Hello everyone!
WOW! April was insane! The whole month was spent either packing or moving or unpacking pretty much. But I managed to have some fun too! :)
At the beginning of the month, a couple of my co-workers (Sara and MarySue...not sure who else was involved...) plotted with Spencer and threw me a surprise going-away party. I had NO IDEA and was totally surprised when I walked in Sara's door thinking I was having dinner with her and a friend and saw everyone! And I had talked to everyone there at some point during the day and nobody let on. It was a big success on their part and I felt very honored to have such incredible friends and such a wonderful send-off so thanks to everyone that was there, the sweet cards and goodbye gifts, etc. Those are memories I will treasure forever! The party was lots of fun and of course there are pictures!
Tracy, Sara, and me:
Me, Ashleigh, and Randy:
Kathleen, me, and MarySue:
Brian and me:
Me and Kim:
Me and Michelle:
Katie and me:
Me and Heather:
Me and Jay:
Anthony and me:
Me and Spencer:
Fred and me:
As you can imagine I spent the month doing my best to spend time with everyone in Florida and get as many goodbyes in as possible and do everything I had wanted to do before I left! I got to go to The Villages and see my grandparents! We had a yummy lunch and a nice afternoon talking. It was great to be able to see them before I moved because I probably won't get to see them again until my brother's wedding in October. It was nice having family so close. I miss that already.
Spencer and I also managed to squeeze in a Devil Rays baseball game with his roommates and a trip to the Big Cat Rescue...both were lots of fun!
His roommates also had a little cookout and sent us off with a yummy cake and Easter baskets filled with goodies and games for our long road trip ahead!
Speaking of Easter, I had to work, but we had a great time celebrating with the Rhinos that day. They got all kinds of treats: hard boiled eggs, pastel ice blocks, cardboard
easter eggs and easter egg cookies! :)
Happy Easter from Sara and me:
Lucy and her Easter eggs:
Tim and me:
And speaking of Rhinos, I had to say goodbye to them too! :( My last day at Busch Gardens was really bittersweet. I had a great time doing everything "one last time" and saying goodbye to all my animals and co-workers, but of course it was sad to know that it was the last time. I am really lucky to have had the chance to work with such an amazing team of people and such incredible animals! My co-workers even got me a FACE CAKE! I miss you all terribly and working there will always be the best job I ever had! :) THANK YOU ALL!
Kayin, me, and Forrest:
Kisiri and me:
And after all of the goodbyes, it was time for the big move! We picked up the truck and loaded it up (well, I'll be honest, Spencer and his roommate Derek did all the heavy lifting and I just packed the boxes and made them heavy for them!) Spencer hitched up his car to the trailer on the back of the truck, we packed the animals up in their crates, and off we went. Our caravan was pretty amusing. Spencer drove the big truck with the trailer and his car attached and his companion along the way was Tank! Tank only whined for the first day and then he seemed to get used to the riding and enjoyed Spencer's company! I followed behind them in my bug with Noelle in the back. She didn't do as well as Tank. She meow-ed pretty much the entire trip and went to the bathroom everywhere but her litter box...so my car had to be fumigated by the time we got to Las Vegas! Our sleeping arrangements were perhaps my favorite part of the trip. We never knew where we would end up when we were so tired we couldn't drive anymore, so we never planned ahead looking for hotels that would allow pets. Instead, we just stopped whenever we got tired and decided to be done driving for the day...at a truck stop...and folded the back seat of Spencer's car down and cushioned it with sleeping bags and blankets and slept in the trunk/back seat! Keep in mind his car was on a trailer, so we slept on a slant all night...three nights in a row...the two of us and the cat and dog! It was hilarious!!!!! :) And of course, each night was colder than the one before because we were in the mountains. The last night, we slept on the Arizona/New Mexico border and it got down to 28 DEGREES!!!!!!!! Things were frozen when we woke up! Now, you may be thinking about how gross it is that we didn't shower all that time, but on our second day, while driving through Texas, we did stop at Spencer's second cousin's house and they gave us a nice meal and a warm shower so we did have a nice civil break! :) They were wonderful people and we were so thankful to them. We both decided if we didn't get that little refreshing break, we might not have made it all the way. But we did! We arrived in Las Vegas on April 17th and all the boxes were unpacked by April 19th.
Our caravan:
Our sleeping arrangements...Spencer's trunk:
Tank, me, and Spencer on the side of the road in Texas:
I started my job and things are going well so far. I still have a lot to learn and a long way to go to get to where I want to be there, but that's ok...it comes with the territory of starting fresh! Spencer's great search for a job continues, but he has lots of leads and I know he will get a job in no time!!! In the meantime, he's been a perfect roommate and very helpful getting me all settled and less homesick! And I'm pretty sure Tank will be devastated when Spencer goes to work...he has adopted Spencer as his best friend! Noelle, on the other hand, will be relieved...because that means Tank will be in the crate while we're gone and she'll have the whole apartment to herself.
So we are all settled here in Las Vegas and ready for visitors anytime! Let us know if you plan to be here so we can meet you on the strip for drinks or a meal...its less than 30 minutes from our apartment! And if you would like our address, just email me and I will send it your way! :)
Thanks to all of you for your love and support through this huge step!
RECORD FOR THE LONGEST BLOG EVER, I know!
Until next time...
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