Kerns is not in Idaho

I didn’t think we would be able to afford a washer and dryer.  As much as I wanted one I had resigned to the fact I would be doing laundry once a week at the laundry mat our apartment complex provided.  I also knew once the baby came the amount of laundry would probably double (I’ve heard those little ones can be messy things). 

My resignation changed when we found a washer and dryer in the Salt Lake area.

Several weeks ago I had an impression to go onto Craigs List and look at what washer and dryers were available.  I didn’t have much hope in finding a cheep one. 

I was wrong.

Almost immediately I found one for an incredibly cheep price in Kerns, Idaho.  My mother, who had recently visited us, had found an envelope of money with my name on it.  She didn’t know where it came from.  With the money she found we could pay for the washer and dryer with some money left over.   We recognized it as a blessing from the Lord.

After contacting the lady who was selling the washer and dryer we decided it was a good deal.  She said she had never had any problems with it and she needed to sell it immediately because she was moving to Indiana (lucky!)

Kerns was only 3 hours a way.  We figured we could make the trip in one evening.  We got a pick-up truck lined up and were working on finding someone to come with us to help Chris load the washer and dryer into the truck.  The night before we were to make the trip I had the feeling to check exactly how long it would take us to get to the lady’s house.  I typed in the address on my phone.  Instead of taking me to Kerns, Idaho, the GPS took me to Kerns, UT down by Salt Lake.  After checking the address with the lady, Chris and I discovered that the washer and dryer were in Salt Lake, not Idaho.  It was four hours away, not three. 

Chris was about to call the lady and tell her we were no longer interested.  A plan was forming inside my head, however.  The plan involved an overnight stay, my uncle, and an early departure. 

I told Chris of my plan and he agreed.  After making a few hasty phone calls, we secured the pick-up truck for an overnight stay in Utah, found a bed to sleep in, and someone to help us load up the washer and dryer. 

As we drove to Utah I wondered if this was worth it.  Gas would be more than we had originally planned, and we wouldn’t get back to Rexburg until early Halloween morning. 

It took several days, but I soon found that this memorable trip was worth it for a couple reasons.

#1: The washer and dryer plus gas cost less then a washer and dryer I had found in Idaho Falls.

#2: I got to see some family members

#3: Oh what an adventure we had!

When we arrived at the ladies house it was 10 p.m.  My uncle came and helped Chris load the washer and dryer into the pick-up truck.  It was a blessing he was there.  You would think when you go and pick up a washer and dryer, it would be unhooked, maybe in the garage, waiting for you to pick it up and take it away. 

Not in our case.

It was down a narrow flight of stairs, still hooked to the wall.  Chris and my uncle took a trip to a hardware store, bought some pliers, came back, unhooked the washer and dryer, and proceeded to carry it up the narrow flight of stairs.  It was quite a job for those two, and a show for me.

Chris and Randy hauling it up the stairs

After getting it up the stairs, loading it into the truck was easy

After loading and strapping it into the truck we drove to Provo where my aunt and uncle lived, and with whom we stayed the night.  My little brother, Jackson, met us there to say hi for a few minutes.  He was so nice.  He said I didn’t even look pregnant!  (Then Chris lifted up my sweatshirt to show him my protruding belly at which point Jackson exclaimed, “Whoa!  You’re pregnant!”  Thank you for pointing that out).

I love the washer and dryer in the background. 

After five hours of sleep we were up at 5 a.m. and on our way back to Rexburg. 

The adventure wasn’t over yet.   Just as we were passing Brigham City I began to nod off.   I woke up about 1½ hours later.  I saw some mountains and cows.  We were in Idaho.  The next thing I saw was a sign indicating Burley, Idaho a certain amount of miles away.  We were in the wrong part of Idaho.

Somewhere along the way Chris missed his exit for Pocatello.  We therefore had to backtrack 50 miles.  Though it was stressful (Chris had to be to work at 9:30, and it was about 8:30, and we were 50 miles outside of Pocatello) we eventually made it home with just enough time for Chris to change into his work clothes and drive to work with the washer and dryer still in the back of the pick-up truck.

 

And still our adventure continued. 

That weekend Chris hooked up our washer and dryer.  It took a little more effort than was originally planned on.  The plug we had was a three prong.  The wall required a four prong.  Chris accidently lost a screw in the process of hooking it all up, and when trying to plug it in the power in our apartment went out.  Chris took several trips the store, and watched several YouTube videos in order to get our washer and dryer working. 

After two days we had a functioning washer and dryer, which is now being put to work on a weekly basis.  It is so nice to have one in the apartment.  I don’t have to wrestle heavy laundry bags, remember to bring quarters, or worry about whether someone is going to take out my laundry because I wasn’t there to get it in time and they needed a washer. 

The whole adventure was a blessing from our Heavenly Father.