When the Grandparents Came

 While we were planning Benjamin's baptism, Benjamin told us he really wanted to have as many of his grandparents there as could make it. We were happy to oblige, although at the time, we had no idea if our house would be sold yet, or if we'd be moving or even possibly moved in already and living out of boxes. We went ahead and told them to buy tickets, and we were glad we did. Benjamin's day was really special. His Grandmas gave talks about Baptism and the Holy Ghost, and his Grandpa Cannon confirmed him. My Dad unfortunately couldn't make it, but we felt his love from afar!

My Mom came the week before the baptism, when we were still figuring out our closing date for the new house (there were some unforeseen bumps along the road in getting there, and in the end, it was a miracle we closed when we did!). She helped us so much that week, allowing me to pack when needed, keeping our house running, and she even got a lot of the major cleaning out of the way for us.

 The kids were SO glad to have someone's undivided attention! My mind was certainly elsewhere!

 And she helped us celebrate Benjamin's actual birthday. Lucky boy.

 Paul's parents joined us later in the week (their plane landed as we were signing our closing papers), and the kids were delighted to see them too!

With the keys in hand, we took everyone over to see the new house. We had barbecue from one of our favorite places, and picnicked on the patio to celebrate. It was so fun to be able to show them our new home!

That night, Lydia surprised  us all by taking off about a quarter mile on her own down the sidewalk. Luckily, she had Grandpa following close behind.

 The night before my Mom and Paul's Dad left, we all ate at our kids favorite place- Emperor's Palace. They were enthralled by the dancer with a magical mask-flipping performance here.

 When we talked about when to move our stuff in to the new place, we considered doing it on the day of Benjamin's baptism. Since it was a Saturday, we thought we'd be able to get enough help from willing Ward members. We also thought it would be sort of meaningful and symbolic for Benjamin to physically leave his old home and begin life in a new one. But, as it turned out, we had to cancel the truck the night before we were supposed to pick it up. And as I said before, it was a miracle we closed when we did. I think it was probably for the best that it wasn't on the day of the baptism. I may have been a little overly zealous about that...
We waited a few more days, living with very little stuff (it was all packed up), and finally moved over on Tuesday the following week- also Paul's Mom's birthday! She was so helpful in getting last minute things packed up, kids herded where they needed to be, and taking care of all those little things we hadn't thought of. Mother in law of the year, for sure.

 We all slept that first night in our new house together, then said goodbye to Grandma the next afternoon.

Moving is a little ridiculous. It's even more ridiculous with four little kids. There were so many moving parts to make it happen as smoothly and seamlessly as it did. We were grateful to have so much help, right when we needed it! I couldn't have planned it any better myself.