So Long... and Overdue!

So there have been plenty of times that I should have opened my computer to share my thoughts, complaints, successes, setbacks, emotional meltdowns and better days, but for whatever reason I have avoided blogging. I will try to get back on the bandwagon but for now here is the update since the last post.

We have been in Portland for coming on 5 months now and I personally am getting slightly more comfortable with the move or maybe just coming to accept the fact that no matter how much I wish I were back in Utah- that won't change for now. It has been quite the interesting experience, to say the least, living with my family. I am so grateful to them for making room for us while we make this transition. We are fortunate to be able to stay with them while we search for the right place for our family to be.

It is official though, after only 4 months on the market (and considering the current state of the economy) we sold our home in Daybreak and are officially homeless! It was so hard to sell that house that I envisioned our family growing up in! Plans change and how quickly it can happen. So not far off the year mark I signed over my dream home that I never planned to leave! It was amazing for as long as it lasted and for now I am grateful that we are able to move forward relatively quickly.

As far as the home search here not much is happening here. I have fallen in love with a few homes quickly then sustained intense sticker shock when reminded of the price! I have emotionally moved into homes then moved right back out when the bank didn't want to negotiate as much as we had hoped they would. Needless to say it has been an emotional roller coaster ride of a home search with ups and downs and hopes and heartbreaks. It is hard to choose and area for your family to live when you know little about the area. It's not as clear cut as Utah where you have specific areas to avoid... West side vs. east side or Kearns vs. Daybreak. I guess at this point it doesn't matter where we live, it's more about staying tight as a family and watching out for each other. So we are down to 4 houses and in some way, shape, or form we have to settle with each whether the house is killer inside but the yard is the size of a popsicle stick or the house is less than ideal but it has amazing outdoor space. I have yet to have the clouds in the sky part and a pillar of light come down and have that "Ah Ha Moment!" So for now we will continue to live out of a 53' semi trailer parked in back of Colin's office. We have joked... as inappropriately as it might be... that we are officially trailer trash and soon my butt will be as double wide as the trailer I call my house! Good times!

Chloe has adapted well to her new school and I can't believe summer is just around the corner for her. She only has 4 days of school left then I will be fully responsible for entertaining her ALL day long! Considering that she asks me EVERY night what we are going to be doing the next day I should get on top of making some plans to keep this girl busy! Since we have been here she has had her 6th birthday that we celebrated at Chuck E Cheese... which I couldn't have been more thrilled about... paying exorbitant amounts of money to eat pizza that tastes similar to cardboard and be exposed to the cesspool of living viruses currently thriving on every surface of the arcade games that take ridiculous sums of money to operate while spitting out only a few (I mean like 2) tickets at a time! I might as well save my money and my immune system the hassle and go to the local dollar store to by that stupid stuffed animal that ends up costing you $20 plus dollars at freakin' Chuck E Cheese because it is readily available for you around the corner at the Dollar Tree for... a whole DOLLAR! Needless to say... It wasn't about me and my anal retentive, obsessive compulsive issues, it was about Chloe and her 6th birthday and going to the only place on earth "were a kid can be a kid"! We had a BLAST and no one came down with the swine flu so we escaped the Chuck E Cheese relatively unscathed... except for my bank account. Chloe has blossomed into such a fun little person! She is beginning to read story books and continues to surprise me on a daily basis about how much she is learning and growing up! I can't believe I am a mom of a soon to be first grader!

Kate is my little hellion trooper... She is growing faster than I can keep up and she is an absolute riot to watch her as she discovers and conquers the world. She is constantly challenging me with her two year old attitude... but what can I say I love the kid! Her vocabulary is coming along quite well. We have finally moved past the only three words I thought she knew: show, diet-coke, and no! I think we can attribute her vocabulary to being forced to express herself to any one of the seven people living with her because not all can interpret the two year old talk. It also helps that we have conquered the binky and finally got rid of that stupid green thing! She was getting more and more attached on a daily basis. So one morning that I had amazing energy and a wild hair I cut up all of her binkies right in front of her! I cut off the nipple and gave it right back to her... she put it on her finger... the only logical way to hold a binky... and as her finger poked through the end of the nipple she put it in her mouth, sucked, took it out of her mouth, examined the bink... then threw it at me and yelled, "Mama, broken!" and proceeded to check each bink which she kept a constant stash of three and threw each one of them at me yelling, "BROKEN!" I know that I deserve the meanest mom in the world award for that one but, I am hoping someday when she doesn't have buck teeth she will thank me for not allowing her to take her binky to kindergarten with her and be incessantly ridiculed by classmates. No worries I made a $20 deposit in the therapy jar for that one. Other than that Kate is doing well and she keeps me constant company at home and gets into any trouble she can find or any prescription bottle she can find... (no worries, we called poison control and they said she would live... Thanks Mimi) She has thankfully moved on from being obsessed with her winter coat to her swimsuit... No joke she calls it her fwimming fute, and will not go anywhere without it on. It doesn't matter if we can't find hers (wink, wink) either... she is completely content to wear her sister's as well and it is only about 4 sizes too big! I force her to put clothes on over the top to go out in public. The hilarious thing is the only way I can get her to take it off is to get it wet!?! Yep you heard me right, she doesn't like her swimming suits wet... when you wear them you wear them to stay dry! Funny kid! I guess I should chalk it up as a success because at least I don't look like a lunatic mother with a kid who is wearing a fur lined coat in the summer because it's hotter here than normal and I am sure at some point she would pass out due to heat exhaustion or dehydration because she is sweating like crazy... or "wet sweat" as Chloe calls it. Gotta love them kids!

Colin is as busy as ever! The focus has finally moved from introductions and traveling around to all the new area resorts to staying local and getting the shop put together. He has finally hired a few people for some extra hands to help and that seems to be taking a load off. They have recently received 60 pallets of parts that he is responsible to get organized and inventory and ready at a moments notice if a snowcat were to need a part. He seems to still be enjoying it although in my opinion the "shiny" has worn off a little and it is beginning to be a job now. Although he enjoys being his own boss there is a heavy burden that comes along with the responsibility of others and a multimillion dollar budget. We are both looking forward to moving into a house closer to the shop because the 45 minute commute each way is just no fun... although I can think of a simple solution to a commute that he would be satisfied with... it only requires a large sum of money, two wheels, 600 cc of power between his legs and thankfully a helmet because it's the LAW here! I'm sure if he commuted that way I wouldn't hear so much about it :)

I am hanging in as well. Everyday is getting a little better along with a little medication to make my life easier... unfortunately it is not the little green leafy type that you can smoke (because it is readily available and abundant here) but it works to help me face the day and smooth out the bumpy road ahead. Frankly I can't believe that I am admitting it but I am... I can't believe how much I feel better when I get out of the house. I have come to find a new passion for the road but unlike Colin's enjoyment, I am the motor. Cycling has brought me an out and some sanity a break from the monotony. I bought a trailer for me to pull behind the bike so Kate is my co-pilot and gets dragged on a daily ride, but actually she seems to enjoy it quite a bit. I am riding about 60-70 miles a week... I would ride farther if it didn't feel like I was dragging a parachute behind me, but I chalk it up as some resistance training and look forward to the day that I can get a "real" road bike and bust out a long 20 mile ride in one day and it is just me and the road (and my ipod for the inspiriting tunes)... As for now I will take what I can get and be grateful that the repercussions for riding my bike means I won't have a double wide butt to go with my double wide trailer.

As for now my rant must come to an end... It's time to pick Chloe up from school. More to come later! Thanks for letting me check in... if you stuck with it long enough to get to the end! Ciao for now!