where to start...

it's about time that i posted an update on this move so here goes...

day one:
after a massive amount of help from friends and family* we were finally packed and ready to go. Tyler's amazing parents volunteered to drive the moving truck (we truly would not have made this trip without them), we loaded Tyler's SUV on to the trailer, and packed our little nugget in to the car. we were nervous for the drive with a new baby but also optimistic about a road trip. nobody likes being cooped up in a car for 3 days but i was secretly excited to have Tyler all to myself for long talks and countless driving games.
about 2 hours into the drive the "water pump"? in the car broke and it overheated. we had to be rescued by Tyler's parents (the first of countless rescues throughout this move). thanks to them, we were able to switch the SUV for the car on the trailer and get Ruby loaded right before rain hit. it's funny because i actually said "well there's the hiccup. every move has a hiccup and i guess it could be worse." if i had only known...

day two:
day two actually went very well except for the screaming baby. i will just say that our child is an excellent traveler... until she isn't. as soon as she's done, she's done. the second day she decided she was done in the middle of nowhere, South Dakota. i seriously considered pitching a tent on the side of the road because i didn't think we'd ever make it to civilization. we did make it.

day three:
day three was the day we got here. we pulled in to the most adorable, picture-perfect neighborhood to see the most adorable, picture-perfect house. needless to say, i was thrilled. i practically skipped up the walk to the front door that opened to my ideal home. as soon as we started up the stairs we were hit with the most overpowering smell of cigarettes. apparently the previous tenants and downstairs neighbors were chain-smokers. i think you could hear the sound of our hearts breaking. we looked around a bit but had to leave after about 5 minutes because we were all getting headaches.
we checked ourselves in to another hotel room for the night and started going over our options. finding another rental property quickly became unrealistic because there was nothing that fit our requirements (washer and dryer in unit and a safe neighborhood. we are sooo high maintenance, right?) and the background check and application process for any property takes 2 weeks for non residents. we were homeless. up the proverbial creek. no paddle. all that.
after a few hours of trying to sort out a solution we were exhausted and starving and decided we needed to get a good meal. we got five minutes from the hotel when our second vehicle broke down. there we were, stranded on the side of a road we had never driven on, in a city we had never been before and i couldn't help it; i started laughing. we were homeless and both of our "dependable" cars had broken down. it was not funny... a little funny. Tyler's parents probably still think i'm nuts.
we did find a tow truck, a ride back to our hotel room, and a rental car eventually. the SUV is still in a shop somewhere but we've been told we'll get an estimate this week sometime ...yay.

day four:
the best solution we could think of was trying to get rid of the smell in cigarette house. it needed to be repainted and every square inch needed to be scoured. the landlord okayed buying new paint and supplies and we got to work (i say "we" but i just tended Ruby in the hotel room away from the smell). Tyler and his parents spent 2 days painting and cleaning before i could bring Ruby back to inspect the place. when i did, the smell was almost completely gone! oh happy day! we were moving in!
long story short, the rank smell came back. with vengeance. we've tried every remedy in the book but the smell won't stay gone. the downstairs neighbors do smoke after all. i still feel terrible that all that work was done for nothing.

the days since then have all blended together but they included a constantly screaming baby, a broken toilet, a bed that collapsed under us, an air conditioner that doesn't work in eighty something degree weather, a shower that has hot water for about 3 minutes and doesn't drain, and all of our things packed in to the room that smells the least like smoke so it doesn't get ruined.
worst. move. ever.

on the upside:
miraculously, our original landlord happened to be buying a new property around the corner that she planned to rent out as soon as she closed on it. this place is new and clean and we'll hopefully move in by the end of the week. woohoo! i am REALLY excited for our new place. it's still in the picture-perfect neighborhood and it's smoke-free. Tyler and i have walked by about a thousand times to peek in the windows. i'll try to post pictures as soon as we're moved in and settled. also, we got our car back from the shop ($1000 fix! ouch!) so we at least have one vehicle now. plus, we went to church on sunday and found out that we have the greatest ward. everyone was extremely kind and asked if they could help.

i'll feel way better as soon as we are settled into our new place but for now i'm glad we have such good friends and family to support us through this ordeal. i know it could be a lot worse.

*To everyone who helped us move, you are amazing! We love you and couldn't do this without you. Thank you so much!