Seattle once again!

We're finally here and settled in! Now we just need the next four days to pass quickly and without incident.

We left home on Saturday morning. Last minute panic being as inspiring now as it was in high school, we got the house cleaned up, all the laundry done and folded, and our bags packed Friday afternoon. Turned down the heat, left the key with some friends, and reluctantly closed the door on it until further notice. I tend to under-appreciate my living situation until I'm faced with an undetermined amount of time away from it.

Twelve below when we
left...yuck. 

The roads were terrible all day Saturday. In some places (mostly on each side of Lincoln) there was still close to a foot of snow on the roads, unplowed. Times like those make me glad for a husband that's good at driving in bad conditions. And any last traces of buyer's remorse that might have lingered regarding the pickup (ugh, we *just* got rid of all our car payments and then added one back in??) vanished completely by the time we made it through to Spokane. I can't imagine trying to make that drive in my car.

Passing by the hospital on the way to
RMH...a familiar, if not exactly
comforting, sight.

Sunday's drive was considerably easier. Wet roads win over snowy ones any day, and even Snoqualmie pass was clear and sunny. A far cry from when we went over it in a blizzard two years ago! Not long after we got over the pass, we got a call from the Ron-Don House...we got incredibly lucky, and got a room right off the bat! Amazing, considering we had just put our names on the list about a week ago. The waiting list isn't a linear one, and they factor in things like the distance between us and home, how long we'll be here, etc. Apparently there was enough in our favor that we got bumped up considerably.

We pulled in around three, and spent the next two hours unloading and unpacking into our room. This one has about 15-20sf more than our last one, which makes a notable difference. It's still roughly the size of a hotel room, but having a community kitchen and play/living room downstairs makes it very livable.

The boys have adjusted well. Wade seems to be very happy that he hasn't been left behind this time, and has resisted our efforts to let him have a little fun with a babysitter during Brandt's pre-ops tomorrow. Nope, he won't have it! His goal is to stick with us as tightly as he can. So I guess he'll be a little bored tomorrow, but we'll all survive it.


Tomorrow is bound to be a long one. Brandt has three pre-op appointments, the first one starting at 10 and the last starting at 2. Nap time ain't gonna happen. Here's hoping that the iPad and some snacks will fill that gap to some extent. Wish us luck!

But we'll take things as they come...tonight we got together with two of my sisters (and respective husbands) and a couple cousins to eat pizza and play games! Having previously vetted all attendees and the location for potential illness, it was nice to have a stress-free evening!

The back side of the RMH...a full-on playground in the
back yard makes for a couple of very happy kids.