1/25/20
We have been in Moses Lake for nearly 5 months and it is
coming to an end. We have had so much fun growing, learning, and experiencing
life off the island. In the beginning I thought “how am I going to make it 6
months” and BOOM it’s almost over just like that. It wouldn’t have been so fast
I think without the support that we’ve experienced out here from family,
friends and PLEX. Joking a little. If I could break down each month to give you
a better picture of what we experienced from my side anyways it would go like
this:
September
We flew our little family to Seattle to stay with the
Johnson’s for a couple of weeks to get everything situated. I for one do not
love talking on the phone and Trev won’t even call the pizza in, so that’s fun
for me. Getting insurance for the girls was at the top of my priority list and
thanks to the help of a couple sister-in-laws, I was able to apply just on an
app and the website which was super awesome for my non-calling self. Until I
needed some questions answered then I had to call in anyways. The next thing
was to get our family settled in Moses Lake. We were blessed to have a good
friend of Trevor’s named Rob offer us a room in his place, which was super
helpful because I was going to just send Trev up here by himself since we
couldn’t find anywhere affordable at least in our budget. Kelly helped me with
my nerves by offering anything she thought we needed. I am not one to ask for
help but I won’t turn it away. Everything she offered was on my to do list
coming to Moses Lake. I love spending time with family whether it be mine or
Trev’s. I love them all so getting to spend a couple weeks with great company
and Kelly’s cooking is an A plus in my book. Loading up the van that Kelly so
graciously offered to us (again another huge blessing) we set off on to our new
adventure. Talking to people about what to expect is always so funny because it
could take me to both ends of the spectrum so quickly. I was not sure what to
expect.
October
It’s been low 40’s since we got here and my skin was in a panic.
Something was wrong because to me it looked like there was a bug eating at it;
which I believed for the start until talking to my sisters about their skin
adjustments since moving to Utah. After that, I learned that lotion and I would
become the best of friends. Also, not wanting my girls to have dry skin, I may
have went a little overboard in the beginning lathering the two of them up like
Robin Williams in Flubber with those various objects he lotions to see their
bounce. I don’t know why that scene played in my head just now thinking about
it but shoulder shrug I guess. Trying to get the motivation to walk every day
is a struggle when your skin feels like it is burning from the wind (which I
have experienced before and is no fun and super attractive lol), having the
patience to dress Savannah warm enough to go for a walk, and constantly
thinking of the dateline shows that I binge watched in Hawaii before flying up
here (which I believed was for educational purposes for myself but turned out
scaring me and thinking everyone wants to steal Savannah lol). I like to be
prepared for any situation so my mind is constantly running with different
scenarios and what I must do to come out the winner. I don’t know why I
developed that kind of thinking but I can give you an answer for whatever kind
of situation you throw at me which is fun. We went trick or treating door to
door in high 30’s and Savannah loved every second of it. I only lasted 5 or so
houses on our block before losing feeling in my fingers but before that we went
to our ward Trunk or Treat which was nice and small. After pulling in nose
first to the parking stall I noticed some of the other cars were reversing in
and I wondered to myself if they knew how to do a Trunk or Treat..? Clearly
thinking I was smarter since I could sit in our trunk to pass out candy, I
realized they had the secret all along. When I ran out of candy and wanted to
jet I had to reverse out of my spot and that’s not so easy with kids still
trunk or treating behind you, so I just waited until everyone else was done and
tipped my hat to all those who reversed in.
November
Ray and Savannah had checkups with the doctor and it was
nice talking with them about Hawaii and getting all the questions on “why we
would give up the warm weather for this cold” and explaining to them why and then
getting a look from them like “good luck with that” as I finish the explanation
is always funny. Amazon shipping is the best if you live on the mainland; like
wow, two days beats two weeks to Hawaii every time no doubt. Tootie Frooties
are up there on my faves and ordering a two pound bag was a must, thanks to
that I lost a filling during the most crucial time of the year…the Holidays. We
were able to spend an early Thanksgiving with my brother and cousin and their
families down in Yakima, which was super fun. Getting to see her kids and how
big they’ve grown interacting with my girls along with my brother’s daughter.
It’s just crazy to think that we were literally the kids running around taking
care of each other twenty years ago! Two weeks after losing my filling we were
on our way to spending Thanksgiving with the Johnson family; all the kids and
their families under one roof! To top it all off Trev was leaving me for two of
the six days we were there. Hats off to single parents everywhere, I am not
fast to ask for help, like I will literally drive myself miserable before
asking for help which is terrible and do not suggest anyone to be like that.
The Johnson’s are the kindest most loving family and I am blessed to be a part
of it. They stepped up no questions asked; I am an emotional mess and super
sensitive to everything when I feel the least bit like a burden or inadequate.
The Thanksgiving football game was a smash, so much laughter and if you are on
Trev and Jeff’s team and get sacked once just know you will never touch the
ball again the rest of the game. Being my first full on Thanksgiving my mouth
was having a party with the cran sauce, stuffing, creamy mashed potatoes and
all of the delicious pies. I gained a couple pounds just looking at the food
alone!
December
December seemed to fly by the closer and closer we came to
Christmas. We were able to crash Trev’s hotel room in Spokane the first weekend
during one of his tournaments. Spokane is a nice drive from Moses Lake; funny
story (kind of) the girls and I left to drive there around 830 pm and it takes
about an hour and a half to get there. I text Trev before we left; arriving
there around 10-1030 I started calling Trev but he wasn’t answering. In my mind
I know he is sleeping and that he didn’t mean to fall asleep but he done did it
and I am outside of the hotel waiting for him to pick up, hoping that the girls
and I don’t have to sleep in the van overnight. After calling and texting for
15 minutes or so I was losing my cool and thinking of all the different
outcomes that could possibly come from this. I don’t know why I didn’t think of
calling the hotel first but I finally decided to do so and asked the
receptionist to put me through to a Trevor Johnson. When I heard the voice on
the other side of the line I was confused because it wasn’t him so the man told
me what room to call and I did so. Called the hotel again and asking for this
room I got patched through and two rings later my phone started ringing and
could you guess who it was… I was not a happy camper but loved the time we got
to spend as a family there in Spokane, Savannah even got to go swimming in the
pool which she is always down for. My dad visited us the first week, meeting us
down in Spokane and it is always fun seeing him with the girls. When dad is in
town that calls for trying out new places to eat and that happens every day. There
was a little pressure in my mind to try and show him the town and what I do
during the day with my girls; but it was all just in my mind because all he
wanted to do was spend time with us, mostly just the girls. After my dad’s
visit we drove back to Kent to spend Christmas with the Johnson’s. This time it
was only Kelly, Bruce, Lindsi and Halli home. Christmas calls for Hallmark
movies, a marathon of some movie, good food, great company and While You Were Sleeping.
I love the Johnson’s traditions and that I have now been able to witness two
years of Santa coming on Christmas Eve. We hid behind the furniture and waited
for the call--- Santa comes through the door and makes his way to the fireplace
where he reads off a list with a bit about each person (not just random facts
though he is Santa so he is particular) then fills up the stockings and leaves.
Savannah loved it, her peeking through the two inch crack between the couches
was the best part for me; that and calling Santa “Bubba”. Home girl was
spoiled, she got a whole lot of toys and loves all of them. There is this
velvet dress Kelly bought for her that she got into the day before. She came
down the stairs doing a little dance and all of us were like “where’d she get
that dress?” Lindsi mentioned that that was a gift for her that Kelly had
wrapped, so we rushed Savannah like a blitz. Poor girl, she obviously loved the
dress and wanted us to give her compliments about it but we didn’t want Kelly
to see that she got into the present. Fast forward to gift opening, Savannah
opened it again and there had to be some remembrance of us rushing her to get
it off, because she picked it up and then set it right back down like she wasn’t
supposed to touch it. We all looked at each other and explained the previous
encounter with the dress to Kelly which she just started laughing. I think my
fav gift was this air fryer which has changed my cooking game and is literally
my toy. I haven’t cooked in the oven since the air fryer and I will ride it
until it breaks most likely. This time of year always brings back good memories
and always seems to be the best time to step back and evaluate the year; our
year brought new adventures, another baby girl, Savannah’s first snow and a
whole lotta love.
Lol Love this!
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