April part 2: Family Road Trip

We had been talking about moving to the NW for quite sometime but have never been there. But when we got that job offer up in Tri-Cities, we made a road trip out of it to check out the area.

Day 1: April 14th

We left early and started driving. It wasn't a very exciting day really. We drove the whole time. We did pit stops and we even pulled to the side of the road and let Kate do her business.

She's very adaptable.

We drove straight up through NV all the way to Boise. The Blaisdell's live in Meridian and were gracious enough to let us stay the night with them. It was so nice to see them again! The kids played well together.

Thank you guys again.

And sorry for Kate puking on your blankets and floor. She had a rough night....

Day 2:

We spent the morning with the Blaisdell's.

The kids played and Joe replaced the rotators in our van. They were warped so when we would use the brake at high speeds, the van would vibrate and shake. And looking back, it was a good thing because the drive after we left was switchbacks and lots of hills.

We left around noon and headed up to WA. We drove through Walla Walla to check that out then headed to Tri-cities. We got into town around 6:30 and checked into our hotel. Then we went to Red Robin for dinner.

Afterwards, Joe took the girls swimming.

That was the most exciting part for them. They had been asking all day to go swimming.

Even though it was very late when we got back to the hotel, we had to follow through and let them swim or we wouldn't hear the end of it!

Did I catch Joe picking his nose?

Day 3:

I dropped off Joe at his "interview" then went back to the hotel and got ready. I picked up Joe later and headed to the other practice that Joe would be working at. It was about a 45 minute drive in Sunnyside, WA. It's a much smaller town but it was nice to see the outskirts of the area. That took pretty much all day.

The girls went swimming again and I took a nap with Luke. The kids did great on this trip but the nights were rough. Luke kept waking up or crying here and here during the night.

Day 4:

originally, we were going to head back home today but Joe's potential boss invited us to dinner Saturday night so we decided to check out more of the city. We went to a popular park and the girls had lots of fun. We drove around the area, looking for places that we would potentially live. We found the temple and i'm glad there is one close!

We then got ready for dinner and headed over to his bosses house.

It was a huge house.

The girls had a great time playing with his daughters. It was a nice visit with them.

Day 5:

We got up and headed out.

It was a driving day.

But we decided to go the Western Route, through Portland and Northern CA.

Things did not go as planned...

Between WA & Portland, our tire blew! It was kind of scary and thankfully, it was a back tire, so the van didn't roll or anything. While we waited for help, Joe took the girls over to the water's edge and explored...not my favorite. I was a little scared they would fall in!

We had some problems getting the spare free but we had call Roadside Assistance and they came and helped us out. But since it was Sunday, nothing local would be open until we got to Portland, still another 1 1/2 hour drive.

So we carefully headed to Portland. Once we got there, we were hoping to find a Walmart or something to buy tires and have them installed...

After driving for an hour through Portland, we finally found a walmart, only to find that it would be an 1 1/2 wait until they would start on the car. Luckily, Brake Team was across the street that was still open and could work on it immediately. They didn't have the tires we needed so we headed back to Walmart, bought some tires then went back over there.

So so thankful for nice people who understood our predicament. They were pretty much closing when we pulled in but they still helped us out.

PLUS, they didn't charge us at all. At all, at all. The whole thing took 15 minutes and we were on our way. Can you believe that? Angels amoung us.

Back in the car, we drove until we got to Grants Pass and spent the night there. we were all tired. Like I said, not what we had originally planned for the day. We went the farthest that we could. But grateful we were all safe!

Day 6:

Major driving day. We left at 7 am and drove, drove drove! We went through Northern California and past Mt. Shasta. It was awesome!

Somewhere in NV, in the middle of no where, we had to stop by the side of the road...again...for Kate & Emma pee. I went out and grabbed Emma first, she went #1 as quick as a racehorse and then out of no where, this little poop comes out...or like shoots out...(you know in Enchanted, when the chipmunk gets so scared when he gets caught by Nathanial that he poops? That's pretty much what it was like...pretty funny.)

Kate, on the other hand, just went #1.

But while we were out there, this emergency truck comes driving up and starts slowing down. I say, "Um Joe, that guy is slowing down and Kate is buck naked!!" But as he approached, he realized why we had our emergency lights on...so no one would hit us while we peed on the side of the road....He must have seen Kate naked butt staring him in the face and immediately sped up again and drove past us...it was too funny. I was dying laughing the whole time.

Oh the joys...

By the time we got home, we had driven 14 hours!

It was so nice to be home again. The next DAY was Monday...ready to start a new week, I guess!