Nov 25.
Packed everything up that we didn't sell or give away. table, chairs, washer drier, van, couch, tons of other little things. We've collected a lot of "stuff" over the almost 2 years that we've lived in Boise.
Ryan is currently bidding on a large project so he ran the idea of Joel working for him over Christmas break past us. After talking and deciding that it was going to cost as much to fly down as it was in income we decided that it wouldn't work. When we kept thinking about things, we decided that if we moved down for the length of the contract, 3-4 months, it would be worth it. That got the ball rolling and it eventually came down to... We are moving to Vegas. That was the readers digest version of things. Joel had known for almost a month before I had even talked with Ryan that we were supposed to move, and move to Vegas. I have always said, I never want to move back to Vegas. That is where I grew up and I didn't like it so much. It's crowded and the people and all the stuff and it's busy and did I mention crowded with traffic? It took me most of a day to come to grips that I wasn't coming back to Boise after 3-4 months, but that we were going to pack up our stuff and move, not leave it in a storage unit up here.
We started making a Boise Bucket list not soon after. There were things that we had planned to do but hadn't ever gotten around to it. Now was the time. Joel wanted to go to one last hockey game. We wanted to see the Da Vinci exhibit at the discovery museum. We wanted to eat in old town Hyde Park. Take a walk at Bogus Basin with Hailey.
Lots of things. Now we have started packing our apartment. First it was things we really didn't need. Then the canned jars of pears, applesauce, and other goodies. That was when the apartment started to feel empty. Then we pulled the pictures off the wall and took down the quilts. That really made the apartment depressing. Things were starting to really look like we were moving.
With both girls I had a hard time managing cleaning and packing and taking care of them. The Colehaven ward was awesome and Meredith Gregory, Jackie Muehlstein, and the sister missionaries came over to help me pack.
Ryan was supposed to leave Vegas Friday and get into Boise either late Friday or early early morning Saturday. Things didn't go anything close to that. Ryan called Saturday and just left at 9-10 that morning.He finally got to Boise Saturday at 11PM. We weren't very happy about that because I still had things to pack and clean since the trailer wasn't here Friday. Two weeks isn't very long to pack up your life. Needless to say, we weren't ready. Amy Stanard said she'd come hold Emi while we packed but with it being so late, she just offered to take her back to her place. That was a great blessing. I was stressed beyond stressed. A great blessing came from Amy taking Emi. Amy was able to put Emi to sleep and keep her asleep in something called a Sleep and Play. Needless to say when we got to Vegas we found one. She currently still sleeps in it!
We sold the mini van. Used the money to pay for plane tickets for the girls and myself so we didn't have to drive 10+ hours, which would have been more like 15 with stops, feeds, and changes. Even flying was a hassle as the plane was delayed two hours.
We eventually all made it into Vegas. The next thing was figuring out what to do with all of our stuff. It was all packed into the trailer but we didn't have a place to put it all. The house we moved into with Ryan was already overly furnished. More stress. Lovely. We finally moved a few things and made space in the covered open shed in the back yard. It will stay mostly dry. The heat will be a different story. But we'll approach that when we need to. We're not sure how long we'll be here.
Jobs have been interesting as well. Joel was expecting to work with Ryan but Ryan has been super slow. Nobody wants to trim their trees during the holidays. They have better things to do. Joel ended up working currently 2 days a week if lucky. The unexpected work came for me. My dad fired one of his employees. She just happened to be the only dental assistant. Of course before he fired her he called me to make sure I could work for him. That call came on a Monday and I started work Tuesday. That has been a blessing and yet another stressor. Blessing because it bring in income and gets me out of the house and working, using my brain. It's a little rusty when it comes to everything not kid raising wise. The stressor is there's a lot to learn. Luckily it's only 3 days a week and Joel can work on the off days if/when. Joel has had an interesting time learning what it's like to be a stay at home dad.
So why did we move to Vegas? We have no idea and we ask ourselves that multiple times a week. Do we like it here? Eh. Sometimes but mostly it's not our favorite place, but neither was Boise when we first moved there. Now we miss it terribly. We miss the gym, our friends, the activities, the parks, the everything, even our tiny 900 sq ft apartment and neighbors. We are grateful that we have my parents in the area even though it's about a 30 minute drive. Hailey had been able to see Nana and Papa a lot more, and Mandy-the dog. She loves and squeals with happiness when she gets to play with Mandy. Fortunately we aren't anywhere close to the middle of Vegas. We live on the outskirts which is almost it's own city. That little part of town we enjoy. We are surrounded by mountains and that has been a saving grace for Joel's sanity.
We are learning a lot. We had a funeral to go to a week after we got to Vegas. On the drive to Colorado we stopped in and visited with Grandpa Clarke and Grandma Margaret. Margaret was making hand towel dresses and she showed me how to do it. It was fun. Sewing on the other hand... well it tests my patience. I can't seem to keep the machine working properly. BAHH!!! I'm learning a lot about dentistry as well. I'm grateful that I pick things up quickly.
We've tinkered with me not working but Joel thinks it's worth my sanity to be out of the house for a couple days. We are looking for someone who can watch the girls. It's interesting. I don't make much but Joel is willing to let those funds go to a sitter for sanity's sake. Sanity is expensive.
Joel is looking into a couple different job options that have to due with welding. It's still what he loves. Hopefully Vegas will be a stepping stone for his career path, but honestly we don't know what Vegas is or will be. We are trying to make the best of it. Hailey doesn't seem to be phased at all. She loves playing outside in the backyard when Joel is cleaning the pool. She's got lots of space to roam around. She loves playing on the couch. I think that's her new favorite place to hang out. She's currently stuck in a box that we got from Costco. It's too small for her. Off to save the toddler and make something for snack time.
We never got a chance to take a picture of all of us in our Halloween outfits. I was Joel's biggest fan. Hailey was a Wyoming cheerleader. Joel was a football player and Emilee was the ref. It was fun getting dressed up.
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| We found a camping high chair in camo Pink! |
Not to long after we moved to Vegas a dear friend died. We rented a car because ours probably wouldn't have survived the 10+ kid stops hour drive. Emilee screamed for a good chunk of it till we figured out that she had to eat, relax, get tired and then she'd sleep in the carseat for 2-4 hours. Some of our pictures. When the sun would get in Hailey's eyes, she covered them. :)
Emilee likes something for her hands to grab onto.
This was a nursing stop in Beaver Creek. Hailey and Joel got out and played on a park playground.
Ryan Marsden and Hailey playing. Hailey was up till 10 that night. That's super late for her! But we had a great time. Emile on the other hand, crashed. Ryan didn't mind holding her when she wasn't screaming.
We didn't have a christmas tree up this year because of all the traveling and moving. Instead we went and saw a bunchof different houses in Vegas that had light shows. Nana and Papa, Dana and Thomas came with us one of the nights. One neighborhood wasn't musical but it was decorated like it was Santa's village.
This is how we spent New Year's. In a bath full of bubbles. Hailey didn't want in. The bath is too big and the jets absolutely freaked her out! She prefers showers now.
Hailey is helping Daddy clean out the pool filter.
We're working on potty training. Apparently she had to take all her clothes off before she could go. Usually it's just the pants and shoes.
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