(baby laughing)
- [Chris] Future days - Look at this.
- [Chris] Did you just solve that?
- Yeah
- [Chris] Oh wow, you're very smart.
Very clever boy, solving the Rubik's cube.
(soft music playing)
(soft music continues)
- Good morning everyone.
- Good morning, everyone.
(kids collectively shouting)
- Good morning.
- Good morning everyone.
(Luke's excitement screams)
- Good morning, everyone
- [Luke] Good mor-
- Today is an exciting day.
(Luke babbling)
(playful screams)
We finally have figured out housing, I think.
Bailey is packing up her guitar, ready to go.
(soft music playing)
- So it has been quite the whirlwind.
The way we were packing was because we thought it was likely
that we were gonna take basically
one carload full of our things to a city.
We thought we were gonna be in like the Anaheim area,
because it was all I could find housing wise.
That whole plan got very much changed.
And Teddy look at him holding on by little hand
he's so precious, you're so precious my angel
- [Luke] Yay.
- Did you know how precious you are?
So we've been learning a lot about homeowner's insurance
and the process.
In the past I feel like if we've ever had like an issue,
like when we've evacuated
or we had a long, long, long, long, long, long time ago
we had a leak that was our fault.
In a different house, like before a lot of these children
and basically Christopher and I have always
assumed the responsibility.
Like we've kind of taken,
we've been the ones that have had to kind of like
deal with the things ourselves.
(Luke babbling)
(indistinct)
(Jessica laughs)
So that's what we're used to.
So throughout this process,
we've experienced now filing a claim with insurance
and then waiting for that claim to be approved,
which is like a whole different thing
because they can not approve things.
Once that is approved,
insurance can actually help find housing.
They were saying, "We'll start looking on VRBO,
start looking at Airbnb, see what's available."
And I was looking at that and in like full panic mode,
because as I talked about,
the prices were very steep for those places,
for the long-term housing that we were being told
that we needed to be looking for.
So at this point,
the insurance stepped in
and they have a whole team of people
that like on their own look for housing
and housing that specifically kind of around
and in existence for people in our circumstance.
We found a house that is more within the insurance budget
(Jessica laughs)
and that isn't the exorbitant price range
that I was finding on the sort of
like vacation rental things.
So, today is moving day.
We have a home, we've signed a three month lease form,
that could be extended.
I've seen it in the comments already,
people having like their own ideas of how long it could
may or may not take for our house.
But the insurance has looked at it very closely.
And they've said that it's going to be
at least three months of work if not longer.
(Teddy crying)
Hey baby bear.
You okay?
Oh thank you Bailey, cuddle bugs.
It is a lot.
It's not just like,
"Oh, we're swapping out floors or things like that."
They have to actually like cut out and replace dry wall,
what I'm hearing and we'll see.
We're all getting used to being flexible
and things changing and different professionals telling us
like what is and is not necessary.
But what I'm hearing is that
basically the whole bottom floor needs to have new flooring,
except for this tile, right at the entrance.
Sorry you probably can't see it,
'cause we're packing and there's stuff in the way
but the tile right there
that looks like it's probably gonna stay.
And then around the whole bottom level,
including the kitchen, including this room
(Jessica laughing)
with the evil carpet.
We'll need new form.
Basically the other side flooded, went into that closet
and I didn't think about this,
but it just, the water just kept going, right?
Like to me, I'm like, "Oh, it's a wall."
It is (laughs).
But that's not the case
like, it keeps going and soaking through.
So it's soaked through into that zone
and there's moisture on this wall here
and in up to that that like carpeted zone here.
So, it went through all that,
it went through the kitchen.
It's like the whole kitchen is gonna get torn up.
All the cabinets are gonna be taken out
because they were up against the walls
that retain moisture from the,
all the water coming through and yeah it was a lot.
I've also seen people ask about like,
turning off the water when it happened.
It wasn't a case of like water flowing.
It was, I believe, I don't understand washing machines.
I don't totally know what I'm talking about.
But as far as I know,
the washing machine filled all the way up with water,
like it was supposed to
and it was a large capacity washing machine
because we have a large family
and it basically filled up with water.
And instead of like unloading that water into proper places,
it just unloaded the water into our house.
So like, it wasn't like a matter of shutting off water.
It was a matter of like water's now just,
has just immediately flowed into our house.
So that's what happened.
They have sent people who inspected it officially
and they were like,
"Yeah, this is a defect with the machine."
I see it.
Like, they were very clear,
like, "We see exactly what's going on."
And I've also seen people being like,
"You should sue the washing machine company."
And I think the way that this works is that
that's what the insurance will ultimately do.
So like the insurance takes care of us,
so we don't have to worry about anything else.
And then the insurance recoups their costs
by going to the washing machine company and being like,
"Hey guys, what are you doing here with this machine?"
So I believe that that's the process
and how this is all going to work.
I am learning a lot.
I am taking it all in as it happens
and trying to be flexible
and trying to be understanding and to have patience.
And also trying to imagine
that this whole space that we live in,
that we're used to,
at some point, we're gonna walk in here
and it's gonna be demolished.
Like it's just gonna be gone.
Like we're right now, packing to move.
And we're used to doing this for like travel and vacation.
We're not used to doing this
and then like our whole house is gone.
So I feel like, I'm trying to explain that to the kids
and trying to explain it to myself
and like kind of absorb that
because it's very odd to me that like,
this is not gonna be the same ever again.
Like this is just gone.
This is where we've had like three little babies
and it's just gonna change, huh guys?
I think after all this it'll be beautiful
and it'll be amazing and we'll love it.
Like it's gonna be so great.
It's just gonna be very different, you know?
- Yeah
- You know, we can go roller skating in the house.
- [Jessica] (laughing) Well, I don't know about that.
- We're definitely going roller skating mom.
- I mean like, biking in the house. Why not?
- [Jessica] (laughing) No that's not,
- Mom.
that's not the point of all this.
- We're biking in the house.
- Definitely biking in the house.
- Yeah.
- [Jessica] (laughs) Yeah, biking in the house.
Are you guys all packed?
- Yes.
- No
- Yes.
- [Jessica] No? - Duncan's not
- [Jessica] Oh we'll be back.
Don't worry about it.
So the main thing that's really different about today
than when I was originally planning to pack is that,
we're not staying in the same town,
but we're staying close enough
that we can take multiple trips today
and I think tomorrow, before we lose access,
I'm really grateful for that
and I'm also grateful that we've been trying every day,
we've been told like,
"Oh, you might be moving in now,
you might be doing something now."
And like, we've been like kind of on the verge
of packing up and leaving into a mystery home
that we don't know what it is.
But in that time, I've been trying to use it as productively
as I can by packing things up in the garage.
We've actually been like decluttering
and donating things for months.
So I feel like somewhat prepped for this.
And I am also like really inspired to do more of that
and just like get our life really streamlined
and happy for ourselves.
And I feel like we're in a pretty good place.
And I'm excited about today.
It's moving day.
Oh my goodness!
- So this is our 15 passenger van.
And it's pretty stuffed right now.
Might be able to fit a few more light things up top.
One thing I'm really looking forward to at this new place
is that it has a working washing machine.
We're a big family.
It's hard to keep up with us,
with babies puking or diapers leaking or beds being wet.
There's just, we end up having a lot of laundry,
not to mention that every day.
There's at least one outfit per person that gets dirty.
And towels and all that stuff.
It's just, it adds up.
So there's a lot of dirty laundry in here
and that is one of our priorities
for our first run to the house.
Okay, this is actually our second unload here
at the new house.
We'll give you a full tour of the house in the next video,
but I did want to show you this.
This is definitely in farm country.
Look at the view here.
Oh my goodness!
That's gonna be fun to see every day.
The house we own has a nice view too,
but this is like, this is very serene and lovely.
I like it a lot.
- [Jessica] Hey.
- [Chris] Hi, how's the unpacking going?
- Oh, we're working very hard (laughs).
- [Chris] It seems like it.
You guys are out here unpacking.
- Yeah, we finished.
- So this is the backyard area.
I dropped Jessica and Bailey off earlier
with a load of stuff.
Mostly Bailey's stuff and some laundry.
And now we're switching.
Bailey's gonna come back with me.
Parker's gonna stay here.
And we're just doing this like kid shuffle
as we unload the van and load up the van.
- I was equating this to the the riddle
about the Fox having to go across the,
like the river in a canoe with a lamb,
without the Fox eating the lamb
and Christopher didn't know what I was talking about.
- [Bailey] I know what you're talking about.
- It's a thing.
I swear it's a thing.
Anyway that's what I was equating it to.
But I didn't have the whole full story.
Like in my head,
I was just like, it's like that Fox canoe story.
So if you know that riddle, please share it with us.
And I'm going to see if we can trick,
either Bailey or Christopher
or any of the other people in this house
that don't know the answer to that riddle.
So they can figure out how to get the Fox across the lake,
and the lamb across the lake without getting eaten.
- Okay. So this is our house.
Ta-daa!
I love it so much.
It's so great.
I was unpacking and then my mom was like,
"Hey come here."
Our neighbor is here.
And so I was like, "Oh, hi."
And I said hi to my neighbor.
And we had a really nice time.
He's eight too, so yeah.
And then I was like, oh yay.
And then we unpacked it and then it was fun.
So yeah, I wanna say hi to the horses again soon.
The house is really awesome.
I want to show you a tour of my bedroom
Okay.
Let's go do it.
Okay, I'm gonna turn off the fan 'cause,
first thing we have, oh, this is my book.
It's called Third Grade Detectives.
Got my slam!
Fan,
another fan.
Oh wait.
It goes like that way.
(soft music playing)
That, light thing, that doesn't work.
Grandma and me.
My watch.
Then this is my bed set up.
As you can see, one second.
I love it.
Oh my gosh! My dad's here.
All of a sudden, my dad's here.
My baby yoda alexa, that I got two years ago,
then this that I got from Cassandra,
these baby yoda dolls.
Then my baby yoda cup.
Just a little small tour of my bedroom.
Oh, ah, so yeah, yeah.
Bye.
Here's my dad
- Okay.
I've been taking trips back and forth all day.
It is now getting dark.
And I thought we were near the end of being at this house,
but we tried using the internet at the new house
and it wasn't working.
So we had to rush back here because
Duncan had a cooking class online
and he couldn't get into it.
He was all set up to do it at the new house.
And we rushed back here
and now he's doing it here at this house
and he's making brownies.
You don't want to miss out on that.
(upbeat music playing)
All right, we are not totally moved in,
but we're calling it.
We're done.
We're done going back and forth for the day.
We are in the new house.
This is where we're sleeping for tonight
and then tomorrow we're gonna try
and pick up some more stuff.
The one big issue that we're having is internet,
it doesn't seem to work.
So we've gotta figure that out.
They're saying that it is working.
And if it is working, it's just not gonna work.
We did a speed test and it's like 0.09 megabytes.
Like it's barely internet.
So we're not sure, we're gonna look into some options
on what we can do to maybe make the internet better here
or going home to the other house
and just sitting in the backyard
and using the good internet that we have there.
'Cause we have like really good internet at our house.
We're trying to figure it out.
But at any rate, if you're watching this,
that means we've figured something out
and we're able to upload it.
So, yay!
I am so tired.
That was so much lifting and back and forthing.
And like dealing with kids at the same time
and like shifting nap times and all this stuff.
But we're happy to be here now.
And I can't wait to show you the place,
'cause there's like,
there's so much cool stuff happening here that,
it's just gonna be a really cool place to be
for a little while.
So I'm very happy.
Very tired.
Good night.
Hey, good morning, everyone.
Oh! It's gonna get bright.
I got bright.
Here you go.
Take this little baby
We gonna load him up in the car.
- [Parker] Honestly, - There you go.
- [Parker] That's all we need to do.
- All right.
We are headed back to the old house.
Obviously, we're gonna do another back and forth day today.
So as I said, last night,
the internet is still not working.
And so we are going back to our house for the kids
to do their online classes.
We're still working on the internet.
Hopefully, we'll get internet going at this house
to a speed where the kids can do their online classes.
But as it is right now, it's just not possible.
So let's go back to the old house.
Something I mentioned in an earlier vlog was
that we need to move a bunch of stuff out of the way
so they could do the work on the flooring.
I was wrong.
I'm learning, I'm learning how this all works.
So stuff like this bookshelf,
the insurance company actually hired someone to move
and store all this stuff and work on the floors
and then do like,
it all happens through the insurance company.
So as you can see, there's a wall of books still here.
We don't have to deal with it.
So that's nice.
That's nice to know.
Bailey's in a class,
Duncan's in a class.
We've been packing up the car.
As soon, as the classes are done,
we're going to go back to the new house,
unload and then come back here
and do some more organizing and stuff.
And then we won't come back here
until they've done a bunch of work on the house.
So, we wanna stay out of their way.
It's gonna be messy in here.
It's gonna be not livable.
It's gonna be noisy.
There's gonna be people coming in and out
to do construction work and we just,
we aren't gonna be here for that.
We're gonna be at the new house.
All right, it is actually a couple of days in the future.
(Luke's happy noises)
Couple days in the future.
Future days.
- Look at this.
- [Chris] Did you just solve that?
- Yeah.
- [Chris] Oh wow, you're very smart.
Very clever boy, solving the Rubik's cube.
- Yeah, yeah.
- [Chris] Yeah.
(happy dancing and singing)
Are you doing the Rubik's cube dance?
(happy dancing and singing)
Rubik's cube dance, Rubik's cube dance.
This has been a difficult move.
Moving in general, it's a difficult thing to do.
- [Jessica] And who would have thought it would be difficult
for two adults whilst also supervising
six children in the process.
- It's true.
Today's felt like the first quasi manageable day,
like yesterday and the day before I was just like,
I can't, I'm done, I'm done.
I just can't do this.
But today it felt better.
- We have split pea soup in the Instant pot right now.
We did end up grabbing our Instant pot and bringing that.
There was a lot of that sort of thing.
Where we'd be like, "Hey, do we need that Kitchenaid mixer?"
And we'd throw like another thing in the car
just because, it is kind of like a move,
but it's kind of not.
And we've just been like,
"Man, what do we need for three months?"
And what can we just grab and stick in the car?
We've been going back and forth all the time anyway,
because it's the only way for us to have internet right now.
And we've needed it for kids classes
and for Luke's therapies.
So we've been going back and forth and we've been like,
"Hmm, what should we just throw in the car this trip?"
So we have our Instant Pot and it is making expensive soup-
(Luke's excitement shouting)
- [Jessica] Hey, Rubik's cube man.
(Luke making playful noises)
- [Jessica] Are you excited for soup today?
Yeah?
(Luke making playful sounds)
So it's funny because I thought that this experience
was going to be this like minimalistic,
like almost camping like thing.
And it's turning into us at this giant kitchen
with all of our things.
- Camping life.
- Camping life (laughs),
'cause we're camping.
I feel like the only thing,
the only thing that kind of makes it,
like, I keep thinking it's like camping
because we're surrounded by nature and it feels very rural.
It's almost like a remote feeling, rural feeling.
Even the weather feels a little different.
I feel like I'm getting chapped lips and dry skin
and I feel, you know, rugged and kind of dirty.
(laughing) Most-
- [Chris] We're roughin' it.
- We're roughin' it.
- [Chris] From the kitchen (indistinct)
- Well, I just mean like,
I think the dirtiness is from sweat of like working nonstop
and not sleeping and unpacking
and like doing all this stuff.
So like, it feels like you're setting up for a camp out,
but we're in this like total cool house.
So we're not really camping.
And I miss my friends that I would camp with.
That's different too, but there's a lot of horse riding.
(Luke singing)
- [Jessica] He got your shoe.
- [Chris] He's just collecting things as he goes.
He's like got the Rubik's cube,
got the horse, got this shoe,
went for your phone for a second.
- [Jessica] He's very Steve Martin.
(playful music playing)
(kids laughing)
(upbeat music playing)