Friday morning, 10-23, we got up and ready to hit the road. My uncle and aunt moved to Washington a couple years ago so we went to see their house. They live a little over an hour from us so we ate lunch and headed out. Dad needed some new shirts, so we stopped by a mall on the way. Jameson fell asleep on the way, but woke up when we entered the mall. That didn’t last long. After our trip through the mall, it was another 20 minutes to my uncle’s house. We drove right up along the water, and got to see the big ships in the harbors. My Uncle said they carry wheat. They have a beautiful house, and as expected, an immaculate yard.

Their living room looks out over the pudget sound. It was gorgeous, and Jameson loved watching the boats (or one boat).

 

Jameson was a little “busy” while we were there. Since he had only had that one short nap, he was a little cranky. He used Uncle Bruce’s binoculars like a camera. He would hold them up and pretend to “click” like a camera would. He loved the piano there, but was not happy when I would not let him play it. We had a good visit with Uncle Bruce and were able to stay until Aunt Colett got home. We were able to visit for a little longer before heading home.

I had put some ribs in the crockpot before we left, so I couldn’t wait to get home to eat. Kevin made some Costa Rican rice for us to go with our ribs, and we enjoyed some dinner. We don’t have a table, and only two bar stools, so Dad opted to eat with Jameson at his table. Well his table is the same one Dad made for me when I was little, so I think he enjoyed it.

 

They enjoyed their food, we had some fun, and then rested the rest of the night.

Thursday night, 10-22, Jameson and I ventured to the airport to pick up my dad. Jameson didn’t sound so good in the back so I was taking the twisty-twirly ramp up to parking very slow with windows down. It didn’t help. Just as I parked, Jameson puked in the back seat. Poor kid. Luckily, I hadn’t put his jacket on yet, and he had his blanket in his lap, so not too much got on his pants. I stripped his shirt, and put his jacket on him. After some love, we headed for the elevator. We found our way around the airport and waited for my dad. I was telling Jameson to look for Grandpa Judd, but I think he was confused as to which Grandpa to look for. I saw dad come down the escalator and pointed him out to J-mo. At first he was a little unsure, and then he remembered and warmed up.

When we got home, Jameson and Dad had some tickle time.

After Jameson went to bed, Kevin and my dad spent way too much time showing off apps on their phones. In the end, this is how they ended up.

Really? Is this really what grown men do with their expensive toys?

I have been trying to take pictures of Jameson by the same tree at the park to mark the progress of fall here. The first shot was taken 10-14 and the second was taken last week on 10-20 (The rest of the pictures were also taken on 10-20).

 

You can see in just a week how the colors are getting more vibrant and falling off the trees. We haven’t been to the park since to take more pictures of this tree. We’ll have to get over there soon.

We had been saving the ends of our bread to take to the ducks. We finally had some, so (on 10-20) we took a trip to the ducks. Jameson made a mad dash for the ducks.

The ducks knew the sound of the bread bag. They came waddling out of the water as fast as they could. They gathered right at my feet. I could have picked them up if I wanted. The ducks gathering at my feet meant more for Jameson to run through. He ran back and forth while I fed the ducks their bread. He would run through, and the ducks would take off for the water. Then when he got through, the ducks would come back for the bread, and the process would start over again. A few poor ducks may have accidentally gotten kicked by tiny running feet. I’m pretty sure they came out ok.

After the ducks we headed up to the playground for a bit. It amazes me how athletic my son is. He is already so coordinated and strong, and he is not even 2. We’ll have to keep this child on all kinds of sports teams to keep him busy.

Fall here is beautiful. Pictures don’t do it justice. The colors are always changing. Even the fog adds another color to fall.

I wanted to take Jameson to a pumpkin patch with Kevin before he left. So Monday, 10-19, we decided to go for FHE. We had seen some signs for a pumpkin patch on the way home one day, so we decided to follow them. Well we ended up at a church that had made their own little pumpkin patch. It was pretty cold that night, but the ladies were still in their skirts. Gotta give it to them for that. I would have felt bad not buying a pumpkin, and Jameson was set on taking one home. He loved running down the rows. I was hoping for a pumpkin patch that would at least have a hay ride or something, so I was a little disappointed. Jameson still had fun.

We have made quite a few trips to the park since it is literally a 2 minute walk. The first time I took Jameson, he followed a little girl to the water. She was feeding the ducks, and I guess Jameson wanted to help. She took her shoes and socks off and waded into the water. Jameson followed, except he didn’t feel the need to take his shoes and socks off. Great. That was the end of the park that day.

After Kevin gets done with work, we have been going to the park. Jameson loves the “big, big, trees!”

(These pictures were from 10-14-09.)

   

Some of the leaves are huge. J-mo loves to crunch them under his feet.

It had just finished raining before we headed to the park, so there were puddles everywhere. Jameson insisted on touching each one. He would ask us, “I touch da wada?”

Before we could say no, he was reaching for each one.

 

Jameson loves to walk down to the water and see the ducks. He chases them all over, until they retreat to the water. Then he waits for them to come back out of the water and starts all over. He loves the ducks!

   

Swings are always a hit. Most of the time he doesn’t want to get off them. I think he loves that his dad is pushing him and not mom.

 

He has conquered the climbing structure and the slide. The only problem is that he gets soaked going down the slides. Since it has usually just rained when we go,  the slides are all wet and have puddles at the bottom.

 

Then the whole way home, Jameson wants to play stop and go. Luckily Dad is there to run with him. It’s uphill the whole way home. There’s been a few times I had to run with him. Pregnant girls don’t run up hill, let me tell ya. Not so fun.

I do love my boys, though!

We spent our first week in the sun shine here in Washington. Apparently, someone knew I would need that to make this transition easier. Our week was spent finding grocery stores, gas stations, and other stores. Saturday, we ventured into Seattle. As we drove across Lake Washington (on a floating bridge I’m told), we were pointing out the boats and water to Jameson. What do we here from the back seat?

Jameson- “Mom!”

Me- “Yes sir?”

Jameson- “Dori!”

That’s right. He was looking for Dori and Nemo in the water.

We made it into the city, found some parking, and started walking. We walked around the Space Needle and showed Jameson.

Afterwords, we headed out to find something to eat. We ended up at a small Italian restaurant in Pioneer Square. We were the only ones in there, but probably because it was getting late. They gave us a bottle of water for the table, and Jameson kept wanting some. It was the same shape as his rootbeer bottles, and he didn’t get that it was water not rootbeer. After dinner we headed back home with a sleeping boy in the back.

Saturday morning, October 3rd was our last look at Reno. Our close friends came over to say good-bye and brought some treats for our trip. We finished throwing the last few things in the moving truck, and then put our luggage in the car. I arranged the car so that I could reach the dvd’s and laptop for Jameson. We had our snacks and drinks accessible. My brother, Weston had come over for the night, and helped us that morning finish up. After a few hugs and good-byes (and not letting sink in what was happening) we climbed in the car and headed off. We made it to Susanville, through lots of wind, and stopped for lunch. It was freezing, and our sweatshirts were packed in our luggage bags. Oops.

After lunch, we headed off again, and Jameson fell asleep. I finally got to listen to some music rather than just Finding Nemo.  As we got further north, the desert turned to forest. This was my view for most of the trip.

You can barely see Kevin’s headlights in the mirror. I couldn’t use cruise control, because I would loose him up the hills, and he would get too far behind. Sometimes I would forget about him back there, and then realize I left him in the dust on that last hill. This was our view closer to the Oregon boarder.

Jameson’s sleep didn’t last as long as I would have hoped, so it was back to the “Fishies.” He started to get a little irritable, and I needed a bathroom break, so we stopped in Medford, OR I think, for some gas. As I was talking to Kevin on the phone discussing where to stop, he told me, “Remember, we’re in Oregon so don’t try to pump your own gas.” Really?

So we pulled in and the gas attendant came out. They take your card or cash, and swipe your card, then pump your gas. Are you suppose to tip them? Well we did, since Kevin has worked in a business based on tips before. Jameson and Kevin “checked” the air in tires, or just kicked them. They also checked the cars. Nikki and I took potty breaks. Me in the mens restroom since the women’s was out of order, and Nikki in the field.

We continued on, but decided to stop and eat not too long after. We were told once you hit the mountains there’s not much to eat till Eugene. So we stopped in some little town just before you start to head into the mountains at Grants Pass. We pulled into a tiny diner that only had one car in the parking lot, but plenty of parking for our large truck. That should have been a clue. We walked up to the door, and the guy was there holding it for us, welcoming us in. He saw our plates and asked, where we were from and where we were headed. They took our order, and then continued to come by and ask if we needed anything. The man also told us about the road, how far till the next towns, and to watch out for a 45mph turn that we would be coming up on. They were the sweetest people ever. The food, not so good. We ordered a small pizza and bowl, more like bucket, of chilli. We managed the pizza, but no luck with the chilli. You couldn’t hide it either since there was only one other table of people there. So I tried to make it look like I ate some. Then the waitress, I think the man’s wife, came over and asked if I liked the chilli. I tried to say it was just such a big bowl you couldn’t tell I ate it. She offered to package it for me to go.

So then I tried to say I don’t think the smell would do well in the car with me. She immediately picked up on pregnancy, and offered to wrap it in surrand wrap for me so the smell wouldn’t leak out. Thank you so much! So I graciously took my chilli to the car. Kevin and I got back in our cars, and continued on. We decided Eugene was as far as we would make it that day. As we got there I looked up hotels on our new gps. There was a Best Western right there for us. We pulled in about 9 pm only to find out there we no rooms available. What? The worker told us to try the Best Western right up the street. We called and they had one room. Then he told us to hurry, because the game just got out and we were going to hit crowds and traffic.

What was he talking about? Well the other Best Western was litterally 50 yards up the street. There was maybe one building between the two. We got a room for the night and started to notice green and yellow EVERYWHERE. We figured out there was a football game that night. We checked in our room, Kevin found some milk for Jameson, and then got ready for some sleep.

The next morning, I went to get breakfast from the lobby, and figured out the game was between Washington State and Oregon State; apparantely big rivals. I also found out from an Oregan State fan that they won, and it was by a lot. I opened the paper that was delivered to our room and started reading about some player, I can’t remember now. As we were packing to leave, I overheard some guys talking about our Nevada plates and how far we traveled. So I asked them what was the deal with this player. All the paper talked about was whether he would be able to play in the game, but not what happened to prevent him from playing . They looked at me like I had just walked out of the crazy house. I pointed to our car and replied, “I’m the one with Nevada plates.” Then they asked, “Oh, you’re not here for the game?” Umm no sirs. Just passing through and got caught in the middle of a bunch of crazy fans. Turns out their star running back punched an Idaho player after their opening game and was suspended for the season. Then they told him if he met qualifications he could play again, so that’s why there was controversy.

Well we got back in to our cars, Jameson not quite so willingly, and headed off again. As we pulled out we found out we were just down the street from the stadium. No wonder! We passed cars decked out in yellow and green the entire way. Oregon was beautiful. I was a little turned around, because the mountains were on the wrong side of me. The colors on the trees were just starting to change, but still mostly green.

As we reached Portland, I couldn’t get my camera fast enough. As you come over the hill, you can see the spires poking out of the tops of the trees just off the freeway. You can see the flowers on the temple grounds in this picture (That’s all I was able to capture.) It was beautiful. The same design as the Las Vegas Temple.

We stopped in Portland for lunch. We were able to find a McDonal’s with a playplace for Jameson to run and play. He loved it and even went to the very top, following another little boy.

Here are some views of Oregon.

 

And in case you were wondering, Jameson took these from his seat in the back. I did not get distracted while driving. After leavingPortland, we made a bee line for home. We drove over tons of bridges, which did not have roads under them, but water. There is so much water. In fact, it was while driving over a bridge we saw the sign “Welcome to Washington.” We made it to our place by about 5 pm.

We reached our destinatin, only to find it was not left the way we had been told. So Kevin got to deal with an emotional, pregnant wife, and child who’d been in a car for two days. Not a good combination. I took my hormones with me to find a target and food, while Kevin took over the house and Jameson. By the time I returned, Kevin had already made it look 10 times better.

Monday, Kevin was able to find some workers and save our Elders quarum. He picked up 2 day laborers, and while I cleaned they unloaded our truck. They also had to hike the 4 sets of stairs carrying boxes, not us, which was nice. One guy worked really hard, the other, just took his time. After lunch, we headed out to find a storage unit and return the truck. The two workers, then had to help Kevin unload the the rest of the items into our storage unit. Kevin mostly just stayed in the truck through it all sorting what goes where. This is why we didn’t want to burden the men from the ward. It would have been too confusing. I took the guys to drop them back off at the bus station while Kevin returned our truck. Then we called our Elders quarum president and told him not to worry about helping us. He was quite surprised, but probably greatful.

We spent the first week rearranging, cleaning, and putting things away. We now have now settled in, and getting to know our way around.

So I do have more updates, but first…

This guy is pretty sweet. He has other videos, but I’m a fan of this song.

Friday night, Oct. 3rd, before we left, Kevin’s sister invited us over for dinner. They had the family come over and spend time together before we headed out. Before we headed over, we had some rootbeers, which Jameson thoroughly enjoys.

 

We enjoyed a delicious dinner, then hung out for a while. Jameson loves to play the farm game on Grammy’s phone.

 

Olie was even there to say good-bye.

We had a great night. We were tired, and worn out, but it was good to relax. Kevin sat the whole night with Josh and Brittney on the couch playing with their google phones. Kevin just received him, so they were showing him all their aps. He’s hooked now. They didn’t stop till Josh’s phone died.

Kevin’s mom also gave us a parting gift; a gps. THANK YOU! We have had it on constanlty finding grocery stores, restaurants, how to get home, etc. Moving to a new city would be so much harder before these little devices were invented.

Throughout September, we spent a lot of time packing. After  a lot of thought and prayer, we felt it was time for us to move on. Kevin had a secure job, but for future growth in his industry, Reno was not the best town. Kevin loves networking, and has worked hard to get his degree and certifications to put him ahead in his field. Well, Reno is not known as a technical hub, so that meant moving. Technical hubs on the west coast included Phoenix, Salt Lake City, The bay area,or Seattle. We had our reasons for each place. Phoenix was not an option in my book. I grew up in the heat of death, and did not want to return to an even hotter place. Neither one of us particularly want to live in CA, nor could we afford it. That left SL and Seattle to consider. There were about 4 times as many jobs in Seattle as in SL. Also, Kevin felt he wouldn’t be the exception in SL like he would in Seattle (Someone with high moral standards, speaks another language, etc.) So after some debating, praying, and consideration Seattle it was.

We put our house on the market and 4 days later (and about 15 showings) we had an offer. Well, the house was taken off the market until the offer fell through. Once we found out things were not working out, the house went back on the market. Luckily, this happened while we were out of town, so the house was clean and would stay that way. Four days after the house went back on the market, we had another offer. Now we are just waiting for everything to go through, but the buyer is sticking around.

I started the apartment hunt online since I’ve never been to the area we were moving to. Kevin started the job hunt. We set a tentative date to move, and aimed for it.  A few weeks before we were to move, word got out we were looking for a place to rent. A guy Kevin works with was sent to Reno for work, and wanted to rent his home out to someone who would take care of it in Redmond. It was a 3bd 2 ba with garage, a mile and a half from where Kevin was looking at working. (He got permission to telecommute for a few weeks, then has to return to Reno to train whoever will take his place.) The rent was cheap, and it came furnished. We now had a place to live.

As we were finishing out packing Friday before our move, Kevin received a message from someone here in Seattle. They had a position they wanted him to fill. The details need to be worked out, but the position is his if he wants it. Kevin now had a job once he was finished in Reno.

We decided to move up to Seattle with faith things would work out. At each step it felt like Heavenly Father was guiding us, and telling us where to go. Everyone kept asking me if we were moving for Kevin’s job. Yes and no. We were moving so he could further his career, but with nothing locked in. It was scary, and until the offer letter is signed, we are still not at ease, but things are working out. We are being taken care of.

So while we were doing a lot of this…

Jameson spent a lot of time doing this…

 

We sold our tv a couple weeks before we moved, so all I had was movies on my lap top for him. His toys were getting packed, and his outsided toys were sold. The poor kid had nothing to do. His favorite movie is 101 Dalmations. Well after a couple days of a dramatic Cruella Devil, I decided it was time for a new movie. He likes fish, so I decided Finding Nemo might be a good choice. We have watched “Fishies” everyday for the last 3 weeks straight. When it ends, Jameson comes and tells me, “Fishies again, Mom.” At least it is not a dramatic show like the doggies are.

One day, in the middle of packing, Kevin left his rootbeer out, and this is what we found…

   

  

We had some great friends come help us load our truck, then prepared to leave Saturday morning. It’s been a bit of a stressful September, but we made it.