Labor Day

What an exhausting few days! Early last week Talia and I were talking about our plans for Labor Day weekend. She had mentioned that they were going back to Idaho to rent a truck and try and get as much of their stuff as they could back that weekend. I told her that Dwayne was taking Thursday and Friday off and we were going to have a "staycation" because we didn't have any money to go anywhere. She was quiet for a few seconds and then asked if we wanted to go to Idaho to help her and Jacob move. After talking with Dwayne and doing some last minute scrambling to have Melody watch the kids, we decided that yes we would go and help them. We drove down to Oregon immediately after work on Wednesday night and got to my mom's around 8:30 pm. We tried to immediately put the kids to bed and then woke up early to meet Talia and Jacob at my aunt and uncle's house.

After an extremely long drive we started to work on packing up their house Thursday evening. We did take a small break to have a spaghetti dinner with Patrick and Kayla and then went back to work packing. We got a large chunk done that evening and we all crawled into bed tired. Friday morning we went out to breakfast while we waited for the truck rental place to open and then immediately started back working on packing the truck. I can't believe Talia and Jacob were going to try and move all their furniture alone. It would have taken them so long. I'm so grateful Dwayne was their to help with the heavy stuff. The moving truck and their Durango was packed as tight as it could get but we were able to (just barely) empty their house. About half way through the day, Jacob decided that we were making good time and that we should just go for broke and try to get everything done that day and head home that night rather than waiting to leave for the next morning. We all agreed that it would be nice to sleep in in the morning.

After a quick trip to their storage unit to shuffle a few things around, we were finally on the road. It was a long trip home. Talia and I entertained ourselves by talking about anything and everything and cranking up the music and bouncing down the road. We finally rolled into Sheri and Chuck's house at around 2:30 am and crawling into our beds at 3 am. Right about that time, all the soda I was drinking to help keep me awake started wanting to exit my system. So I was up at least 3 times between 3 am and 7:30 am going to the bathroom. At 7:30 am, I finally gave up trying to sleep anymore and got up for the day. After getting the truck moved so we could grab our vehicle we went over to my mom's house to get the kids.

This was the first time that we have been gone overnight without the kids. I think we all did really well considering. Evie had a few rough moments but overall did really well. Sam was his usual easy-going self. I missed them terribly. We brought them back over so everyone could see them since it had been so long. Our original plan was to stay the night Saturday night but we decided we really wanted to get home and sleep in our own beds. Dwayne helped them out the rest of the afternoon unloading the truck. Chuck ended up giving us two feed bags worth of corn on the cob from his garden and a box of apples. Tiffani offered us some dinner to help so we wouldn't have to pay for dinner on the way home. So after a brief stop at her house we finally got on the road back to Olympia around 7 pm. Evie and Sam both fell asleep in the van on the way home and we got everyone into bed about 10 pm.

Sunday we spent the morning unpacking and doing laundry. We then tackled the feed bags of corn. I knew that if I didn't deal with it immediately, I would procrastinate and then the corn would be ruined by the time I took care of it. So with Dwayne's help we shucked, blanched, and cut the corn. We then put it into freezer bags. Of course, after we got started I realized that I was out of quart-size freezer bags and only had 3 gallon size baggies left. So we crammed as much corn as we could into the last 3 gallon size bags we had and only had a little left over. Unfortunately, we didn't have enough money until Friday to go and get freezer bags. So we made do with what we had. Dwayne and I made a dinner of just corn on the cob that night and went to bed feeling like we got a lot accomplished.

Yesterday, we spent the morning cleaning up the living room and doing a few misc. chores. We then finally spent the afternoon just relaxing and enjoying a well-deserved afternoon of rest. I'm glad we were able to help Talia and Jacob. I don't know how they would have done it by themselves. They will need to take at least one more trip up to Idaho to empty out their storage unit but we can officially say they are back in Oregon. Jacob has found a job and things are looking up. I hope and pray they can get back on their feet again soon.