Moving to Wisconsin

Driving past Toomer's Corner . . . for the last time.

So, we just moved from Auburn, AL to Hartford, WI and what a crazy ride it's been!  The actual packing and moving went quite well because the company Ben is working for now paid for a company to move us and paid our expenses for us driving up (hotels, gas, food, etc.).  It was the easiest move we've ever made - for that reason.  However, that has been about the only smooth sailing we've had so far.  First off, before we moved we were crazy busy.  Ben was finishing up with grading and finals and he was behind because his father had past away a month earlier and he had missed a few weeks.  We were in a hotel in Auburn for 2 days while they were packing us up and we were cleaning the house for inspection.  It was busy, but all went well.  We had a lot of friends who helped us out with watching kids and feeding us in the process, which was very much appreciated.

We finally set off on the 6th of December for Nashville (our overnight stop).  Just as we were leaving it started to rain - I told the kids that Auburn was crying because we were leaving (I was crying too!).  About 2 hours into our trip, Ben's oil light went on so we pulled off the side of the road and found a mechanic.  Luckily the mechanic wasn't even a mile from the off-ramp.  We changed our hotel reservations around so that we could stay there for the night and have the car fixed in the morning.  While we were at the hotel Ben was doing research on what he thought the problem was.  He was pretty sure it was the oil pump and in the morning he called the mechanic and let him know what he thought is was.  When the mechanic checked his car out he found that the oil pan had a lot of stuff in it.  He thought that was the reason and cleaned and fixed that up.  When we picked up the car, we felt that he had done the right thing.

Waiting for the tow truck in Huntsville, AL.  The last we saw of Ben's car. :-(

About 2pm we were on our way to Louisville, KY this time so that we wouldn't have to drive so far the next day. After about 2 hours Ben pulled off at an exit and just stopped his car on the side of the road.  We weren't even off the off-ramp.  He told me that his oil light had gone on about 1/2 mile earlier and that he was planning on stopping at the next exit because it was so close.  However, his engine just cut out and he had to coast it to the off-ramp.  He was able to get it started and we drove to a gas station a few hundred yards away.

Luckily we had a friend in Auburn who used to live in Huntsville and her family still lived there (Sam's piano teacher, Megan Pettus).  We called her to find out who was a good auto mechanic and were able to get it towed there.  We had to leave the car behind and resolved to have Ben fly back and pick it up a few weeks later.  We drove on to Louisville and made it about midnight.  We had to get there that night because the truck had called the night before to say that they had to deliver it on Sunday so we had to be there by Saturday night.

Louisville was beautiful and felt even more so because we stayed in a 2 bedroom suite.  It was so great!  If we have to travel and stay in a hotel, I think we'll try to do that again.  The next morning we got a call from the mechanic to tell us that Ben's engine was gone and that he would need to replace the engine.  Ben says that it was the oil pump and that it hadn't been pumping oil to the engine so it died.

The next morning we were off and drove to Hartford that night.  We didn't get to the hotel until about 8 and just as we were driving into Wisconsin it started snowing.  It was the first snow storm of the season - nice welcome gift.  Ben had promised them that he would take them swimming when we got to Wisconsin because the hotel had an indoor swimming pool.  The kids had so much fun and loved the hot tub the best.

Sunday morning, Ben met the truck at the house and the kids and I went to church.  We only stayed for sacrament meeting and by the time we got back to the hotel and were changed and Adi had a nap, the guys were done unloading the truck.  The snow was a little untimely because it made it difficult to not get the carpet dirty, but oh well.

We found out after we got to Hartford that for Ben to fix the car it would cost $3500.  We figured that this was God's way of saying it was time to buy a new car.  We feel like it was meant to be because there were too many things that happened at just the right moment that led to his car's engine going out.  I feel that it was a blessing in disguise and that God is telling Ben that now it's okay to get a new car.  I'm happy that he gets to get a new car because he's had that car for 17 years and it hasn't had any major problems.  He really takes good car of his car and I feel that Heavenly Father recognizes that and appreciates that Ben uses his resources well.

And what were we greeted with when we arrived?  The first snow of the season . . . and it wasn't the last.  It snowed 15" a week and half later.  Our neighbors told us it's the worst snow they've seen in 20 years.  Welcome to Wisconsin, Puffers!!