Family time: 3 weeks on the road

After putting the house up for sale, I've spent the last 3 weeks traveling to see family.  It's been such a wonderful time and I'm sad to see it end. In the past I've only stayed for a day or two, or I've also juggled working remotely, or Steve and I shuffled between our 4 families (yep, 2 families each).  But this time the only thing on my agenda was spending time with everyone. It was the kind of trip I've always wanted to make but always seemed too "busy" to actually take.

I'm so grateful that I finally did.  Here are some random clips from my camera roll, though I wish I had taken some more photos.  Next time!

Multnomah Falls with Jewelia. In any given photo, there is a 65% chance my eyes are closed.

Iriee is such a great reader!

Climbing into boxes as I get to know Mav better (so fun!)

There was a moment early in the trip, when I was marveling at my sisters and their children, and wondering exactly when we had all grown up.  Part of me was a little sad thinking that our care-free and youthful days were behind us.  But right at that moment Jinny jumped inside a kid's play tunnel and ran around the house chasing the little ones and everything was filled with shrieks and laughter. It was a great reminder that even though we're getting older, there is still so much fun to be had.

Jinny saves the day (kids are out of frame but I can still hear their hysterical laughter ringing in my ears).

And now it's time for me to fly to Dubai.  I leave in about 14 hours and I'm so excited to see Sven and the Pheebs.  Apparently, they've been bored with out me.

Goodbye Gig Harbor!

Last week, I finally finished packing, organizing, and moving.  My dad swooped in to help (again) and he took the last trailer-full of our belongings for storage.  Where would we be without our Dads?!?!!

My Dad's tetris skills are on point.

Being the hyper-organized person that I am, all our boxes are now labeled with the room they belong in and a unique number.  And I have a spreadsheet that lists the number of each box and all the contents.  Yes, sometimes I walk the fine line between super awesome and super crazy.

On the way out of town, my little sister J noticed these hilarious additions to the credit card machines at the post office (every single one).  Apparently, my fellow neighbors aren't very good at waiting. 

wait wait wait wait

Our Dubai Villa

When Steve and I first started researching where to live in Dubai, my mind was filled with images of skyscrapers and impossibly posh apartments.  I looked at hundreds of listings for beautiful high-rise apartments with great amenities and impressively high floors - the view from the 47th floor is crazy!  But in the end, we chose a single-family house with a large yard in a dog-friendly neighborhood.

I'm not gonna lie - it's more space than we need and maybe even a little bit of a splurge.  But since Dubai has strict laws about dogs in public, we thought it was important to have a large yard for Phoebe to get plenty of exercise.  Heheh, and of course I think the best part is that houses are all called 'villas' over there.  We live in a villa.  So fancy!

Bon Voyage: Phoebe moves to Dubai

Yesterday, I sent Phoebe on a direct flight from Seattle to Dubai where Steven has been waiting for her.  I'll join them in a few more weeks (have to finish packing and put our house up for sale), but now I'm even more impatient to just get over there already.  

Phoebe prefers full body contact: this is how we talked with Steve each night

Because we are crazy about Phoebe, we booked her a direct flight on Emirates instead of the more common, multi-leg journey through Europe.  The flight itself was 14.5 hours, but the entire process was quite a bit longer.  We've been working on the shots and paperwork for several months and the last 48 hours were quite the scramble.  In all, Phoebe spent about 24 consecutive hours in the travel crate, which isn't ideal but was certainly our most attractive option.  And to be honest, it was probably more nerve-racking for me than her.  I wasn't very keen on sending her alone all those miles away.

When she realized I wasn't coming with her

But my cool-as-a-cucumber, steady-as-a-rock husband picked Phoebe up from the airport this morning and all is well.  She is happy and healthy and checking out the new digs (here's our new house in Dubai).

Steve's comment: "New bed and new dog bed. Lays on floor."

I can finally breathe easy - this was the part I've been most nervous about.  Now that it's gone off without a hitch, I am sooooo relieved!