The things we left behind

Last weekend my parents came down to haul the boxes of stuff that we want to keep, but can't ship... i.e. picture albums, sentimental stuff, boxes of old home movies and our chest. It took us days of going through all our stuff to narrow everything down to just a couple of boxes. Luke had a very hard time going through all his school stuff and throwing away bags and bags of old home works, tests, etc.

Here are Luke and Jack going through all the old school binders:

Finally, we narrowed everything down to approx. 5 boxes and a chest.
Pretty darn good considering this is how much stuff we had when we first moved here from California...and over the last two years, we have probably added 50% more stuff.

We invested a good amount of money into a hiking backpack and stroller. Considering we most likely won't have a car, these items are going to be very necessary for us.

Here is Jack trying out the hiking backpack

Getting comfy in the new stroller:
Then, everything hit the fan on Friday when we found out that we have renters moving in May 1st. Ever since the Visa got delayed we had planned on living in our house for as long as possible. On Friday we got the email that people had put in an application for our house and that they wanted it May 1st! Getting renters was our top priority so we decided to get into gear and get our house ready. This means cleaning....lots of cleaning!
The rental management company that we are using it VERY picky. They have very high standards when it comes to cleaning, they even say we have to clean grout with a toothbrush. It's crazy! But, its also good knowing that they will keep good care of our house.
Of course, Jack can't let the house get too clean:
Mother Hubbard wouldn't be jealous of our cupboard:
I spent all day Saturday cleaning out our master bedroom. I think this is the cleanest it has ever been:

We moved all our beds downstairs into Luke's old office for the next 4 days.
We have to be out of our house by Wednesday which is nuts because the whole downstairs still needs to be cleaned, the walls patched and painted, the refrigerator & stove cleaned and the list goes on and on. Then the movers come to pack all our stuff that we are shipping to Switzerland and all we will be left with are these 3 bags which we have to live out of for at least the next two months. Talk about downsizing...