The Weekly Photo

The Weekly Photo

The Weekly Photo

Man, late again. I've really neglected this little blog and I probably don't have many readers anymore. My computer is so slow and probably needs to be cleaned up so I have not felt much like getting on the computer and pretending like its 1999. Here are two pictures:

For Monday, February 15th:

Star Wars kids

{Elanor with her cousin, Cedric}

And Monday, February 22nd:

Tree teepee.

Pumpkin Patch Fun

I love going to pumpkin patches.  My longtime friend, Kate, invited us to go with her and her daughter, Killian, to a patch near their house. It was super busy, which was not my favorite, but we had a fun time!

 Elanor, Alice and Killian.
 I did not really get a good picture of these three, as there is not a single one where they were looking.

These next few pictures are so very cute!

As I already said, Elanor loves doing these cut-out face pictures, but for some reason looked super bored in most of the pictures. Alice is pretty funny though and seems to be enjoying herself.

One thing I love about being back in Oregon, is seeing so many friends that I grew up with. Kate is one such person and I have known her for so long! We were in school together, did plays and ballet together, have traveled to England together, etc. She is one of my favorites. I hope our daughters can be friends too. We should have taken a picture together at the pumpkin patch!

Weekly Photos

I am waaaaaaay behind on these. I like to do them, mostly to keep track of photos for my photo book and to encourage myself to take more pictures. So, I am back to doing these. Here is 2 months worth of weekly photos:

Should have been posted July 20th:

I did not take very many pictures this week and I remember that Alice was being difficult this day and just wanted to sleep with me and I was a bit tired and frustrated, but also I love to snuggle her. Motherhood feels like that often, it is hard and tiring and also rewarding, fun and full of love all at the same time.

Should have been posted on July 27th:

Elanor flying a kite down the street.

{I did not take any pictures this week! This is from Tyler's phone. Whoops.}

Should have been posted on August 3rd:

We did a family vacation since Ian got back from his mission. We tried to get a picture of all three grandchildren, but it did not quite work out. I still think this picture is pretty funny!

Should have been posted on August 10th:

 Harry Potter party!

Should have been posted on August 17th:

Said goodbye to Utah, our home of four years and our dear friends.

Should have been posted on August 24th:

We made it to Oregon!

Should have been posted on August 31st:

 Jessica and Cedric came to Oregon to be in and help with the play, "MacBeth" that my mom was directing. We had so much fun with them!

Should have been posted on September 7th:

 Alice's blessing day.

We all had parts in the play "MacBeth".  I was Lady MacDuff , Tyler was King Duncan, Jessica was the Porter/Doctor/Murderer, Ian was Angus/Siward and Elanor was Young MacDuff child/Apparition 2. It was fun to be in a play again, even if it was just a small part. Elanor loved it and had quite a few lines for someone her age and did awesome!

Should have been posted on September 14th:

 Beach day on Labor Day!

I'm all caught up and I will try not to let that happen again!

Packing and packing and some photos!

Sorry, I have been getting so behind and hardly blogging! We went out of town and have also been packing up. Moving is a lot of work. We head for Portland on Saturday, so I don't expect you'll hear from me until sometime next week. 

Here are some photos from our short Oregon trip to see Ian (back from his mission!!), my sister and her husband and new baby, Cedric (I'm an aunt!) and of course my parents!

I am so happy my brother, Ian, is back. I missed him so much!

I have quite a bit more to blog about, but no time right now. So, in the future, look for a 4 month update (I will actually try and do this before we leave, she is already 4 1/2 months!), Harry Potter party, and a catch-up on Weekly photos!

So, we're moving...

As most people know, we have been wanting to move back to Portland, Oregon for a long time. We have been living far away from family for seven years and really want to be closer. Plus, we both grew up there and miss the beautiful northwest. So, we are finally moving in August! There are a variety of reasons it has happened now (Tyler is applying to PA schools in Portland and needs a few more prereq classes and it is cheaper and easier to take them in Portland, he does have an interview for a job, we can live with family until we find a place/are in a position to move, etc.). We are sad to leave Salt Lake City and our many friends here and we ended up liking Utah a lot more than we anticipated. When we moved from Virginia I made a pros and cons list about what I will miss and not miss about Virginia and I enjoy doing that for some reason. So here is my miss/won't miss list:

Will NOT miss about Utah:

The air pollution/inversions--

probably my number one con for SLC. They seriously need to do something about this.

lack of water--

I love to go swimming, but there are few fresh water options unless you want to drive quite a distance. Plus, all of the Wasatch Mountain lakes are part of the water shed, so you are not allowed to swim in them if you hike up to one.

It gets pretty hot in the summer--

also the no lakes/rivers nearby makes this much less bearable.

The billboards--

Seriously, why?

Gardening--

It is so hard to garden in Utah and not have everything shrivel up from the heat. I know a lot of people who are successful, but I really think you need a drip system. I am so excited for rich, dark earth!

Will Miss about Utah:

Our friends--

We have so many good friends here, so does Elanor. It will be hard to leave them. So, all of our friends, you should come visit us in Oregon!

My aunt, uncle and cousins who live here--

We will miss you and thanks for everything you have done for us!

Our ward (group of people we go to church with)--

We have such a wonderful ward, full of so many great people. We did not have to deal with the "Utah culture" problem. This is such an accepting, friendly, and interesting ward. I'll really miss the Young Womens group I just started serving with!

The mountains--

Yes, there are beautiful mountains in Oregon, but I will miss the closeness and the only half hour drive to get up into the mountains and on a hike.

All of the National Parks--

We were only able to go to two out of the five, but most of the parks were only within a three or four hour drive.

Our close proximity to everything--

This was something we sort of needed after living in Virginia, especially being so close to Whole Foods and Trader Joe's. 

The snow--

I LOVE snow and love snowy winters and it hardly snowed our last winter here, which was a bit disappointing.

Here is a short jaunt down memory lane in Utah: