Move to Oregon (part 1)...

It has been such a busy year!! We made a huge life change and decided to try something new. We've always wanted to live here...someday. Well, after struggling to keep work for 2 years, we came to the conclusion that it was time to look elsewhere. Within 2 months of that discussion, we were on the road...

Goodbye my beloved home!!! I lived here for a total of 20 years, first with my Mom and brothers and then my husband and own children. It was so hard to say goodbye, but I knew we were being lead in a different direction. It was a tearful and bittersweet farewell...

Then we were on the road! Clint and I were like little kids the night before, we had planned to leave at about 4 am, but we couldn't sleep at all that night and ended up leaving at about midnight, it was a looooooooong drive on NO sleep. Took us about 12 hours (2 more than usual) because of the slower speed with the trailer and the many stops for the kids and to wake up. But, once we started into the pass and saw the beautiful GREEN surroundings, it was like a push of adrenaline and we zoomed the rest of the way. It was so welcoming!

Cara's cute birthday cake that Karen made! Care-bear for our Care-bear!

The BIG 6!

Cassie's home-made card for Cara...

 Kevin gets a surprise kiss from Rachel...

AND CLINT!!! MMMM-WAHHH!

 Cara's little frog-friend she found when we went on our country drive. She was a tad too excited, and may have squished on him a bit too much...we pretended he went to sleep and set him in his home- in the bushes... ;)

Karen and Kevin have a little sand pit in their backyard- the kids LOVE digging in it.

 And probably my favorite part of the summer here, besides the coast, the Calapooia River- it's perfect for cooling off and the first time we went was our last really good memory with Chopper... (Above: Miah in the river)

 Clint loves to have his picture taken...

Miss our dear Chopper SO MUCH.

Chopper braving the water- Whatta good boy.

 Always throwing rocks...

Pretty Cara....

Gorgeous.

 A day-camping trip. It's so frustrating, because pictures just don't do it justice. And THE SMELL! It's amazing...

 Pa's super sweet motor home...

 Wonderful Choppa-loppa.

And Mr. Giz

 Our short hike...

 I like this one because it gives some perspective on how tall and looming the trees are here. I'm sounding repetitive, but it's so amazing. Just love it.

Clinton by the widest tree we saw.

OK- and that does it for part one. It's picture overload... But, it's so great to be here and to be able to feel rejuvenated just by looking at the surroundings, there's many more pics to come.

Schmoorgasboorg of Pics... Part 1

OK, can't say I didn't warn you...I have approximately a bajillion pics that I need to post, this is just the surface scratched. But, still fun to go back and look through 2009.
This is all going to be pretty random, so good luck keeping up!

Christmas Morning, Cara and her new baby (that cries, drinks, eats, pees, and poops.) Such a lucky "grandmother" I am...
The PURE joy face as Clinton opened his customized truck...green with TWO trailers! Just like Dad's!!!
Manicure set. I never knew what I was missing before, now that I've been so spoiled, I can't do without. ;)
New flannels for daddy! You can see Meatball's enthusiasm in the background.
So excited for Christmas.
Scooters!
Cara's beloved doll house, she LOVES this thing. Well done, Santa!
My beloved purple tree!! I adored my tree, nearly cried having to take it down. Miss you tree!!
Snowman family at Corrington Christmas party, we all made socky snowmen- Great idea Christy!

Cara and Cadie.
Hubby loves. :)
Cara with Santa at the Klingler family party, she was much more open with Santa this year, had no trouble asking for toys.
Clinton too- except his list is the same every year...trucks, trucks, and trailers.

OK, here are a few of my cell phone pics (smaller size) from the year, I just loaded them, so again, it's gonna be really random...

Baby Gage! I get to babysit Mr. Gage quite frequently, but realized I didn't have any pics of him posted yet. He's quite the flirt. ;)
I know we look kind of ghostly, but this was such a fun day, Cara and I walked the greenbelt and soaked up every second of the sun. Ahhh, I miss it.
Blue October concert! Soooooo very fun! Clint's first concert ever, now he's hooked. Told ya, dear!

Another date night pic, we need more of those!
OK, these are from a day when we had WAY too much time at the bus stop, so we had a photo shoot. This is Clinton's infamous "Scare-wee" face.

Handsome, toothless boy!
Oh, and I'm sure Clint will get after me, because the car looks much different, but here is Clint's new car on the day we bought it.
He's giddy about it. ;) More pics of it's transformation to come as well...

- And, for you squeamish ones out there, here's fair warning to stop now. This is the much anticipated removal of the cast and pins from Clinton's leg. Poor kid!
Cutting the cast...
Poor little foot!

Before the pins were pulled, he was VERY nervous, and so was I. I pictured tears and screaming, but he looked down and the doc was done- not even a flinch. Thank goodness!
His muscles were pretty deteriorated, but after a couple more months he was able to walk on it again. - Never a trampoline again. I'm so glad he can walk again!

Alright, that's it for now. Thanks for bearing with me.

To be continued... ;)