Finally, an Update with Pictures

After three weeks in Washington I feel like we are all starting to get in somewhat of a groove. For all of you that don't already know, Nathan took a job up here with his sister Nicole's husband. We left everything we know to act on answers to prayers, and are living here on faith and hope that we made the right decision. In doing so, his sister and her husband are nice enough to provide us a place to live until things become more stable with the selling of our condo in CA, his part time job turning into a full time job, etc. Living with family has actually been easier than we were expecting. Of course we have our ups and downs, those are to be expected, but it has actually been a lot of fun hanging out with them since they are the same ages as we are, and their two boys are just slightly younger than our two boys. Here are a few pictures of each of the two sets of buddies:
Kai (on the left, the bald one) is now 8 months and is great at sitting, and is getting better at pushing himself around, (his head is pretty big for his body (weight is in the 5% and head is in the 85%) so he drags his head as he pushes himself to where he wants to be). Jacob is almost 5 months old, and although he spits up a ton, (it sure seems to run in Nathan's family's genes), he is 3x the weight of Kai! These two little guys don't do a whole lot with each other, but they do enjoy each others' pacifiers and toys. Thankfully Jacob is a pretty quiet and mellow guy because Kai loves hearing himself and is becoming really LOUD!

Chase and Joseph are becoming quite the brothers--they love each other one moment, and the next moment they are bitter enemies. Although they are the same size, Joseph is 7 months younger than Chase. It is nice having them together because they entertain each other and always look forward to seeing the other one when they wake up from naps or in the morning. Here is a picture of them soaking their feet before Nicole pampers them with a foot massage :).
They also enjoy snacking, drinking, and eating at the same time, because if one is doing something, the other has to do the same thing. Unfortunately if one is playing with one toy, the other one wants to play with the same one--sharing is something they are working on :)
After frequent fights, they are still really good at hugging, and sometimes kissing, to make up.
Here is Nicole and Adam's family room, where most of our day is spent each and every day. This is cleaner than it normally is. Even though it normally is filled with toys, and looks as if it has been hit by a tornado, we are able to make it look presentable pretty quick. It is nice to be getting the hang of cooking, playing, and living together, and I know I will have many experiences to be putting on here in the next little while.

To wrap this up, I just wanted to mention a funny thing Chase said the other day, it is pretty random, but he is learning to say so many things now, and the things he says are often hilarious. So Chase and I were getting ready to go outside, and he says, "You're not my mom." I replied, "Oh I'm not am I?" and he says, "No, you're my girlfriend." I have no idea where he came up with what a girlfriend is, or why I am his girlfriend, but I thought it was pretty funny. Anyway, sorry for the random ending to my post :)

We Made It

So I can't find my camera since we moved, but I really haven't looked for it all that hard... so no pictures yet. However, I thought I would update you on our journey here and let you know that we made it to Washington in one piece :).

Halloween was unfortunately not full of trick or treating, but packing and cleaning. The day started out rainy, which we were worried it was an omen because it was really the first rainy day of the year for Cameron Park, typical...when you need good weather, you don't get it, haha. Anyway, it only rained on Nathan and me while we packed boxes in the morning, and when we had more help for the bigger stuff, the sun decided to come out and shine, an answer to prayers. We had two women in our ward that were so benevolent to offer to watch our boys, one watched them the first half of the day, the second for the rest of the day. We had some trouble getting the trailer we rented to tow our 2nd car, but 15 minutes before the rental place closed, they had our trailer in stock, so Nathan drove back to get it with our loaded 16' truck, and I was still at home scrambling to leave our place in a nice condition for potential buyers to actually consider buying it :). It was a mad rush for us to get everything done so we could pick up our boys before their babysitter had to make it to the ward Halloween party, as well as get the trailer picked up before the place closed for the week; however, we miraculously made it, and were exhausted in the process. The rest of the evening consisted of trying to get things figured out for the journey ahead of us, and trying to have an enjoyable last evening with my family while we still lived in the same town. I am really going to miss my parents, my brother Devin, and my sister and her family, we were really blessed to live close to so many of them, and now I am realizing how spoiled I have been. If it weren't for them, this move would have been a lot easier.

Anyway, the next morning we hit the road after the boys woke up. My dad helped us out by driving our HUGE moving truck up there for us, to allow Nathan to drive our other car, and me be the personal entertainer for the boys. We didn't realize how much we needed my dad to come along with us until we hit the Northern tip of CA and parts of Oregon, because the roads were slick, the rain came down hard, and passing through the windy mountain roads alongside semi's made for some crazy driving experiences. We made it to Eugene, OR the first night, which was over half way. My dad treated us to Outback, which we enjoyed, except for the fact that our two boys were exhausted from the long day, and did NOT want to be stuck sitting down again, who could blame them. We grabbed our things to go and went back to where we stayed the night at the local Super 8, which was actually nicer than I imagined :). We hit the road the next morning after we all woke up again, and enjoyed the beautiful scenery of OR and WA, and made it to our destination around noon. WA greeted us with HUGE rain drops, which made it difficult for the guys to unload the truck, but the rain soon cleared, and they were able to get all of the moving done. Thank you to all of you that came to help.

Now we are trying to figure things out in our completely different life. The job that we moved up here for is unfortunately only part time for right now, and will hopefully be full time in the near future. So as of right now Nathan is looking for another part time job to give us the income to survive on. We have chosen to make several sacrifices for this new change, which have been really scary, but because we feel that this is what the Lord has asked us to do, we are hopeful and faithful that He knows what He is doing and that the sacrifices will bring the blessings.

We are also very blessed to be temporarily living with Nathan's sister and her husband. I am amazed at how willing they are to clear out two of their rooms to allow us to move in with them. We have enjoyed spending time with them and their two boys, and look forward to the many adventures that lay ahead of us.