Grand Opening! Charles Schwab!

Tomorrow is our Grand Opening and ribbon cutting with the Salem, OR Chamber of Commerce, clients and new acquaintances.  I so wish our long-time FL friends could celebrate with us.

Our days are long with our new venture but John & I work well together, I think.  I hope he wouldn't say otherwise.  He is a great boss by the way.

I have realized though how much I really Do Not know.  It is quite humbling.  It has been a big learning curve in processes, material and overall  for this 20yr stay-at-home-mom veteran.  My lack of knowledge in this arena is a little - no a lot - humbling.

 We wish our two oldest sons could be here with us to be a part of this event but alas they are hard at work at college as they should be. 

Fall Is In The Air

 As fall approached us here in Oregon and we started talking about being excited to see the changing color of the leaves we realized that Parker & Macey really had never seen FALL!  Crazy to think but true.  Parker was 18 months old when we left Georgia for Florida.  Riley and Austin remember the days of fall in Georgia, the leaves changing colors, the pumpkin patches, and more.

Parker & Macey have had many times in the snow as we visited Idaho in the winter over the years .  But none of the memories of experiencing Fall.  There was never a time frame long enough from school in the Fall to make a trek from Florida.

The trees at the end of our road had lost most of their brilliant red leaves.  We were sad when we realized this and were determined to find others.  We wanted to save the picture of our minds eye for future times to remember.

 We didn't have far to go to find some more examples of the changing colors of Fall.

 The changing colors are proof that it is indeed getting colder.

Tonight as I post this it is 46 degrees with an expected low of 34 degrees.  It is raining so the wet makes it colder.  Just like the humidity in Florida always made it hotter.  I'm sure sometimes we will get to the point where we are tired of the rain just like we tired of the humidity.  But there is "beauty all around"  to be found in each of these. 

Thanks Where Thanks is Due

Not all the pictures of our travels are all in one place, so check back for more on our travels.

We couldn't have made the trip cross country without our 2nd trusty driver - our all grown up son - Austin.  Thank you for all your help packing, loading, driving,driving & driving, unloading and so much more.  Particularly the HOTTEST days ever with a faulty air conditioner in the truck.

Thursday July 19, 2012 – Kansas City Weather Forecast

Friday – Partly cloudy. High: 100

Saturday – Mostly sunny. High: 104

Sunday – Mostly sunny. High: 106

Monday – Mostly sunny. High: 107

"June weather records are in, and the nation's unprecedented warm spell continues, making this the warmest first half of the year and the warmest 12-month period since record-keeping began for the continental U.S. in 1895."

And most of all thank you for putting up with the rest of us!

But oh, the places we've been and the things we've seen - together.

(Riley we know you were eager to participate if we had planned better and you had been able to leave work there in Provo to assist us - next time.)

From Sea to Shining Sea!

I know it's about time for an update.  I always find an excuse not to.  Maybe because I have to think about what I want to say or how to say something somewhat intelligent and interesting.

We have gone through a BIG change over the past couple of months.  The BIG change of moving from one end of the country to another.  It is a LONG drive, had a few challenges but was also able to take some time and see some amazing, interesting and memorable things along the way.

We bade farewell to Naples, Florida . . .

And said hello to Salem, Oregon . . .

We shed tears and the Florida skies wept with us as we headed out of town and finally arrived in Oregon to warm welcome rays of sunshine and cool breezes to comfort and refresh us.

We spent time seeing sites such as . . . Andersonville Prison Cival War Site; St. Louis; Nauvoo, IL; Carthage, IL; to mention a few.  Pictures of all those to come.

We stayed in Idaho for almost 2 weeks for a family reunion.  We relaxed, took turns preparing meals, had some hilarious activities, did some kids crafts, canoed, played ultimate, rode 4-wheelers & motorcycles, hiked, went swimming, played basketball and attended the home ward for church where all of us grew up and the men and boys shot handguns & shotguns while the girls crafted .

It had been several years since we had been back to my mom's.  She has made some wonderful changes to her home, deck and yard that we all love.  Two years ago our reunion was in Texas, so we didn't get there then.  The next year was our turn to visit John's family in Washington, so we didn't go then either.  

The kids also got to ride horses.  One was thrilled, one was not. 

And even I got to ride. 

We made a stop at Multnomah Falls just before dark as we were on our last push or leg of our LONG drive.  It is beautiful here in the Northwest.

We were able to spend a few days with John's family . . . enjoying more of the outdoors.

We did finally find our way to our new home . . .

unloaded with extra help that we were sooo grateful for . . .

We are settling in slowly but surely and getting ready for our new adventures here.