Mark and I have been going through the whole home buying thing for a while now and for Marks spring break we decided to up to Washington to look at houses and maybe make some offers. We had been planning this trip for some time and months ago we were going to buy plane tickets for the trip when Marks mother thought that maybe we could save a good deal of money by getting some buddy passes from their old friend Clark Bean who is a retired pilot with United Airlines. Sandy called him up and he said he could give us the passes,but needed to call him a week before we needed to leave for him to arrange the flight or something to that effect. I felt a little skeptical about the whole thing but trusted Mark and his Mom since they had done it before. I am the type that likes to have things put together before I go and I was uneasy about not having tickets in hand. Sure enough we call a week before hand and he calls us back to say that he couldn't give us the ticket because he had given them all away. We tried really hard to find tickets for a good price but the cheapest we could find was about $1,100. Of course Mark and I couldn't afford that, so we did the only thing we could do. We drove. Friday March 27th at 2:00pm we took off. Mark had a test that morning ,so we were not able to leave sooner. Mark drove all the way to Vegas and I jumped into the driver seat from there at about 8:30pm. I drove until maybe 11:30pm because Mark said that he couldn't sleep, so I told him to drive if he can't sleep because I sure could. Mark ended up driving the whole rest of the way to his Parents house in Star Idaho. We had planed to drive the rest of the way up with Mark's Mother Sandy in order for us to get a break from driving and also for us to save some money on gas.
We arrived at Bruce and Sandy's house at around 7:00am and we slept for about an hour before we got up to go again. We had to take Sierra with us so I did not get much rest in the back with a 7 year old chattering away at me and asking me a million questions. It didn't mean anything to her that I did not get much sleep prior to our drive to Washington from Star. We stop ed to get lunch and I was so car sick that I threw up the minute I set foot out of the car. I felt so bad that I skipped lunch and just drank water. The only good thing about me being sick was that I got the front seat the whole rest of the trip. We made a stop at the Dairy Gold, as it is a Rowe tradition to stop there and get squeaky cheese and ice cream. I happen to really like that tradition because I love Ice Cream! We got to Washington Saturday evening at around 7:00pm Mark and I stayed with Scott and Macaul while Sandy and Sierra drove to TD and Gavin's. Sandy had to make arrangements with Sierra's Grandma to pick her up since she was staying the week with her.
The whole reason for Mark wanting to get there as soon as we did was because Scott and Macaul were hosting a UFC Fight Night. Mark and I both like watching UFC so we kinda wanted to be there for it even though we were going to be so tired. We stayed up late watching it and afterwords talking and visiting with Scott, Macaul, her two brothers, and her Dad. It was fun
Sunday we went to church in Marks old Family Ward and Sandy came down with Sierra to go to church with us. I was a little shocked that the whole ward had so many grey heads. Any young people that were there were visiting for the most part, but no matter Mark loved being there. With general conference coming soon we had fast and testimony meeting that Sunday. I was shocked when Mark got up to bear his testimony and not only that but he had trouble keeping his composure. Mark drove with Scott and I drove with Macaul to church and I had just told her how I had never seen Mark cry except for when he gave Seth his Baby blessing and here he was pouring out his love to the savior and to his home ward because they are the ones who helped shape his character. When he was done he came back and sat down and still had those watery eyes. I had Seth asleep in my arms and never had any intention of going up to bear my testimony when a girl Mark grew up with, bore her testimony. Like a wave that hit me, I felt the spirit very strongly and needed to go up. So I did. I carried Seth in my arms up to the mic and said what ever came to me. I too expressed love for the people there for being the ward family that helped shape my husband into a good man. I testified of the Savior and a few other things and Seth was so good and slept through it all. I always find it interesting that one moment I feel nothing and the next moment I can't deny the feeling that is telling me to act. I love my husband so much and our son. I look forward to adding more perfect little spirits to our family. Sunday evening we Spent with everyone in Sumner having Gavin's delicious Mac and cheese for dinner and a Birthday cake that Wyndi bought for Scott's Birthday. But not any old cake it was an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen (Another Rowe tradition I like:)
We spent the rest of the week house hunting with not much to show for it. In the end because our offer was not very competitive we made one back up offer on a short sale in Sumner next to TD's house. We were limited in our selection because of our price range and our loan type, but in the end if we don't get a house that is ok. Mark and I both felt like we might not end up getting a house in the end. Tuesday night and Thursday night Mark and I went to Mike and Victoria's to have dinner and play games. Tuesday we had Chinese and played Rumykub, but later Mark and Mike left to play basket ball with Scott and some of his friends while Victoria and I watched a movie. It was a lot of fun. I always feel a little game board deprived when I'm with Marks family, so it was fun to do it with the Arnesens. Thursday night we had burritos and played Ticket to Ride. Both games were close but in the end Mike and Victoria walked away as the victors.
We left Friday at 10:00am to go back home and we didn't get far before there was a crash and we had to wait two hours before we could get moving again. the weather was stormy but we made it through the passes ok. At some point there was another car accident and the freeway was closed. That put us back another hour and the bad weather set us back another hour on top of that. We ended up going a different rout from the closed freeway and finally got to Idaho at 11:00pm Wyndi and Carl made us dinner but it was clear that we were late for it due to miss fortune. We slept good and hard that night at grandma and grandpa Rowe's on their nice new soft mattress. We had a bit more relaxed day with Mark and Bruce fixing the radiator on our car while Sandy and I watched Saturdays session of Conference. After everything was done with the car Mark and I set off again that evening at about 8:00pm. I drove first and as we were on hwy 30 a woman was waving us down for some help. We pulled over and she asked if we had a phone to call 911 for help because a woman had rolled her car and she thought that she might be hurt. I called 911 and had Mark check out the scene. It was dark and we couldn't see much but their was not much more we could do so we told the woman that help was on the way. When we left and others pulled over to help and only a minute down the road we saw police on their way. It was kind of a random thing on our trip, but I'm glad we could help. I drove until 3:00 am and mark drove til 7:00am. I drove the rest of the way home and we ended up home at 12:00 on Easter Sunday. We slept right when we got home so we missed all of Sundays General Conference. I was kinda sad that we missed it but glad I could finally sleep.
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