Thursday, July 27, 2023

Heather and Dean Updates 2023

First things first - Tomorrow at 3pm is our one-year anniversary!

7-28-2023

It's the day I proposed to Heather in 2021 on top of the Seattle Space Needle.

Plans aren't planned yet. The ones we had fell through. We were planning on going to Vegas and then Arizona to see Dad.

Here is our engagement video:

   

Dad had a heart attack recently. They found more plaque in his veins, so they put in some stents in his heart aortas.

 We have a nice new-to-us home that we got into right after Halloween.

It is great! We are glad that we don't have to live in our fifth wheel.


This is a video of our new house we got in November:





We traded our fifth wheel for a Dodge Durango. We drove that for a while then gave it to our adopted daughter. It wasn't a good vehicle for her and her children. She traded the Durango for a down payment on a truck. It's a much better vehicle for her and her little kids!

Our house has been full of roommates and adopted children since we moved in. There has always been someone to fill these rooms! The purpose of this house, however, is to get it ready for Heather's children to have a good place to stay through partial custody.

Since Christmas, we have rearranged the house and added more furniture as well. We now have a bunk bed in the boys' room instead of the sewing machine and computer. The office is now in the shed in the back yard. The sewing supplies can be set up and taken down in the living room.

Recently we had a good vehicle. It was a Jeep Patriot. We thought it was outstanding. When we went to go pick up Heather's daughter near Seattle, WA though, we found out how bad it actually was. The engine seized up and the transmission failed. We were 2 hours away from home. Luckily Heather knew someone close by who could tow the vehicle not 20 minutes away from us. He is the fire chief in The Dalles. To top it all off, we just picked up Porkchop (Tony) from his 6-day trip from Philadelphia on the Greyhound bus.  He wasn't impressed with our vehicle. We felt embarrassed. A friend of Emilie's brought her to us that same night. We paid him some gas money, and now she's here. Porkchop and Emilie ended up dating after they both moved into our house. They're good people. Emilie is 18 and Porkchop is 31. They're making things work!

Photo of the Jeep

We just put a down payment on a Ford Escape. It is a very good vehicle! I have been getting school grants and loans to pay for some of my living expenses. Heather and I pay bills and get a thing or two. This time around, we really needed a vehicle for her while I was at work. 
We put down on a 2017 Ford Escape

2017 Ford Escape from the Ford Dealer in Hermiston, OR

The payments are reasonable, so no worries there. This thing is New-new. It has so many features, it's like we bought a $12K cell phone.

Being chronological:
1: we traded the fifth wheel for the Durango
2: We adopted a 23-year-old daughter.
3: She traded the Durango for a down on a truck
4: Bryce and Bree moved in and moved out in a month.
5: We had the house to ourselves for 2 months.
6: We bought a jeep
7: We went to go pick up Emilie (Heather's 18 YO daughter) from Seattle
8: The Jeep we drove to pick her up broke down.
9: Emilie was picked up by Bryan who is Heather's 14-year-olds father.
Porkchop was here not less than one day before we picked up Emilie.
10: We bought a newer vehicle - A 2017 Ford Escape.
Today: 7-27-2023 
There are four adults living in our house.
Heather and Dean
Emilie and Tony