Day 176 - 181: Hair color, Park City, Provo, Brooklyn

Alanna has been wanting to do something to "express herself", and as much as I like my tattoos, they are not for 12-year-olds. The other option was for an ear piercing, and she threw in the idea of a nose piercing, but that was shot down quickly by the parentals. We settled on getting her hair dyed... then we went back and forth on how she would get her hair dyed until we got to her appointment. Then, we changed the plan again. Ultimately she ended up very happy! I also think we may have created a monster, a super cute monster.

Brandon finally took his dependents to work! We went and explored Park City Canyon side and the day did not disappoint. We had great runs, beautiful views, and a bunch of fun. I don't want to brag but, we hit up the terrain park and I may have gone a bit crazy catching 3 inches of air off a jump. It was a great day and reminded me that I do love winter.

Brandon and I have been going back and forth on getting a second vehicle now that he is working. His job isn't far, about a half hour away, but on days that I need the vehicle that is two hours of travel round trip and Shakira isn't exactly an ideal vehicle to be driving around all the time like that. We headed out to check out a 2003 Subaru Legacy on Monday from a private seller. The drive out was absolutely beautiful through the mountains on the 189. The vehicle was in nice shape for it's age, but when we took it for a drive it started to have that sweet smell that can only mean one thing... head gasket is about to go if it hasn't already. So, we passed on that vehicle. We went to regroup and brainstorm at a super cute coffee shop in Provo and we found a vehicle I never thought I would want to own, a minivan. We also didn't realize that Toyota Sienna's come in AWD, so that was what sealed the deal. We made an appointment at Bank of America to inquire about an auto loan, and headed to test drive the Sienna. She was in good shape, drove nicely, super comfortable, and has the room that we need for travel days and ski days, and will save on fuel costs for sure. We settled on the Sienna, went back to Bank of America for our appointment, and then it got annoying. It never crossed our mind that we wouldn't be able to finance something older than 10 years, nor did we really have to finance it we were just doing it to keep building credit. After going through the process for about 40 minutes we went to finalize and put in the vehicle information, and the error message came up that we are not able to finance the vehicle. So, we went with plan B, which was kind of plan A but if we could have financed we would have, and bought it outright. All that time and we could have been at home already. 

We went back to the dealership, signed the papers, paid the man, and then waited again for them to wash the van and fill 'er up! I drove the van home, and Brandon followed in Shakira. The whole way home I was trying to channel what her name was going to be. Sienna was too obvious, I thought maybe Tonya, then it hit me. The original place the van was purchased was Brooklyn, so her name is Brooklyn! Besides the fuel savings, Brooklyn will be super useful for travel days when we can put all the animals in there instead of the truck, and when we have visitors. Alanna loves Brooklyn. We joked that we basically bought Alanna's first vehicle. In three years she can take it over and be the coolest kid with a minivan that can fit all of her friends. She is also a fan of the DVD player and captains chairs in the second row. I just keep looking at the van and thinking "I never thought I would have one of these." These truly are wild times!

Things we learned:

• Alanna loves her hair and she is already plotting her next color
• The drive to Provo is beautiful
• Park City is fun - but I would never pay $250 for a day pass. Luckily we got season passes for free!
• Vans really do make sense, especially when they are AWD!

Much Love and Happy Times,

The Blackshire's

Day 166 - 175: Snow, Roller Derby, Water Heater

 Our week was less eventful than the last. And for that, we are thankful! Brandon started working at Park City and loves it. How could he not? The view is great, and he gets to ski all day. There is more snow here than there was where we were in Colorado. It comes with the territory; we are closer to the mountains and travel in and out of them on a daily basis. Alanna had her first Derby practice with Wasatch Junior Rollers on Sunday, which meant that I had to bring Brandon to work. Brandon starts work at 7am, so we left our place at 6am. The roads by us were just okay, but once we hit the 40, they were not great. I was driving, and white knuckling it the whole way. I seem to have developed a slight fear of driving in inclement weather after our last two trips. It also didn't help that a Ford Ranger spun out in front of us, and it is pitch black out at that time of day. I became very nervous that I wouldn't be able to get Alanna to Salt Lake City for practice that day. After we dropped off Brandon Alanna and I went to a cute breakfast place and waited for the sun to come up. This also gave time for plows to get out and clear the roads. Once the sun came up and plows were out, we were on our way to SLC. We got there! I did it. I got Alanna to her practice! It's the small things, really.

Alanna was nervous and excited about her first day. We got there in time to watch the Junior travel team, and they were really good. Alanna jumped into her practice and had a great time. This team is very structured, and she is going to learn a lot. We are really excited to watch her develop and grow her skills. Between waking up prior to the crack of dawn, and skating her heart out, Alanna was super tired.

Brandon has been looking for new-to-him skis. The skis we have are good for Western New York skiing; AKA groomed hills and carving. Brandon found some powder skis for sale on marketplace and picked them up on Tuesday. Wednesday Brandon and Alanna went to Park City so Brandon could take some runs on his new skis, and I worked from the lodge. I wasn't the only one working from the lodge, and it's not a bad view! After a couple runs, we went to Salt Lake City to look for a second car. Something we can pay cash for that will help us to save on fuel cost. We didn't find what we were looking for, so the search continues. We did see some cool vintage Subaru's at the Subaru dealership and had some nice views in downtown SLC. 

 

In other news from living in an RV, our electric fireplace hasn't worked for a bit, and we are finally getting a replacement. It is covered by our warranty, but they don't cover shipping. It's always something with warrantees. Our electric portion of our water heater also went out. I have been YouTube-ing how to troubleshoot issues and fix it. So far, I have changed out the heating element twice, and that didn't fix it. The next step is to change out the thermostat switch. I have ordered the part we need, and it will be here by Monday. Our hot water heater can work off of electricity, propane, or both. We are already using propane to heat the RV, so it's not ideal to keep using propane to heat the water too. We have been turning it on to get hot water to wash dishes and showering at the showers here at the RV resort. The showers are nice, the water stays HOT (Alanna and I appreciate that), and the pressure is good. So, fixing the issue isn't a top priority or a major concern. If the switch doesn't fix the issue, then we will call to get it fixed. Until then, I'm having fun trying to fix it myself.

Things we learned:

• I have to figure out how to get over this new fear of driving in snow.
• Changing the heat element is pretty easy.
• The heat element wasn't the problem.
• Alanna is going to love being on the Wasatch Junior Rollers team.
• Brandon has an awesome job.
• Not all skis are built the same (We knew, but you don't know the difference until you try them)
• Utah is stunning.

Much Love and Happy Times,

The Blackshire's

Day 159 - 165: Bruce's eye, Packing, Moving.

 Bruce had an eye appointment to check the progress on the pressure of his eye, and he did great! His pressure is down to 14 from 38. The vet was very impressed and excited! Bruce is going to make it in the world with one eye! He still gets drops daily and will indefinitely. 

After Bruce's visit our next focus was on moving. We had to get packed up and prepared. After our last trip on the I80, I was all nerves about this drive. Brandon may have been all nerves as well. We watched the weather along the entire route, and we had the best day to move (we hoped). We got a majority of the packing done throughout the week and removed the skirt from the RV - which was easier than we expected. Alanna slept over Dana's Friday night. They went for Ethiopian food and went skating. It is no secret that Alanna is going to miss having her aunt so close, and I'm going to miss having my sister so close. These last few months have been awesome hanging out with Dana. Saturday Brandon and I got up and packed up some more stuff before we headed out to Alanna's last derby practice with Boulder County Roller Derby. She has really impressed us with her derby skills and dedication to the sport. She took it upon herself to look up a Junior team in Utah, and her first practice will be this Sunday. 

Sunday morning came. Our travel day. Weather was looking good, spirits were good, we hooked up quick and efficiently, and we were on our way. 

We said "see ya later" to the Colorado portion of the Rocky Mountains and started our drive. Everything was looking great. The weather was holding out, the drive was going smooth. Bruce was sitting all goofy, Socks threw up twice, but we were all good!

We got onto the I80, and we were still going well. It has taken me a couple of days to update because of what happened next. We were driving along and then everything changed. Without a warning the wind was 60+ miles per hour, and we hit black ice. The truck went one way, the trailer the other. Scared doesn't even begin to describe how any of us felt in that moment. Brandon just kept saying "I've got it, I've got it..." and he did. He got us out of it. He got us going straight. I don't know how he did it, but he did. We knew it wasn't going to get better, but what were our options? We could pull off somewhere and stop without knowing when we would be able to go again or keep going. We kept going. We went slow and kept getting pushed by the wind on the black ice, and Brandon kept us going straight. We muscled through it; we decided as a team to muscle through it. We got to a safe spot, stopped at a gas station to fill up Shakira, and shake off our nerves. While at the gas station we found out that the area we just came through was not closed due to the conditions. We got through the worst of it. We quite literally went through hell. Even today the route has closures. We got back on the road, which wasn't great, but it was better, and in about 20 minutes the roads were dry, and the wind was absent. The rest of the drive was just about as perfect as it could be. 

We have decided that we do not want to move in the winter again. Ever. We have also decided that we have never hated anything more than the I80, specifically between Laramie and Rawlins. If you remember from the last update, that is the area that we were stuck in last time, too. We got to our new spot just two hours later than expected, but we got here! The sunset was absolutely stunning. The view all around our park is absolutely stunning.

We are just outside of Park City in an area called Heber City. We set up in about an hour, then grabbed a bite to eat. We were pretty prepared for something to be wrong inside the trailer considering the drive we had. When we opened the door, we discovered that one of the cabinets that had canned goods in it had opened. The canned goods fell out, and broke part of the countertop. Neither one of us really cared, we made it. We will figure out repairing it, and it will be a reminder of how fortunate we are. Lesson learned. Always bungie the cabinets closed. 

 The sunrise the next morning was equally as stunning as the sunset the night before, and the view from my office window is amazing. 

The view didn't last too long; it faded as the snowstorm came in. Our area was expecting 5-8 inches of snow which was weird because it never really got below 34 degrees out. The snow came, and it was heavy, and slushy. We braved the slush and went to check out a gym and did some grocery shopping. We got home in time for the snow to really start coming down. There was definitely a good amount of snow when we woke up this morning. Brandon had to go into work today, and it was a slow drive in. I will say that Utah seems to be better at clearing snow better than Colorado was. There is a plus! Now that the storm is gone, the view is back. Just breathtaking.

Things we learned:

• Brandon is a superhero. He is our superhero. He did amazing.
• The truck and trailer are not heavy enough for a portion of the I80 especially during winter
• Bruce's eye is doing well
• Once again, we were reminded that we can basically get through anything together.
• Heber City is quaint yet has everything we need within a 10-minute drive

Much Love and Happy Times,

The Blackshire's