Hot Tub Magic!

I NEVER in a million years thought I would own a house that had a hot tub/pool.  I thought it was an expensive endeavor that would consume time to maintain and not as much a reward in the long run.

Well, we own a hot tub.  It came with the yellow house.  It was actually a little perk to getting this one.  But we had NO IDEA how what to do with it.

So about 3 weeks ago, I lifted the cover and noticed that the previous owners had water still sitting inside it.  I had no clue how to even turn the thing on.  I even started thinking that it would be a better use of time and money if we paid someone to just come and take it away.  So I called the experts and a guy came out to give me the quick tutorial for dummies on hot tub ownership.  He showed me how to drain it, what I would need to clean it, how to turn it ON, and which chemicals (that were on a shelf in the garage) I would actually use and when to use them.

I had to make one trip to the hot tub store to get a bottle of shock and to ask them about my filter.  There was an issue with the filter in it, so I took it out and fixed the part that was causing an issue.  I put in a new filter, cleaned the inside of the tub after the water drained, filled the hot tub back up and chemicals were added.

I may have invested around 4 hours total on this endeavor so far, but it was worth the look on my kids' faces hanging out in it.  I must confess, I too have enjoyed the hot tub a couple of times after our big hikes.

Sweets!

I have a mouth full of "sweet tooth".  Every time I visit a city, I am on the quest for either really good chocolate or cupcakes or donuts or ice cream...you get the idea.  I love sweets!  So it's no surprise that the first weekend in Spokane I started my odyssey to find the BEST!  Here's where the journey gets EPIC!

The places that I would consider AMAZING in other locations (ie Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory) are here!  So already my baseline is rather high.  I've already mentioned that there is a great bakery just a few blocks from my house, so I've even got easy access available.  But like any hero, I still must continue my mission.  So I will briefly share some of the places I have found.

• Sweet Frostings- this bakery is not only located downtown in a cozy and colorful building, but they also have a free standing location in the North Spokane Mall!  Their cupcakes are not too big or too small, the frosting is just the right height.  They offer a wide selection of flavors (birthday cake is my fave) and even make custom cakes, cookies and macaroons.
• Hello Sugar- this was a place that opened shortly before we moved here.  It's located near Kendall area, north of the river.  They have a small coffee bar inside, but the hook is they make these small cake donuts.  The donuts are all the same flavor, but the toppings is where they get creative.  They have what is called "the carousel".  It's when you get 12 small donuts in a box, each one decorated differently (the strawberry is my fave, Allie loved the hot chocolate).
• The Scoop- this is a small ice cream parlor that serves nitrogen made ice cream in a variety of interesting and some classic flavors.  The twist is the ordering sizes.  They offer a "baby cone" which is basically this little cake cone with a sample sized scoop on top.  As a bonus, they also sell brownies (which are PERFECT) and Rice Krispie treats.

I like Iced Tea!

If you know me at all, you know I like to drink iced tea...ALL THE TIME!  While we were in Boston, I discovered Dunkin Donuts.  It was perfect!  It was EVERYWHERE!  Jake LOVED their coffee.  We even got Dunkin Christmas ornaments.  Then we moved back to Wichita.

Luckily, a few years later a DD opened on the turnpike about 15 minutes from our house.  YEP!  We would get on the turnpike at least every other day, just to get coffee and iced tea.  CRAZY, right?  Don't get me wrong.  I would drink the tea from other places.  McDonald's, McAllister's, Panera, Sonic...but DD worked so well for both of us.

Then one opened just down the street from us!  It was like God was giving us this amazing blessing.  We even downloaded the app so we wouldn't need to have cash and could earn free drinks after earning so many points.  And yes, we earned free drinks quite often.

As you know, we are now living in Spokane, WA.  They don't have a DD.  And the fast food places are far and few between.  Jake has made it great, he likes Starbucks.  And "HELLO" it was originally opened in Seattle.  So you know there are a few of those around.  This is where I discover my NEW tea place.

Dutch Bros.  They are this chain of small drive up buildings that ONLY make drinks.  Jake likes their coffee too, but I LOVE the tea!!!  So does Owen.  They don't have an app, but they do have a punch card.  And YES, I have earned a few free drinks since moving here.  They also self advertise themselves at the beginning of each month by passing out "collector Dutch Bros. stickers".  I've only been here at the beginning of September and apparently they go fast, but I got September's sticker!

This morning I pulled up to the window and the guy looked at me and smiled and said, "Do you want the usual?"  I have found my Iced Tea Oasis!  Another heads up, if you visit we WILL be stopping for a drink...on me!

Manito Park

 (English Garden)

 (Japanese Garden)

(Bear Rock)

 (Secret Place)

This oasis is a BIG part of what sold our family to buy the yellow house.  I'm sure you could google Manito Park and see some really good pictures.  Even looking back at my pics that are great, don't do it half as much justice as you experience in person.

First, it is only 3 short blocks down 18th street from our house.  Bonus feature, you will walk right past Rockwood Bakery on your way to the park and they have AMAZING treats.

When you cross Grand Blvd, at a cross walk that stops traffic only driving 20 mph, you are immediately in the peace of the park.

The park is made up of several smaller themed areas.  There is the Japanese Garden, the Butterfly Garden, the Lilac Garden, the Rose Hill Garden just to name a few.  Our FAVORITE is the English Garden that is located by the green house where they grow and sell various plants.

Each area is a perfect backdrop or focal point for a photo.  (As you can see from the few I have posted)

Second, there is several places you can have events or parties at.  I have seen a puppy adoption party (basset hounds), a couple of early morning and afternoon workout groups, a dog training class, a drum circle (you read that right!) and even role playing groups (they had shields and swords!!!).  Not to mention the shelter house that's rentable for birthday/graduation/gender reveal/retirement parties that I have witnessed.

Third, the history of this park is captivating.  The designer of the Manito is the same guy that designed Central Park in NYC.  Back in the day, it even had a zoo with animals in it.  Unfortunately, the zoo wasn't properly set up for longevity and the animals are no longer residents.  But there is remnants of the ghost zoo.  We went on a "Bear Hunt" to find the rock that they had chained the bear too.  FOUND IT!  The hook is still there.

Finally, there is the future this slice of heaven.  We have heard that the hills in this park are PERFECT for sledding down in the winter.  We have dreams of doing just that with our kids and friends followed by hot chocolate at the bakery before returning home to warm up by the fire.

Now that I've tempted you with just one small gem of Spokane, let me know when you are wanting to visit.  I can promise that Manito Park will be on the must see list.

One of the reasons...

(Iller)

 (Iller)

 (Iller)

 (Iller)

 (Mt. Spokane)

 (Mt. Spokane)

(Mt. Spokane)

We chose Spokane, WA for MANY reasons to be our new home.  One of the BIG reasons was the availability of outdoor activities.  You've seen that we rafted our first trip out here as a family, that's just the start.  The park down the street from our house if a BIG reason we got the yellow house.  But that will get a post of it's own real soon.

HIKING!  In Kansas, that means go for a boring walk and don't let the wind blow you over.  Here, it's a stroll with Nature and an invitation for amazing conversations.  Over 2 of the weekends this past month, we've gone on "family hikes".  The first hike was recommended by a barista from Dutch Bros (that too will earn a separate post), Iller Creek.  The second just had to be done, Mt. Spokane.  Both locations were less than 30 minute drives from our house and Pops took it upon himself to take a few solo hikes the week leading up to the family hike to explore both locations.

I'll start with the first family hike, Iller Creek.  It was less than a 15 minute drive from our house.  Parking was right at the trail head.  The path was clearly marked, but it did have some steep parts we managed.  Several people had brought their dogs with them, which was fun.  And a couple of people even rode bikes up the trail.

The second was to Mt. Spokane.  This one was a little longer of a drive, but the trip was breath taking.  There were several trails available to us and many intersected.  We saw a cool cabin that was an original conservation station.  Saw a few dogs and a few bikers.  But the view was AMAZING within 10 minutes of the start of the hike.

We never set out to reach the top or a set destination.  But we hiked over an hour out and over an hour back at both locations.  This could easily become something we do often!

Different...but similar

(The book I am studying.)

One of the first Saturdays we were in Spokane, I told the kids we would go and check out a church.  Newspring was a HUGE part of our family's home in Wichita, so we needed to find our spiritual house here and soon.  I looked on line to find one that would offer a Saturday service, I found one!  So we went to check it out.

We saw many things that made it similar and not so similar to Newspring.  The Saturday service was one, but it only one and from 6:00-7:00.  They had a kids area, but it included 6th grade.  So Allie had to be checked in to attend her service.  They had a modern worship band that didn't use sheet music (I like that), but the auditorium was one big room with pews on a sloping floor towards a slightly higher stage.  I was used to getting to church early, but when the 2 minute count down started the room was barely half full.  However, by the time worship was over the room was over 3/4 full.

I'll be honest, that first evening there I missed my Newspring family.  I even cried during the worship.  As if sending me love from heaven, Karla Stinson texted me at that exact moment to tell me how much they missed me and pray I'm finding my church home.  Yeah, that HAD to be a God thing.

This church also offered a once a week woman's book study (I signed up, of course) and a once a month moms group (I signed up as well).  This week was the first for both, and I can honestly say I was out of my norm being a plain Jane in a crowded room of women not knowing who I was.  But there was something also very peaceful about it.  I was able to be in the moment and just open my eyes to what was around me.  And I saw that God was providing me with MANY opportunities to find my place, when I was ready to jump in.

So for now, we are giving Life Center a whole hearted try as our new spiritual home.

4 letter word...SOLD!

Well, here's our update.  The house in Wichita will close on September 28th, at 1:00 central time.  We just have to wait for them to send us the papers to sign and send back.  It has only been 4 months since we put it on the market, and I can honestly say this was TOTALLY God's plan.

The process of buying this house in Spokane has been very eventful and somewhat stressful at times. I'm not sure if selling our house during the same time would have been easier or harder.  But it has seemed much smoother being on the selling end.  And by the time we close on the Wichita Chapter, the Spokane Chapter will have become established.

The "last" load of rubbish is being hauled away today.  From shelves we have removed, to many broken down cardboard boxes, to trash bags full of crap we don't want anymore.  This move has been very "cleansing" in so many ways.

I've always heard people say that when you move, you get a chance to start FRESH.  I didn't think this was something I would ever want to do.  I LOVE my life.  Why on Earth would I want to change that?  But I now know what they mean.  I am in a new city, state, house, phase in my life.  But I still LOVE my life.  Sometimes a fresh start doesn't necessarily mean to start over.  It just means start again.

Finding my place..

This is a challenge each of us is facing.  Jake is going to work every day, learning the new computer system and discovering where his skills benefit the patients here.  Each day he gets to know more about his partners and each day I get a text about how much he LOVES it here.  He has also found a yoga studio that is AWESOME!  This is a BIG answer to prayer.

Owen is starting a new high school with kids he hasn't met before in an environment unlike one we've lived in before.  He has made Jazz Band, found 5 separate clubs to be involved with and attends boxing at a gym downtown 3 times a week.  This is a BIG answer to prayer.

Allie has made a few friends in her class.  She is in the school choir that meets before school, tried out for the school musical (and got the role as the understudy to the lead), will be on Safety Patrol starting next month and taking a Russian language class after school.  This is a BIG answer to prayer.

I have signed up for a book study at the church we have been attending on Saturdays.  They also offered a monthly moms group, that I signed up for as well.  I joined a small gym boutique that I attend classes at about 3 times a week.  I have met a few moms of other 6th graders, so we will see.  Allie's teacher asked me if I would be her room parent, she obviously didn't have any takers if she's asking the NEW mom.  Of course, I said yes!

As far as figuring out the city, I think we've all got our bearings on where to go to find the necessities.  We've even been able to take weekend hikes and trips to the farms up North.  Spokane may just be perfect place for this family.  I think we are ALL finding our place.

Upgrade

I mentioned that my AMAZING husband got me a new car, remember how I TOTALED mine the day before I was moving to Spokane?  Well, I need to elaborate as to how even in the chaos of a car accident, I firmly believe this was part of God's plan.

When Jake flew back to Wichita on August 9th, he added the job of getting the claim check that we would get for my former Highlander.  Later that week, I got a text from him telling me he found me a new car online and was going to check it out.  YEP!  I got that car.  It's a newer Highlander with TONS of upgrades.

Jake traded his mini coop in for part of the cost of this new car, which I know what a sacrifice that was.  He LOVED his MINI!  But, he would have driven the mini with Yawkey all the way to Spokane in a few weeks.  We still don't think that would have been an ideal road trip.

I probably would have gotten a newer car in a year or two, so the timing wasn't too bad.  Obviously I would have needed a new car soon.  And now Jake was able to make the epic road trip with Yawkey in style.  He even got me a Red Sox plate for it.

I've never been one to name my vehicles, but if I would...this beauty would be named PHOENIX.  It rose from the ashes of both my former car and moving plan, more improved than before.

God's Timing

On August 24th, Jake had his last day of work in Wichita.  Jake was packing the last few items, Yawkey and himself the next morning and driving my NEW car to Spokane to join us.  I say all that to through in one more element that wasn't in my plan.

On August 24th at 4:00, we had a house showing for our house in Wichita.  We've had several of these over the last few months.  But we knew that prime selling season was quickly ending if not done.  The difference this time is the house was basically empty and I wasn't there to stress about it.  So I said a prayer that if this is God's plan, the people will fall in love with our house and put in an offer.

Three days later, I get an email from our agent letting me know these people had put an offer on the house.  It was a much lower amount than we were listing it as, but we knew that this was just a jumping point to start negotiations.  Over the next 48 hours we went back and forth until we both agreed on a price.  It wasn't the dream offer, but I had faith this was God's plan.

The inspection was scheduled for September 11 at 4:00, so all we could do was celebrate this new information and wait to see what was needed to close on the sell of this house on September 28th.

I will update that the inspector found a long tedious list of things to fix.  But the buyers were extremely gracious and obviously really wanted our house.  They requested that we fix 5 things.  Our agent went through with a handyman to estimate how much those items would cost.  Being out of state, we decided to offer a settlement for the buyers to get those items fixed.  Now we wait and see if they accept the settlement.

First Day of a NEW school

Back in February, Owen and I had to pre-enroll him as a freshman at AHS.  We even did several of the steps to plan the remaining 3 years of his high school education.  Both of us felt confident that he would be getting the best education for high school.  Flash forward to now...

Owen enrolled "himself" as a freshman at Lewis & Clark (LC) High School a few weeks ago.  He chose Honors Geometry and Honors 9th English, Band and Jazz Band (which is a zero hour), AP European History, Health and Biology (he decided not to take an honors class for science).  This school houses 2000 students and is 4 stories tall.  They even have a field house that is connected to the main building via a covered walkway over the street.  The school is planning to build a third facility in the next 2 years to accommodate all the students.

Allie was REALLY looking forward to attending AMS.  She already knew the principal and several of the teachers, thanks to her brother and myself.  Her friends were talking about what they would hang in their lockers.  NOW she is attending Hutton Elementary School.  That's right, ELEMENTARY school.  In Spokane, Middle School is only 7th and 8th graders.  So Allie gets to stay one more year in grade school and I may get to be a room mom one more time.

I pray my kids make friends quickly and adjust to the new teachers/schools well.  Time will tell, but I have a good vibe about these two.

Won't you be, my neighbor

It's different not already having a community of neighbors that we know.  In Wichita, your neighbors were from the same development you lived in.  Here, we say we live on South Hill.  Which is a LOT of houses.  But I have been pleasantly surprised by the welcome we have received by the neighbors.  August 28, from 6:00-8:30, our block is being blocked off so that the neighbors from around the area can get together and visit/meet new neighbors.

So we went.  It was more fun than you would think.  I met SEVERAL neighbors, all of them saying they have been wanting to meet the family that moved into the yellow house.  The coordinator of the party was Eric Johnson, he lives 3 houses down.  He used to be an anesthesiologist at the same group Jake works at now, before he retired.  There are several neighbors that are in the medical profession.  It's easy to say, we have moved into the right neighborhood.

Even Pops and the kids mingled and met some people.  There aren't as many kids my kids' ages, but they all wanted to get to know them.  I came home that night, trying hard to keep the names of which houses straight and with 3 new phone numbers in my phone for IN CASE OF EMERGENCY.  It was a success!

Orientations

Jake was home the next day to rest and recoup.  But started orientation on Tuesday, to become familiar with the new computer systems.  Owen started band camp Monday and Tuesday evenings at Lewis & Clark High School.  It was a little odd getting a text from Jake saying he had dropped Owen off at the high school.  But not as jarring as when I dropped him off for "Freshman Orientation" that Tuesday morning.

I parked the car across the street from the high school, so Owen would just have to cross one street to get in the building.  I'm not sure why, but when he got to the corner he stood facing AWAY from the building.  I started yelling at him to cross the other street.  Allie, sitting next to me, started defending him saying, "He's watching for cars, mom!"  But when another freshman walked up and began crossing the street and Owen took a few steps in the wrong direction, BOTH Allie and I started yelling at him to cross the RIGHT street.  A few seconds later, he figured it out and began walking towards the front steps.  The seniors were lined along the steps cheering and welcoming all the freshman.  This of course embarrassed Owen, and he RAN up the steps and into the building.

As I started to drive away, I got a little emotional.  Allie reached over and patted my hand saying, "You still have me, mom."  She's right, but there was something about seeing him walk into the foreign building that even I hadn't been in that made me nervous and sad and very proud of him at the same time.

Welcome Home

The next 3 days were a whirlwind of cardboard, rubbermaid and packing paper.  Not to mention the going through and deciding what's worthy to stay and what crap has to go.  The kids were great at deciding what can go, they just needed guidance to stay on task.  But by Sunday evening, this house was basically moved in.  There are approximately 20 boxes and totes still in the garage, but that's a project I can continue with at a lighter pace.  There are several boxes of the kids toys that we want to store, so I got the privilege of going through and sorting all the different toys into labeled storage totes that would reside in "deep storage".

As soon as Jake and Yawkey pulled into the garage, my heart felt complete.  We were ALL home.  Dinner was the best meal we had had in weeks.  There we were, all sitting around the table trying our best to both listen to each other's stories and share our own over the past 2 weeks.  If Hallmark had been watching, they might have stollen our moment for one of their movies.

Going to bed that night was the deepest slumber I had in months.  Our new chapter in Spokane was OFFICIALLY started.  This was now our new home.  Welcome Home.

Boxes, BOXES...and MORE BOXES

I wake up early the morning of the 23rd with a sparkle in my eye and a pep in my step.  I am motivated to get as much of this house put together before Sunday evening (when Jake and Yawkey arrive).  Looking around the house at ALL our stuff, I can honestly say I felt for a moment like I was being asked to eat a whale.  It was a HUGE task before me.  When I walked into the garage, it didn't make it any better.  There were LOTS of boxes and totes stacked everywhere.

The image was daunting, but my motivation wasn't.  I decided I would start with a few boxes in the kitchen (small bites first).  Once the kids were awake, I had them make sure the boxes in their rooms belonged to them and put them in charge of unpacking them.  The instructions were to find homes for the items they wanted out and to decide if the remaining stuff was worthy of "deep storage" or destined for donation.

Since the weather was cooler in the morning, I spent my time carrying boxes and totes in from the garage and placing them in the rooms they would be emptied in.  By lunch time, we had cleared a path in the 3rd car garage stall and were able to park both cars easily in the big garage.  I started unpacking some boxes and totes in the master bathroom, master bedroom, my office and the dining room.  When dinner time rolled around, I decided to make a last effort to move boxes and totes into the house for me to work on the next day.

By the time I went to bed, I had invested about 8-9 hours of unpacking and couldn't wait to do more.  As I unpacked, I made a mental game of finding certain items I had packed.  So I had a list of "missing" items on my night stand just waiting to be discovered tomorrow.  But for now, I will rest.  Tomorrow will be another BIG day!

Christmas in AUGUST!

That's right!  It felt like Christmas on the morning of August 22.  Instead of a old, fat man pulling up in a sleigh...I got 18,000 pounds of belongings in a moving truck with 5 dudes to unload it all.  I was so giddy, I stood by the truck for over 6 hours checking off each and every number from 4 different colored tags that were attached to each and every box, chair and shovel we brought to Spokane and LOVED every minute of it!!!

It took these 5 entertaining gentlemen over 6 hours to unload this truck and assemble all 5 beds, so that for the first time we would sleep in our OWN beds.  I couldn't wait!!!  The kids took turns hanging out with me, helping the guys find the right rooms to put the stuff and walk Lucy.

After they pulled away, I was super eager to start unpacking but realized I needed to eat dinner and maybe rest up for the next BIG day.  So the 4 of us made our beds and went to dinner.  Once we got back, we took a little time to assemble shelves and small tables in the rooms they would be.  I even arranged the couches in the living room and hung up the small amount of clothes we had with us in closets.

As soon as my head hit the pillow, I was out!!!  It was like I couldn't wait to go to sleep so that I could wake up the next morning and start the unpacking process.  I know...I maybe CRAZY!!!  But for the first time, this dream house started to feel like my dream HOME!

Arnett 2.0

In the evening hours of August 5th, 4 cars wandered their way to a yellow house nestled in the trees of Spokane, WA.  Our final destination for what seemed like 2 VERY long days.  Granted the house was empty of belongings, but once we all stepped foot inside it was filled with LOVE.  Like I said before, I fell in love with this house at first sight on line.  But to experience that first night with ALL of us inside, I will cherish that feeling.

Mom and RJ stayed at a hotel by the Spokane River which was very helpful, she took the kids for one of the days to swim at their pool while I called and had utilities set up in our name.  We explored the neighborhood and close park for the next few days.  There were several places we tried for meals and made a trip to Target to get a few things.

August 9th is Owen's birthday, so ALL of us (7) went to breakfast downtown.  I then drove Jake to the airport, he had to return to Wichita to finish work until the 24th.  I knew it would be difficult to be apart that long, but I had faith that God would provide us with strength and keep us busy with the blessing in the next few weeks.

Mom and RJ headed back to Kansas the next day, so the remaining crew decided we would work on the yard and get the kids ready for school over the next 2 weeks.  You see, the movers have been scheduled to load/pack our Wichita house August 13-15 and arrive in Spokane on the 22nd.  This may sound CRAZY, but I know God was behind this.

Since I wasn't in Wichita to supervise the loading and Jake was busy working, I was able to ask my dad to take those 3 days and make sure the movers got everything and did it right.  I have almost NEVER asked my dad for anything...including help.  But this opportunity came at a time when I needed him AND he was more than able to do this job.  That is a Devine appointment, and it worked out better than if things had gone the way I originally planned.

Now the wait until the belongings arrived was a short week, with VERY LONG days.  I was sleeping on the floor with my 2 kids and a dog every night.  But it was some memorable conversations, again a Devine appointment.  We knew things would ramp up in speed once we started the unpacking process, so to just embrace the minimalist lifestyle with my kids in our new town was priceless.  I will continue my story with the day the movers showed up in my next post.

When all you can do is laugh!

So we got into our respective vehicles and got on the road.  I stopped at McDonald's to get Allie and myself some breakfast.  We synced our map routes with Jake and planned to meet at our VRBO in Hot Springs, SD.  I'm driving on I-135 north when it happens... Lucy pukes in the back seat.  We hadn't even made it past Park City.  Allie is freaking out a little, but I manage to keep her calm to help calm Lucy.

I pull over to the side of the highway and run around to Lucy's back seat.  Allie gets out and holds her leash, while I pull her blanket that she was laying on out of the car to wipe it down.  THANK GOODNESS our friends the Brothertons gave us a travel box that had wet wipes and trash bags.  I got it all cleaned up and the blanket was big enough to just fold a different way to put back down for Lucy to lay on.  The whole drill took only 10 minutes and we were back on the road.  Lucy laid down and fell asleep.

We stopped in Nebraska to grab some lunch and let Lucy walk around.  We even met up with the boys at the Subway.  I filled up the car with gas and we continued our drive.  Unfortunately, Lucy was awake now and proceeded to puke again.  Not as much this time, so I repeated the drill and we only lost about 10 minutes.  As we were cruising along, she started panting.  So I had Allie pour her a small bowl of water to drink.  Probably not the best idea, but I was trying to make everyone comfortable.  In about 15 minutes, it happened.

I heard the sound of a dog gagging followed by the sound of what was like a dumping of a water cup.  This time it wasn't on the blanket.  This time it was on Allie.  And in an instant I looked in my mirror to see my baby screaming and crying that she had vomit ALL OVER HER!!!  Before I could pull over, Lucy did it again.

This pit stop wouldn't take only 10 minutes.  I had Allie standing on the side of the road wearing a towel around her waist (I had her take off her shorts and shirt) with a jacket on and holding Lucy on her leash.  I as swiftly as I could, cleaned out the back seat and refolded the blanket.

At the next gas station, we met up with the boys.  I had Owen walk Lucy around a little and she threw up a couple more times.  She was so tired by the time we got on the road, she went right to sleep and slept until we reached the VRBO.

As I pulled into the driveway, all I could do was laugh.  We had made it.  In my rental car that now smelled like McDonald's, Subway, dog and vomit.  Some days the road we travel is smooth and sunny, others are not.  But in those moments, LAUGH.  Because they are only MOMENTS!

Good Bye!

"Good Byes" are never easy.  Especially when you are saying them to those you love.

Saturday morning, bright and early, my mom and sister came over to help get the last minute items loaded and hugs in.  After the last 24 hours of re-planning, we are ready to start the trip to Spokane.  I got a nice big rental for me, Allie and Lucy to ride in.  Jake's car is loaded up and carrying Owen and him.  I'm putting the final items in mom's car, leaving the hamster for last.  I even cleaned Hammie's cage out yesterday so he won't smell in her car.

My sister is here with her close friends to cheer her up after we depart and are hugging the kids outside, so I run in to grab the hamster and his belongings.  I pick up the cage and notice something odd.  He isn't moving.  He ISN'T moving.  HE ISN'T MOVING!!!!  Are you kidding me?  The hamster DIED!!!!  I quickly put the cage down to double check.  YEP!  DEAD!  So I go outside to bring Allie in to let her know, but not in front of everyone.  She took it good, but was still very upset. Thank goodness this didn't happen while we were traveling!  My sister and her friends let me know they will take care of the corpse.  She's my life saver.

Now with a little more space in mom's car we pack some extra items.  We get our hugs in and take one last pic in front of our house.  The home we built 11 years ago.  It will be sad when we think of the life we built, but we are very excited for this next chapter.  As we pull away, Allie is petting Lucy in the back seat telling me, "I don't think I'll get another hamster.  I want Hammie to be the only one.  He can be THE LEGEND."  I love that girl.

I wish I could say that this was the ONLY hiccup we had on our first travel day...but it wasn't.  I will elaborate next time.