Moving

We've lived in Camas, WA (Vancouver) for over 18 months, and now it's time to say goodbye. Nate will be transferring with his company to take over the Spokane territory, so we are moving back to Liberty Lake. We are very, very excited about it. We've really missed Spokane and all of our friends and family. We can't wait to settle down there.

At the same time, it's always so hard to leave great friends and a great ward. We really have liked living here. It's such a beautiful area!! Moving is so hard. That's why I really hope this is our last big move.

We will move into a rental home on February 1st. I'm not sure how long we will be there though because we're currently looking at homes to build, and we're hoping to get that process going soon.

Now I get to pack and pack and pack. And clean. Yay!  :)

 

 

(All of this may sound familiar because we almost moved back about 9 months ago, but it didn't work out.)

Mexico Cruise

So... I hate to say it, but Nate and I just didn't enjoy our cruise at all. We did a 4 day cruise to Cozumel with Carnival Cruise Lines. I guess that wasn't the best choice. We didn't want to leave the girls for 7 days, so that limited our choice of cruise to just the shorter ones. Also, we had to go out of Galveston (we dropped the girls off at my parents' house in San Antonio area), so that also limited us. But I had heard how awesome cruises were, so I thought it would still be great.

I don't want to go on about all the things we didn't like about it, but I will just say we won't be doing a cruise again. I realize there are better cruise lines and better destinations, but we decided that we
 prefer to just fly to a destination and be free and on our own. Not surrounded by thousands of random people. It's just not my kind of vacation.

But here are a few pictures...

 

Thank you so much, Mom and Dad. The girls had a wonderful time with you!!

San Antonio Zoo

Last week we headed to Texas and visited my parents, and then Nate and I went on our first cruise. I will get to the cruise later.

 

We had a free day, so we went to the San Antonio Zoo while Halle was home with Grandma. It was a nice zoo! We had a good time. Since it was a weekday, we had the place to ourselves.  

 

 

 

This is a Sun Bear. Also called a Honey Bear. Kind of cool, huh?

 

 

A two-headed turtle. Pretty cool, if you ask me. I wish I had two heads. I would never be lonely.

Beautiful Sunday drive

About 3 weeks ago, we went on a Sunday drive with our friends, the Beardall's. We drove east to the Bonneville dam and this place called the Vista house. It was beautiful!

 

 

Impromptu photo shoot

I love fall

 Today we went to the Harvest Festival at Willamette Valley Fruit/Pie Company in Salem, OR. We had such a fun time! I loved that place. There were a lot of activities for the kids to do, and they had a great time.

 

They had a factory where people were making all the pies. We took a couple home. Of course.

 

The corn pit

 

Yeah, that's probably not the cleanest place to lay down. She's still alive though, so that's good news.

 

 

Paige did the zip line

 

"Which one should I pick?"

 

 Halle looks so grown up in these pictures. I can't believe she's almost 18 months old!

After we got our pumpkins, we ate chicken pot pie and chili (the only actual meals they serve) and then this super tasty dessert...

 

It was vanilla ice cream, layered with their Mixed Berry Pie. YUM!

 

Such a cute place to visit!

A little decorating

So, I have to admit... I don't like renting. There. I said it. Yes, it is definitely nice not having to fix the big things that go wrong around the house, or having to pay for upkeep. But I just don't feel at home in our house. I know it's just something I need to "get over," but it's hard to feel unsettled and like everything is temporary. I'm not very motivated to organize my home, or to decorate it. But I finally did some decorating in our living room, and added some fall stuff around the house.

 

I should do a post where I show you our bedrooms. They are all just kind of sad, empty rooms. I know there is more to life than having a nicely decorated home, but when you spend about 22 hours a day in your home, you want it to look cozy and inviting. Right?

 

 I can't wait to own a home again and to feel more settled. I am impatiently waiting for that day.

 

 

 

This is Paige, mid-tantrum.