More of Seaside

Here are some of the pictures of Seaside that were on my Nikon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

~ Love, Hugs & Kisses ~

The B Family

Saying Goodbye

As you all know, Will and I made the big decision to move back to the West Coast...which was not at all an easy decisions. We had to look at so many angles and parts of life to see what we thought would be best for our family. Also, what would help us accomplish what we wanted most at this time in our lives. With our decision, we had to say some very hard goodbyes. I left some great friends and some wonderful family. It broke my heart to say goodbye to my parent-in-laws.  Liz, my mom who was there for me during my two pregnancies and the first 5 years of being a parent and wife. I do not know what I would have done without her support and comforting words. Love my Liz! Also, my father-in-law, Bill, a man who made our accomplishments with each life challenge to somehow sound so spectacular. I will very much miss our intriguing conversations. Thank God for email!

I am so grateful for all that Will's family has done for us in our almost 6 years on the East Coast. I love you all!

We had a family get-together to say our "goodbyes".  It was very sweet and a good way to celebrate our time there. Just thinking about it makes me tear up.

Here are a few pictures from our last weeks. 

Playing Grandpa's harmonica

Will took me to the National Art Museum in April. The tulips in front were so beautiful.

 

~ Love, Hugs & Kisses ~

The B Family

 

Wildlife Safari

Yesterday, the kids and I headed to Wildlife Safari with Grammie.  The kids had so much fun!  I loved the park as a child and really wanted to take Colin. Wildlife Safari is unique in that you get to drive your car through the park where a lot of the animals roam freely. A few like the bears and lions have some fencing to keep them from playing with the cars. I prefer this to zoos that have them in such restricted cages. Colin was amazed by how close we got to the bears. He was right outside our window!! Some of the animals we got to see were lions, tigers, bears, bison, hippos, rhinos, zebras, and several others. There was even a giraffe walking in the road right next to us; he practically bumped our car. If I had to guess what Colin's favorite thing would have been...I would say getting our car washed by an elephant!  Meli was not as big of a fan. This was the first time I have seen her scared of something. To her credit, the trunk of the elephant was hitting her window. She was OK as long as I held her hand.

We had a nice lunch with a view of some monkeys swinging from their play gym.There was also an area to walk and to pet some smaller animals.

I think I am going to give in and buy a camera cord. I took a lot of pictures yesterday that I am anxious to load on my laptop.

Summertime

I went to the storage unit and did a quick look but could not find my camera cord. So sad. Here are a few recent pictures from my phone.

 

Meli at the Saturday Market in Eugene.

Playing with bubbles.

 

Colin's new Iron Man mask - ready for the pool!

Meli wants his mask...

~ Love, Hugs & Kisses ~

The B Family

Coming Together

Our new life in Oregon is starting to come together.  We had put an offer on a house. Both of us just fell in love with this house, but we were still a little hesitant because it was pretty far out from the main business district in the area. It would be quite a commute. This would not be a big deal for Will since he is still working for his company in Virginia. The amazing concept of telecommuting!

Not to dwell on the house but it was beautiful and perfect...3200 sq ft...so much space. It was built just last month. It has 4 bedrooms with an additional room/den on the main level. Everything is so spacious. The master suite is the biggest bedroom I have EVER seen and the bathroom...Oh man. I love this house...but there are some things about living that far out I am just not so sure about. Plus, we felt the location of the house in the neighborhood was not ideal. For now, we decided to rent a nice townhouse for a bit and then try to find something similar to our dream house closer in. Fingers-crossed. Or if we decide it would not be too far out then maybe we will go for one of the ones being built right now.

So we move next month. It will be nice to have our stuff out of storage and get set-up for the school year. I cannot believe that Colin will be starting Kindergarten this year!!!!! I have already gone through him going to pre-school but still it is just such a big thing - kindergarten. I cannot quite put my mind around it.  I spoke with the school today, so we are getting him registered this week. I may cry. I am excited for him though. It seems like yesterday I was planning his 3rd birthday party. It really does fly by.

Meli will not know what to do with herself without her big brother around. I am sure she will have fun in spite of that fact. She is such a happy, fun-loving girl.  Once I start back to work, she will probably be going part-time to preschool, which will be good for her.

I am excited to move and for summer time. The weather has been so nice here. Colin is excited to use the pool at the townhouse. Plus, hopefully we will be able to have a few trips this summer. I want to take Will to San Francisco or maybe San Diego. Two of my favorite cities on the west coast. He has not really spent anytime in California, so it is about time. We may also try to head up to Seattle. Colin wants to see the Space Needle.

~ Love, Hugs & Kisses ~

The B Family