The Foster Migration to Moses Lake, Washington.

The date was Thursday, May 29, 2014.  It was the last day of school for our kids and it was loading the truck day.  We had reserved a 26 foot U-haul truck and car hauler for the Camaro.  We picked up the truck around 2:00 in the afternoon.  Between a couple men from the ward, my visiting teaching partner and her brood of 6 kids, my cousin and her brood of 4 kids, and some of Tony's co-workers the truck was loaded in a matter of hours.  I could hardly believe how quickly all of our belonging were loaded in that U-haul.  We originally had planned on just sleeping on the floor in sleeping bags, but we were exhausted and in desperate need of showers.  My cousin came to the rescue and offered for us to stay with her for the night.

The next morning we left the kids with my angel cousin while Tony and I went back to clean up the house and tie up any loose ends before pulling out of Rexburg.  Some wonderful women from the Relief Society came to help clean and we had the place done in under 2 hours.  We gased up, loaded the kids up, and we were off by 11:00 a.m.  We traveled to Pocatello and met up with Tony's family in the Walmart parking lot.  They were on their way to Utah.  We visited and then we were on our way again.  I'm sure our little caravan was quite the sight.  Tony with Carson and Alaina driving the U-haul towing the Camaro, followed by me with Charlie driving the truck towing our trailer.  We surprisingly made pretty good time and thankfully the kids did pretty well (our I-Pads their main source of entertainment made the trip bearable for them.)  We came into Boise Friday evening and enjoyed time with my family.

Saturday morning we picked up our stuff that had been stored at Tony's parents for the last 3 1/2 years and after a last goodbye to my mom and adding my dad to our caravan we were off to Moses Lake, Washington.  After lots of driving over two days and my aching back from all the lifting, cleaning, and sitting we pulling into Moses Lake around 6:00 p.m.  We signed our lease, got the keys and pulled up to our new home.  We were greeted almost immediately by a few members of our new ward and the truck was unloaded in about an hour!  Phew!

Sunday morning my dad helped get some things set up before he took off back to Idaho.  He was such a wonderful help and we were so grateful that he came with us.  We managed to find our Sunday cloths and the things we needed to visit our new ward.  Thankfully we have 1:00 p.m. church.  

Over the last few weeks we've managed to get all the essentials unpacked.  The kids and I have had a major adjustment period.  The kids have made church friends, but haven't really made any friends in the complex yet.  We've signed up for Summer Reading through the Library and trying to go to the Library activities.  As a family we've done some exploring and hope to get the kids into some summer activities.  Tony is really liking his new job and we are really liking his new work schedule of 4 10-hour days.  Our ward is great and we feel very welcome!  I'm hoping that we will come to love it here and it'll feel more like home soon.    

Moses Lake at Dusk taken from our church building next door.  Yes, we have a view of the lake right outside our door.  Once I have our place set up to my liking I'll share pictures and/or a video tour.

Searching for a new home

This last weekend we spent our time in Moses Lake trying to find a place to call home.  We weren't able to leave Rexburg until nearly 7:00 pm Friday night.  Less than an ideal time for a 9+ hour drive.  We hit Missoula, Montana about midnight, then parked in the Walmart parking lot.  We laid out blankets and pillows on the floor of the truck as makeshift beds for the kids.  Tony and I tried to sleep in the front seats.  Our efforts were pretty useless.  By 4:00 am we decided we weren't going to get any more sleep, and so while the kids continued to sleep in their makeshift beds we hit the road again. We pulled into  Moses Lake about 8:00 am their time. Thankfully the hotel let us check in early.  We were all able to shower and change in time for our first appointment at 11:00.  Before the first appointment we drove by a house south of town in a really nice neighborhood.  The house was nice, but we weren't able to look inside because the owner was out of town.  By what we could tell it was a nice house but after talking to the owner a few times something just didn't feel right.  We went to our 11:00 appointment and found another house in a neighborhood east of town.  It was set up a lot like our house in Nampa.  We didn't necessarily love the place but decided that we could make it work.  After all it's just temperary.  We immediately put in an application with the property management company hoping to nail it down.  After many calls to the property management we kept getting the run around with a "we'll call you when we know anything" speech (which I still haven't gotten).  We spent much of the rest of the day looking at houses that were listed, but we weren't able to get in to see.  Dump after dump.  Scary neighborhood after scary neighborhood.  Tons of houses for sale, but none for rent.  Saturday night we went back to the hotel feeling pretty discouraged and thinking that maybe we're not supposed to move to Moses Lake.  Sunday morning we got up and got ready for church.  We don't normally got to church when we're out of town.  I know we're heathens.  But we wanted to see what the LDS community was like.  We were more than welcomed by the members of the ward we visited.  We had many take our names and phone numbers to let us know if they heard of anything available to rent.  We were even invited over to a members home for a Mothers Day BBQ!  Carson and Alaina were pretty nervous about going to class and primary in a ward where they didn't know anyone, but after church they were raving about the ward members too.  Our spirits were lifted!  We spent the afternoon driving around looking for anything with a for rent sign in front.  After many neighborhoods we found two!  Both with the same property management company!  Our spirits lifted some more!  Monday morning we got in touch with the property management company and was showed a house on the west side of town and a brand new town house.  Both looked like great options.  Plus the town houses had two available units!  Finally some options!  We filled out an application for an end unit town house. It has 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 bathrooms, a huge kitchen with granite countertops, a two car garage, and it was less rent than any of the other homes we had looked at!  Score!  We were assured that as long as our back ground check goes through and our rental history is verified we should get which ever rental we decide on.  And last time I checked we're not convicted crimals and we've been renting for the last three years with never a late payment.  So we're not worried about that.  We should know by the end of the week.  We then realized there really wasn't much else we could do in Moses Lake, so we left for home.  We left Moses Lake about 2:00 pm, so with the time change, meals, and potty breaks we pulled into Rexburg about 12:30 am.  We're all exhausted and glad to no longer be in the truck or a cramped hotel room.  Moving day is 2 1/2 weeks away so now we wait to hear from the property management company on the town house.  And we pack.  

Pine Wood Derby

Tony reminded me last night that I never posted about this year's pine wood derby.  The couple days leading up to the race were pretty intense trying to get the car finished and ready.  The day of the derby was full of excitement for all the kids.  No first place trophy this year, but still just as much fun!

 Carson's scout troop and other kids from the ward that raced in the open races.

 Carson raced his new car and Alaina raced the car from last year.

Dance Recital

Saturday was the kids ballroom dance recital with Idaho Ballroom Academy.  This has been Carson's third year and Alaina's first.  They both did great and loved it!  It makes me sad that our kids won't have the opportunity to continue with this wonderful group.  Hopefully we'll be able to find something for them in Washington.  All the pee-wee dances (that's the Elementary age kids) were all movie themes.  Carson's group danced to Indiana Jones and Alaina's group danced to Zorro.  And of course we really enjoyed watching all the other 430 dancers preform.  It was awesome!

 Carson and Alaina dressed and ready.

 Alaina loved getting all dressed up and getting to wear makeup.  In my opinion she looks way too grown up!

 Carson playing the part of Indiana Jones.

 Alaina's ending pose.

Carson with his whip.

Moving

The dreaded six letter word...moving.  Tony recently accepted a job with Terex at the Genie Industries site in Moses Lake, Washington.  We've been looking at this job for a few months now.  A buddy from school told Tony he'd be a shoe in for this job.  Tony applied but then heard nothing.  Then who happened to be at the BYU-Idaho career fair but a rep. from Terex.  Tony gives them his resume and then has his first interview the next day.  Two more phone interviews followed and then a paid trip for Tony and I up to Moses Lake for an on site interview.  I have to be honest that Moses Lake was not what I imagined.  When I think of Washington, I think of forests, mountains, rivers, and streams.  Moses Lake is not like that.  Imagine sage brush in every direction with gentle rolling hills, and a lake.  Not a clear mountain lake, but a desert lake.  It's a good thing that I've lived in an environment like that most of my life.  Much of southern Idaho is that way.  A huge plus is that Moses lake is warmer than Rexburg and gets much less snow!  I could tell Tony was extremely excited about the prospect of going to work for this company.  I had my reservations.  Mostly fear of moving to a place I was unfamiliar with and knew no one.  As Tony and I explored the town we didn't get the overwhelming feeling that this was our new home, but mostly we felt like we could live there and make it work.  A few days later Tony received an offer.  Tony and I did a lot of praying, talking, and a visit to the temple.  Ultimately we felt like we were being lead to Moses Lake and that's where our Father in Heaven wanted us.  So we excepted the offer.  Yesterday we gave our landlord our 30 days notice and today I ordered the U Haul.  The plan is to pull out of town the day after the kids get out of school.  We'll break up the 10 hour drive by staying overnight in Boise.  We still need to make one more trip up to Moses Lake to find an apartment or house to rent for the next few months while we look for a house to buy.  Now to do the absolute worst part...actually packing.  Sigh!            

Easter

So this year I was super lame and didn't get many picture of the Easter festivities.  Honestly, sometime I don't want to worry about getting the pictures and just enjoy the activity.  No picture of the kids dying Easter eggs, which was really just me and Alaina.  No picture of the kids in their new Easter Sunday outfits.  But of course the boys didn't even get new outfits this year.  No picture of the kids Easter baskets.  No picture of the yummy Ham, Aug rautin potatoes, asparagus, rolls, jello, and a bunny cake Maegen made.  Little pictures of the egg hunt after dinner.  But hey it's all good.  The kids were thrilled about the whole day and that's what matters, right?      

Thank you

So Tony's cousin's family moved to Rexburg about a year ago.  We have loved living near them!  Janis has helped us SO much and now that I can start to repay her they're moving to Arizona and we're moving to Washington.  As a very small way to say thank you to Janis I made this for her.  I'm certainly will miss our time together and our long talks.  We pray that their internship will go well.  Matt's final year of school will go quickly.  And that great things will happen for them after graduation!  We love you guys!