Surprise!

We simply have amazing friends!!  David and Jennifer Currier and their kids showed up on our doorstep the Sunday morning after we moved in (after driving 3 hours from home!) with 3 loaves of bread, ready to help with whatever we were doing in the moving process. What a fantastic surprise! We are so thankful for all their help!!

They got in on outdoor work!!  :)  We got so much more done with their help!

Moving

Moving is hard.  I don't care for it that much.  I tend to attach to people fairly easily and it makes moving tearful.  I like having close friends and it's hard starting over.  But I'm so thankful for the memories that are tucked away in my heart with our cherished friends in Alpena and Onaway AND I'm thankful for that God has great plans for our future!

Below is most of our stuff.  Some of it arrived on Friday (instead of Thursday) in Clayton's horse trailer because they were kind enough to drive it down to us.  We have a lot of stuff!

We got to bring Dale and Tina Joles with us on MOVE DAY.  :)  Not planned, but David tore a muscle in his leg the night before we left while playing a game of "Robin in the Tree."  Dale offered to drive the truck down for David.  We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends!

Pathfinder Camporee

Just before we moved down to southern MI, Chaeli was able to go to the Pathfinder camporee with her Alpena Panthers Club one more time.  Pathfinders has been such a blessing in her life.  She has had the most wonderful leaders and very special memories!

We all came for Sabbath! :) 

Great Helpers

Moving is sure no fun, but it makes it a little easier when you have good helpers!  

These kids were great!

Girls in Pink

We had to take a pictures because we were all in pink.

Then we had to be silly.  :)

Love these girls!

Apples and Friends

Or maybe the title of the post should be "Donuts and Friends" because I'm pretty sure no one ate an apple while there....  :)

Before we moved from Alpena, if we weren't packing then we were finding ways to spend last precious moments with our friends.  One Sunday a couple friends and I took our kids to Knaebe's

Apple Farm.

What fun!  What memories!

Monticello

Our last history lesson of our September vacation.  It was so fun, so educational, so memorable!

The front of Monticello.  Thomas Jefferson started building it at age 26.

The back -- what you see on the nickel.

Author of the Declaration of Independence, Father of the University of Virginia, inventor, avid reader, scientist, gardener, and so much more!

Cyprus Vine - he had a very large variety of flowers in his garden also. He liked to grow new things from other countries as well. 

Thomas Jefferson loved experimental gardening! He had over 330 vegetable varieties and 150 for varieties in his garden, plus his orchards, herbs, and vineyards! Peas were his favorite vegetable and he grew 125 kinds! 

Very.  Tall.  Corn.

Like flowers, there is a huge array of trees on the property as there were in his day. A huge variety of types and from all around the world. This is a Paper Mulberry.

Slave quarters. Although Thomas Jefferson openly opposed slavery, he always owned slaves - 600 in his lifetime with almost 200 at any given time.

He made improvements to the dumbwaiter which is essentially an elevator for home goods between floors.

Jefferson invented quote a few things in his lifetime. He was an avid reader (owned over 8000 books during his life) and designed this revolving book stand with 5 rectangular book platforms. Awesome!

He designed his tombstone and wrote the inscription on it.