On Tuesday my parents will be driving out of the driveway of my childhood home, the home my dad and grandpa built, one last time as they head up to northern Idaho to start their next adventure. For as long as I can remember, my parents have been talking about moving up here, closer to their girls and more importantly, their precious grandkids. I am so excited for them as they start this new journey and build a house in a town they have grown to love over the past year or so. To think that they will be a 5-hour drive away instead of 13 hours is amazing and exciting.
At the same time, this is bittersweet and feels so weird. Weird that Auburn will no longer be called home, my trips to Auburn will be no more and I will never step foot inside the house that I lived in basically my whole childhood. There are so many wonderful memories there, which I will get to in a bit. Ultimately, I am so thankful that my parents raised us in such a great small town and that we had a great house and yard that we were able share with our friends. I am so thankful for the schools I was able to go to, the church I grew up in and all of the amazing people that loved on my family throughout the years. I am so thankful for my childhood and this precious house that helped make it so great.
I was six when my dad was building this house and I remember always wanting to go with him to the property to 'help'. I would bring my sleeping bag and take a nap in what would be my room. I would walk around the property, smashing acorns and climbing trees. I would build houses with the bricks that were leftover and just have a blast being outside, most importantly, being with my dad.
There are so many memories at this house from sleepovers to swimming parties to graduation parties and everything else in between. My best childhood friend, Katie, moved away while I was in this house and I remember that on the days her family would come back into town, I would sit in the front window of the dining room of our house and sing, "She'll Be Coming Around the Mountain" waiting in anticipation for her car to drive up and for us to be reunited once again. Katie and I would build the best forts out of blankets in my room. My friend, Gentry, would come over just about every Sunday and we would play dolls. My friend, Emily, would come over just about as often as she could and we would play games, go swimming, talk about boys, etc. Then there's my friend Jen who, during jr. high and school, would come over for sleepovers and so much more. I really did have the best friends and I love that my house was a place that all of my friends felt welcome and always wanted to be at.
It was in this house that I caught my dad in a weak moment and was able to get a cat. Precious was not the nicest cat, but I loved him and he loved our yard. It was this house that I have so many precious memories of my sweet Grammy and Grampy coming over for holiday and birthday meals. This was the house that Littlemom and Dadell would drive up to every summer as they came to pick us up so we could be with them down in Anaheim for a week or two. It was this house that had an amazing woods beyond the back yard where my sisters and I would go exploring and also walk to the Fortune's house. It was also this house that we would buy a Christmas tree from the tree farm behind our house and simply throw the tree over our fence to get it home. It is this house that we would walk down to the train for San Francisco day trips. We would walk around the neighborhood, walk to the store in the snow and walk to Starbucks. There are so many great, rich memories at this house that I will always remember and be thankful for.
Here are some precious pictures I found of memories in this house.
Thankfully, I was able to go home one more time last month and I am so glad I did. Playing outside in our beautiful backyard with my sweet nephews, taking trips to Grammy and Grampy's house (which was also sold), eating at Taco Tree and making trips 'down the hill'. I am thankful for Auburn and so glad that is where my parents chose to raise my sisters and I.
I am so very excited for my parents to start on their new adventure and I am so very thankful for the childhood they were able to give my sisters and I in this amazing house. I am blessed.
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