Eastern Oregon

Our new motto!

The nicest family the Bingham's came over and the girls put bows all over Cora's hair. So cute.

So our adventure begins...
We sold our home and left Spanish Fork on April 7th. Matt's brother Mike helped us by pulling a trailer with his truck which was so helpful. Matt and I had to drive separate cars but we made it all in one day. There is the hour time change so we lost an hour somewhere. The last couple hours seemed to go on, I kept wondering which bend would be the last. Our rental home is nice, and it gives us time to settle in, get to know the area better, before we make any big decisions.

We started Caleb in the school here, I was a little concerned at first. The teacher was kind of cold and kind of just shoved him with the other kids and that was it. I think she is overwhelmed to have another student. As I was walking down the hall, I could hear the teacher telling another teacher she had another student and the teacher yells "You have got to be kidding." This didn't sit well with me. But kids are amazing. Caleb is so much more brave then I ever was. When I was his age I moved to a new school in Mexico and I had so much anxiety and really struggled. He really has been adjusting well. I figure we can handle this teacher for a couple of months, then it will be summer break. In P.E Caleb was the last to bounce is basket ball in some kind of game and he won the bumper sticker seen above. We are still scratching our heads.

I took Luke to his first story time here. I am really impressed with the library. He loved making the frog craft and took it very seriously and did such a nice job. He recognized one of his church friends there. I have been impressed with how well he is adjusting.

Cora has been so funny. She is our little busy body. The other night she had us all laughing. We were kneeling together for family prayer and she held her little hands together and whispered some little words and then broke her hands a part and made a loud sound like "amen." We all started laughing so she just kept repeating her little act, and the amen got louder each time. What a sweet angel.

One thing that has been a blessing and a curse is the hot tub here at the rental. A blessing because the kids have had something really unique and fun to do to help make this adjustment easier. That is a real treat. And a curse, because last week I thought we had the curse of bed bugs, because I woke up with these red bumps on my sides that looked like bites, I was basket case. I thought they were bites because the next day I had more. I couldn't sleep after I read that bedbugs come out at dawn to suck your blood then go back in to hiding. I ordered all this stuff from the internet, called the exterminators, talked to the pharmacists, and then finally went to the Dr. Turns out I got a rash from the hot tub. Yuck! There was one night I got in when no one else did. And that was when the pump and heat had stopped working because the water was too low from the boys splashing it all out. But we drained it and started over with the chemicals. I never thought the day would come that I would be happy to hear I have a bacterial infection.

The area is remote and does not have big box stores, but that doesn't bother me too much. We have been told that you just make big lists and go to Bend and shop. That will be fun to go to Bend since Matt served part of his mission there.

We have been on a few drives and seen some of the beauty around here. This area is known for its birds. It is a migratory stop for many birds. They are really amazing. The people we have met here have been so nice and hospitable. And Matt LOVES his job, so that makes this huge change easier. We miss our family but we are already planning a visit.