It is NOT always sunshine and roses over here. In case you got that impression...

       We made it to Salt Lake. Driving away from Durango was bittersweet. I was so sad to leave behind my friends and the town which I have called home for the past seven months, part of me felt like I was getting uprooted and I had to keep telling myself that "this is the deal, the plan was never to find a mountain town and get settled in, but to travel as a family on the road, exploring new places." So with a deep breath , we drove away. This time the truck pulled the fifth wheel with no problem. When we moved in the summer, we had issues with the truck overheating but due to the cold weather and hopefully all the truck repairs we went through this summer, we had no problems. The drive from Salt lake to Durango this summer (towing the trailer) took us almost 10 hours, but this time we made it in 7 1/2 hours. Which was much better, but still really uncomfortable in my vehicle. Waylon really didn't get why we were stuck in the car for so long and I kept holding Wrex or Houston hostage in my vehicle to keep Waylon entertained. It didn't take long for either of them to plead with me to go back to dad's truck. After a very long day we got to our new park at 7:50pm. The office was open till 8 which I thought was cool. So we got our spot number and went to settle in. I helped Ian back in and then took his phone (because mine was dead) and navigated the boys to the nearest In N Out. We thought it would be best if Ian could get things set up while I got dinner. It was just after 8 by then and we were all famished. So I came back with two double doubles only to find a disgruntled husband. Apparently, they had put us in a spot rated for a 50 watt plug in and we have a 30 watt. He ran to the office before they closed and they gave him an adapter, but when he got back to the trailer he saw they gave him the wrong one. So he went back to the office, but they had closed up and gone home. I'm sure he would've at this point made a few phone calls but guess who had his phone? That's right, this girl, who was taking her sweet time munching on In N Out. Yep, totally my style. So I came back and Ian let me in on our troubles, we had it all set up but no electricity. This might not be a huge problem for some, but here was my issue. Our heater runs on propane, but the heat doesn't distribute evenly throughout the fifth wheel. The heat is concentrated to mainly our bedroom and trickles throughout the fifth wheel. So usually, Ian and I are either sweating or trying to block off our vent, in hopes that the other vents will have more heat pushed through. To keep the kids warm, they have heating blankets and an electric heater in their room and they are always nice and toasty. Without electricity though, we would be depending on the propane heater to keep everyone warm.  Since we had been on the road all day, as it was, you could see your breath in the trailer. So I decided right then that there was no way we could heat the trailer enough for the kids to be comfortable. So we pulled up "kayak" and found the cheapest motel near by and checked into the Comfort Inn. Ian and I were a little frustrated with the turn of events but Waylon was more than happy to stroll around the motel room. In fact that's what he did for a few hours and when we tried to put him to sleep in the porta crib he resisted. It was a pretty restless night for Ian and I, Waylon kept fussing and by 6 am, I was up with Waylon at the continental breakfast.


Ian's art project

     A few hours later, Ian went to the trailer to start thawing things out. Since we left everything closed the night before, everything was frozen, pipes, tanks and a lot of our food. Did you know when banana's freeze, they turn brown. It also ripens them up. I left them slightly green and came back to ripe frozen bananas. Anyway, to add a bit to our frustration the trailer had a few issues. The "landing gear" the automatic jacks that you put down when it's parked, blows fuses every time its used which really ticks Ian off. More importantly our fridge was acting up before we left Durango and now it simply isn't working. It's cold enough in these parts where it is not warm inside the fridge but I wouldn't say it's cold and the freezer is just not happening. So all in all my attitude was poor yesterday. I felt like I was waking up from a dream,  telling myself "what are you doing? are you really living in a trailer, on the go every couple of months?" I had to take a deep breath and make some banana bread. Really, what else was there to do? Over the course of the day, Ian thawed things out, and I watched suspiciously. His attitude was peculiarly upbeat. I spent the rest of the afternoon, teaching Wrex about dividing decimals and Ian, eventually bored out of his mind, started coloring. I should mention that Waylon took a nice long nap yesterday. He was exhausted from the previous day's events. Houston  was all caught up on school and enjoying a "Magic School Bus " marathon. By the end of the night we had picked up a pizza, since the fridge doesn't work and pizza is super easy for dinner when you're living in the city again. We ended up having some good, quality family time due to the fact that this park doesn't have a cable hook up. Which reminded me of the reason we moved in to this situation in the first place. To be a family. So the fridge will hopefully get fixed soon. Ian is still waiting on the next call but I hear the voice of a warmer place calling my name....we will see.

Yes He's Bored

#40 and the Flu

Our ice cream didn't look as pretty but tasted great

Source: bloomingonbainbridge.com via Kristina on Pinterest

Making snow Ice cream

 
 Well I posted an update yesterday and then deleted it accidentally while cooking breakfast burritos , so lets try this again! Well we have been out of work for a week now and right after the layoff our trailer was hit with the flu. This was something I had been fearing ever since the idea of tramping around popped into our heads. Ian was down and occupied the bedroom, Houston had it the worst , he took over the boys room at times or the couch. That poor, sweet boy was vomiting for five days.  I finally took him in and the Dr took pity on us and gave us anti nausea medicine. Little Waylon had a fever and wouldn't let me put him down for a day and a half but I was so happy he didn't get the "pukes." Wrex somehow stayed healthy, as did I. This was one of the worst situations I could think of just because there was no where to hide from each other, but in the end, we got through it and no one threw up on the carpet or the couch so it's really the small things I'm grateful for.
     When Ian started to feel better he was a huge help. He has never been laid off in his adult life so he wasn't use to the downtime and at first kept himself busy with homework. If he was bored I'd ask him to do the dishes or the laundry, it didn't take long for him to stop saying we was bored! His best one liners would come at the end of the day. One night he said " this stay at home gig is BS!" Once Waylon was up at dawn and Ian observed " I feel like we're in prison and Waylon is the Warden." Seeing that my husbands witts are still intact I'd say he's doing just fine.
     My schedule hasn't changed too much except now I can leave home without all the kids in tow, so I tried to take advantage of that this week. Also I am promoting Ian to our homeschooling "art teacher" he is much better at it than me and the kids are so proud if his work!
     So we still have 39 guys ahead of us to get put back to work. It's any one's guess how long that will take to get to us, in the mean time Ian has his monthly class in Salt Lake City next weekend. We've decided to move our trailer there. In the event that the books don't move very fast , it makes sense to be near class, it's also a better central location to wherever we get called out to next. We're pretty confidant that the work in this southwest corner has dried up a bit and If  we do go to Denver next, the mountain pass from here to Denver is not ideal for towing and we'd be better off on the highways of Salt Lake. It would also be nice to be in the city for a bit before our next adventure. Think Target and In-N -Out -pretty motivating!

     We did get some snow over the past few days . Not too much but enough to add a new fluffy layer on top of the melting Christmas snow. I'd say there's about 18 inches of snow on the ground . The kids and I hadn't been here for the fresh snowfall last time so we took the opportunity to make snow ice cream for our ice cream night on Friday.  The boys loved it and had fun collecting the snow for it, it really is the simple things isn't it? Needless to say, we spent a lot of time inside this week, so yesterday we hit "Chapman's Hill," a local skating rink where there's an outside area that kids can learn how to snowboard or ski but on the other side is the perfect hill for sledding! So we got all our snow gear on (double checked it)  and bought a disk and a tube and went out for some fun. The kids had a blast , I think it was the first time they didn't need me prodding them to play in the snow . Wrex even felt inclined to teach me how to sled down because he had become an expert in his hour of sledding . We had so much fun and ended out our day at our favorite pizza joint in town.(Which incidentally is closing down, must be  our sign to move on.)  It was a fun family day but I think we're ready to move onto new adventures. I'll let you know next week how our journey to Salt Lake goes, wish us luck!

Ian and Houston's art project

Back from the Holidays! Where to Now?

 Hey All! Sorry I left you hanging, I took the time in Maryland to relax and slack off . We had such a great time and I feel so well rested. There's nothing like being with your mom for the Holidays. It took about a week and a half just to unwind, I did this mostly by baking large quantities of Christmas cookies , which we took to calling "Kristina's fat pills." Not only did I bake my heart out but my mom brought out the old Chocolate candy house molds and we decorated chocolate candy houses which I think is way better than gingerbread or graham cracker houses.It was so  nice to be in a house that was completely decorated for Christmas it really made our Christmas special! I cannot even tell you how good it felt to have a Grandma take the kiddos off my hands so I can go to Target alone (WOO HOO!)

   Ian was able to join us before Christmas which was truly a blessing, because we were told that a layoff would be coming soon and we weren't sure of the timing and if it would effect him coming out to be with us. We were able to spend the Holidays as a family and what made it so special for me was that I actually got to go on quite a few dates with my husband, thanks to Grandma and the Uncles ( a huge shout out to Adri becasue I know Preston fell asleep on babysitting duty) who watched our kids for us.  I don't think we've had that much time together in a long while, it was very memorable for me. Apparently it was memorable for the people in their town too because Ian kept getting recognized by his moustache, one day we went to Cracker Barrel for Breakfast and Outback for dinner and it just so happened that our server worked at both places and remembered Ian, people were constantly calling him out, telling him how awesome his moustache was, I can tell you, he was very proud of the reputation the stache got around town.

  I also got to go on quite a few runs with my family members, which was good because I ate a lot of those "fat pills" I had been baking. I started my mom out on the couch to 5k program and she did great, I ran with my brother Nate, who came home and promptly told everyone that he was faster than me (this is true by the way, but I think I can out distance him so :P) Then one day Ian mentioned that I never invite him on a run, so we made a running date, unfortunately his mind was willing but his body wasn't. My poor husband, he really thought he could just jump into running, because he is very fit, but lets just say his knees were in serious protest. But what memories we made!
   My brothers all flew out and drove out for Christmas, it had been sometime since all four of us were together and we had a really great Christmas. I made an amazing Prime Rib, which was a first for me and I sent Wrex and Houston on a scavenger hunt to get their Christmas present. I could not have asked for a better vacation. We even were able to go to a dinner and a movie date  with my brothers and their wives and girlfriend in Ian and Nate were laughing so hard at "This is 40." Great movie to watch if you've been married awhile, it'll make you laugh! Seriously we had such a good time. I haven't even told you about the ice sculptures we saw, or visiting with extended family. I know I should've posted more but I truly and thoroughly just enjoyed myself. And you never would have guessed who was sleeping through the night?  That's right my little Waylon monster, slept like a baby, thank the Lord! He also left Maryland a walking boy and now there is no stopping him. It was hard to say goodbye to all of our family, but Colorado was calling. It had snowed quite a bit over the Christmas break, not much for the locals but a lot for this California girl to take in. The roads are clear and the trailer is warm, so we are grateful. Unfortunately, the job here is completed and we are officially laid off. So now we wait , until the next job, which we don't know when or where that will be. I'd be lying if I said that we didn't find this unnerving, but we know that this is a part of the apprenticeship and we know of others who have weathered it out, so we will wait patiently and see what God has in store for us next.