Sat, yesterday.  We started off by splitting up.  Nathan, Joseph, and Charlie went to drop off a load at LISTEN and check out another piano store.  Mary, Elisabeth, Lil'Nathan, and I went to the dump, the library, the pet store, and Home Depot, and filled up the van.  When we got home, Nathan started replacing smoke alarms, Mary and Joseph took off on their bikes to play with friends, Lil'Nathan settled in with a book in the front yard, and the little kids and I started cleaning out the van.  A power failure, caused by a broken circuit soon ended all the fun.  Now we were without a phone, without internet, and without a sump pump.  Nathan started baling and I went next door (to the right!) to borrow a phone and call an electrician.  Turns out our neighbors have a friend who is an electrician, and they called him for me.  (Our neighbor even came himself, with pant legs rolled up and barefoot, to help us bale for a while.  I think he thought there was more water than was really the case.  It was preventative baling this time.)  An hour and a half (and $150) later we had power again. YAY!  Mary and Joseph missed the whole thing.

Another trip to Home Depot for a battery-backup-sump pump and a water alert alarm--and some new plant pots to fit the stand (and dirt, and starter pots, and a few seeds--really, a garden center is as dangerous as a yarn store!).  But the battery backup system is way expensive and we aren't sure that's the best route.  This requires a little more research.  Any ideas?

Which now brings us to today.  And, with the exception of more than a few little details--Elisabeth had a double ear infection and a slight case of croup.  Our computer is wonky and we've gotten an external hard drive for back up.  I finally saw Frozen, the kids will see it tomorrow.  We have wireless internet now and are actually considering getting 2 tablets for the kids for school--Lil'Nathan nearly fainted with shock and joy.  My birthday was Thurs. Mary got a new bike from another neighbor...--you are now up to date.

Pictures will be coming.  I promise.

Sooo... We are supposed to be moving in two--yes, 2--weeks.  Here is some of what we've been doing to get ready.

--It was 55 degrees today.  I went outside and shoveled the snow off the area where I planted my crocuses, tulips, and daffodils.  There is no way the sun is going to melt that pile in time for me to see something of them poking out of the ground before we go without my help.  Meanwhile, Elisabeth investigated how much water her snow boots could hold by splashing in puddles.  (Note to self: get her galloshes.)

--Lil'Nathan ordered some sculpting balloons in preparation for the ward talent show next weekend.  Can you imagine how many balloon poodles, chihuahuas, snakes, and hats we have around the house?

--We had the home inspection done on the NH house.  And the fire dept. is coming tomorrow for the fire inspection of this house (a MA requirement).  So, progress is being made.

--I made a sweater for Hudson.  Maybe my most favorite sweater, yet.  It's awesome.  2 days.

--We are eating down the freezer and the cabinets.  I don't want to pack a lot of food this time, cans are heavy.  The kids are happy.  We had a 7 mo old apple strudel for dessert on Sunday.  :)

--This doesn't make sense when you realize I've just ordered a bunch of wheat and milk through our ward's upcoming cannery trip.  Food storage doesn't count as "moved food."  I'm a Mormon, I'm supposed to move a lot of wheat.

--Now I am working on a NICU hat.  It's cool it opens flat and buttons shut, to make it easy to keep wires in place.

--Notice still not working on the blanket.

--Notice, more importantly, not packing.

This week we went house hunting, "bought" a house, had the home inspection on this house (crazy inspector on the roof in a blizzard), and celebrated Nathan's birthday.  Nathan spent two nights near work b/c of the weather.  I made two hats and didn't touch my blanket--which means my 2nd arbitrary deadline will whiz by, too.  (I guess I should find a legitimate one.)

We were stood up (again!) on Sat in trying to rehome our piano.  I was very, very annoyed this time.  Craigslist people up here are flakes.  Huge flakes.  In Boston, if they weren't trying to scam you, they showed up when they said they would.  Crazy north shore nuts.  I have two more people who claim to want it.  We'll see.  I'm ready to pull out the hack saw and call a dumpster service.

Anyway, yes, we "bought" a house.  At least, our bid was accepted.  Nice 3 bed/ 2 bath house, with 2 car garage, larger yard than here, carpet (yay!--I'm a floor sitter and hardwood holds little charm for me),  and a lovely, lovely stove.  (New, gas, center burner, and clean.)  It's in West Leb, a few houses down from where friends of ours used to live, and they loved it there.

Yesterday was Nathan's birthday.  Last of the 30's.  The kids gave him all the rice and spices which was delivered a few days before.  He was happy.  :)  We had pudding pie with cherries and also pineapple ice cream.  He watched a Charlie Chaplin movie with the kids for his birthday movie, and Brigadoon with me.  We ended the day by going to sleep at a reasonable hour and Elisabeth slept through the night as her gift.

We did much shoveling this week.  It snowed like crazy on Tuesday, the day of the home inspection.  I kept checking email thinking they were going to reschedule.  Hoping they would b/c we had to leave for the duration and I didn't want to be out in that stuff!  Lil'Nathan was put on "clean-up-the-driveway-duty, but couldn't keep ahead of the snow and finally, when the inspector arrived, he just gave up.  We hung out at the library until they decided to close early b/c of the snow.  Nathan stayed in a hotel near work that night.  I spent two hours on Ravelry organizing my 287 patterns, and didn't add any new ones!

The next morning we were up to clean up the snow, since it was too dark and snowing too hard when we got home from the library (just as the inspector drove away, I might add).  What a pile!  We shoveled in 4 stages, each followed by a break and a treat.  The first was the hardest--the pile at the end of the driveway gifted by the plow (I won't share some of our thoughts on that gift).  Reward--Trader Joe's Frosted Flakes for breakfast.  Stage 2 was the rest of the driveway (and salting the frozen, packed down stuff from the inspector and realtor driving on the un-shoveled driveway the day before).  Reward--a whole Lindt truffle.  Stage 3 was the back deck and pathways.  Reward--hot chocolate.  Stage 4 was the rest of the clean up, but it started snowing again.  I had some ice and sloppy driveway stuff to clear when the snow started falling and I yelled, "Are you kidding me?!"  It was supposed to be rain!  This meant Nathan would have to stay in Leb again that night, and indeed he did.  I went in, made dinner, and told the kids not to say a word about the snow.  We woke  up to another 4 inches, totally obliterating the work of the whole previous day.

And we had to clear the driveway at 7:30 am b/c our food (125 lbs of rice, several pounds of spices, 50 lbs of pastry flour, 2 lbs of yeast... you get the idea) was being delivered. (Lil'Nathan objected much to being forced out of bed so early in order to shovel the driveway for the delivery of rice.  Rice!)  The plow had a smaller gift for us than the previous morning and it was lighter, so the work went much faster.  But we were sore and stiff from the day before and the mounds were well over our heads.  Nathan came home that night and dug trenches through the snow--the next day was supposed to be 45 degrees and the rain had already started.  The trenches were brilliant, our snow melted and ran to the street instead of puddling in the yard.

I don't have any pictures from this week.  And you probably found this the most boring entry yet.  Sorry.  Hope for better next week.  Maybe you'll get pictures of the piano disassembly!