ups & downs.

today marks 2 weeks.  In some ways it seems like we have been here for months, and in other ways feels like we just arrived.  2 weeks ago today I was on this plane with a 1 way ticket to Seattle.  As we flew above San Diego I felt very nostalgic.  I felt a rush of 3 years of Southern California memories passing through my blood.  It was a chilling feeling.  I spent much of the trip thinking about our time in Southern California and grateful for the experiences.  Both thankful for the experience, and saddened it was over.  Our new adventure awaits us in the Northwest.

The first few days of our new adventure were a blur.  As we walked into our temporary housing we all felt an excitement, similar to that excitement you feel when you walk into your hotel room on vacation.  There was a new adventure that was ahead of us.  We spent the next days looking at homes day and night.  We tried to add a little exploring in between.  We went on walks, explored, found a beautiful waterfall, and slowly began to learn our new area.

Our new journey which includes big decisions, small decisions, and learning new things.  Important things like, what will I replace my In N Out craving with?  ;-)  We went to 5 guys, which I hear is the "northwest" version of In N Out.  In my professional opinion, it was a good burger, but nothing compared to In N Out!!!!!!!  Nothing!  hehe.  

We have done some exploring with our friends, which we are SO grateful to have here.  Our best friends from college live about 45 minutes south from here, and they have been awesome.  We went on a ferry ride, walked around the island, enjoyed some starbucks (to keep us warm), and had a wonderful time.  Well, aside from FREEZING!!!  You know how cold the back of this ferry is???  Well, look closely at this picture.  Windy enough that my hair is blowing back at about 20 miles an hour, freezing my face.  Cold & windy enough that Hayden is having trouble keeping her eyes open!  Cold enough for Madison to feel the need to put her hood on like an eskimo.  We were COLD!!!!!  Cold enough to send me coat shopping Monday morning for a nice, warm, down coat!

Here we are on the front of the ferry heading to the island.

Seattle truly is a beautiful city with so much to see and do.  It will be fun to learn all about it....

By about day 10 we made an offer on a home.  Scary and exciting all at the same time.  Exciting part is that we get to put the girls in school in this area.  We are feeling good.  The girls are super excited about their new school, and I am loving it as well.  An amazing school, with fabulous programs, and the highest quality education.  I couldn't be happier for my girls.  

Day 11, our cars are finally here!!!  Now this was exciting.  My rental was nice, but it is so nice to haveyour own car back after not having it for so long.  I was so excited to see this truck pull up.  

We found an amazing park nearby our home that we fell in love with.  The lake in the background is amazing, the beautiful trees, the green...LOVE!  The girls loved it and can't wait to go have a picnic there.  

Things are beginning to fall into place until day 13.  We had a home inspection on our potential home, and they found a large amount of water in the crawl space.  Since the home is new construction, we should not be starting out with issues.  That was enough to push us away from wanting that home....day 13 provided with lots of emotion, lots of tears, a wave of homesickness.  Day 14 we wake up to start over.  We are back on the search for a new home.  

The past 14 days have been filled with ups and downs.  Laughs, smiles, tears, frowns.  I can't say enough, all I want is the best for my family.  I try so hard to make everything work, and it doesn't always work out the way I want.  And that is OK.  What fun would it be if things always went the way I wanted them to?  I sit here on the ride of life, and try my very best.  

The story of relocation.