Status Update

We've been off the grid lately, and the posts have been lacking as I have no way to upload all the fabulous pics we've been snapping.

It's been a good trip, and I thought that before it all fades to black, I'd give you a run-down by way of the infamous Faceboook status update....enjoy..


Natalie Cline Hovik is getting so much done today. So Happy! Off to detail the car, so I can pack it.

November 17 at 3:25pm

Natalie Cline Hovik is SOOO Thankful she has a "spork" and napkin packet in her glove box. Starving, left over Tupperware of spaghetti in the fridge....but all dishes, utensils, you name it....packed. ;p

November 17 at 8:01pm

Natalie Cline Hovik My main floor and basement are TOTALLY packed in one day, minus the office. Amazing how much they accomplished with all those smoke breaks added in. ;0) Plus, one of the two tripped and smacked the top of his head against the concrete wall in my cold storage around lunchtime. He was out of sorts for a bit. Yikes.

November 17 at 8:28pm

Natalie Cline Hovik 's computer is going into a box. Soon. Buh-bye for a bit..I think I'll get my fix on a borrowed one though...so maybe sooner than later.

November 18 at 11:42am

Natalie Cline Hovik has a new roof on her house! My list is just about done, and it feels great!

November 19 at 6:27pm

Natalie Cline Hovik made it to Cheyenne with the family still intact. Good times at the swimming pool to get the crazies out. But maybe the lollipops before bed weren't my brightest idea....

November 21 at 11:06pm

Natalie Cline Hovik #1 quote of DAY 1 : I don't need a lecture, I need a TOILET!

November 21 at 11:22pm

Natalie Cline Hovik is heading North on I-25 over windswept Wyoming...a cowboy's paradise! Jewel Cave here we come, 2nd largest in the WORLD!

November 22 at 11:13am

Natalie Cline Hovik just pulled off in Wall, home of the famous Wall Drug and gateway to the Badlands. Excited to check out some fossils.

November 23 at 11:45am

Natalie Cline Hovik Day 2 Quote of the day was by Sydney, "I don't have a STACHE Daddy, I A GIRL!" ...she had had some BLUE gatorade...

November 23 at 11:46am

Natalie Cline Hovik swimming then Olive Garden for dinner in rainy Sioux City! On to Aunt Kasey's tomorrow!

November 23 at 11:09pm

Natalie Cline Hovik Day 3 Quote of the day: Me "This is the town where the author of Little House on The Prairie is from.." Savi "I hate that show, it frightens me."

November 23 at 11:11pm

Natalie Cline Hovik Iowa, where super unleaded gas is 10 cents CHEAPER than regular unleaded. LOL

November 24 at 10:16am

Natalie Cline Hovik is SO happy to be in KC-land! A run this morning, a visit to Walton's 5 and dime, a walk on the square and late lunch at Maria's. Now on to baking some TG treats!

November 25 at 7:12pm

Natalie Cline Hovik Forget the turkey, I'M stuffed! Everything turned out SO good. Pomegranate Cheesecake!!

November 26 at 8:01pm

Natalie Cline Hovik is on a Black Friday Gonga HIGH....ummmm...maybe all that "brown stuff" has something to do with it too...

Fri at 1:12pm

Natalie Cline Hovik held a baby monkey and pet hedgehogs and kangaroos for the first time, ALL IN THE SAME DAY! Gotta love the zoo, Ozark style!

Fri at 7:37pm

Natalie Cline Hovik is passing through Memphis, just saw the Pyramid as we crossed the Mississippi River. On to Nashville!

Sat at 2:23pm

Natalie Cline Hovik Utah Drivers are fantastic compared to these Memphians!!! Really.

Sat at 2:43pm

Natalie Cline Hovik sleeping in Music City (Nashville) tonight! Outdoor pool, so it's closed. The kids were a bit disappointed to get that routine messed up. Charlotte tomorrow!

Sat at 9:39pm

Natalie Cline Hovik On the road again....rockslide on I-40 about 220 miles in, so we'll get to detour through the Smoky Mountains. Not a bad thing, we want to check them out anyway! It will add 1.5 hrs to the trip though.

Yesterday at 10:47am

Natalie Cline Hovik stopped at a NC rest stop. Gunnar says there is "good air" here, so I think we're set!! ;P About an hour from the hotel.

Yesterday at 5:39pm

Natalie Cline Hovik is in her new hometown. WOW. Feels weird, but in a good way. Just about to put kids to bed, hoping we can send them to school directly after enrollment in the morning. Cross your fingers for us, because I'd really rather NOT have 3 kids at closing. ;)

Yesterday at 9:17pm

Natalie Cline Hovik is the proud owner of a North Carolina home! (and the kids were angels at closing....school tomorrow) Movers arrive 8am tomorrow.

5 hours ago

Natalie Cline Hovik finally got phone service set up - - Hallelujah, never knew it could be SO HARD!

5 hours ago

Natalie Cline Hovik And the cherry on top is that the Toyota needed new front brakes as we rolled into town. DONE! Is there anything else I need to do today? No? Ok, thanks, cause I'm beat. (and so is my bank account)

44 minutes ago

There ya go! More to follow once we get all hooked up at our new house. We have some sa-weet pics!! Stay tuned.

Peeee.... Esssss.... last night in a hotel! Yes!

And So It Begins....

Or Ends, I'm not sure which way I'm looking at it yet.

The End of our Family Living in Utah, The Beginning of a New Chapter.
The main floor is totally packed, minus the office. It's strange to see everything in boxes.. I'm thankful I'm not the one packing them though! Thank heavens for Corporate Relocations!

Love this pic! One of the boxes says "LOTS O'STUFF". LOL

Love this sticky plastic sheeting!! I need some of that!!

We'll be living out of this car for the next 2 weeks, so I got made sure it was like brand-new before I packed it.

We have wonderful friends who are letting the kids and I stay the next few nights at their home, and then on Friday night we'll have a camp-out in our empty house before we say good-bye.

More later...

The First of the Lasts

As a family we have continually focused on creating annual rituals for our kids. Things they can look forward to, things they can look back on. Memories that are so pemanently etched into their childhood that they will always recall them with fondness.

One of these is the annual Customer Appreciation Free Tram Ride and Food Drive at Snowbird. It generally happens around the beginning of November and spans 2 weekends.

We bundle up the kids and bag a can per person and head up the canyon.

With the move approaching, this will be the last Tram Ride in our little family's history. I thought about this while we rode up, and realized that it is the First of many Lasts the next couple of weeks. Bittersweet, but life is full of changes, and if we embrace the adventure those changes bring, we will be able to adjust and move forward happily. (Not that we won't miss the way things used to be in a lot of cases)

Here is the tram descending. We've been unseasonably warm this year, look at that BLUE sky!

The view of the Salt Lake Valley from the top.

If you look closely, near the center of the picture you can see a lake...I've never seen it before because it's always had snow on it.

Chris' parents were in town and were able to join us this year. It was great to share one of our beloved traditions with them.

Dad and a very tired Sydney June-bug. Almost done.

Happy Savi hanging on as we ascend.

I wonder what our Charlotte traditions will be! Here's to many more adventures to come!!