Monthly Archives: October 2015

I have been avoiding any kind of countdown as of yet because I will be very sad to leave Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital at the end of the month.  But alas it is going to be so abrupt I should at least give a shout out on up coming events as this speeding engine seems to have no brakes!  I have two extra shifts four hours each (I thought they were 12 hours when I signed up for them and will most likely be on call) and then my three twelves for next week… that…is….it… 😳  We have started our goodbyes.  We have one more Sunday at church, a family holiday party, and a few other things planned that make the next 10 days look like a whirlwind.   I recieved this sweet gift from a coworker last night a baby sized beaded bracelet.   She said, “Oregon babies love Sarah because she takes such good care of them.”  Such a beautiful gift that will put in my curio at home and cherish forever.  Thank you Liz!

We have spent anywhere from 1-4 nights these last 3+ months at Motel 6 in Newport Oregon.  It has been our home away from home.  When we were checking out I tried to make reservations for next week during the week when they for sure would not be full.  

They had originally been completely inflexible with my night shift schedule, but after explaining that I needed the room from 8:00am one day until 4:00pm the next one over midnight night and two days.  Under the normal hotel blocks I would check in at 8:00am and have to pay for the night before even though I would be there only a few hours of that morning.  Then I would be checked out soon enough for them to turn the room back over for another customer that evening.  Essentially one night with early check in and late check out.  Last week they had contacted the owner and they had okayed for me to have early check in and late check out for one night and charge me for two. Great! Win win! I am not paying for three nights so I can sleep for two days and they are getting two nights pay out of the room being used over one midnight census. 

For this next week when I tried to arrange the same thing the lady (different person supposedly the area manager) was completely inflexible.  When I explained that I worked night shift, she rudely explained that she was familier with that, but to sleep two days I would need to pay for three nights.  And that the other girls who had been flexible with me may not be working there anymore.  I was mad…I don’t think I get mad too often… It is slow season they are definitely not full, we have been giving them a lot of business for 3+ months and they could not be flexible when all I was really asking for was one night and a few extra hours on each side of it being more than willing to pay for two nights even though I would only be there for one.  Now on top of that she is hinting that the staff that had some semblance of customer service had been terminated for being reasonable!?! I said, forget it, we do not need a reservation, we will not be staying here again!  I feel bad for my reaction I should have been more calm.  Still part of me hopes they will miss the weekly income that they have been getting from us and review their customer service policy.  I am there for their community!  It is hard to staff a critical access hospital and get all the qualified people you need from a small community.  You know I work at the hospital I just told you that…I’m here to help you and have been a loyal customer.  Booooo

Was it the Fungi Festival or Mushroom Festival?  In Yachats this Saturday and Sunday.  We spent Saturday at the aquarium and so Sunday was the day.  We spent Saturday Night in Newport.  Per Caleb’s request we attended Newport Nazarene Sunday morning service.  He had met several kids from that church at Camp Kellogg and he wanted to see them again.  He didn’t see many of them there, but it is a big church and he is now in 6th grade, too old for Sunday school and we didn’t get there in time for youth group.  After church we stopped by the hotel and grabbed the fixings for a PB&J sandwiches before heading south to Yachats.  The festival was small, and the locals were friendly.  

   We walked through then gave the kids some time to play at the playground before heading back to Newport. I loved the tree house.   
    
    
    
   Gotta love this cute little church!  

This morning after work I ran to FredMeyer and picked up some necessities and some morning coffee for Chad and myself.  The rain was pouring out of the clouds at at rate that requires a pre unlock click of the remote, grabbing everything and dashing to the car.  At the hotel I parked three spots away from the entrance and again grabbed and dashed still getting fairly wet.   When I arrived at our room Chad was whistling in the shower and the kids were finishing their breakfast.  When Chad got out of the shower he announced that he needed to run to the store to get some necessities. Lol.  Oops guess I should have asked if there was anything I could get him at the store.  I encouraged him to leave the kids and just run to the store.  They would be fine in the room with me even if I fell asleep.   I hadn’t really even started drinking my coffee (decaf) and Hannah came yelling out of the bathroom “The toilet is over flowing!” Groggily I jumped out of bed.  I guess I had dozed off. I jumped toward the bathroom, took the back off the toilet and held the float up as Caleb, following instructions, ran down to the front desk for more towels and a plunger.   He returned quickly with I believe the manager, four big towels and a plunger.  As they came in Myra made a dash for the open door, I knew it wasn’t beyond her to make a move like that, but she had never yet done it.  I was completely caught off gaurd.  Out the door she went I made a mad dash for her and stopped at the stairs.  She was already down them and out of sight.  I turned back.  My socks were already soaking wet from our bathroom flood, but I probably should have shoes and a jacket to go running off chasing the dog.  I realized then that the extra key was not in my pocket.  I knocked on the door to the room with no answer.  Amazingly the manager came by at that exact time (since she was there a couple minutes earlier when the dog ran out) she knew it was my room at let me in.  Thank goodness because in the time it had taken me to chase Myra to the stairs and come back all three of my kids had taken the elevator to the lobby to try to help me out and no one was left in the room.  I pulled off my socks slipped on my flip flops and grabbed a coat.  As I dashed back up I passed Caleb and the girls with Chad’s Coffee and grocery bags.  chad had sent them up with the items he had purchased so he could help me catch Myra.  She is so darn quick some times.  We looked around both sides of the hotel and the end of the parking lot to no avail.  Chad had me go back to the room and deal with the bathroom flood and volunteered to drive around and look for Myra.  The toilet was no longer over flowing thank goodness.  We were able to sop up the mess with the towels we had already used so the new towels brought up could replace the used ones.  A few minutes plunging if that gave us a running, not overflowing toilet again.  Caleb ran the plunger back down and before I could change into my PJs Chad was back with our furry beast.  He had driven around and not seen Myra but on his return trip he had spied her wispy black tail in a fenced in area she had some how gotten into.  She came right to him then the owner of the lot came up and asked him if “that” was a Newfoundland and he had answered Yes.  The man said, would you like to meet my Newfoundland? So Chad and Myra met Max…guess the man wasn’t too upset about them trespassing on his property and now they are both back safe and sound although dripping wet.  

We finally made it to one of Newport’s biggest attractions, the aquarium.  We have been before but not with the new shipwreck display and this time we were able to have Cyrus and Aunt Stephanie along with us.   

    
    
  I would not like to run into this guy while snorkeling.  The little ones I saw at Richardson Beach in Hilo were scary enough to have me kicking away as fast as I could.  This guy is 8 feet long!  
    
    
    
    We watched the otters being fed by their trainers. 
    
 This abalone was tired of his hitchhiker.  

    
 Aunt Stephanie let the kids experience the 68 mph wind of a hurricane. Cyrus was not too sure about it and Eve grinning ear to ear yelled, “May Day! May Day! May Day!” There was quite a crowed gathered around to watch.

    
 
   
    
    
 When we were all done at the aquarium we took all four of our little fruit loops to the hotel and let them play around in the hot tub while Chad went grocery shopping and brought “home” Chineese food take out.  Party in our room!  The kids were pretty cute and had a fun day.

We made it to Bauman Farm for the second time ever and it was a great experience.  We arrived about 10:30AM and surprisingly were not the only school aged children at the patch.  It was however not crowded like the last time we visited two years ago.  We bought the wrist bands which were made worth it with in the first hour.  From 10:30AM – 5:30PM the kids played happily from one activity to the next.  It was relaxing for us parents as well.  Eve cracks me up continuously and today was no different.  As I watch her run around being her funky self, amused I wonder what God’s plan is for her life.  She may make me shake my head often, I still consider my self to be so lucky to get to be her mommy.  Caleb and Hannah being big and pretty responsible were given free reign they were just required to check in between activities so that I would have an idea where they were and wouldn’t worry about them.  They did well with the reins and not only checked in regularly they frequently planned ahead to go to some of the activities together or to take the littles (Eve and Cyrus) to the activities they felt they would like.   

  We are ready with a stash of pumpkins for carving. 

Last weekend as Sarah headed off to work I loaded up the car with the kids, Jayson, and Cyrus to go to Paul and Debbie’s get some work done.  They needed to paint their house and Jayson and I had made plans and we’re expecting to work on it for several days. We got there and Paul had borrowed a splitter and was splitting some very big logs from a couple trees that has been taken down on the property. We helped with that for the rest of the day and prepped the house to be painted. We started the next morning and went to work spraying the house.  I was so glade that we had the sprayers and were able to finish the house by the end of the day. While we were painting Caleb helped grandpa by running the splitter and they were able to get all the wood split. We finished the day by stacking all the wood. It was a tiring weekend but thankful that we got the work done and was free to make the trip out to help.

~Chad

We have spent plenty of time in the Oregon capitol building and we have taken the tour where you hike up to the golden pioneer on top, but we have never taken the official capitol tour.  So today we along with Stephanie and Cyrus took the official capitol tour.  

    
 Check out the BP cuff! 

  Sweet carpet pattern! 
 The governors office. 

 Sitting in the Governors chair.

  
    
    
 The first capitol.

  The second Capitol
 The third and current Capitol. 

Probably more of you are curious than will ask.  We have been in discussion with our family and believe that we will do three more assignments in hopes to see all of the 50 states then. Settle back down for a while.  Of course we can plan all we want to but we are not ultimately in control of everything.  We love all of you and have appreciated your prayers and support over this last year and a half of nomadic existence.