Being "on the road" while on the road….

These last couple of months have been crazy! Brandon got offered to go work on another crew on the weekends down in Colorado Springs.  Our original plan was Bash and I were going to stay in Sterling and Brandon would stay in a hotel with the other guys and be gone Friday through Sunday.  We decided we didn't want to be apart and Bashlyn away from Brandon for 3 days a week so Bashlyn and I have been going with on the weekends.  It makes for some pretty crazy weeks but we are getting into a routine now.  Friday mornings I get us all packed up for the weekend and get the truck loaded up.  Its amazing how much stuff you have to bring for 3 days!  When we were going to Colorado Springs, it was about a 3 hour drive one way, now we are going to Pueblo and its about 4 hours.  I drive because I know Brandon is so exhausted from working.  Bashlyn has been doing great, pretty much sleeping the whole time, but sometimes she wakes up and Brandon gives her a bottle.

During the week he is usually home by 5 but he has homework to do and early to bed so the drive to the job with Brandon is great because it is a good chunk of time we get together, we can talk, catch up and reconnect.  He leaves about 5:30 Saturday morning and is back "home" to La Quinta about 5:30 or 6.  We usually go to dinner and then its straight to bed.  Sunday is the same thing except I get kicked out of our hotel room at noon.  I usually try to run some errands and then I head back to the hotel and hang out in the lobby until Brandon gets off work.  The last couple of weekends have been great though.  His foreman said I could come out and watch them work!! Bashlyn and I went out and it was just so cool, and reassuring to watch what he is actually doing.  There is also another line wife down there so we've been hanging out, trying new sushi places and getting starbucks! Gosh I am TOTALLY getting spoiled!! Brandon is usually off work around 5 or 5:30 on Sunday and then we hit the road for the long 4 hour drive back to Sterling.

Its really crazy "being on the road" while on the road.  I honestly never thought I'd be living out of a suitcase and hotels because I thought we'd always be in Piper. You can never "think" in this trade,  always expect the unexpected.  Its been a lot of driving, a lot of adjusting to our new situation and Brandon is putting in some major hours but its all worth it.  He is getting such amazing experience and working with really great guys.  He is getting hot time during the week and working transmission on the weekends, every apprentices dream! :)

Sunday we're headed to Castle Rock again.  Brandon will be working on a HELICOPTER Job! Whoa…..he is literally going to be in a basket being pulled by the helicopter…he is stoked, I am stoked but a little freaked! It should be a two day job so we'll head down Sunday and he'll work a couple days (yay for being in a big city on my birthday!!)  and then we'll head back to Sterling.  He will probably work a day or two, then we pack up and head back to Denver.  Brandon has class on the 21st and then the 22nd we fly out for New Jersey for Christmas! I swear we are going a million miles an hour!

Between class and working Brandon has only had two days off (Thanksgiving and Friday after) in like 7 weeks.  He is incredible for all his hard work and I am so proud of him.  Speaking of Thanksgiving, we had such a great time! We went to Denver to Chances Aunts house.  Everyone welcomed us just like we were a part of the family! It was one of the best Thanksgivings we've had and I didn't have to cook! Bashlyn loves her Uncle Chance and was smiling like crazy to him.  He even held her for the first time and he did great!! We are so lucky to have such great people in our lives.  I am very thankful for the Brotherhood and the friendships we make, such a blessing!

NSUJL High Voltage 5k!

Bashlyn and I decided we couldn't stay in Sterling on the weekends so we've been coming to Colorado Springs with Brandon.  This weekend was the first annual 5k and I was excited to run to somewhere cool instead of at the park in Sterling.  Brandon of course had to work so it was just Bashlyn and I.  I decided to go to Garden of the Gods and do our 3 mile run.   I highly underestimated the difficulty of this run.  I had been running in Sterling at the park, which is completely flat! Garden of the gods is seriously nothing but hills, if you are not running UP hill, you are running DOWN hill.  Add in the fact that its at 6500+ ft elevation and I was having a hard time breathing.  I Finished my 3.1 mile run in 36 minutes.  I was really hoping to break 30 minutes but I was nowhere near trained enough to do that on the hills so I am happy with my time.  It feels so good to be getting back into my exercise routine.  I have 8 pounds to go until I am at my pre pregnancy weight and 12 pounds to go to be at my "ideal" weight.  We'll see how it all goes, going into the holiday season I don't know how fast those pounds will continue to come off.  I'm not going to stress over it or not eat my favorite holiday foods, there is way more to life than the number on the scale.  

Gosh I got off track there, back to the run.  

Brandon couldn't do the run with us today because he was working so Bashlyn and I did the run together.  I got to Garden of the Gods early to hopefully find parking for Brandons huge truck.  I was able to park in the oversized vehicles parking, pretty sure its intended for buses, but I parked there anyway.   The entrance of the park was so crowded with people so Bash and I walked for a half mile before it started to thin out enough for me to be able to run.  I ran out to the road and started up my first hill.  An older gentleman was running down the hill and he goes "wow now THATS impressive!" haha it gave me a little boost of confidence just when I was thinking to myself "what have I gotten myself into". 

Now that I'm recovering from the run I am actually glad that it was harder than I had anticipated.  Every time I wanted to stop or I thought how much my legs were hurting, I thought of the reason for the run.  Fallen and injured linemen was the reason I was running.  I thought about the linemen that lose arms and legs causing them to go through months of physical therapy to learn how to walk again with prosthetics.  I thought about the linemen that get sent to the burn wards with most of their body burnt, never to have the same skin again, gosh the pain they must go through.  I thought about the families that lose their linemen, the Mommas that have to explain to their children that Daddy isn't coming home, the wives that have to learn how to live without their love.  A pain I cannot even imagine and pray nightly I never have to go through.  I thought about all the pain these families go through way too often in this trade and suddenly the pain I was experiencing was so minimal, it almost made me feel silly. 

The views were breathtaking, every time I got to the top of a hill I could see another beautiful view and best of all, I had a downhill run for a bit.  There were people mountain climbing throughout the park, several other runners and a few people on road bikes.  It was really cool to be surrounded by such athleticism.  It reminded me a lot of my favorite weekend in Cda, Ironman.  I really wish Brandon could have been there with us to experience it.  

Bashlyn and I finished the run and made our way back to the truck.  When I got there I was sandwiched into my parking space by two Subareas.  I had to do a little Austin Powers 100 point turn to get out.  Thankfully an older gentleman came up and helped me so I didn't have to keep getting out to see how close I was.  He said "that truck is way too big for you" Yeah Yeah I know! All in all it was a wonderful run :) 

Last night we were able to meet up with a lineman Brandon worked with when he first got into the apprenticeship at Sturgeon.  He is working on the job Brandon is working on during the weekends and he has his wife, Amanda with him.  It was so fun, we talked for 3 hours straight! Its alway so fun to meet other line families on the road but its even better when you are telling a story and they go "wow that is our EXACT story as well".  I am super excited to have another friend in the Springs on the weekends, Tanisha and now Amanda! I'm seriously going to get so spoiled! Another cool thing, while we were waiting to be seated a guy started talking to us because he noticed the shirt Brandon was wearing.   We were able to talk to him and his son for a good 20 minutes.  He is a lineman for a utility in Pueblo and his son is just finishing line school in a month and getting ready to apply to the JATCs.  Its just so neat getting to talk to people and relate to them all over the country! This is such an incredible brotherhood and I am so excited we get to be a part of it all.  I could have never imagined we'd be blessed like this in our lives and I couldn't be happier! 

7s and Coloroado Springs

Monday after we returned home from the Rodeo, Brandon called me about 10 am and said he had some great news! His foreman had told the whole crew that we would have work in Sterling until Christmas! Yay so I can finally relax a bit!! Then he told me that his crew has been offered to go to Colorado Springs on the weekends and help another Hooper crew on their job.  Brandon was ecstatic but I gotta admit I wasn't very happy when I first heard this news.  I didn't see how it would work driving 6+ hours every weekend and staying in hotels on top of working 7 days a week.  Brandon said to just trust him and that it would all work out, this is what he wanted to do.  Well last week was the first weekend he worked.  Bashlyn and I went with him because the rest of his crew wasn't going.  It was ok, it was nice being able to see him each morning and night.  It was pretty hard on Bashlyn though. We didn't leave Sterling on Friday until about 2:30 and the traffic was HORRIBLE so it was about 5 1/2 hours to get from Sterling to a hotel in Colorado Springs.  The guys will be able to leave right when they get off work and shouldn't hit rush hour traffic, hopefully!   Between the long drives and checkout being at noon on Sundays, that left Bashlyn and I with 6 1/2 hours to keep ourselves occupied.  I thought it would be fun to take her to Garden of the Gods and I thought it was a great idea since there was a Broncos game on Sunday…it wouldn't be very busy…WRONG! I drove through the park for an hour trying to find parking and there was none so we went back to Colorado springs and kept ourselves busy at Starbucks for a bit until Brandon was off work.  It sounds like Brandon will have the opportunity to work these weekends into next year.  Bashlyn and I might go with him once a month or so but for the most part we will stay in Sterling.  Brandon and two other guys on the crew will go down together and man camp in a hotel room Friday and Saturday night and return home Sunday.

We'll really be missing daddy 3 days a week but its ok because we get to see him so much Monday through Thursday.  He is usually home by 5:30 at the latest and doesn't go to bed until 8:30-9 so we get to catch up and Bashlyn gets to get all her snuggles in! I really never planned to be a part from him while on the road, since I am on the road I thought I could ALWAYS go with him, aside from storm but I know this is just a small sacrifice that will get us really ahead in the long run.  It will help so much since our place hasn't rented and I see it is starting to snow back home….makes me nervous! We did have two showings last week so please pray one of them wants it! :)  Another huge bonus, actually the biggest bonus, is Brandon is getting a lot of hot time on the jobs in Sterling so at this rate he should have all his hot and cold hours by January!! That is so exciting and is going to be such a huge relief! 

So all in all even though I wasn't super on board in the beginning I am excited about the 7s now. I know it will all be for the better in the end and it will help us out A LOT financially! Plus Brandon is on a great crew in Colorado Springs doing different work than he does in Sterling so he is just getting TONS of great experience every day! 

International Linemans Rodeo!!!!!

I swear our life is going 100 miles an hour CONSTANTLY!! We were supposed to leave Thursday to head to Kansas for the International Lineman Rodeo.  I didn't know WHEN we would leave Thursday but I knew it would be Thursday.  Wednesday afternoon I drove an hour and a half to Brighton to go to a Just Between Friends sale because my little baby is just TOO little to wear any of the cold weather clothes I bought her.  She only had about 4 outfits that were long sleeve and pants so we headed off to the sale to get her some more newborn size cold weather clothes.  The sale was a madhouse and crazy so I didn't get home until after 8. At this point I hadn't had time to pack or get anything ready for our trip so I did a little before going to bed but just figured I could do everything in the morning.  We woke up Thursday morning to no water again….we think there is something wrong with the park cause our foreman is freezing up too and he's plugged in as well.  I had a load of laundry to do and put it in (with soap) before realizing we didn't have any water.  I turned on the bathroom faucet so I could hear if the water started coming, I told myself if we didn't have water by 7:30 I would go to the laundry facility and put it in there.  7:30 came around and no water so Bash and I loaded up our soapy clothes and took off.  I thought the washing machines were $1.75 and I scrounged around to find that many quarters and of course it was $2.  Luckily I found a quarter under my seat in my car.  We get back to Piper not even 5 minutes from when we left and guess what, full on water running!!! Grrrr I was so frustrated but relieved at the same time!  

Brandon got off work, we packed up and hit the road to drive through Kansas.  It was about 9 hours.  Kansas is a big state but nothing compares to the time we drove through the entire state of Texas! The drive was great.  We decided I do much better at the driving part than Brandon and he does much much better at the navigation so it was a very happy drive.  Bashlyn did great, she slept most of the time, but did start to get fussy when we were about an hour away.  We stopped several times to let her stand up and stretch out those legs! We made it to our hotel about 8:30 and relaxed for the evening. 

The second day of the Expo started at 9 so we slept in, had some breakfast and went to the convention center. The one thing I will say about the International is there is LINES everywhere!! we got there about 8:30 and stood in line before getting in.  Once we were in it was a madhouse.  I had never seen anything like it and certainly didn't know what to expect.  There were hundreds of booths and they were all giving out t shirts, koozies, flashlights you name it! Brandon got a lot of garb and even little Bashlyn got a shirt (that she can wear in 3 years, hahaha) a book and a mini grunt sack.  We were able to see all the vendors and Brandon was able to check out some of the new tools going on the market.  We were able to meet the guys behind Bashlin Industries and talk with them for a good while and it was such a great time! Of course we also hung out with the wonderful NSUJL ladies and chatted with them :) It was such a fun time at the expo but next year we definitely have to be there Thursday because I can only imagine what it was like on the first day! 

Standing in line at the Expo

Look who we ran into!! Lineman Barn :)

Tammy and Jimmy Kent

Rod and Rob Paul with Bashlin Industires

We went and had some wings at Buffalo Wild Wings and then made our way back to the convention center to get ready for the Storm Soldiers showing.  The movie was awesome and of course we pre ordered it! You can pre order yours here : http://stormsoldiersmovie.com  All of the profits from sales of the movie are being split between 3 charitable organizations…one of them is NSUJL :) After the movie there was what is called "trade night" we had no idea what this was but its so cool! So every local that goes to the rodeo creates a shirt for the rodeo that year.  Trade night is where you can go and trade your shirts so you get a bunch of other locals shirts too! We obviously didn't have any shirts so we just made our way to the BBQ.  After the BBQ we made our way back to the hotel about 8 so Brandon could get to bed early.  

Saturday morning we were up bright and early at 5 am.  Apprentice testing started at 7 and we were about a half hour from the rodeo grounds.  We got to the grounds about 6:30 and it was FREEZING cold, I'm taking 34 degrees cold!! We walked through the grounds trying to find where the apprentice testing was.  There were tents set up everywhere for different locals, they all had hot food and coffee and everyone was eating and hanging out.  I really wished we were with our local at that point, we were so cold!!  We walked around the corner and saw the biggest line ever for apprentice testing!! Brandon ended up standing in that line for an hour and a half freezing cold before he was able to test.  The test was 50 questions in 15 minutes.  They don't tell you your time until you are done, If you go over 15 minutes its a 2 point deduction and over 20 is another 2 point deduction.  Brandon finished in 14 minutes. He said he was so cold though he couldn't even write his name when he first got in there. We sat in the car for a half hour with heat on full blast trying to get him warm again. 

 

It started to warm up a bit around 9 and we made our way to hurt man.  Brandon did great on hurt man, everything went smooth and he was happy with his time and no deductions! After hurt man was the pole climb.  They have to climb the pole, put a RAW egg in their mouth at the top and then climb down.  If you break or crack your egg you get a deduction.  Brandon did the speed climb in 30.15 seconds with no deductions!! He was happy but was hoping to get under 30 seconds.  After speed climb was the mystery event.  Brandon stood in line for about an hour and a half, maybe two hours waiting to start the event.  Thank goodness for Cayla, Amanda and Brandi or I would have been all alone all day!  It was so much fun getting to have Cayla by my side throughout the day.  She has been my go to girl throughout this apprenticeship and has sure been my shoulder to cry on.  It was fun getting to experience a fun day for this trade with her <3 

I was walking around and every time I saw him he hadn't moved…well wouldn't you know I was walking around, saying bye to Cayla and I went back to check on him.  I couldn't find him in line anywhere, I kept looking and looking and then I saw him on the pole!! Dang it I had missed the first half of his mystery. I got to see the second half but I was still pretty bummed.  After mystery he went and did his first aid/cpr, then picked up his test score for the written test and then he was done!! By this time it was almost 3.  We went to Local 53s tent for a bit, hung out and ate some food (THANK YOU!!).  

Brandon with the egg in his mouth

We went back to the hotel and got ready for the banquet and award dinner that evening.  It was supposed to start about 6:30 and we got there about 6 just in time to stand in line again :) The dinner was delicious, prime rib, salads, rice and beans! We ate and chatted until the award ceremony started about 8.  They played a couple videos they had put together and a couple different guys spoke.  We were watching the awards but not paying super close attention because we were all chatting at the same time.  All of a sudden I hear Tammy go "Brandon they just announced your name!!!" as she pointing at the big screen.  We both looked up and were shocked, Brandon goes "What do I do" I said "GO UP THERE!!" hahaha. Him and Tammy started heading up there, I pretty much threw Bashlyn to Amanda (THANK YOU!!) and then got my phone to take pictures.  Brandon got second place overall apprentice contractors division.  It was just so crazy because it literally came out of nowhere.  We didn't think he would even come close to placing! It was by far one of the coolest moments and I am so happy we were able to be surrounded by so many of our friends at the table!

As Brandon was standing in line all day he talked to a lot of guys.  He was the only guy not wearing a local or company shirt.  One guy asked him why he was wearing a Bashlin shirt and not his company or local and Brandon was like well I paid my own way here.  The guy pretty much just stared at him blankly, not able to comprehend that.  Everyone else there was either forced to go by their company or local or was paid for by their company or local.  We decided we wanted Brandon to be able to go and get this experience of competing at the international as an apprentice.  When we had all the unexpected expenses come up earlier this month we still decided this was a priority because this is the only year he can do this.  Next year he will be a  Journeyman and he will have to put a team together to compete so we wanted to make this work.  I am so glad we did, all we were going for was the experience and we left there with so much more.  We left with many new friends and priceless memories!! 

A little Update :)

Gosh these last few weeks have just flown by! The days are going so quickly, 5 comes around and I wonder what did I do ALL day?  I certainly feel busy from the minute I wake up til I go to bed!  I have kept myself busy with laundry, emails about our rental, accounting, dealing with insurance and the hospital about our medical bills, ect.  Speaking of doctors, Bashlyn had her two month check up on the 4th.  Her doctor said she is doing great but they are worried about her weight.  At her 1 month appointment she was in the 32nd percentile and at her two month she is only measuring in the 6th at 8 pounds 15 ounces.  The doctor thinks it must be their error (different nurses weighing her) but still want her to come back in 2 week for a weight check.  She's just a little baby! I can attest to the fact that she eats ALL the time! :)  She had her shots that day and I was on the verge of tears all day just thinking about it.  I was hoping I was making it out to be a bigger deal than it was but I wasn't.  It was so hard, I cried and just felt horrible.  Luckily after a few minutes she was fine.  The doctor told us we could give her some infants Tylenol later that night if she needed it but most kids don't.  I didn't really think much of it, so I didn't even have any at the house.  Well flash forward to 6pm and she woke up from her nap and was screaming just as loud as she did when she got her shots.  I tried feeding her but nothing would calm her down.  So I left Bashlyn with Brandon and I raced to walgreens to get some infants Tylenol.  I was crying on the way there because I just felt like the worst mom in the world for not already having it at the house for her.  When I got to walgreens I got this picture from Brandon:

So after we gave her some Tylenol she was fine for the rest of the night and was her normal happy self the next day.

We went to Lochbuie with Brandon on Saturday so he could go to the upgrade class.  Upgrade class is a class apprentices can go to before they sit for the journeyman test.  They have one every other month. Brandon is going to go until he can sit for his test which should be in August.  Bashlyn and I hung out at the class yard for awhile until Brandon was done and it was so cool.  There was also 1st year guys going to class that day (probably their first class of the apprenticeship) It was just so awesome to see these hard working guys getting into such a great trade.  I've said this so many times but this trade has changed my life.  I have met so many incredible women and men who will be in our lives forever.  We are so lucky!

Work is still crazy.  Brandon pretty much knows there is enough work for the next day, then they get another days work, so just like we have been since June we are just taking it one day at a time.  I would be ok if we got moved, I would love to see another state like Wyoming or Montana.  I am also ok with staying too, I really like Sterling and the RV park.  So here I am just a bubble on a wave :)

We are headed to the International Lineman Rodeo next week in Kansas!! We are so excited!! I wanted to go last year so bad but we were in NM and Brandon was working 6 days a week so we couldn't go. Now we're only 8 hours or so away so we are going!! I can't wait, we are finally going to get to meet SO many of the wonderful line families I have become friends with over the last couple of years.  One of my best girlfriends, Cayla is going to be there working the booth for NSUJL and I am over the moon excited to see her and the NSUJL booth! I can't wait to get some swag so if you are going, make sure to check out their booth too and show some love! We are going to get to meet Tammy Kent, the woman behind Lineman Barn who has helped me so much through this journey of life on the road and I THINK we will even get to meet Rod Paul with BASHLIN Industries!! I am seriously so excited and thats just Friday! Saturday Brandon will be competing and of course I can't wait. I love watching him work, or simulating work!  Since its international I think there will be guys from Australia there too and they have different climbers that kinda wrap around the pole, it will be so fun to see how they work.  There is a big BBQ friday night and then an awards banquet on Saturday.  Bashlyn is going to get to check off 2 more states she has been to! This girl is going to see more states by the time she is one than anyone I know! :)

"The Breakdown of a lifetime…"

Where oh where do I even start this post!  As many of you know in the apprenticeship things change from week to week, day to day.  Since about June we had been told work was getting pretty slim in Sterling and there would be a big chance of a layoff anytime.  That of course had me very nervous because I was due in August but in the end it all worked out and I got to deliver Bashlyn in Greeley (yay!).  We had been putting off going home because we just figured we would go home when Brandon got laid off, introduce Bashlyn to all her friends and family and finish up things with my dads estate, ect.  Then we got word that we may be in Sterling for awhile longer so Brandon talked to his foreman about going home before the snow hits.  Driving 17-18 hours is not fun period but really not fun in the winter.  Brandon talked to his foreman and he said, "well next week would work".  I wasn't surprised, in fact I was semi prepared to leave at the drop of the hat.

I had my 4 week Doctor appointment on Thursday at 1:30 in Greeley.  Brandon got rained out Thursday afternoon so he raced home and got home a few minutes before me.  He started packing up the truck and I started racing around the 5th wheel frantically trying to pack our clothes and bathroom stuff.  Bashlyn of course just wanted to be cuddled the whole time so I was able to use our front pack for the first time and she LOVED it! She instantly fell asleep and slept the whole time I was packing.  I packed and got everything clean and in order in Piper so we could come home to a nice clean house.  After a couple hours, we were on the road by 7ish Thursday night!! This was great news, we would pretty much get a whole extra day in CDA!

We drove 5 hours to Casper, WY and got a hotel.  We stayed at the C'mon Inn and it was so fun! They gave us a double room though so Brandon and I had to sleep in separate beds, I definitely felt like I was on an episode of "I love Lucy".  Friday we drove about 12 hours and made it to CDA around 10 pm.  Bashlyn did AMAZING!!!! She slept pretty much the entire drive, only waking up to feed.  Surprisingly she still slept her usual schedule that night too!

We had such an incredible trip home, we got to see all our friends and see all the sights of beautiful Coeur d Alene! We had wonderful whether for the most part and enjoyed it to the fullest.  We went on a bunch of hikes, coffee dates ( with actually good coffee!!!) and meeting up with Friends, it was just perfect! We even had time to sneak in a family photo shoot, so fun! I will forever cherish the memories of seeing our friends meet and hold Bashlyn for the first time!!

Then the rain storm that would be our life started.  Our renters sent us a text late Thursday night saying they wanted to talk.  Friday afternoon they told us they were moving out (in a month!!), breaking their 3 year lease and had no intention on paying anymore rent.  We spent most of our day Friday dealing with that, going to the place, inspecting it and then trying to decide what we were going to do.  We decided at the time I would come back in two weeks and deal with getting it rented again.

Saturday morning we started our drive back home to CO.  We were driving along, talking about our trip and talking about our rental situation.  We decided we would look into property management companies because dealing with a rental 1,000s of miles away was just not working.  We got to Missoula and were driving on I90 and the truck just shut down.  I was driving and I told Brandon, "there is something wrong with the truck, its not going"  It had died, so we coasted to a stop and Brandon had me try to start it again.  It turned over but just wouldn't fire.  We sat there on the side of I90 with semis and cars flying by us, frantically trying to figure out what our next move would be.  Brandon was doing some things under the hood but didn't know what was going on.  He got back in the truck and said "well should we call someone, I don't even know who to call, we don't have AAA" Then I remembered we had roadside assistance on our insurance so I called them and arranged for a tow.  It would be about an hour and twenty minutes until the tow could get to us.  We started calling every repair shop we could find on google in Missoula, most were not open and the couple that were open did not work on diesels.  We decided to have it towed to the Ford dealership because we didn't know what else to do.

Then we had to figure out what WE were going to do now.  We decided to rent a car and continue the drive to CO, we HAD to get Brandon back to work.  I called a couple rental car companies but they had closed at noon on Saturdays and it was now 1:30. I found a rental car company and she asked me what time I was going to pick up the car.  I explained to her our situation and that I need to get to CO.  she said "Oh I'm sorry our vehicles are not allowed to go to CO, they can only go in the northwestern states".  My heart sunk, I really didn't know what we would do now.  I started looking at plane tickets to Denver and one ticket, one way from Missoula to Denver was $798 for Brandon to fly out on Sunday.  Then Brandon said well what if I fly out of Spokane.  Thank goodness he thought of that, I booked him a ticket flying out of Spokane for $258 leaving Sunday! We rented a car and we drove back to CDA.  It was so crazy to be getting back into CDA Sunday night when we had just left 12 hours ago!

So Sunday, Bashlyn and I put Brandon on a plane to go back to CO.  Saying goodbye to Brandon at the airport was honestly one of the hardest goodbyes I've ever had to do.  We got there and there was a HUGE line for security so I ran to the restroom really quick.  When I came out Brandon was all the way up the ramp, too far up for him to be able to bend down and kiss me and way too many people for me to be able to work my way up to him.  He had to hand me Bash over the railing and we had to just wave goodbye.  My heart just broke instantly and it took everything in me to control the tears so I wasn't a sobbing mess.  I wasn't ready to leave him, I didn't have any time to prepare to be away from him this early with Bashlyn and not even knowing how long we would be apart.

The past three days I have been running around meeting with property management companies and a repair guy to fix damages at the house.  I think everything will work out for the better, IF we can get it rented before the snow flies.  Ford was giving me the run around and wasn't looking at the truck so I arranged to have it moved to another shop in town.  Ford of course charged me $100 for an hour of "shop time".   Its at another shop now and hopefully I will hear some sort of progress about it today. Now Bashlyn and I are just waiting on the call that the truck is fixed and we'll start our drive to CO to see Daddy.  The sad thing is though, even when we get home we won't even get to spend time with him because he has class all weekend from 8-5 Saturday and Sunday.  You better believe we'll be driving to Denver with him both days!!

This has honestly been one of the most trying weeks of my life.  I keep trying to tell myself, "its only money, we'll make more, 10 years from now this will just be a memory" but I honestly feel like its just getting to be too much.  Then the emotional toll this is taking on me is so hard.  The stress from the rental, the stress of the unknown amount of money we'll have to pay for repairs at the house and the truck to be fixed, the stress of being away from my husband and a few other emotional things that have blown up this week is wearing me down.  If I could get a hug from him, if I could see him hold and love on Bashlyn it would make this all so much easier.  At what point is it all just too much? I know it will work out in the end and I know God knows what he is doing.  I am not trying to question him or change his plan.  I am just so tired and I just want a hug from my husband :(

Gosh time is flying! I've been meaning to write this post for over a week now and just haven't had the time.  I've been a bit busy cuddling and kissing on our sweet little baby girl every chance I get! Bashlyn is 24 days old already (ahhh slow down!!!) and she is absolutely perfect! She is only waking up two times a night, once around 1-1:30 and the next is around 4:30-5 (daddy's alarm starts going off at 5:20 so she's just helping him get up ;) ) She eats perfectly and then goes back to sleep, sometimes until 9 am!!

Bashlyn was so lucky to have so many family members drive and fly across the country to meet her.  Nana drove for about 20 hours and got to meet her the day we brought her home.  The following week her 3 mom and 3 pop flew from New Jersey for a week and got to get a lot of snuggles and kisses in! It was a great time, just getting settled in, getting used to and learning about this new member of our family! The best day though, was Bashlyn's Dedication.   As many of you know Brandon and I started going to Journey back in January when we lived in Greeley, CO.  In March we got moved to Sterling, and as much as we wanted to keep going to Journey every week it proved to be just a bit too far.  During my whole pregnancy, I kept saying,  "I hope we stay here or at least driving distance to Greeley, because I REALLY want Arron to do Bashlyn's Dedication!" Well God heard our prayers because we got to stay here and Arron DID get to do her dedication! Journey was incredible and accommodating to us and our short time frame ( I wanted to be able to do with it all the family in town).

On August 25th we dedicated our sweet baby Bashlyn to the Lord in front of many friends and family. We were so lucky to have my mom, mom mom and pop pop, Erik, Shellie and (BRAND NEW, 3 days old) baby Oakley Hall, Amanda Henley and Uncle Chance Thomas there to help celebrate and witness our dedication.

Here are a couple videos from the dedication, the video cut out in part of it, but here is most of it.
After almost 4 hours trying to figure out how to upload these dang videos I resorted to taking video of the video playing on my computer on my iPhone.  So bear with me, hopefully you can hear and see most of the video…it was such a special day for us so I wanted to share it with you all! <3

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10152639206443475&l=4551618552352645045

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10152639213848475&l=5901221871891249181

It is such an overwhelming feeling to hold this little baby in our arms, this baby we had prayed for, planned for, created dreams for.  She is here and God chose US to be her parents, gosh we are lucky!!

Bashlyn Val has arrived!!

One last picture, minutes before we left!! We had to recreate our announcement picture :) 

I am so excited to be writing this post today!! This is going to be long, I am writing this in detail so I don't forget anything.  If you are interested and can hang in there with me, feel free to read along :)

August 10th 2013 at 10:12pm Bashlyn Val Underdown joined us.  Here is her birth story... :)

Friday August 2nd I had a doctor appointment and my midwife checked me and said I was completely closed up.  She said to start walking again and start taking evening primrose oil and hopefully we would see some progress next week.  On Friday August 9th she checked me and I was 1 cm and 30% effaced.  Woohoooo, we were so excited I had made progress!!

The Logan County Fair was going on in Sterling that weekend so we went to the fair Friday night and walked around a bit.  We were going to go to the rodeo but I told Brandon I was just feeling weird and didn't think I could sit through the whole rodeo.  My lower back was really hurting, just a dull ache.  We left the fair and went to a quick dinner and then went home to relax.  I went to bed about 11 and was woke up at 2:30 in pain.  I had what I thought was contractions but not sure.  I started timing them and they were about 7-9 minutes apart, lasting 30 seconds or so.  Laying down hurt so I moved to the recliner in the living room.  I was able to fall asleep from 6-7.  Brandon woke up and I told him "I think we're going to have a baby today" He goes "what, are you serious?  I better pack my hospital bag!" I told him I didn't think we needed to go right now because they were not that close so we decided to go to the parade in town.  We got to the parade and I walked down to Santiagos to get some breakfast burritos while Brandon set up our chairs.  I was still getting the pains pretty bad but I could walk and talk through them still.  We went home after the parade and tried to relax.  I cried to Brandon telling him I was scared and I just didn't know what to do.  I didn't know if these were contractions,  I didn't know if I was progressing and I didn't want us to drive an hour and a half to Greeley for nothing, just for them to turn me away.  I was sobbing. Brandon told me "Astra its ok, we're on Bashlyn time now.  If we go and shes not ready yet, we'll get a hotel"  That made me feel a lot better.

I decided to call my midwife around 1, I told her I thought I was having contractions, lasting 45 seconds to a minute long, every 5 minutes or so.  I told her I had some that came at 3 minutes and some as long as 7.  She told me she wanted them more regular and to go for a walk, take a bath, eat and call her when I didn't want to talk to anyone anymore.  Well I couldn't take a bath and it was almost 100 degrees out so we went to Walmart to walk.  As we were walking into walmart I got a contraction so bad it stopped me in my tracks.  We only made it about a halfway through walmart when I told Brandon I needed to go home.   I tried to eat an apple with almond butter and only ate about half of it.  I decided I would call my midwife at 3 and tell her I was coming in. My contractions were still only 5 minutes apart or so and lasting about 45-60 seconds.  I called my midwife and told her this and told her I couldn't walk through the contractions anymore and she goes "ok, how far away from the hospital are you" I said "about an hour and a half" and she goes "oh.....I forgot you were that far away, ok well I think you can make it if you head in now, just go to triage and I'll meet you there"

Brandon started loading the bags and car seat into the car.  We took one last picture in between contractions and then we were on the road about 4.  Driving an hour and a half to Greeley in labor was not the best road trip of my life.  I was so uncomfortable and I couldn't move or do anything when the contractions came so I just had to endure them.  I was nice to Brandon but I did ask him, "can you please not hit the bumps in the road, maybe get in the left hand lane, it looks less bumpy" As we got close to the hospital I kept saying "I don't want to have any more contractions in the car".  We got to the hospital about 5:40 and went to the birthing center.  We had to call on the phone outside the room to let them know we were there, Brandon goes "what do I say, my wife is in labor?!?!" I said "no just say your wife thinks she's having contractions."  We got into triage and they hooked me up to all the monitors and started asking questions.  I felt like all of a sudden I wasn't getting contractions anymore.  I kept asking "is that a contraction on the monitor there, please tell me I'm not crazy"  The nice nurse said "no you are not crazy, you are having contractions"  She had to ask a lot of questions to put into the computer.  My favorite was "Do you live in a house or apartment" Brandon and I laughed and I looked at Brandon and he goes "ummmm we live in a 5th wheel" She goes "ooookkkk it has running water and electricity right?" Brandon goes "oh yeah it even has a washer and dryer" She goes "perfect! They make them really nice now"

My midwife came in and checked me and I was a "5 almost a 6"!!! As soon as she said this I started crying and said "so I get to stay, I don't have to go home" She said "you get to stay, this is not the time to cry, this is so exciting" We got sent up to our room and got settled in.  My room was absolutely beautiful, a nice bathroom and huge jacuzzi tub! I walked a couple laps and my midwife said she'd come back and check me in a couple hours.  Every time I would get a contraction I would just brace myself against the wall or bed and rock my hips back and forth.  Brandon would rub my back and put his head on my shoulder and it was all the comfort I needed at the time.  I talked to my mom on the phone and texted with a few friends throughout these 2 hours.

Talking on the phone with my mom

I'm ready!! 

Cheers to having a baby!! 

My midwife came in and broke my water at 8:22.  I didn't know what to expect but that feeling was far from what I was expecting.  It actually hurt way more and the water was so hot! She said my contractions would get a lot more intense now and she would check on me in a  bit.  I got into the jacuzzi tub and that only helped me for a contraction or two.  I remember saying "I don't know what to do, I don't know how to get through these contractions"  From there it was a bit of a blur.  I remember getting out of the tub and all of a sudden there were 5 or 6 people in the room, the table was set up at the end of the bed with all the tools for delivery.  They told me she was going to be here soon.  I remember feeling like I didn't even have control over my own body.  I would get a contraction and my body would push on its own, I remember saying, "I didn't even mean to do that" and my midwife said "its ok its your body doing what it needs".  I remember this sound coming out of me that I had never heard before.  I said "oh I feel so bad, I'm going to scare all of the other ladies here with my sounds" and the lead nurse looked me in the eyes and said "oh honey you are the only one on this end, sing it loud girl".  There were several times they thought I would deliver her, once in the tub, while I was standing up and once next to the bed, again while I was standing.  They kept getting the stuff needed to deliver and the midwife would say "I need hands over her to help me catch the baby". I was so hot, I kept crying, "I'm so hot, please cool me off" I remember 4 people fanning me trying to cool me off.  Brandon said at one point after a contraction I said "dude this is hard" he said he had to laugh because I could have said so many other things.  He said I was so respectful, I kept saying thank you and I never said one swear word.  Finally my midwife was able to convince me to try to push in the bed. I didn't want to because sitting put so much pressure on me but I did it.  I was so exhausted at this point and I would cry through the contractions, but I think it was just my way to get through them.  I asked "how long does this take, how much longer is this going to be" my midwife said "for most women, 1-3 days" Brandon said that shut me up, haha :)

After several pushes and an hour and fifty minutes after my water was broke Miss Bashlyn Val Underdown was born.  They put her on my stomach and I can't even begin to describe the emotion.  I was sobbing, from happiness, joy, relief that labor was over and love.  I asked, "what time is it, is it still Saturday" and they said "yes she was born at 10:12."  Brandon got to cut the umbilical cord.  He said it was like rubber, he had to cut three times.  They took her to a station next to the bed, weighed her and gave her her first bath. She started crying and Brandon went over to her and started talking to her and she calmed right down.  She knew who her daddy was!  She weighed 6 pounds 6 ounces.  They gave her back to me and helped me breast feed her for the first time.  I was so exhausted I didn't feel like I had the energy to do this right now but I wanted to feed her so I did it.  They brought me a sandwich and then about an hour later they helped us get to our new room.  Brandon was able to do skin to skin for the first time, what a special moment.  I fed her a few more times throughout the night, I didn't sleep a wink because I could not stop starring at her.

I am so proud to say I did this 100% natural.  I didn't even have my IV hooked up until after I delivered her.  It was hard and yes there was pain but looking back I feel like I got to enjoy my labor and delivery so much.  It was painful and hard but It was almost like it wasn't even my body going through it, I had so much adrenaline going.  It has been so fun writing this blog and thinking back about everything.  This was truly one of the most incredible days of my life and I am so happy.  I could not have done it at all without my amazing husband who kept telling me I could do this and comforted me the exact way I needed, even if that changed from contraction to contraction.  The hospital staff was incredible and I am so thankful I got to stay with my midwives throughout my whole pregnancy!

Here are some pictures of our special day!

Where our countdown stopped :) 

Picking up Bashlyn for the first time :)

Daddy calming her down before her bath

Sleeping on my chest for the first time

All of our bracelets at the hospital :) 

Skin to skin with daddy

So here I sit 39 weeks pregnant,  7 days to go until my due date.  I have cleaned and organized everything at least 3 times.  All the laundry is done, dinner is planned, dishes washed, bags packed.  Everything is DONE. I have a lot of time to think about how my life is going to change, at any second, really soon.  I am going to have a little person that I helped create and brought into this world.  I am so excited and feel ready but I am terrified at the same time.

When I moved up to CDA I got connected with Casey and Lindzie and they had a precious little boy Kaden who was about 6 months old when I met him.  I was so lucky to be able to nanny him every week until he was about 3.  In that time his little sister Mica joined us and we were 3 peas in a pod.  I had babysat for a few hours a night here and there in high school but this was different.  Being a nanny, being in these kids lives every day was so special.  I got to help them learn and grow.  I got to watch them discover new things and reach milestones.  I learned so much in that time and it was some of the best times of my life.  I loved going to the library every Tuesday for mommy and me reading, blaring "Choo choo soul" the whole drive there.  I loved going to the park every day, Kaden would walk the whole way, and although it took a lot longer it was the best.  I loved doing crafts and the day to day adventures we found.  We can't forget trips to Java too!  We made so many memories but I think the one that sticks with me the most is the elevator story from the library that Kaden told to anyone and everyone for months after.  :)   I have so much love for this family because they have shaped the type of mom I am going to be. I learned so much about how I want to raise my kids from being in their house every day.  I sit here and I can't imagine what its going to feel like to have a baby of my very own  but I feel ready more than most because I was very lucky to have this experience.   Throughout the years I have watched many kids, all who are very special to me and impacted me deeply, I have loved them so much.  I can't imagine having my own baby, every day who calls me MOM and not Astra.

Kaden and baby Mica :) 

Kaden and I watching Bolt 3D while Mica was being born :) 

At our wedding rehearsal :) (mica was done taking pictures:) )

Cutest Flower Girl EVER! 

Such a big boy!! <3 

Thank you Casey, Lindzie, Kaden and Mica for accepting me into your home and letting me be a part of your lives. You changed my life more than you will ever know and I love you all so much.  I can't wait until we come home and we can all go to Java together :)

1st Anniversary Weekend!

Time goes so fast! Our one year anniversary seriously snuck up on me.  With everything with my dad still wrapping up, Brandon going to a new crew, and being very pregnant, I lost track of time! We found ourselves on Thursday trying to brainstorm what we were going to do for our first anniversary.  I had an appointment Friday in Greeley so we decided to stay in Boulder Friday night and get a head start on getting up to the mountains early Saturday.  We looked for a hotels a bit online but decided we would just wing it and stay wherever we could find.  It turned out really fun and perfect!

Friday Afternoon I had an ultrasound because Bashlyn is measuring small.  My stomach is measuring anywhere from 2-3 weeks behind so they wanted to do an ultrasound to get a better idea of how much she weighs and her development.  I didn't really think anything of it, I thought "oh its going to be so fun to see our baby girl".  The ultrasound turned out way more stressful than both Brandon and I had anticipated.  She is only weighing 5 pounds 7 ounces at 37 weeks.  They measured her legs, stomach, ect and she is only in the 17th percentile.  They said if she goes into the 15th percentile that is when things could get really concerning.   They are worried she is not getting enough calories.  I've gained 30 pounds so I am on the right track for weight gain.  They had me do a NST (non stress test) to see how her heart rate is over a long period of time and how she reacts to any contractions I am having. I only had one in 20 minutes and didn't even feel it.  After looking at the NST results the midwife said she is doing really well and they think she just may be SGA (small for gestational age) They don't feel like there is a chance for underdevelopment at this point because she NST results were so good but they may do another ultrasound this week at 38 weeks to see if she's gained any weight.  I am banned from doing any 4+ mile walks anymore :( I said "ok so I should only do 2" and my midwife goes how about half a mile…..dang it! I am going to blow up, but whatever I can to do fatten my baby girl up!

After getting to see our precious baby girls sweet face and calming down after a stressful and confusing ultrasound we headed to Golden.  It is a really cute little town.  We walked through the street fair, had ice cream and watched some of the street performers.   We decided to just grab a cheap room since we didn't even get to the room til after 10 and would be leaving really early. We ended up staying at a motel 6 Friday night, worst decision ever! Brandon seriously brought his brass knuckles into the room with us! Oh man I didn't sleep much that night and we decided our "motel" days are O-V-E-R!!

Saturday we got up early, got Santiagos breakfast burritos and headed up to the mountains.  What a beautiful drive! It was so fun just chatting with my best friend the whole drive, listening to tunes on the radio and talking about the last year.  I am so lucky to be married to my best friend! We got to Silverthorne, drove through the little town a bit and then didn't want to waste any time and went straight to Breckenridge.  What an incredible little town.  It was so cute, shops, restaurants, people everywhere! We walked through the downtown area, went through an art festival and just took in the sights.  Then we decided to go  up the gondola to the mountain.  It was free so that was a nice surprise! We rode the gondola up to the base of Breckenridge.  They had all these family friendly events going on and all their restaurants and bars were open.  After checking out the sights there we headed back to Frisco, Co to find a room.  We stayed at the Ramada and it was fantastic! Beautiful mountain views! We relaxed a bit and then got ready for dinner.  We were going to go to Copper for dinner but when we got there it was raining and you had to walk everywhere.  We decided to go to Vail since we we were only 20 minutes away! Another breathtaking town! We drove through the little town, gasping at all the huge houses the size of hotels! We parked and went to go find some dinner.  It was raining but luckily I had two umbrellas in my car.  One was broken though and apparently when you are in Vail the cool thing to do is to have HUGE umbrellas, not dollar store broken ones, haha! We felt a little out of place but thats ok! We talked to a local that said we HAD to try this pizza place.  We love pizza so we were game.  It was really good and just a cute little place.  One guy goes "when is that baby coming?" and I said 19 days and he goes "wow don't pop in here" Our waitress said I was one of the most beautiful pregnant women she had ever seen, that was a very nice compliment because as I was leaving I had to turn to get between two chairs and I heard a girl go "wow she's just so big" haha gotta love comments from strangers :)

On the gondola :)

Vail! in the rain, but still beautiful!

Sunday, our actual anniversary, we slept in a bit, relaxed and then I was able to convince Brandon to take me to some outlets in Silverthorne :) It was super fun, although we did more shopping for Bashlyn then either of us :) We went to lunch at this delicious restaurant called "The Lost Cajun".  Its a guy that owns it from LA, him and his wife came out here and opened their first restaurant.  Now they have 3 locations and just sold their first franchise.  The owner was there when we were eating and he was a very nice man.  The food was delicious.  I got the chicken and sausage gumbo, Brandon the red beans and rice and we of course shared. We both got sweet tea and beignets and of course Brandon had cafe au lait.  It was such a fun lunch and we talked about all our fun memories of going to NOLA :) We headed back home and then got caught in the dreaded Denver traffic.  It took us hours to get back to Denver, it was tiring and frustrating but we made it.  A quick trip to Costco for fruit and lunchmeat and we were on our way home.  We got home about 8:30, unloaded the groceries and then had some "italian cream cake" ice cream.

For a last minute trip it was such a great weekend! It was so fun exploring these new places and just getting to spend a whole weekend with my husband.