We're Home

Mother's Day this year was a little different but I still enjoyed it very much.  We woke up in Boise and ready for our last 7 1/2 hour stretch of the final move.  We felt bad that Jaycee didn't get to swim so we decided to relax a little bit this day and sleep in, eat breakfast then let her go swimming for about an hour.  We got on the road around noon and finished up our drive.  When we came out to the area in March it was pretty but coming across this time was even prettier.  I couldn't get enough of the views and how green it was.  As we were coming into Oregon you could see Mt. Hood perfectly.  I felt such a blessing to be moving to such a beautiful area and couldn't help but ponder on how Heavenly Father helped all this to happen.  We as a family feel so strongly that the decision we made 2 years ago to work for Kleinschmidt led us to this area and where we are supposed to be.  We met our realtor at our new home and as we walked in the door the alarm was going off.  (We still have no idea how to use it)  This home seriously has "bells & whistles" as Craig calls it.  We aren't used to the many upgrades it has and often wonder how we got so lucky to live here.  About 5 minutes after the realtor left the doorbell rang.  I was thinking it was Jaycee but it was actually the neighbor.  Seriously?  She came to say Hi and said she's been keeping an eye out for who's moving in.  She told us all about the neighborhood and area and was just so welcoming.  Well here's how we say thank you.....  As she was walking away Jaycee let Izzy run inside which led to Izzy running outside and ran after her.  NICE!  Craig threw the pizza box and went after her and scared the Sh** out of her nice, friendly neighbor.  Luckily she didn't bite her but she sure barked and growled and nosed her hand like she was about to.  I WAS SO EMBARASSED!  Ugh, that dog!!!!  She pulls lots of Marley & Me moments, but Marley was at least nice. 

Driving into Hood River, OR and if you look closely you can see Mt. Hood by the power line

 BEAUTIFUL!

 Driving beside the Columbia River

 Mountains and trees and waterfalls

So for the first week it was perfect weather and actually had a REALLY hot day which I suppose is rare for here.  We didn't mind because there was NO HUMIDITY so we just laughed inside our minds.  The first week was spent buying food, buying furniture & washer/dryer and lots of unpacking and cleaning.  When I unpack a box I like to clean the room before it all gets put in.  Craig doesn't so pretty much he goes a lot faster than me.  We've been overwhelmed with how friendly everyone has been from neighbors, grocery store clerks, to just people at the park.  When we bought the washer & dryer a neighbor 2 houses down saw us unloading it and walked over and offered help and his dolly.  In Maine we never once had a neighbor offer help or even come say hi.  I would have to say WEST IS BEST!!!  We are back in our comfort zone of stores near by, mountains in view, knowledge of family close and no more east coast attitude that some people had.  We just feel so at home here. 

Our home.  We're excited to "put some roots down" as Craig says.

I'm still working on decorating and we just bought paint for the house so once it gets painted I'll post pics of the finished house. 

Our first week at church was wonderful.  Church at 1:00 is actually quite pleasant for our family.  We all sleep in and enjoy the sabbath morning quietly.  I started a *rule* that on Sunday mornings no TV is to be on so that we can have a peaceful feeling in our home before we go to church.  It actually works out well and I can tell that Jaycee is understanding that Sunday is a special day.  We headed to church and instantly (in sacrament and all) we were welcomed by members of the ward.  I was nervous for Jaycee to go to class and had to decide what to do with her.  Class time since Jan has been a struggle and ended up going to sunbeams in the branch but I really feel it'd be best for her to be with kids her own age and have that extra year in nursery where she should be.  In our ward there are 2 nurseries so when she walked in there were about 8-10 kids all her age.  She was a little hesitant but the teacher welcomed her and the kitchen in there was a bonus.  She gave me a hug and was good the whole time.  Craig and I enjoyed sunday school (it's been a while since we've been able to go to that class together) and again was welcomed by more ward members, the bishop came and talked to us and some lady even wanted some one-on-one Hadi time (that was a little awkward for me since not many people hold her yet)  RS was awesome too and I met more ladies and even planned a park day coming soon.  I just felt so at home and this was truly where we are supposed to be.  Craig left that night with some high priests for a stake meeting at the stake center and us girls enjoyed the rest of the night.  What a wonderful first Sunday. 

The second week has been about the same but it has had rain pretty much everyday.  Mostly it'll be nice and then it rains for a little bit then it's nice again.  It's crazy but for being so green it's gotta rain.  We've had  a day to go to the parks by our house and feed ducks and on Memorial Day we went to the lake that's about 5 minutes from our house.  Oh, and guess what...we are done unpacking!  I can't believe it got done so fast.  So all-in-all we are very happy with everything and feel so full in our hearts for our many blessings.