So...last week we packed all my stuff into a U-haul and began the journey to Boise...the plan was to get in around 4pm, unload the truck into a storage unit, pickup our rental car and hit the town for some dinner.
That plan failed.
Like. It exploded.
Sometime early afternoon in our drive, Noah and I were on our merry way (I was driving) when the truck made that dreaded "KAJUNK!" sound......a sound no one wants to hear whilst traveling 65 (ok ok 70) mph on the highway...
I was totally calm.
"So....Noah."
"Yes?"
"Something happened."
"...........ah...yes?"
"We are no longer accelerating......................thought you should know."
I'm not 100% sure he believed me at first.......but after pulling off on the side of the busy highway and trying the tried and true trick of turning a thing off, and then back on again, we ran into the the same issue a couple of miles down the road...
We managed to pull off into this delightful little gem of a town called Hermiston.
Heard of it?
Apparently they're famous for watermelons. Lucky for us! Wait........neither Noah nor myself actually like watermelon..........at all.
SO after having an awkward session at the A&W where we opted out of ordering anything after staring at the menu for a bit, we wandered around the bustling truck stop while we awaited our knight in shining armor, aka Joe, the mobile auto-mechanic. He arrived in a timely manor (somewhere around 90 minutes after I called in the complaint to U-Haul that we'd broken down)....and proceeded to assess the situation. Thankfully we didn't have to take out ALL of my stuff out of the back, but we did have to unload a little bit of it for our new friend Joe to be able to access the fuel-pump that apparently needed replacing.
Remember how I said we wanted to be in Boise by 4pmish? We actually had some deadlines to meet (like, me signing all my paperwork for the storage unit).
Thankfully people in Boise are very kind. Michelle (the storage unit lady) agreed to meet us at her office whenever we finally arrived in that grand capitol city (aka after going home from working all day, she sweetly obliged to come BACK to her place of employment just to help a sucker like me out)....Noah and I promptly bought her some incredible one of a kind gifts at the truck-stop in Hermiston (who wouldn't love an Oregon coffee mug filled with Hershey's kisses!? SERIOUSLY).
We got into town around 8pm and the night ran on from there. Thankfully the rest of the trip really went without a hitch. We had a BLAST meeting some wonderful people and exploring a small part of town. We flew back after one full day in Boise, and continued on with our busy lives in the Valley.
Sunday (the 16th) - I jumped in my car with a few BRAND NEW friends from Bend, and we made the 5 and some change hour drive to my new home. After dropping them off I headed up the hill to crash at the Mellen's ranch house ~45 min outside of Boise. This was always my plan. Rick and Anna graciously have opened their home to me while I try and find a place to live. Sadly our world got somewhat turned upside down when some 18 year old jackass (sorry) decided to light the hill on fire near the neighborhood these wonderful folks live in.
On my 1st day of work in my new hospital I got a fantastic call from Anna explaining (as calmly as she could) that we were being evacuated from their house as it was endangered to burn down.
We kept our heads held high - checked into a hotel and proceeded to have a girls night (Anna and I). We made the best of a bad situation, cracking jokes about the things in our cars that we saved from the fire (old pictures, laptops, etc)......but by day two of evacuation it wasn't very fun anymore. Boise was hosting some five separate events (one of them being the BSU vs. BYU game where 80,000 were expected to attend). All hotels were sold OUT. Anna finally found one we could share a bed in after making approximately 40 phone calls (no...I'm not exaggerating), while I stressed out at work.
Getting frantically ready for school/work in a hotel in a city you've only spent three days in isn't really all that fun...all the while trying to keep track of all your things (new books, clothes, a freaking toothbrush!, etc)........
Insert nervous breakdown here.
I had a rough morning to say the least as I was getting ready for school. When I got to work on my third day things started to spiral out of control. My new hospital is huge and I literally cannot, for the life of me, FIND THE EXIT. It actually made me laugh last night as I was clocking out of work............"ok. heather. Think. just think..............HOW DO YOU GET OUT OF HERE!?"
I had to ask for directions. and I will have to ask again when I work on Sunday.
As I began to implode, I reached for my trusty Oswald Chambers daily devotional and read the FIRST thing on the first page I flipped to: "Do you continue to go with Jesus?"
Ha. Are you kidding me?! My life is so crazy how can I think about anyone except myself?!
Wait.
Did I just think that?
Yes. Yes I did.
So I prayed. And read. And thanked God for the trials.......and now.......I am perfectly excited. I am content. I am whole. This is an adventure - and I'm happy to be on it! Things are looking up up up - and I'll continue to post about the ups as they come. For now, I'll express gratitude for being back in our home....in a familiar bed. I've got several house options headed my way - and my job has been nothing, but understanding. I've met a few awesome girls in class - and I'm excited for the next step. God is faithful and life is GOOD.
I'm glad our house didn't burn down. :)
Here are some pics of life:
My sweet Clover got me this incredible necklace as a going away gift that I literally wear EVERYDAY. SO SO kind......I love it.
Candace and I on my last day! Wearing my grand finale hat.......argh I miss her so much. :/
Clockin out at Good Sam.......thanks to Ed the policeman for snapping this shot!!
Directly after my last day of work I drove straight to Hood River to celebrate KELLY! Bachelorette weekend - YEAH! Cheers!
Where we tasted lots of wine......Kelly and Katie being so cute...
Sweet Megan.
Kelly got a little sassy.............but thats how I like her.
What do you do when you break down at a truck stop????
Have a picnic with a poop splattered truck behind you of course!!
Fix our truck JOE!
WE MADE IT!! We celebrated accordingly. Noah with his PBR and me with a nice rose champagne...
Oh snap.
A morning stroll for coffee before our flight.....yes please.
My last night with this handsome man for awhile. :( I'm sure he's staring at the water pondering how in the heck he's going to handle life without me........ ;)
I had to take a picture of this...they're posted ALL OVER my new OR - and I can't tell you how funny it is.............no literally, I can't. But it cracks me up every time I see one...
Welcome to Boise!!!! The hill you live on is on fire!! This was before it broke through the invisible line and they lost control of things........there hasn't been blue sky since.....seriously.
When they lifted the evacuation this was posted at the front of the neighborhood - so so nice. How do you even begin to thank someone for something like that?! So freaking awesome.
Apparently this house has all the best grub....there were at least 30 elk on this person's nicely manicured property......clearly this sweet lady knew when to pose for a pic!
MY FIRST RACE IN BOISE! Woooooo!
ok. I don't need to get too excited - it's just a 5k.........
Annnnnd...that's my life in a nutshell right now. I'm looking at a few places within the next couple of days so I'm realllllly hoping and praying that one of them work out! Send me some good juju! :)
Been listening to the third Wheel of Time book on my long drives in and out of town and really loving it......such a nerd....love books on tape...........
Love ya.
How lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.
