Hello Seattle

 

We flew into Seattle on June 26, 2012 and drove to Jana and Scott's house on the 27th to spend a few days with them before Taylor's work started.  We started looking for a place to rent the following Monday and found our current town house and decided to live there.  We still spent a good few weeks in the temporary housing that Microsoft provided for us.  One of the many luxuries that Microsoft provided, such as moving services, travel and meals during travel.

While in temporary housing, we had a chance to explore the Bothell/Kenmore area.  My favorite way to explore is to go running.  I found some great trails near where we were staying, so Nelli and I went for many beautiful runs. I found myself falling for the North West so quickly.

 

 

 

We were comfortable where we were staying:

 

 

 

Taylor started work on July 10th.  In the picture below he's lining up to get on the Microsoft Charter bus to go to work at the Redmond Campus.

 



 

Siri invited Nelli and I to go with her to Katie's Birthday celebration at Jana and Scott's house in Spokane.  Leah, Jason and kids were out west to support Jason as he went to a conference in Seattle.  (They ended up doing a big cross-country trip and camping along the way -- way to go!)

 

 

We had a great time playing with cousins!  Even Tyler and Ali were there on their way to Seattle to settle into a new life there.  Tyler got a job at Amazon shortly before Taylor got his job at Microsoft.

We moved into our new house within a week or so of this trip. The movers came and put all the boxes where I wanted them, had me sign a million papers and were on their way.  How easy is that! I always want to move like this :)

Goodbye St. Louis...

Last few days in St. Louis with the Gradens:

Sarah and I decided our recipe books could use some updating- They're so fun!

We spent a lot of time out on our porches sharing ideas, insights, and testimonies--all while watching the kiddos of course

Maggiano's

The Cheneys:

This makes me want to cry- Those girls love each other so much!

The Childrens Petting Zoo

Oh, boy... We're going to miss living so close to the friends we've made!  We've just loved living in St. Louis and can't wait to see our buddies whenever we can. Sarah shared a great idea with me that brings me hope: 

When changes come in life,
it’s not God trying to
take away from us,
but rather he has more to give.
It is up to us to
open our arms
to gratefully receive
all that He has in store.

Brie helped us prime our walls and did a great job with her little roller.  My neighbor, Allah gave me a scarf and a shell necklace as sweet going away presents. And we had all our stuff packed and moved for us for the first time.

Nauvoo Trip with Jason and Leah

Nelli really took to Katie 

Look at this face =)

We met Jason and Leah at Camp Nauvoo and after taking in what the "cabins" had to offer we decided to sleep in a family size tent.   There were spiders all over and a little girl that was in the cabin next to the one we reserved told us she woke up with mouse droppings on her blanket.  That was the last thing I wanted...sleeping with mice and spiders...no thanks =).  I kinda feel like a wimp, but I'm glad we decided to sleep in the tent. 

 It was great to be with the Jason and Leah fam!  We just love them!!  Leah was our wonderful cook over the coals and we got to try her yummy homemade jam...mmm! I could eat that stuff every day!

We toured Carthage Jail and went to an awesome play called "High Hopes and River Boats".  We'd recommend that play to anyone who visits Nauvoo.

Branson's "Whoville"

We bought a Groupon for a cute little cottage in Branson, Mo. When Shea saw the little community we were staying in, he aptly nicknamed it "Whoville". We had a great time swimming at the community pool (which had a kiddie area-yay!), exploring the town of Branson, and taking a train ride to Arkansas. The girls also loved dancing to Shea playing his ukulele. We also had some good games of Ticket to Ride when the girls were sleeping in their Pack 'N Plays in the bathrooms.

James and Lisa's

James and Lisa took us to the beach on Assateague Island.  There was an awesome bridge we drove over to get there.  Taylor, Rachel, and Alex had fun sitting in the tide and got knocked over with one of the waves.  Rachel couldn't stop laughing.

This Jellyfish exhibit at the National Aquarium is so beautiful! Can I have one in my house?

Nelli started a tickle fight, she didn't know what she was getting into...

Cutest kids!

We love biking =)
 

Lisa put a biathlon together for us and we had a great time biking 12 miles with James (Thanks Lisa for watching the kids) and James and I ran a 5K. We also had some fun game nights and they hooked us on another new game--Carcassonne. We just loved spending time with them- can't wait until we can go again, even if I only get a sheet in front of the toilet  =).

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Nelli Lady

I found a way to let her wear a pair of my earrings-she was pretty excited!
(They lasted on her ears less than 5 minutes.) 

So, some updates on Nelli.  She recently started walking backwards towards a chosen target...haha!  I'm laughing just thinking about it :0).  She'll look to see where the kitchen cupboard is and slowly walk until she hits it, then get a look of triumph on her face.  She's also started walking in circles (I think she may be dancing?).  We've had lots of giggles together watching her explore and chasing each other around the house. One of her favorite things is to get my attention and with a big grin run off.  I can hardly resist!  She squeals with joy as I start growling and run after her.  After a few seconds, she starts running to me and hugs me tight as can be.

She loves her friends, Marlee Cheney and Aurora Curtis (and their mom's) and asks for them often.  She's been cutting some molars lately and is now attached to her binky more than ever (before this she would take a binky when she went to bed and that was about it).  I'm still trying to figure out if it's a good or a bad thing.  It does help her be more comfortable, but she goes into a daze with glossy eyes and doesn't interact with others as much and grunts when she sees or wants something instead of using her expanding vocabulary.  I'll talk to her doctor and do a little more research I think. Any ideas are appreciated too.

She loves to play outside and see animals -- especially cats and dogs. We still go on regular bike rides or runs outside.  She loves her toes and talks about them often.  We'll be talking about something and she'll lean down and kiss her toes or bring up her toes and point out mine, especially when we're naming body parts.  Also, her belly button is still a favorite. If her binky's in her mouth you can almost guarantee that her finger will be in her button :). Elmo's World is also top on her list of things to do.  She loves the shows and has a foam book of an Elmo story that she plays with for hours (intermittently mind you -- she can't be away from mom too long).

We're working on alone play time, when we put her in her crib with some toys and let her play for about 10 min.  It seems to be going pretty well so far.  It seems like she's been playing a little more on her own when she's around the house too, which is nice for dinner preparation time. I just love being her Mom!