Drive complete

We made it back from the Oregon coast, and the drive went as well as could be expected. The Salt Creek Fire in Redding was more contained, but it was so sad to see all of the fire trucks, the fire planes, and the pink fire retardant on the freeway. The fire originated on the freeway, so the damage was very visible. Sending good thoughts to the fire fighters & all of the families that live near by.

As for us, the beach house is emptied out, & will be cleaned today (part of our closing agreement). We will supposedly receive our funding on Friday. We ended up being able to sign in person, so we saved on the mobile notary fee.

We also managed to get everything packed into our SUV (helped greatly by the fact that we could fold the seats down, as my parents had the kids), & didn't need to rent the planned U-Haul. I was able to cancel our reservation. Aside from the money saving, we didn't have to drive with a trailer for 12 hours, through the mountains, etc. It made the drive much easier & faster.

We had an absolutely fabulous last hurrah at the beach. We played a lot of corn hole, giant jenga, built fires, made s'mores, laughed, talked about our favorite family memories, the kids went to the campground for a goodbye round of hide & seek... we treated the boys to a trip to the Seaside arcade (hide & seek & the arcade used to be their big vacation highlights). Excellent times were had by all.

We came back a day early, as we were able to pack up the car without the trailer, and I'm grateful for the bonus day before we have to work tomorrow. We have plenty to do, however.

• I'm kicking off a new fitness challenge, and need to work out (cardio + a strength workout)
• M lost his credit card, so I've locked it & need to cancel it, assuming he can't find it today
• Unpack the car. We got in at midnight last night, so nothing is done
• Decide what to do with everything we brought home!
• Make a menu plan (adults only!)
• Go to Costco
• Catch up on the gardening
• Clean the house
• Laundry
• Pay bills
• Make a schedule for the week

M & I are going out to a celebratory dinner tonight. We're home alone for the first time in a long time. Meanwhile, Nick is repairing bikes at my dad's house, and Sam & his cousin are playing board games. Everyone is having a ball.

Hope you all have a wonderful day!