Friends, Family and Fun

Here we are...packed to the top heading home to Oregon. Okay, so when we moved down here I thought "we really don't need a full size SUV - it is so big. Maybe we should get something smaller" Well, as you can see I was WRONG. This car was packed from front to back and top to bottom. Once we got in the car, I looked at Phil and said "huh...guess we can fill this up pretty good". Then Caed (the dog) popped his head up next to Victoria to let us know that we don't have three children, but four!!

The drive was wonderful and it took us a total of 7 1/2 hours. The kids did great - even with the portable DVD player being broken. Logan read to his sisters and they colored, listened to stories, slept, listened to stories, ate, listened to stories, and ate, and ate....Snacks were our life saver.

Mom had dinner waiting for us when we arrived. The kids ate enough so that they could be excused from the table (did I mention they ate a lot of snacks in the car??), then promptly asked if they could go to their cousins house (next door)...PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE!! We let them go and from that moment on all of them were together just like old times.

I was able to steal away for a few hours to meet some of my friends for late night coffee, stories, and lots of laughs. Oh how I miss them. It was so awesome that they were willing to stop everything and meet me for coffee - what a blast we had. Now, why didn't we do this more often when I lived there??? Hope you all weren't too tired the next morning!!

My Mom and Michael drove down on Friday. That day we met my sweet grandparents at Papa's pizza for our usual pizza lunch. Our old neighbors met us also and surprised our kids...it was great. After pizza we were off to the "old" neighborhood. As we drove up it seemed like we should still live there. The kids played and played and played with their friends as Phil and I ran errands (and TJ kid sat - what a friend!!) and then returned to chat with those we have missed. Logan was able to have a quick game of basketball with his private tutor, Damien (a 23 year old neighbor who Logan absolutely ADORES and used to play ball with almost everyday!!!). I got to hold and squeeze Damien's 11 month old son (who I have adored since he was born!!) and got to watch him take some of his FIRST steps. I am still amazed at the friends we made in our two short years in this neighborhood. It is good to know that we were liked and are missed - because the folks around here don't think that much of us....Let me tell you how humbling that is - well that is for another blog!!

Of course...we had our usual pizza and coffee night with the Barnhurst family. We had a blast and continue to be thankful for such a great and lasting friendship. I think both Kelly and I needed some time to sip coffee together and just pretend like things haven't changed!! The kids picked up right where we left off...playing, giggling, bickering, etc. It is good to know that they will remain friends - even if it is at a distance!!

The most exciting part was Logan being baptized by his Grandpa on Sunday morning...

Logan decided about 1 week after we moved to California that he was ready to be baptized, but wanted Grandpa to do it in Springfield (amazing he couldn't think of that when we still lived in Oregon!!). The awesome thing was that one of his closest friends decided he wanted to be baptized also. I promise you, there is nothing more awesome in my life than to watch my children desire the things of God for themselves. Phil and I were able to go to church long enough to watch the baptismal services and for Phil to sing songs in our old Sunday School class - oh how we miss those kids, teachers, and the silliness of it all!! After this, Phil and I were off for our "business" trip to Hawaii!!

The kids stayed at Phil's parents for the first part of the week, then with my mom and Michael, then they came back so Logan could compete in the Bible Quiz with his old team. They had a blast and Logan did awesome at his first quiz of the year. It was hard on Phil and I to not be there, but we were glad he got to be with his old team and coaches one last time. His team took 3rd and he took 3rd on the all-tournament team.

Once we returned, Phil and I were seriously sleep deprived because of the red-eye flight - which means just that - you end up with VERY red eyes the next day!! It is amazing how three kids don't quite understand the "I didn't sleep AT ALL last night". They were too excited and still needed to get their fill of family and friends before we left the next day.

Tuesday was filled with packing, organizing (and at times leaving Phil alone to figure out how to pack the car!!), and tears. As we drove out of Phil's parents drive-way it was with such mixed emotions....so happy at the thought of NOT living out of a suitcase, but so sad that we would not see our precious family and friends from Oregon for two months....until the next vacation!!

Our drive home was BAD - a nice snow storm came in that day. Our 7 1/2 hour trip turned into 12 1/2 hours with snow from Medford to Redding. The kids did great - still no DVD player, but thank God for kids who aren't used to watching TV. Once again, they slept, listened to stories, ate, colored, listened to stories, ate, slept, okay you get what I mean. Really, it could have been a nightmare, but for some reason our kids (and dog) are wonderful travelers. They save the "I want to pull my hair out" days for when we are at home....

So...to all of you that we got to see - it was wonderful to see you, hug you and talk to you face to face. And to all of you that we did not get to see - we are sorry. It is not that we didn't want to see you, we just had a limited amount of time and a lot packed into it. Hopefully, we can catch up with you next time. We love you all and continue to think of you often!!