{Work, Mini Vacation, Late HunnyMoon, & BabyMoon}

Joseph has been trying to get on CHP for a few years now. He almost made it to the academy last year but on the last exam, he didn't pass. He reapplied in October 2014 and just last week had his final interview with his background investigator. He has to do a physical with a dr. and then can be scheduled for the psych analysis before knowing if he will be in the summer academy class. Even though he has signed a "Conditional Offer of Employment" with CHP, that doesn't mean he has the job. He still has some testing to complete. Because he knows that he isn't for sure in the class, he has continued to apply for other jobs. He has applied and has an interview for Colusa Dispatch and we just took a trip to Idaho so that he could test and interview with Idaho State Troopers. It was a 'work' trip, but it quadrupled as a 'work', 'mini vacation', 'late hunnymoon (again)', and 'babymoon'. We definitely needed this trip in order to distance ourselves from the stresses at home (link) right now. This trip definitely did the trick and wish we could have had a few more days of pure relaxation!!

We left for Idaho at nearly midnight on Friday, March 27th. We drove all night through Nevada, Southern Oregon, and into Idaho. We arrived at our hotel around 10am California time. Joseph surprised me by reserving the nice big room with a jacuzzi in it! First thing we did when we got there was turn on a movie, place it on a chair next to the tub and take a long hot bath to relax! I knew it was time to get out when the water went cold and Joseph started snoring =) We slept most of the day and woke up to watch more movies before heading out for dinner and some sightseeing. 

On Sunday morning. Joseph had to be at the police headquarters by 630am to start the physical exam. He was gone for a few hours and woke me with breakfast, which he got from the hotel before leaving for testing. I'd slept the whole time and he surprised me by getting a good selection, reheating and bringing it to me in bed!! We chatted about the testing and listened to The Father's House sermons online since we didn't head out to a church in the area. For the test, Joseph was in a group of about 25 men and was the 4th fastest runner in the group! He did very well! Sunday afternoon we met up with Jordyn and Miles Ware, our friends who now live in Hawaii. They were in town on leave visiting Jordyn's family who live in the next town over from where we were staying. It was great to be able to catch up with them in the short time our locations coincided! Sunday night all my pain jumped back into gear. 

Monday morning at 830, Joseph had an interview with ISP. Because he was from out of state, they made an exception for him (and other out-of-state fellows) to do the interview on the same weekend as the testing. He felt the interview went well and will have to wait a few weeks to hear by email or letter what his results will be. We drove through Boise city, circled the capitol building a few times and drove through downtown and residential before heading south for home. I was surprised how small the city of Boise was. It had only a few tall buildings but I'd expect the area to grow massively in the next decade.

         The country radio station we listened to had no popular 

country songs played. It was all music from the 1970's 

through the 1990's and very early 2000's. It was GREAT 

to hear the real country on the radio! A lot of the songs/singers 

I didn't recognize but some I did. While driving through town I 

commented to Joseph, "I think I'm getting rusty on my music. 

I don't know the new music cuz I don't listen to the dumb stuff, 

but the old music I'm forgetting the titles and artists." 

Just a few minutes later, a song came on the radio and 

I said, "Desperado, Clint Black". Joseph looked at me 

and said, "You knew the song before the announcer 

even said who it was." I said "Yeah, I heard the first '1.2.3.4.5.' 6 notes of the song and knew exactly what it was. It's a very distinct song." 

He laughed and said, "Hunny, you're not getting rusty!"

I slept some of the way but was awake for most of the drive. By the time we got home I had been in the car long enough! Blake is with my parents for another few days while I rest and relax and clean up the house if I can. 

Last time Joseph applied and tested/interviewed with ISP, I was about 6 mos pregnant with Blake. This time I'm 4.5 mos pregnant with B! This was a much better trip than last trip!!

Thursday we get to find out B's gender! I can't wait to find out what B's name is going to be! We don't plan on telling people right away though. We will enjoy keeping it just between the 3 of us for a little bit =D