the BIG move...

Once Daniel and I decided to relocate our family, we quickly began the process of cleaning out and packing. I pretty much packed the entire inside of the house while Daniel tackled the outside, but there were rare sightings of all five of us working at one time :)...

While packing up a family of 5 will not ever make my bucket list, at least the kids had a blast playing through the process! Boxes and and empty cabinets provided lots of hiding places for the little munchkins in our life...

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and they took advantage of every opportunity...from playing hide & go seek to tape spinning wars to unpacking the boxes I was trying to pack (hmmmm...Zoe). Can I just say that these fellas are such troopers? Daniel and I had so much to accomplish in about 5 weeks from finding a home in Austin, packing, making relocation arrangements, and getting all of Max's medical/educational/therapy needs transferred. I must say though that there were a few parenting fails on my end like the time two of them were literally a foot away from me and I just smiled while listening to their giggles packing away completely oblivious to the fact that Kason fed Zoe his ENTIRE stash of chocolate valentine treats...

Yep, the little boogers were caught!!! Having the kids around definitely adds joy to even the mundane jobs...and we love it! Since the last time we moved we added two more littles and weren't sure how everyone would fair through the transition, but they have all done AMAZING! They have eaten hodge podge meals in hodge podge locations...

They have even been flexible in their napping times and locations...

which has definitely helped through this process. With the move, Daniel had to finish a few projects around the house for the new owners and couldn't have accomplished it without his two side kicks...

that's right, Max wanted to join in on the carpentry fun! We also loaded up everyone and went to one of our favorites local restaurants, Yamagata, before we headed out...

Of course if you keep up with us on facebook, then you already know that Kason HAD to go get Texas Tech boots before we moved to longhorn territory...

He saved up all of his money and scrounged around the house for extra change to cash in so he could get these bad boys! He is so in love with them that he even wore them to bed the first night :)...

and yes, you will most definitely see him sporting these almost everyday! The hardest part of the move was saying goodbye to all of our sweet friends...

The Clayton Crew is beyond blessed with so many friendships who were more like family. The day we loaded the van was pretty emotional as we had several college students drop by to not just help out, but to say goodbye along with our close family friends. Kason has two incredible role models that he seriously adores, Kyle and Luke...

that were really difficult to say goodbye to...he didn't understand at first that they weren't moving with us :). Daniel and I couldn't be more appreciative of all the help we received that day from everyone! The official moving day was bittersweet as we began our new adventure...

 well, except for Kason as he was all smiles because he was getting to roll out of town and ride shot gun with dad...

so he was in heaven! A huge thank you to Nana and Pops for helping us head out of town, watching the kids, finish a few last minute packing items...

 and for letting us have a relaxing layover at their house for a few days. I'm not sure this move and transition could have gone any smoother. Daniel and I have felt reassured and confident that we made the right decision as we have seen God's hand in this relocation process. We didn't have any major obstacles and like I said, the kids were incredible through the whole process...

 Max was my main concern, and well, he totally rocked it! He even got to go to a store and ride a shopping cart for the very first time...

and as you can see, he enjoyed every moment of it! While our home is still in a bit of disarray, I also have to give a shout out to Mimi and Doc for all of their help. Daniel's parents helped us get to Austin and my parents have helped us get settled...they have scrubbed like crazy around here and watched the kids so we could get a little settled...so thank you!

While Daniel and I have had our times of reflection of fondness and sadness throughout the move, we are excited to begin this new journey with our family. Of course, our Lubbock friends aren't getting rid of us that easily because we will be back to visit...very soon!