... the park ...

i've been dreading this post.

i've been putting it off and putting it off

simply because these pictures are of the day

before we moved away from these kiddos that we love so much!

on our very last day we cleaned our apartment

from the very tip top to the very very bottom,

and then we went to the park to spend a little time

relaxing and playing and snuggling and laughing!

we thought that we were prepared for the goodbyes.

we've had a lot of practice because my sisters all live far away

with our precious nephews and nieces, and we have hugged them

goodbye more times than we like to acknowledge,

but 

this. was. hard.

and there were tears ... lots of them ...

and looking at these pictures still make us very homesick

for kiddos and hugs and sticky fingers and silly jokes and kisses on the cheeks ....

seriously. aren't they just adorable?  

we are the luckiest aunt and uncle 

in. the. entire. world.

dear nephews and nieces (all around the country), 

we love you and miss you so much more than you can ever imagine!

*** *** ***

phew ... made it through that post.

and that officially catches us up to life in oregon!!

Life in Grants Pass

We are finally feeling settled in!

Nate has been at his store for 3 whole weeks

and I am happy to report that he is enjoying his new job!

We've been struggling a little with the inconsistency in scheduling

because we got use to his 7-3 shift in Logan, but it's getting easier and easier,
so hopefully it won't take too much longer to get the hang of!

I returned to my 'office' the same week Nate went back to work

and it was nice to get busy and have a purpose again!

I do get lonely during the days, but I'm grateful to have a job

that lets me work from home until I find a school to work at out here!

I'm really enjoying just being a wife! It's been years

since I haven't been a student, and I'm loving being able to 

keep the house clean and to make yummy meals for my husband!!

I finally feel like I'm able to relax a little bit and rest up from my years as a student!

Here are some of the things that we have been up to:

Rascal found a favorite spot (that is not on my lap or next to me on the couch):

And had a dream where I think she may have been learning how to fly
 (she was literally sprawled like this across my lap for quite a while - it was pretty funny):

We made our first trip to the can/bottle return center and made back $5.35 - 

of course I had to capture it on camera:

We took a drive at dusk to the top of Grants Pass - and it was beautiful - it was impromptu so all I had was my phone - someday I'll take Nikki back up and get some proper photos for you -
we also got lost on our way back - it was a very exciting evening:

And on the nights when Nate comes home from work tired,
we relax with some episodes of 'Pretty Little Liars!'
It is a pretty intense show - so if you're a light weight like me and don't handle spooky well,
make sure you watch it with someone you like to snuggle with!!

We are really loving it here in Grants Pass but have to admit

that seeing all the pictures that people are posting of Cache Valley

in the fall on FB and Instagram are making me homesick!

The Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cookies that we found here are delicious,

but nothing will ever beat a slice of Old Gristmill Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

while walking around Old Main Hill in the fall!!

That being said, however, we are very happy here

in our new home and our new little town!!

Happy Fall, everyone!! 

Packing Up {for the big move}

I'm SO close to being caught up!

It's helping that aside from working 6 hours a day,

organizing our new place,

and actually cooking our meals,

I've got a lot of time on my hands!!

Today, you get to see pics from our 'packing the truck' day!

First of all - even though we have been here for three weeks

(wow! Three weeks? Where did the time go?)

we are STILL SO GRATEFUL for all of the help we had

loading, packing, cleaning 

and we loved spending time with the people that we love

through doing this!!

We are so blessed to have so much support!!

And also, we are SO GRATEFUL that even though there was a lot to do,

the adults who helped us obliged our requests

and brought their kiddos -

we were squeezing in every last bit of time with them that we could!

Okay, okay ... here are the pics!