From both of us:
Day -2: pack most of van with incredibly helpful friends (Shayne, Stephanie, Brandon, Karen, Brett…thank you!!). Realize will need trailer. Make reservation for trailer and installation for trailer hitch on car. Dads arrive. Toby goes insane with excitement.
Day -1: pack more with dads’ help. Start to attempt to get rid of many belongings before deciding to get second trailer. Dinner, thankfully, with helpful friends (Shayne and Stephanie…thanks once again!). Also decide that getting to Orange County in two days is nuts. Add a day to trip.
Day 1: of course start late because of aforementioned trailer hitch installation. Emily starts to lose mind. Luckily Stephanie is there to pull loose ends and even clean the floor (!!). Dads and we are exhausted in every conceivable way.
Stay in middle of nowhere Oregon. Basically a truck stop but not too bad.
Day 2: Emily says famous last words ‘driving will be the easy part. I just hate packing.’
Stop for lunch in Yreka, CA.
Leave two days later.
(Get to know local Walmart and hotel laundry facilities since clothes are in the one car that was ahead and made it through the pass. The fact that we DO have plenty of clothes but they’re buried behind other household goods in the truck is a wee bit annoying. Spend lots of time on road condition websites, listening to radio, and talking to people.)
Day 4: Snow stops long enough to break out of town. Thrilled to be anywhere south of Redding.
Have realized that we cannot get to OC at all because of insane weather and a southern section of the 5 is closed. Plan eastern route.
Stay in small town central CA, approximately 15 feet from the freeway AND train tracks. Room shakes when large trucks go by. Promise self to never stay at that particular brand hotel again.
Day 5: Plan is to stay at AZ border, knowing that we’d arrive in Phoenix too late to get keys etc. Hit more snow on the 15. Starting to lose all humor.
Check engine light goes on as we leave Barstow. Transmission sounds normal and there are no odd smells. Cross fingers and ignore it.
Start calling Blythe hotels. Am confused when many tell me they are sold out. Start getting really frustrated. Even try hotel recently promised self to avoid. Find out a nearby ‘city’ has a large rock and mineral convention and all hotels are full. I am not joking.
Give up and book hotel in Phoenix after helpful hotel employee tells me that’s where the next hotels are.
Get to much nicer hotel where we are given two poolside cabana suites. Ahh. Now THIS is better! 
And now day 6…
Hopefully we’ll be able to actually take care of everything today and get at least a little settled. Thankfully our families have been helping us and though we’ve had plenty of changes and odd experiences we’ve had a good time with our dads. All is well. It’s all just a big adventure, right?
Sounds like quite an adventure. We were in town until Monday. Hope you guys like it better there. If you need anything Andy’s Sister Karen and her family and Andy’s Mom lives in Anthem a suburb of Phoenix. They are always willing to lend a helping hand and know lots of people around Phoenix. Watch out for scorpions while you move, especially if you move into a home that has been vacant. That is when you would run into them the most.
Wow – what an adventure! Just remember, as awful as they are in the moment, experiences like that are always the ones that make the best stories later. Hope everything goes smoothly as you get settled in!!!
Wow! That sounds like so much fun I can’t wait until we get to move again! Glad you all made it safely, at least.
My goodness, and I have been thinking that you were all settled by now. Yikes! You guys deserve some kind of reward for making it through all of that. You will be really thrilled to know that the weather in Seattle has continued to be perfect. It has been warm and sunny and no rain, isn’t life sometimes horribly ironic?
Wow! I think you guys picked the worst week to move! Sorry it was such an ordeal! Glad you guys finally made it safely to Pheonix. Good luck getting settled!