Getting Settled

Our first day in Charleston was HOT. Brayden and I had to unload the trailer and car that day before my parents flew in so that we could pick them up. It was difficult and there was a lot of complaining, but we did it! Living on the third floor and moving in don't mix very well. But after a couple of hours we were finished! Our apartment was a mess with boxes everywhere but we were done with having to haul our stuff in the heat.

Once we finished unloading we headed to pick up my parents! I was so excited to see them. I know it was only a few days since I had last seen them, but I was still excited. We got a lot done in the next few days. We spent a lot of long nights setting up the apartment. My dad and Brayden were in charge of assembling all of our new furniture, while my mom and I made the apartment organized and cute!

Luckily, we didn't just unpack and fix the apartment the whole time they were here. We were able to go and take a tour with my parents around Brayden's new school! It was exciting to be able to see where he will be going to school the next 4 years.

A few days later my sister Whitney flew into Charleston! We still had a lot to do at the apartment, but when she came we were able to do a few touristy things. We went to a couple of plantations, we went on a carriage tour around downtown Charleston, and we ate a lot. Downtown Charleston has a lot of yummy places to eat and we took full advantage of that throughout those few days.

We were so thankful for my parents and Whitney coming to help us move in to our new place. We honestly probably would not have been able to finish it all without them. They worked so hard and made sure everything was finished when they left. They were the best little helpers!

Taking a little tour around Brayden's new school!

Bray Bray's First Day of School!

From coast to coast

Our 35 hour journey began on Monday, May 29th. The car and u-haul trailer were all packed and ready to go. We said our very emotional (well at least for me anyway) goodbyes and we were off! Our first day we drove to Albuquerque, New Mexico. There was nothing too exciting to see on this leg of the drive, The highlight of this day was that we did stop at the last In-N-Out we could find for lunch. Brayden knew saying goodbye to this place was going to be difficult for me, so he looked up one that we could eat our final farewell. When we got to our hotel, we were both tired, so we thought it would be perfect to go to the hot tub! Unfortunately, the hot tub was freezing, so we decided to just sleep. But what I realized the first night was that I would not get much sleep the next few days. I was so worried about basically our whole life packed into the trailer and my car. I thought someone was going to break in. I knew that Brayden needed to get rest though, because let's be honest, I barely drove... So I made sure that we parked right where I could see it from the window and about every 30 minutes I got out of bed and checked. I am a worrier, I blame that on my mom's Monahan genes.

The next day we woke up early and headed to Fort Smith, Arkansas. This day I "finally contributed" to driving. I drove from Tucumcari, New Mexico to Amarillo, Texas which is only about 2 hours. Everything was fine and dandy until cars began to surround me on the road. It was the worst, I had a little freak out in Amarillo because there were more than 2 cars on the road. So we got off the road as soon as we could! After that Brayden drove the rest of the way to Fort Smith that day. This leg of the trip was the only time we actually did any sight seeing. We stopped in Oklahoma City to visit the Oklahoma City Federal Building Bombing Memorial. We only had a few minutes to walk around, but it was still worth it! It was great to be able to experience a little piece of American history. Since we were already stopped in Oklahoma City we made a little pit stop at the Chesapeake Energy Arena. This is where Brayden's favorite NBA team plays, so we had to make a little time for it! It was fun to be able to break up the drive with a few little pit stops.

The next morning was the same routine...we woke up early and got back on the road and headed towards Atlanta, Georgia. Again I helped out a little bit with the driving, but really I only drove another 2 hours. So my total for all the driving was only about 4 hours... But even when I was driving Brayden didn't rest or sleep at all because he was focused on the road and making sure I didn't crash.

The next morning we finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel. By the end of this day, we would finally hit our destination, Charleston! This 5 hour drive was not bad, considering the 12 hour days we were used to the previous days.

California

Before we headed out to South Carolina for dental school, we stayed at my parents house in California for about a month. It was so fun! Basically our days consisted of hanging out with my mom, which is one of my favorite pastimes. We were constantly running errands with her going anywhere and everywhere, let me tell you she is one busy woman. Then once my dad would come home from work and Logan would come home from school and sports we would always do something fun. We went to the movies, we went out to dinner or dessert, or we would just make dinner, but no matter what it was always a good time. A couple of highlights from the month long vacation with my parents and Logan were going to Disneyland, my birthday, hanging out with Ryan and Lindsay and their kids, going to plays, sending cute little Logey off to Prom, went on a Newport Home Tour and going to Rodeo Drive. We also were able to go with my dad to the Staples Center to see if there were better seats that we could change ours to. While doing that we were able to shoot around on the floor at the Staples Center. It was so fun to be able to do that with my dad and Brayden! My mom didn't shoot, she takes her role as the cheerleader/photographer very seriously for our family. :)

Brayden and I also had some friends from Utah come to my parents beach house in Newport for the weekend! It was a good time playing tennis, going to the beach, eating, and shopping. We have the best friends and I am so glad we had the chance to see them again before we left.

My family is really close, so spending this month in California was basically like Brayden and I were hanging out with my best friends 24/7, it was great. We are so grateful for all my parents did for us that month and how they helped us prepare for the long trek to South Carolina.