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Tuesday, February 9, 2021

California—->Arizona

For most of 2020 I didn’t really know when I would be able to see my family again. I was lucky enough to see some of my family at the end of the summer. With the flexibility of working from home/being at home much more often, it was very do able for me to go to California and help Chelsea and Jeff move to Arizona. I had plenty of time off since I didn’t take many days off throughout the year so I was able to take a few days off and work from their new house the other times. 
The SLC airport had a big remodel since the last time I flew. The new airport is really nice and very modern and cool. All of the airlines besides Delta are pretty far away. It was a pretty good long walk to get to my gate. I wasn’t sure how to feel about flying with COVID still going on, but it was totally fine. There weren’t a lot of people on the flight, and everyone wore masks. It felt pretty safe. 

 
I got to California and got to work. They had so much done already. They had the UHaul half packed up, and the main things left to do were some of the furniture and last minute things. We packed and cleaned and made really good progress on getting things ready to leave. We worked hard (even the kids), and it was good to get things done. 
They had a lot of great support from friends watching the kids and bringing meals and snacks. Friends brought dinner and even breakfast for the days leading up to them leaving. It was nice not to have to worry about food. It was nice to see so much support for them and their family. 
 
Once everything was all packed up and wrapped up, the kids got a little silly. It was nice to have some laughs in the middle of all of the work. 
 
Jeff left around 4am to drive the truck so we made sure to have every single thing out of the house besides the air mattresses we borrowed and the clothes we wore for the drive. We got last minute pictures of the kids and family in the house and the moving truck. Besides all of the memories I have of visiting them in California I don’t have any ties to them being there. I am actually very excited for them to be in Arizona, but it was still emotional seeing it all packed up and empty. 
Chelsea’s car was completely packed. There was stuff in every little space. We got on the road and made pretty good time other than being stopped by traffic in the LA area. We made a few stops for food and we were all ready to get out of the car by the time we finally got there. Jeff and a few guys had the truck all the way unloaded by the time we got there. 
  
The kids were really very helpful and so good with everything. The new house is really great, but there were a few areas that didn’t seem to be cleaned as well as we would have liked. I got Kenzie to help clean some of the higher cupboards that I couldn’t reach. We got things unpacked and settled pretty quickly. 
 
Between COVID and the move, I didn’t really make plans to see many friends. I found out Katie lives in the neighborhood next to their new house so it was easy to see her and Lisa. We met for dessert and talked for hours. It was so fun. The main person I planned to see was Kate. I didn’t tell her I was coming or even in town at all and it was so fun to surprise her. We had the best visit. To keep everyone safe, we were’t close enough to take a picture together. 
Their house has a propane fire pit and the kids were excited to make s’mores. The weather was just chilly enough that sitting around the fire was nice. It was a fun way to end the trip. It was a really good trip, and I was so happy to be able to be there. 

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