moving to granby

It has been five years since we moved here to Granby, Colorado and I can't think of a more perfect way to kick off my new blog than this highlight video. Nate made this shortly after we moved in and I'm glad he did. It starts at our house in St. Louis with some friends helping us disassemble the rock climbing wall he built in his spare bedroom and the sound studio he built in his basement. I think that was an important time for my husband because undoing those spaces sort of forced him to let go of the past in order to move forward with his new wife and start dreaming new dreams. He had lived in St. Louis his whole life, 31 years at that point, and he had built a lot there, both inside and outside of his house. I was a seasoned wanderluster myself, familiar with the growing pains of moving away from the important people and things in each place, keeping only what could fit in and on top of a car. This time I had a partner and we moved much more than a carload.

Since my husband was a mechanic we bought this 24-foot yellow moving truck, which we affectionately called "Big Bird," AKA, "Banana Boat." We packed it full of Nate's tools, gadgets and homemade furniture, our clothes, my grandparent's dresser and our circle couch. We figured, when it was all said and done, we probably ended up about $350 ahead after we sold her, fuel and repairs included, but we paid for it in our time and we also bought some stories along the way. Driving from St. Louis to Kansas City normally takes four hours but took us ten thanks to some issues under the hood. We thought we might never make it out west.

We were pulling my Corolla behind Big Bird on a car dolly at that point, but parted ways in Kansas City so I could go ahead to Denver, where I closed on the Church House at a title company downtown. I waited there another 24 hours for Nate as more mechanical troubles plagued the Banana Boat just outside the Kansas/ Colorado border and he limped her in to the next exit, by the skin of his teeth and the light of a flashlight, after the headlights went out in the middle of the stormy night.

We finally met up, we were finally both in Colorado and the Church House was officially ours. All that was left was to drive up into the mountains and open the door to our new home. Our new life.

If you have about seven spare minutes, take a look at the video and feel our anticipation during the long, eventful drive and the excitement of opening our doors for the first time. Follow the adventures of our dashboard bobble-head, Carmen, and the curiosity of our pets, Max, Stella and Happie. This was the beginning of it all. This was when we got to open what we believe to be one of God's greatest gifts to us, which should be noted, was not delivered on a silver platter.