Final Night in the Big D

It is really crunch time now. We will be heading to the airport in just over 12 hours. The houses have been packed and cleaned out, cars are with Richard, the consignment guy and there's really only one major task left to complete. . .finish the crate for this guy.

Below is a picture of Scott in front of the crate earlier today. He is currently in the garage cranking away at it and getting close to finishing. The supports are on for the forklift (you heard me right, the forklift) and the breathing holes are drilled. Now, he'll add the door, give it a paint job and we should be set.

We also wanted to pass along a special thanks to Craig and Alison for letting us crash at their house instead of staying in a hotel for an additional 2 nights with the dogs and to Micki and Aaron for stopping by with delicious fajitas and cold beer for our final dinner in the south.

The next 48 hours or so will be very interesting with a long flight to Germany and then a little drive to Switzerland and a few nights in a hotel with the whole crew. Although we may not have access to the internet, I'll take good notes (in my red book of course).  Please think happy thoughts for us and the crazy dogs on their long journey across the pond.

T Minus 6 Days and Counting

The past week has been a little crazy. Here is the run down:

I attended a beautiful wedding for Ashley Grant and Scott Cavanaugh in New Hampshire last Saturday. Congrats to the wonderful couple!

Sunday through Friday I was in Warsaw, Poland for a great training and got the chance to meet our fabulous HR manager, Margarita, while I was there.

Thursday, Scott returned from Switzerland
Friday, I returned from Poland
Saturday, Craig and Alison hosted a going away party for us

Today, the house went up for rent and I worked like crazy to separate all of my belongings into 3 categories: sea, storage, air.

The movers come to my house first thing in the morning so in standard Ashleigh fashion, I am procrastinating completing my detailed inventory log of all possessions by writing the blog. Don't worry, Shane, it's just like our old accounting days. I'll get it done.

Coming this week:
-Movers at my house Mon-Tues
-Movers at Scott's Wed-Thur
-Wear out dogs at doggy day play on Friday (maybe massages for us?)
-Fly out Saturday!

In the mean time:
-Move 2 houses
-Rent out 2 houses
-Sell 2 trucks and 1 car
-Run about 1,000,000 errands
-Stay caught up at work
-Pray that our paperwork comes back from the USDA in time
-Finish building the crate for Deacon
-Rebook flights since we found out there are no planes big enough to get Deacon from Germany to Switzerland
-Rent a van to drive from Germany to Switzerland

I'm off to get to work. RedBull is in and I'm ready to organize. Wish us luck.

The Fun is Starting to Begin!

The countdown is only 16 days until the official move. . .well assuming we get everything in order for the dogs. That is long story that should be told on its own. We will wait for that one until there is a happy ending that does not terminate in, "if you arrive in Switzerland without the proper documentation, you have 10 days to return your pet to its original place or origin or it will be put down".  Until we know that this sentence does not apply to us, we'll keep the dog stories out of this.

In the mean time, Scott and I have both started traveling a bit for the new jobs. He is in Switzerland for 2 weeks for training and is enjoying learning the job. He sent this picture of the sun setting over Lake Geneve tonight. It sounds like he is having fun and even found a Mexican restaurant tonight. I know he is also anxious to get home and make the move.

I was also in Athens, Greece last week for a business review and some interviews for a position in Turkey.  The office there is fairly small with about 35 people but they were incredibly welcoming and excellent hosts.  On my final night, I spent some time walking around and got to see the flea market, The Acropolis and several other interesting sights. I, of course, got lost on the walk home but ended up safe and sound.

As we are heading into the final stages of the relocation, I would say it's safe to say we are more excited than ever before and also more stressed out.  Day by day we are getting closer and closer and before I know it, I will be driving the manual mini van that has already been reserved for our first few weeks!