Packing: Day 2

Day 2 brought 5 packers. A lot was accomplished today! It's strange to see the house empty. I almost forgot how big it looks without all of our stuff in it. It's also a bit scary to see just how big some of the dust bunnies are.

Day 1!

Day 1: Air shipment, dining room, living room.

It's quite strange to see all of our furniture "boxed". I'm used to seeing movers use blankets, etc.

The day was a lot less hectic than I had imagined. Three packers worked all day and it was easy to keep track of what was happening. So, far I think everything is headed in the right place. They took the air shipment last night, so we know exactly what went by air -- way too much to fit in our tiny temporary housing! I walked the job supervisor through the house in the morning and she remembered everything I said and really kept on top of her "crew" to make sure they were doing everything correctly. My favorite is being told about every pre-existing scratch on my furniture and chip in the antique china. When she showed me the very faint scratches on the dining room table, I resisted the urge to argue that it looked darn good for a house with 3 kids, a dog, and previous cats! I keep reminding myself that they aren't personal comments -- it's business documentation. Of course, when I said that I knew the china was chipped and that I'd only be worried if the plates were broken in half by the move, the packing supervisor had her turn to take things personally. She assured me that her plates have never broken -- she knows how to wrap. Good thing!

Today will bring a crew of 6 people, so I imagine things will get a little busier. I'll probably lose "our" internet connection as well, but I have plans to "borrow" from a neighbor.

San Jose Family Camp

A quick break from our regularly scheduled, "Moving to Zurich" program... the family (minus John, plus Uncle Craig) spent 3 nights at San Jose Family Camp. We've been going for years with our good friends, the Heckmans. While it may not the four star accommodations the parents prefer, the kids have an absolute blast. They get the run of the camp and enjoy engineering a river rapids ride, organized games and activities, ice cream cones, and jumping from cliffs.

You know it's a good camping experience when you can get a picture of C.J. actually smiling!

Uncle Craig and Brendan take a break from dam building to smile for the camera.

It's a little easier to catch Abbie smiling, but obviously she had fun too.

Our cliff jumper, Brendan.

The always prepared Uncle Craig brought a watermelon to Rainbow Falls. Mmmm.

T -12 hours

In less than 12 hours, the packers will arrive to air freight, ship, or store the contents of our house. As I say with each major moving milestone, "Wow, I think we're really going to be moving to Switzerland!"

In the next week and a half we still need to...

1. Pack the house.
2. Remove gallbladder.
3. Obtain work permit
4. Sell the cars.
5. 1,000,000 other small to-do items.

I think I need a vacation.