PA to GA - Part 2

I was hoping that my trio would cut their momma a break and sleep in on Friday morning, but alas, that did not happen; they were far too anxious to play with their cousins! Unfortunately, the noise we made also woke up our hosts earlier than they usually start the day. (Sorry, Lewellens!) Once all the munchkins were up, we gathered in the kitchen/dining room. Kaiser just about did a backflip when Mel informed him of her plans to make fruit smoothies and cinnamon rolls for breakfast. (We're boring breakfast eaters at our house.) For the next hour or more, these two rooms were abuzz with the activity of six (SIX!! Still can't believe we have so many!) kiddos running around and chattering.

Malone thought Wrighty Pie's exersaucer looked awfully familiar...

Porter on puff duty.

Breakfast smoothies were a hit all around!

While both babes were down for their morning naps, the big sibs played and the mommies packed gear and lunches in preparation for a trip to the pool that afternoon. 

"Dis dowhouse is pwetty coow!"

Once half a dozen children were swimsuited and adequately sunscreened, we rounded them up and headed out the door. Our crew rolled up to the swim club a little after 11:00 and camped out by the kiddie pool. 

Water waders.

My towhead.

Kaiser wanted to go in the big pool, so I took Carter and him for a little bit, but he flipped out on me when I let him go underwater, despite his having agreed to do so. Porter was begging to go in the big pool, too, but had the same reaction when he actually got there. (Seriously need to get these boys in intense swim lessons!!) Feeling a bit discouraged, I returned to the kiddie pool to visit with Miss Malone.

"Cars? Not really the pool toys I had in mind."

"A mermaid. Now that's more like it!"

After we ate lunch, Mel took Carter and Kaiser back to the big pool for another round, while I stayed with the rest of the littles. 

Baby bathing beauties.

(Malone wasn't a fan of the sun hat we borrowed.) 

These two were whipping up some cookies for me. 

Before we knew it, it was approaching 1:30, so we loaded up and went back home for naptime. Porter, Murphy, Malone, and Wright went down quickly. Carter and Kaiser stayed up a while longer; she doesn't nap anymore, but he most definitely needed to close his eyes. 

Plumb tuckered out.

Lindsay, who working from home that day, thought it would be fun for him to take the kiddos to the movie theater that evening to see Monsters University. At first he was feeling really ambitious and thought he'd take the four oldest, but we ultimately decided this outing would be best reserved for just our firstborns. I knew that my boy would be ecstatic to learn of their plans, and I waited until I woke him from his nap to tell him the surprise. Mel and I had packed dinner baggies for the two of them, and we sent them off at 5:00 for the show!

After that, we tried to decide what we wanted to do with ourselves and our remaining children. Once everyone was up, Mel ran to the grocery store to pick up some things for dinner, while I played upstairs with the Murph, Porter Boy, Wrighty Pie, and Maloney Baloney.

Showing her cousin some love. :)

Porter taking Baby for a stroll.

Just love this cuppy cake!

While we were hanging out in the playroom, Malone demonstrated to her momma that she is, without a shadow of a doubt, mobile! Two days earlier, while we were packing up our house, she had crawled for very short stretches on a couple of occasions when she'd been put on the ground. Then the next day we were driving all day, so she hadn't really had any opportunity to move around. Apparently by Friday, she was rarin' to go; this girl was unstoppable!

"Must. Get. That. Egg."

Here's some video footage of our crawler in action. (As always, please excuse Mommy's annoying cheerleader voice. Gag.)

After Mel returned from her shopping trip, we fed the kids. Our own dinner plans were altered significantly when we received a call from Linds letting us know that, upon walking out to the car after Monsters Universityended, their car was dead. Mel put Wright in bed, then drove to meet them and try to jump it. I nursed Malone and laid her down, then stuck Porter and Murphy in the bath. They had fun splashing around in the tub for a bit and reading an Elephant and Piggie book together before it was their bedtime, too.

Fake/distracted smile.

I had better luck getting a grin from this lady.

It was close to 8:00 before Mel got back home with the movie crew; they hadn't had any luck jumping the car, because their cables were too short. :( However, they did have Infinity roadside assistance service, and someone could meet them at 9:00. I went ahead and bathed Kaiser (who had had a fabulous time, by the way) and got him tucked into his sleeping bag (again with no complaint, as he was pretty tired). Carter read a book with her daddy, and then she stayed in her bed, where she eventually drifted off to sleep. Linds and Mel went to take care of the car, then Linds made a stop at Burger King on his way home. The three of us stayed up chatting fairly late, until we finally were just too sleepy and called it a night.

I originally didn't know what time the kids and I would leave on Saturday, but when I learned that Jefe would be flying back to Oklahoma at 4:30 that afternoon, I decided we'd hit the road early so that we could see him again before his departure. We again woke the Lewellens sooner than we should have to say goodbye. Thankfully, even though our visit with them was short, we knew we'd be seeing them in just a few weeks when we went on vacation together!!! (More on this soon...) We're so grateful to Lindsay, Mel, and their girls for welcoming us into their home and giving us a fun place to stay in the midst of our move. Love you five!

After filling their tummies with breakfast, my babies were in good spirits for the 4-hour long drive from Charlotte to Atlanta. I'm happy to say that the second half of our road trip was very uneventful. We made one quick stop to pick up a Rockstar energy drink (Mommy was struggling to stay awake!) and another to let Kaiser go potty, didn't run into any significant traffic, and arrived in our new city by 12:15.

All four of us were so ready to hop out of the car and finally see the place that will be our home for the next year! I had of course texted and spoken with Brett the day before, and he'd reported that all had gone smoothly with the walk-through, unloading (we'd once again enlisted the help of a moving team), and purchasing a washer and dryer. He said that he thought I was really going to like our house, and he was right! It will be a perfect place for our family; once we are completely unpacked and settled, I'll be sure to take you on a tour. :)

As soon as we got home, it was eatin' time for a couple of hungry brothers and their sister.

First meal in our new kitchen!

Once everyone was fed, the kids had some time to play with Jefe and Daddy. We had only spent a day without them, but they had been missed.

Showing off her crawling skills for Jefe.

Daddy's Girl gettin' her fix.

Big Bear was unwrapped and joined in the fun.

She couldn't contain her excitement!

Around 2:00, it was time for Jefe to head to the airport (and also time for a few over-tired children to make their way to their beds for naps). I seriously cannot thank my daddy-in-law enough for taking time out of his schedule to lend a hand with this move. He was so generous to volunteer to drive the truck all the way from Pittsburgh to Charlotte, and then part of the way from Charlotte to Atlanta. He did more than his fair share of work helping with loading and unloading. We couldn't have done it without you, Jefe, and only wish that we'd had more time to hang out with you!

His grandkids are hoping he and Nana come see them soon!

Before the guys took off, I asked Jefe if he'd mind snapping our first family picture here. Amazingly enough, we got a shot of everyone looking on the very first try!

And so, let the Bralys' Adventures in the ATL officially begin...

PA to GA - Part 1

Despite our previous late night, everyone in the Braly Casa was up and at 'em pretty early Wednesday morn. The day that Kaiser had been looking forward to with such excitement (and talking about to anyone with ears to listen) was finally here! Brett left shortly after 7:00 to go meet his dad at the airport; Nana was taking an early flight back to OKC, but Jefe was sticking around to help with our move. After dropping her off, the guys went to Home Depot, then headed home with our massive 26-foot long Penske truck. Brett is a master maneuverer; he managed to easily drop off the car carrier trailer in our cul-de-sac, then get the truck parked perfectly on the street in front of the house. Of course, a certain pair of brothers were thrilled to see Daddy pull up and jumped at the opportunity to explore the inside of the vehicle.

Just making sure the ramp was stable.

We were expecting three guys from Two Men & a Truck to help us load some of our larger pieces of furniture (because, though they are strong, I knew my hubby and daddy-in-law couldn't manage our piano without help). The team had received bad directions and got pretty turned around, but eventually made it to our house around 10:30 and set to work. While they were busy padding + wrapping + lifting crazy heavy pieces + working their Tetris magic to get everything packed in the truck, I tried my best to keep the boys out of their way. Of course, Kaiser and Porter quickly tired of watching movies on the portable DVD player in their room and were itchin' to get out and play. Mellow Malone was relatively happy being passed back and forth between Jefe and me, as each of us helped with the packing and loading.

Around 10:00, our friends Jen, Michael, and Lydia stopped by to pick up our lawnmower (which was finding its new home with Jen's mom) and to say goodbye. Then at 10:30, we got a visit from Kaiser's preschool classmate, Emily, her mom, Jill, and her sister, Rachel. Jill wanted to deliver homemade carrot cake pancakes, chocolate chip cherry scones, and raspberry crumble bars for our road trip -- so very thoughtful of her! The little people ran around in the front yard for a few minutes while the mommies chatted. Before they left, Emily asked Kaiser if he wanted to be pen pals with her. I had to clarify a bit what that meant, but he agreed. :)  

Can't wait to start writing letters!

I had made arrangements with Meaghan to bring the boys to her place to hang out that afternoon, so about noon I left Daddy and Jefe to supervise the truck-loading and headed over there with the kids. It had been going on two months since Kaiser and Porter had seen their buddy Austin (they had been with family in Texas, then on vacation in Florida), and they were beside themselves that they not only got to play with him all day, but even got to stay for dinner and spend the night! When we got there, they all scarfed down lunch immediately, then it was straight outside to tool around in the Caddy.

Kaiser was all business in the driver's seat.

Both of my sons barely gave me a second glance as I said goodbye to them; they were just too excited to be with Miss Meaghan and Austin! I took Miss Malone home with me so that I could tape up the remaining boxes and clean up a bit. By the time I got back, the truck was completely loaded (we'd ended up hiring the Two Men & a Truck guys for three full hours, and boy was it worth it!) and Brett and Jefe had left to run a couple of small errands. I laid Malone down for her nap and got busy. As it turns out, I had a lot more still left to do than I'd first thought. I was exhausted, sick with a sore throat/congestion/cough, and emotionally spent; when faced with the tasks of vacuuming, sweeping, mopping, and cleaning bathrooms, I just about lost it. Okay, so maybe I did lose it. :-/ Thank goodness I have such an understanding, patient husband, because when he came home, he definitely witnessed an ugly meltdown. With his help, I managed to pull it together somewhat and realize that I the house didn't need to be perfect (even though I really, really wanted it to be). 

After a while, Brett and his dad left again to go park the truck for the night, then returned with Arby's for dinner. We ate on the living room floor, shoved the last few things in our vehicles, and, at long last, were ready to leave. As I walked through each room of the house one more time, I couldn't help but get choked up. Brett and I had brought our three beautiful babies home to this house. We had done so much living and loving and memory-making in this house. As anxious as we've been to get back "home" once all of his medical training is done, this place had been home for five years. And, despite some unexpected (and expensive) overhauls that had to take place, it really was such a good home to us.

I will miss these rooms.

We took a few more farewell pictures as we made our way out the door and into our cars.

All eyes on her Jefe.

My big strong man + My lil baby girl.

Wish I'd thought to get a picture of all five of us!

Final view from our front yard.

502 Fieldcrest, it's been fun.

Still smiling after a long day!

At this point, we parted ways; the guys were going to the Hyatt to stay for the night, and the girls were joining Kaiser and Porter at the Edwardses' house. We didn't arrive until right before bedtime. The boys had just taken a bath and had not had any fun at all. 

I kid. They had tons of fun. :)

Once Meaghan and I got sleeping arrangements figured out, I nursed Malone and put her to bed, then tucked Porter into bed in the room next door. Kaiser stayed up a little longer to read with Austin, then he went down in the same room as Malone. Mark, Meaghan, and I chatted until late, then finally threw in the towel. I was kind of excited to sneak into bed with Porter, as we've never co-slept before and I thought it would be sweet to snuggle with him. Umm, notsomuch. That kid is a wild sleeper! He wouldn't stop hitting and kicking me, and at one point in the night, he fell out of the bed. Whoops! Luckily he recovered pretty well and was asleep again in no time. Then about 3:00, when I awoke to him completely turned upside down in the bed, pounding me in the face with his foot, I decided that I should probably find another place to rest.

Sorry it didn't work out, Bud.

I got a couple more hours of sleep on the living room couch before waking up early on Thursday to shower and get ready for our day of driving. The kiddos were all up around 7:00, so I got them dressed and ready, too. We planned to rendezvous with Daddy and Jefe in Washington, PA, which was about an hour drive from where we were. The entire Edwards clan awoke and were downstairs shortly before 8:00 to say goodbye. We love the four of them so darn much. Thankful that theirs were the last necks we got to hug on our way out!

This kid had better come visit us. Or else. :)

On the drive to Washington, I gave Kaiser and Porter their milk cups and served them up some of Jill's carrot cake pancakes, which were very car-friendly and yummy, too! We met up with our truckers in the Walmart parking lot at 9:00. Our original plan was for me to drive with the minis the whole day, while Brett and his dad took turns driving the truck; however, my hubby had offered the night before (right after my meltdown) to take the wheel of the minivan for the first leg of our trip, and I gladly took him up on it. We let Jefe start driving, since he wouldn't be able to travel as fast hauling the car trailer, while we gassed up and got some Starbucks. Then, finally, our family of five was officially Georgia-bound!

"Adios, Pittsburgh!"

It was smooth sailin' for the next few hours as we traveled south through Pennsylvania and West Virginia. We put Toy Story and then The Land Before Time on the DVD player, which kept the 2 1/2 and 4 1/2 year old members of our crew happily occupied. Meanwhile, their sister went from jabbering, to hollering, to wailing, to out cold for a solid stretch of time. Hallelujah. 

All smiles watching Buzz and Woody.

Momma's view of Sleeping Beauty.

Around noon we touched base with Jefe and decided to all stop for lunch. We ended up in a gas station Subway. The six of us took our time eating and stretching our legs before getting back on the road. 

"Whadya say I take a turn driving the truck?"

Brett and I had assumed that he would hop in the truck with his dad and I would take over in the minivan from there, but Jefe insisted that he didn't mind driving and would stay behind the wheel. He suggested that we take the lead and head on to Charlotte (where we were stopping to stay the night with our beloved cousins!), and he would catch up with us later. When we climbed back in the van and looked at the map on my phone, it told us we'd be in Charlotte around 5:30, so I texted Mel to let her know we should be able to make it for dinner. Not too far into our drive, however, we started hitting some killer traffic. We'd make it through a rough patch and think it was the end, only to hit yet another. Some of it was unexplainable, but the longest stretch (17 miles!) was due to a lane being shut down on the highway. Thank goodness for the DVD player, which entertained the boys with Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella, but even movies started to get old after a while...

Weary travelers.

At least the view was pretty while we were at a stand-still.

It was clear to us after some time that we would not be in Charlotte in time to eat dinner with our cousins. :( Around the 5 o'clock hour, Malone started to scream, and I knew that she was starving, so I finally resorted to pulling her out of her car seat and nursing her in the front seat. (Not the safest thing, I know, but we were barely moving and there were no exits in sight. A momma's gotta do what a momma's gotta do!) Kaiser and Porter were getting hungry, too, so we finally stopped at a McDonald's about an hour and a half north of Charlotte. The boys dined upon Happy Meals (their very first!) and loved the light-up car and motorcycle toys that came with them. Meanwhile, our girl made a bowl of black beans and a container of pureed green beans disappear.

It was close to 8:00 before we finally pulled up to the Lewellen house. What a relief it was to see their faces after such a long day! Carter Lilly greeted us in the driveway and quickly hurried away with Kaiser and Porter. While they made a trip upstairs to the playroom, the adults took a minute to catch up a bit.

Sweet Murphy Girl had just gone to bed, but got up to greet us.

After getting our bags out of the car, my top priority was to get the kids dressed in their jammies and tucked in for the night. Malone was first, followed by Porter, who hadn't slept a wink all day and was begging for some rest. They both fell asleep almost immediately. Kaiser stayed up just a while longer, since he had napped briefly in the car. He and Carter watched a short show in the kitchen while his siblings went down.

He was clearly very into it.

Soon I informed Kaiser that it was his turn for bed and was met with absolutely no resistance. Despite the fun he was clearly having, he turned to his cousin and said, "Hey Carter, I have to go to bed, okay?" (If only it were always that easy!) Once he was cuddled up on his air mattress in the guest room, I came back downstairs and joined in on the conversation with Lindsay, Mel, and Brett.

I'm not exactly sure what time it was, but eventually Brett and I left so that I could take him to meet his dad. The two of them were staying in a hotel for the night (so that they had a place to park the truck) and were driving out at about 4:00 the next morning to make it to Atlanta for a 9:00 walk-through of our rental house. We had decided that while they got us unloaded/semi-unpacked on Friday, I would remain in Charlotte with Kaiser, Porter, and Malone. That way we wouldn't be struggling to find ways to keep them out of the way; plus, we got to spend a full day with some of our favorite family members! I figured that after all of the craziness of the weeks leading up to then, I the kids deserved a little bit of fun. :)

Graduation Night

I think it goes without saying that we had been looking forward to the evening of June 18th for quite some time. :) After five years of crazy rotations and grueling hours, my amazing, intelligent, hardworking husband finally completed his orthopaedic surgery residency! We were so excited to celebrate Brett and his coworkers and all that they had accomplished in their time at UPMC. 

I wouldn't describe graduation as a kid-friendly event, and unfortunately Miss Megan works late on Tuesdays, so Kacia and Andy came to the rescue and agreed to take all of the Braly Babes for the night. Kaiser, Porter, and Malone couldn't wait to eat dinner, play, take baths, and get tucked into bed at their house. I took the trio over to the Hosmers' right after naptime (though Kaiser was the only one of the bunch who'd managed to get any solid rest). Mommy got to stick around and visit with Miss Kacia for a bit while we waited for Daddy to arrive from work.

Precious pair.

Doting on Harlow's baby doll.

Unfortunately, Brett got caught in traffic coming home from the hospital; as soon as he walked in the door, he rushed to get changed into his suit and tie as quickly as possible. We kissed our minis goodbye, thanked our friends, and hit the road. Jefe and Nana had flown into town that afternoon, so we needed to pick them up at their hotel on the North Shore before heading to the Duquesne Club downtown for dinner. There was a cocktail hour beginning at 6:00, for which we weren't too terribly late. It was a nice time to catch up with some friends and for Brett to introduce his dad to some of the attendings who have played such a huge role in his training these past five years. After 30-45 minutes of drinks and chatting, we made our way upstairs into the dining room. There we had some more time to mill around and visit before dinner was served. We scored a table with two of Brett's classmates and their families, and had a lovely time sitting with them.

The Drs. Braly and their wives.

Dave, Jess (+ Baby Lunardini, due in September), and Dave's parents.

Barrett and Shailen (+ Barrett Jr., due in July).

My hubby's best buddy.

As we wrapped up our delicious dinner, the graduation ceremony got started. First up was recognizing the fellows in each orthopaedic specialty. Then it was time to introduce each of the residents, share a few "interesting" (in other words, completely random) facts about them, and talk about their contributions to the program. When it was Brett's turn, the department chair explained that he was from Oklahoma, yet had never actually seen Oklahoma! the musical. Dr. Fu then proceeded to ask him to sing a song from the show, as well as ask him a trivia question about which Oklahoma! actor was from Pittsburgh. (Brett was clueless, and ironically enough, the answer Dr. Fu announced wasn't even correct. Awkward!)

Sometimes all you can do is laugh. :)

On to more serious matters...

After Dr. Fu spoke, Dr. Deeney, the residency director, said a few words about Brett, as well. Brett was one of two residents in the role of administrative chief, so he worked pretty closely with Dr. D putting out fires handling some administrative issues this past year. 

After each of the nine residents had been spotlighted, it was time for the presentation of the Golden Apple, a coveted award given to an outstanding attending physician selected by the graduating class. This year the Golden Apple was awarded to Dr. Lee, an amazing spine surgeon who has had a huge influence upon Brett these past few years. Brett had the honor of presenting the award to Dr. Lee on behalf of his class. 

You could tell he was surprised and touched. 

Best picture I got of their class.

As always, the program ended with the graduating residents presenting Dr. Fu with a gift. This year, they each chose one of many random iPhone photos that their director had emailed out to the department during his world travels (long, humorous story behind this); then, they had the pictures made into wine labels and gave him nine bottles of wine. In addition, they had the labels and a group photo framed and matted to be hung in the ortho "Hall of Fame" with gifts from previous years' classes.

The finished product. 

And, just like that, graduation was over! Several people stood around chatting, posing for pictures, and saying goodbyes for a while afterward. 

So glad Brett's dad and Cindy could be there with us!

Steve & Kim (& Jackson) are headed to fellowship at Emory, too. 

Excited to do life in the South with this fun family!

The Real (Ortho) Housewives of Atlanta.

Spine Studs.

They're not as cool as they think they are. ;)

Absolutely could not be more proud of my man.

He astonishes me each and every day.

Blessed to be on this journey with him! 

Eventually all of us stragglers made our way out the door of the Duquesne Club. Brett and I dropped Jefe and Nana off at their hotel, then swung by the Hosmers' to pick up our little people. Much to our surprise, Kaiser and Porter were still awake, despite it being past 10:30. Pretty sure our firstborn was 100% to blame for this. (Thanks again for putting up with their shenanigans, K & A!) 

Mommy took the babies home and got them tucked into bed for good, while Daddy headed back out for one last drink with his buddies. Part of me thought he was absolutely crazy to be going out so late, but as someone who got fairly emotional about some of her goodbyes, I understood. I stayed up to do some last-minute packing/prepping for the following morning, and shortly after Brett got home and went to bed, I laid down, too. We both needed to make sure we got at least a few hours of sleep before the full day that lay ahead of us...