Week ONE

 So, it FINALLY happened.

Our Whittier, CA house sold. We packed up and drove to Idaho via NV, AZ, & UT.

So, what's the plan. Faith, my friends... lots and lots of faith. Currently we are all (six of us) living in a hotel. Yes, a hotel. We will be here for a month. Let me tell you, living in a hotel is hard. No real privacy. No real alone time. No space. I know this sounds like first world complaining... perhaps it is. It's also honest.

What's a faith journey without some hiccups? I doubt you could call it a faith journey without them. Thankfully our journey has had hiccups so it still counts as a faith journey. Hiccup #1: over-packing vehicles. That caused me too much anxiety. So, we repacked and left even more items behind at my parent's house. Thankfully, this means we get to see my parents sooner than expected. Hiccup #2: our Civic over-heated. IN VEGAS! The car we had just spent $2,000 on making sure that didn't happen. So, yeah... I was pissed.

When hiccups happen you can be sure the Lord is working on you through them. While the car was being handled ($400+ and hrs later...) we met a lovely angel. I took the boys and the animals to Petsmart to enjoy airconditioning. That's where we met the angel named Givan. She insisted that the boys come use her pool while the car was being handled. If this had been a day previous I would have quickly declined, but I didn't. Why not? Because we're on a faith journey now. So, the boys and I visited Givan's condo complex and they swam for awhile. What a treat! Jake stayed with the Civic and met up with us later.

We were supposed to make it to Provo, UT by the close of Day 1. That didn't happen. We made it to Filmore, UT instead because I just couldn't drive another 2.5 hrs. We lost money on our reservation (which sucks) because we cancelled way too late and we had to spend more on an impromtu stay at a Best Western. Thankfully, the breakfast was legit! Traveling with pets makes everything harder, folks.

By the close of Day 2 we were successfully and safely to our destination of Boise, ID. Here we unpacked our vehicles into a  maybe-300 sqft suite. Thankful to have a roof over our heads and beds to sleep in, but man it's tight quarters.

Other happenings:
➤ obtained a PO BOX (our first key in Idaho)
➤ visited the Zoo Boise (not Boise Zoo 😜), picked up our passes and Dempsey's ocelot plaque that my bestie and her hubby blessed us with (they gifted us with annual passes to the zoo AND they adopted an ocelot for a year as a birthday present for Dempsey)
➤ had ice cream at Delsa's for Dempsey's birthday
➤ explored dog parks (there are so many!)
➤ stuck our feet in the Boise River and watched people go rafting/ tubing
➤ explored some nearby cities (Idaho City, Meridian, Middleton, Star, Eagle... we'll keep exploring)
➤ went to Lake Hazel Bible Church on Sunday (small church, lovely people)
➤ visited Lucky Peak Discovery Park (not the fun beachy area that doesn't allow dogs)
➤ enjoyed Eagle Island State Park and made new friends
➤ Jake had a face-to-face interview with an A/V company (doesn't look like a good fit, sadly)
➤ I've left a message for the St Luke's recruiter I have had contact with
➤ been put in touch with more local connections via family and friends (what a blessing)
➤ met our future landlord, Jessica, and checked out the house we'll be renting come 9/12
➤ discovered a favorite destination - Dutch Bros coffee (dangerously close, like within walking distance)
➤ met Dempsey's new oncologist and toured his new clinic/ hospital - St Luke's Children's
➤ visited the local Trader Joe's (PTL there are familiar stores)
➤ Dempsey's favorite thing(s) we've done so far is "visit lakes... and parks"
➤ Sawyer's favorite thing we've done so far is "probably go to parks" (he is excited by the various zip line options they have)
➤ Jake's favorite thing so far was going to the Boise River at Barber Park
➤ took Saoirse (seer-shuh) to the vet for her vaccinations