Life in the desert

On Friday the 27^th, the movers came to start packing us up.  I think anyone who saw me the days prior to that would say I was feeling STRESSED!  That day they packed up 70% of our house.  During the morning Mom and Dad and Kim & her kids arrived.  They were life savers.  Mom and Dad immediately went to work on our yard – I wanted it to look nice before the renters got there on Wednesday.  Mom is AMAZING, she took her lunch outside so she wouldn’t have to stop working.  Friday evening we went to dinner and then headed over to the baptism.  Things started to get pretty crazy, no chaotic!  Trav’s parents called, they weren’t going to be able to come to the baptism because they were taking my father-in-law into the hospital, he had been having a lot of pain.  Spence and Heather got caught in the traffic from hell and weren’t able to make it.  I kept on thinking that Satan is working so hard to keep this from being a really spiritual experience for Lauren.  We started the baptism.  Allison gave a talk on baptism that I felt really brought in the spirit.  The baptism itself was flawless.  I loved seeing the smile on Lauren’s face as she came out of the water.  She later asked me, “Mom, is it possible to have one perfect day?”  I told her today was as good as any!  Mom gave a great talk on the Holy Ghost.  Although it was a very noisy baptism (due to the 15 or so kids there), I think it was a very positive experience for Lauren.

Monday, the movers came and finished packing boxes.  That night we went to a going away party at a friend’s house.  Trav was sly and turned it into a birthday party as well.   Tuesday they came to load the truck.  At 3 some of my friends came over and helped me clean.  We were done by 5 and I was happy to be done with the house.  I was exhausted that night!!!  A friend pointed out to me, imagine if I had been pregnant.  Oh, man, I would have been beat and in a LOT of pain!

I was glad that we made it so we weren’t leaving until Friday.  It made it so that we had time to spend with friends (leisurely) before we had to take off.  Friday we left Puyallup at 9:30 am.  The drive was pretty uneventful.  We made it to our hotel in Reddding at 8:45.  After driving in the car all day, we told the girls they could go swimming, it was 90 degrees at 9 pm.

We got up early on Saturday and headed out.  We made just quick stops and pulled into Ft. Irwin at 4:15.  We drove a little bit through Barstow before we drove into Irwin.  Barstow looks to be a pretty desolate and run down city.  I don’t think we’ll be spending much time there.

When we made our hotel reservation, Trav reserved a “suite.”  All that meant was that there was a bedroom and then a “living room” that had a pull out couch.  When we arrived they tried to put us in a room with 2 queen beds.  Trav worked his magic and got us the room that we had reserved.  We have a mini fridge, mini microwave and a sink.  We brought our crock pot, but we thought there would be a cook top.  We later went to the PX and bought an electric skillet.  We have to grocery shop everyday because our fridge doesn’t hold that much.  Meals will be an interesting experience.

On Sunday church started at noon.  We got there and there are about 15 families in the branch.  There are 3 new families this week.  There is a young woman (maybe 14) playing the piano.  The opening song starts and Trav and I start singing.  I think we are all you can here – everyone else is singing very quietly.  Lauren told me after the opening hymn, “Mom, all I could hear were you and dad.  You were really loud.”  I asked Trav if I was singing loudly, he said just normal.

In primary they have 3 classes: Sunbeams, Jr. primary, and Sr. primary.  They do class the first hour and have singing and sharing time the last hour.  The Primary president says that she has 1 counselor and no singing time person.  They switch off who does music and who does sharing time.  Honestly primary music would be a blast!!!

In Sunday school the teacher points out that if all the new people weren’t there, there would be 3 people in the classroom.  It was the same in Relief society, there were 4 ladies other than the R.S. presidency.

On Monday we went into the housing office and got a list of the houses available.  There were 3, we went to check them out.  We aren’t allowed to walk through them because people are still living there, so we just check out the locations.  The one we chose has a park right in front of the house, its in a cul-de-sac and it is a block and a half from Lauren’s school.  We won’t be able to move in until Sept. 6^th.  That means we will be in this tiny hotel room until then!

Since then we have been filling the day with going to the pool and different places around post.  I can’t get over the heat.  The school website says that it is suppose to be 110 all this week. UGH!!!  My friend, Elizabeth, said it best.  She said, "Don't you wish it was a dessert instead of a desert."  Oh, yes I do! School started today and I’m so excited to hear how it went for both of the girls.  What am I going to do with myself with only 1 child 6 hours of the day!  PAR-TAY!