Apparently Baby likes tuna... who knew?

Another day at the river

Riding the neighbors bike...

Whew! It's finally over!

What a long week this has been. Getting Rick home and trying to finish up the house in time for the open house today. In the middle there we had a tiny birthday party for Paige too! She loved her cake and the plastic food that velcros together was a big hit too. Then today we combined her birthday and a party for Rick into one open house. It went well, I think, and we had a decent turn out. There were lots of kids which the boys really liked but it took a while for Paige to get used to. By the end though when the final goodbye's were being said she kept repeating, "pawdy, pawdy." It took me a minute to figure out she was saying, party! I asked her if she liked her party and she said, "yeah." I asked her if she wanted more party and again she said, "yeah." I think she was sad to see everyone go! Her party dress was a hit (thanks Grandma!) and I hope to take her two year pictures in it someday soon so everyone can see it better. In the meantime, I'm off to sit!

"Pawdy" time!

Frenchman's Bar

For those of you not from around here, that would be a bar like on a river! More specifically, the Columbia River. My friend Robin and I took the kids down to hunt for treasure with her metal detector. It was a beautiful day (just a tad chilly) and the kids had so much fun. It combined two of Caden's favorite activities - digging and collecting junk! He grinned from ear to ear each time he dug up a rusty nail or piece of rebar. It was such an opportunity to remember the beauty around us and be thankful for what we are blessed with here in the Northwest!

A few pictures

A taste of SPRING

This is my favorite picture from the other night! It is so hard to get a genuine smile from her on camera. The kids and I are thoroughly enjoying the nice weather we've been having. A couple of days ago the boys invited the neighbor girls over to try out their new (to us) basketball hoop that is sitting on our back patio right now. They were out there until after dark! Yesterday they decided to make a garden in an unfinished part of our yard. So they have hauled garden tools out and are busy shoveling and raking and doing who-knows-what out there. I don't care though because they are outside and having fun. Let them dig! Unfortunately, if we have a typical weather pattern for around here, this is just teaser weather and we will be in for quite a bit more cold and rain before true spring hits! But we'll enjoy it while we can!

Catching up...

We're back!!!

I am officially online again! It feels great to be connected to the outside. At the moment I do feel like I'm on the "inside" if you know what I mean. Single parenting three kids immediately following a cross country move and having one or the other of them sick almost constantly sort of makes one feel like they've been committed!

We are trying to get settled in but as I mentioned someone has been sick at one time or the other and it has been hard to get everything where I want it to be. Of course sitting here at the computer isn't helping with that either! The boys are adjusting to their new school and seem to be really liking it so far. Trace loves his teacher, and what's not to love? They apply for jobs in the classroom and earn "money" they also get money just for showing up each day, at the end of every week they have to pay rent on their desk and books! Each of the kids is building their own set of stilts using the saw, drill and sanding. Her classroom is not the tidyest, but it is definately the most fun. Caden is in afternoon kindergarten in the same room I attended kindergarten in! His teacher is really nice and a Christian too. So far he seems to be liking it. Paige has done fine with the move except for all the new people. She is meeting someone new a couple times a week which is a lot for someone who has led a rather sheltered life up to now! She seems to have had a little growth spurt and is finally wearing 18 month clothes. We will be celebrating her second birthday the end of next week already. Crazy how fast it goes. Rick is doing very well in training. There is a lot of studying and I'm pretty sure he'd love to come home and relax a little, but he is halfway there! He does get a week off from the 26th to the 4th(?). Relaxing isn't quite what I have in mind for him though! I've got shelves to hang, boxes to sort through, a bed to assemble...

For our mid-west friends... While we are definately missing you I can't say we are missing the weather! Yesterday the kids wore jeans and t-shirts and ran around in Grandma's yard and climbed a few trees! As I watched them and looked out over the mountains and trees I just kept thinking to myself that this is what we couldn't wait to get back to!

Jennifer...

I don't have your e-mail address at my mom's and I never remember to bring it with me! We should have internet access at home this comming week. Otherwise try e-mailing me again (it is still working at the old address for now), or call my cell phone! I've been thinking about you guys a lot and came today with the intention of writing you! Sorry! Tell Scott "HI!"

Everyone else! As I said above we should be back online this week sometime and I'll get some pictures up then!

A quick little update...

I'm so sorry to still not have any pictures! Rick left in such a hurry that he wasn't able to get the computer hooked up and I have been so busy that I haven't had time to call and get the phone and internet transfered! I am afraid to see my cell phone bill for this month. (If you call and can do it on a Verizon line it would be appreciated!) Anyway, we are starting to get control of things a little. My parent's and Rick's mom have been a huge help in getting a pathway cleared through the house. It was a mighty overwhelming feeling to walk into that house Monday after everyone was gone and and realize I had to organize it! I couldn't do it without help! The boys are scheduled to start school on Friday. It looks like we have gotten agreements on how best to work with his peanut allergy and hopefully everything will run smoothly.
Rick is doing well at ground school. He is pretty stressed and has far more studying to do than either of us had anticipated though. We are all anxious to get past this part of the transition! I think that is it for right now. If you live in town with us and haven't heard from me please don't be offended! It has been more work than I expected to get settled in on my own with three kids. Hopefully by next week with the kids in school and a phone hooked up I'll be able to start getting in touch with everyone.

We are still alive - barely

Ok maybe a little more than barely, but it feels like it. I'm not sure, but this move may just trump our move from Calgary in January '01! Let's see it started last Friday when we found out that we didn't get the second house we made an offer on either. That left us out of time and out of options so we agreed to rent Rick's cousin's house for the time being. Saturday Trace complained of a sore throat so I took both boys to the ped (got a chance to say goodbye at least!) and found out they both had strep. Rick's dad arrived later that afternoon and left that evening with van #1. He had a nightmare trip out, going through three tarps over the Jeep because they kept shredding and getting stranded due to road closures and horrible weather! Then on Monday when I picked the boys up from their last day of school the nurse mentioned how the stomach bug had been going around. As if on cue, Trace started throwing up that night - all over my white shag carpets and his bed of course! At that point I decided to definately fly with the kids since four days in a car with a kid throwing up didn't really appeal to me. So the kids and I got on a 10am flight out of Chicago on Tuesday. Fortunately we had no trouble getting on and the flight went pretty well. Paige even slept about an hour and a half of it! Back in Chicago they were frantically loading the moving van in order to leave by late afternoon. They finally got on the road about 4 and made it just over the border into Iowa for the night. Wednesday morning Rick went out to discover his battery was frozen (that happens in sub zero temps). He sent Ed and Sharon on ahead of him and waited for the tow truck to haul the truck into the garage to thaw it out. Three hours later he was finally on his way too. They got up this morning in Cheyenne Wyoming and headed out early only to be stopped a short while later because the road is closed at Laramie and past due to 73 mph winds blowing semis off the road (not a good situation!). So that gets me up to date with all of you on our happenings! Well, not all of them but as far as the move is concerned. We will be moving in to our new place on Saturday it looks like which is a huge blessing. The kids and I went by yesterday to have a look and pick out bedrooms (I sure miss the days when that was the hardest part of a move!). I am eally anxious to get in and settled and feel like we have a life again. I am running into some problems with the elementary school now regarding Trace's peanut allergy. Please say a prayer that it works out. The nurse I'll have to deal with is a nightmare and I will have to fight for everything - not that I can't, I just don't want to anymore! I'm sure I've bored you to death by now and don't even have any fun pictures to post! Hopefully the trucks will arrive by Saturday and I can load a few pictures!

Mooovin' on out...

As you can see we've been busy around here! The last two days have been a packing frenzy and Rick is picking up the first moving van right now. We plan to have one van on its way by Saturday. The rest will be following on Tuesday or Wednesday. It is definately a bittersweet feeling as we leave behind our life from the past two years. The kids are upset about leaving school and friends but totally psyched about living near family. I am going to miss my freedom and knowing 0ur weekends we all ours! I will probably miss having friends living right next door more than anything! That's a once in a lifetime situation. It will be nice to be home again though. Well, I should be getting more done so until we are hooked up again or near a computer I can borrow there won't be any new posts. We still don't know where we will be living (God has a plan!) but hope to be settled soon! Don't give up on me, just keep checking back.

Life is changing fast

We are rapidly approaching D day around here. As of right now Rick's mom arrives tomorrow (tuesday) to help out and my dad arrives Sunday to help drive a vehicle. Rick is picking up the moving van(one of them at least) on the 29th. We haven't nailed down the date that the kids and I will be flying out just yet. I made a whirlwind trip to Vancouver on the 19/20th. I wasn't even there 24 hours! I think I spent more time in airports than in Washington state. Anyway, the lime green house is out - waaaay too much work to make it livable and the house payment came back much higher than we were comfortable with. So I got the lovely job of choosing the final place. With our parent's help we decided to make an offer on a 1900+sq. ft. house in the town we used to live in. We were pretty adament about not wanting to go back there, but what can you do when the cost is signifigantly less? The house is immaculate and a floor plan that Rick and I have liked for a long time. It backs up to a greebelt (a piece of land set aside to be left natural) with a creek which the boys will love. There will be lots of room for bike rides and hopefully at least a few friends. We don't know for sure yet though since the offer is being sent this morning.

I won't be blogging much for the next couple of weeks - obviously! I will try to get a couple pictures up of our move and a definate answer to where we will be going in the next few days.

So, what does all this mean?

Well, that is what we are trying to figure out! We have prayed for both the move and the job for so long I don't think we ever drempt they would both come to pass in the same week! Let alone leaving us only three weeks to find a house and get moved! Our plan is to pack up and head back out west to Vancouver by the end of the month. The buyers want to close the first week of February and since Rick has to report to ground school on the 4th we might as well get moved before he leaves. Just one less thing for Rick to be worried about when he should be studying. Rick spent last weekend house hunting in Vancouver with our parents. He came home wondering if moving back home was such a good idea after all :) Our first choices on homes had sales pending and ironically Rick wound up out at one we had found on the internet a month ago. It is by no means a beauty! It is a lime green (with purple trim) 1977 ranch on 1.5 acres out in the hills. BUT it is clean and worth a lot more than they are asking and overall a great deal for the area too. We have both always wanted to be out in this area and the schools are the best in the area too. So, right now we are waiting to get some information from the realtor and hope to be able to make a decision soon. Ideally we'd like to do a lease option since that would allow us to move in sooner than if we have to wait for a closing. It also gives us a year or two to get back on our feet financially from the short sale on this house and the pay decrease from the new job. We'll keep you posted and after this your can put our address in PEN in your address book!

and now, for the rest of the story...

NEWS ALERT!!!!

A taste of Spring in JANUARY!

We had record breaking temperatures here in Chicagoland today. I heard it reached 66 degrees here where we are! Unfortunately the wind didn't make it feel quite that warm - but I'm not about to complain! When the boys got home from school (which finally started again today) we went out for some basketball with Jordan from next door and then a short walk. By that time the lightening was starting off in the distance so we headed in for dinner and a quick round of Wii before bedtime. I'm now sitting here listening to the news reports of severe thunderstorms and tornados all around us while the rain pours outside. I have to say that when we eventually leave Illinois I will definately miss the severe weather! I'm probably the only one in our family, but I love, love, love these storms. Granted, I'd probably feel much differently if one ever actually hit us directly!

If you can, click on the first picture above. You gotta see the grin on Caden's face as he outsmarts two third graders!

Bedtime at our house

Paige has taken to climbing into Caden's bed and pulling the covers up over herself while we are reading stories. She is so deliberate about it, and just lays there looking at me like it is perfectly normal! Caden, of course, just eats it up! We did get her a "big girl" bed but it isn't set up yet for several reasons. Hopefully by her second birthday in February we can transition her into it.

I know the posts have been slow lately. We have a lot going on around here right now and I just haven't taken very many pictures! Hopefully I'll have some news to report by next week! If you have time to say a prayer for us it would be greatly appreciated - especially for Rick this week.