Portland

We are finally a family again after three long months of being apart. For those of you who don't know Brian moved down to Portland to start his new job Sept 15th. He stayed with my parents during that time while Ashley and I stayed in Seattle so I could finish up work at UW before the baby is born. My last day was Dec 11th and our official move date was the 16th so we could finish getting the house ready for new renters. As ready as we were to start a new life in Portland, it was really hard to leave Seattle. Brian and I have a lot of history at UW, it's where we met, it's where I did my internship, and it's where I have a lot of friends that I will miss dearly. We had amazing friends and neighbors in Seattle that we hope to find again here, but it was also home for three years and really all Ashley has known. She also really like her daycare and all the teachers there. Our family is in Portland, though, and we know it's the right move while the kids are growing up. We've got our beach house and condo in Bend that we can enjoy more often, and it's a chance to discover if CT surgery is what Brian really wants to do with his career. One of the many perks to being a PA. If we find that it's not the right job for our family, he can switch and not have to go back to school. So, in the three months we were apart we spent finding renters for our townhouse which will move Jan 1st. We also spent a month looking for a house to buy in Beaverton only to find out a week before closing that financing wasn't going to go through (that's another frustrating story that I won't go into!), but we're now renting and learning that it's a better situation for us anyways. Brian got his privileges within two months of being down here, so he's been in the OR as first assist and taking most call on his own. The last week in Seattle was pretty interesting. Ashley and I were basically camping out with an Aerobed for me and a pack n' play for her along with a few suitcases, pots and pans, and some food in the pantry, otherwise everything else had been packed and moved in the moving truck the weekend before. That week's temperatures were also in the teens and with no furniture in the house, it wasn't too fun to be home, so you could imagine how ready we were to move. Ashley has done amazingly well through this whole thing and I'm so proud of her, but the last few weeks before we got down here were the hardest. She really missed her Papa and it was definitely time for us to be together again. It was a tough first week down here as Brian was on call a lot and working long hours. I was exhausted and adjusting to being at home full time with a 2 year old, unpacking and getting the house in order before the holidays... not to mention being 36 weeks pregnant! I can't say that I would do it again, but we got through it and we're happy to finally be down here!

Our best friends had a going away dinner for us the weekend before we left. It is so hard to leave these guys. We do everything with them and what's amazing is the guys are as close as the girls. I met Jo and Danielle in ultrasound school and our husbands just hit it off.

The girls

Our neighbors organized a going away dinner for us at Greenlake Bar and Grill. The only family not pictured is Trent, Rachelle, and Kylee. We remembered to get a picture after they had left. We will miss these guys so much. Back Left to Right Tricia, Steve, Adam and then Brian and Ashley. Front left Mandy with Steve and Tricia's little guy Evan, and I.

Ashley's teacher brought cupcakes on Ashley's last day. She asked her what song she wanted everyone to sing to her and she said "Happy Birthday" so all the kids sang Happy Birthday and ate their cupcakes. I guess she just figured cupcakes and birthday go together. Just so happens that it was my Mom's birthday on the 15th (her last day), kind of a funny coincidence or maybe she knew! It was hard to see her say goodbye to her teachers, I was just an emotional wreck about leaving anyways. The kids made a card for her which they all drew pictures in, the teachers all signed a card for us and her waddler teacher Dawn made a DVD with pictures of the time she was there as well as a video DVD of the kids. They took such good care of her there, we will all miss them very much!