Downtown P-town

We have been very "tourist-y" since we have been here so we took the obvious trip to downtown Portland last weekend. Last time we lived here we always drove downtown...driving the wrong way on one way streets, never finding the right bridge, and basically getting lost every time. So this time we parked at the closest Max station to us and rode the train into downtown and it was SO much better! The kids loved it...obviously...what toddler doesn't like train rides. We are trying to do as many fun things outside as possible before it starts raining! Next weekend we will probably be going to the coast...the boys are begging to see "the beach"!



The boys stared out the window during the whole trip. Jordan just...stared.



Quite possibly the best pad thai ever.



Austen LOVED this!



More proof.



This was in Pioneer square. It was a little amphitheater set up and when you stood on the little circle it made a crazy echo that only you could hear.



It was a double piggy day.



He loved it!



She hung in there until about 4:15..then enough was enough.



Every post requires one of these.

The last 8 days

8 days ago we ate breakfast, said goodbye to my mom and set out on a long LONG journey cross country. It is weird to describe what has happened in 8 days and I won't be able to do it justice. I wanted an amazing photo documentation of our road trip, but I didn't get enough! Oh well...these will have to do!



Jordan had a major truck driving job to do! He was pretty much amazing at it.



Noelle before we even left the driveway...happy girl :)



My view for 3 days.



Cheesy 4 corners picture...Look at the cute chubby hands though!



The Ultimate copilot!



She was pretty excited about 2 adults and 3 toddler in a hotel room. Me....not so much.



"Raise your hand if it's your birthday today!" Austen turned five in Price, Utah.



Wierd forms of entertainment take place on 3 day road trips...don't ask.

In the few days that we have been here we have:

-Felt INCREDIBLY blessed with having multiple people we didn't even know help us unload our rental truck the night we got here. THANK YOU BEN AND TARA!!!
-Reunited with old friends...they made it feel like we never left
-Been to Ikea twice
-Went bowling at a birthday party
-Found a sweet preschool for Austen
-Went to Vancouver Farmer's market
-Cruised past Multnomah and thanked God out loud for condemning that house. (It was slightly frightening...Mom you would NOT have approved)
-Got an overwhelming welcome back at our previous church and spent all afternoon at a church picnic in my favorite park in town.

That's kind of a lot in 8 days. I'll leave with even more pics...it's my blog. I pretty much do what I want.



The boys at Isabella's BIG AL bowling party!



Reunited BFF's Austen and Isabella. Friends since womb.



Sweet toddler bowling apparatus. Why didn't I invent this sweet thing?!



Took this out the window...jealous?



Happy at the church picnic :)



One more for you mom! She LOVES this hat. It's the only one she'll keep on her head!

Despite all the fun...we miss you ABQ.

Portland or BUST

We are in the midst of our cross country trip from ABQ to Portland (or Vancouver if you want to get technical). We are at a truck stop right now outside of Boise, ID experiencing a little bit of traveling delay due to a fatal accident on the interstate. We are about 3 hours behind where we intended to be, but praise God we are safe and have food in our bellies. The trip has been great and the kids are fantastic travelers! I am the whiny one, but I am trying to be on my best behavior...Jordan helps as he is a cross country machine. We hope to be at our new house by tomorrow afternoon...we'll see! Thanks to all who are praying for us...I can literally feel the hand of God on us every mile of this journey...He is so good.

Food is here!!!! Bye for now!

Mom...the bride

I can't believe that this week is actually here. All of the talking and preparing and planning and here it is! My mom got married this weekend and both of my brothers, my grandma and uncle were here to celebrate. It was fun and now this means that we have to pack :(

This will be an ode to family of sorts -



My mom, Kim and the boys hanging out at our house.



With my mom and grandma...I'm pretty happy with my genetics



I love my brothers!



He's "special", what can I say?



Noelle loves smelling ALL flowers.



Another photo by Austen the photographer.



4 generations...awwwwwwww



The ONLY pic I got of all 3 kids...of course.



I love the McNutts.



Love from Uncle Matt!



The kids weren't really interested in a family pic.



I love love love love him.

So now the countdown begins...6 days until we go from here to there, dry to wet, ABQ to PDX. We have a lot of packing to do and goodbyes to give out. We are excited and anxious at the same time. I really hate saying goodbye to anyone. It's bittersweet, but there are great adventures that await us in the next time zone.

Landon...the ring bearer.

This picture was too sweet to leave out. Here are the boys at the dinosaur museum. They loved it for obvious reasons...

JY with A...he was quite the little server that night!

Me and the ring bearer...He was very professional with his ring bearing duties.

And we genuinely had a good ole time together...he's really that funny.

Landon liked the toast. He toasted about 15 times.

This is just one of the videos of Landon's dance moves at the reception...

He clearly inherited his rhythm from his dad.

I think it's really happening.

Maybe this post is a little premature...but I think it's actually happening. We really are moving. I guess I just keep waiting for something to self-destruct. We started talking and praying about this move last September. I typically don't like to make long, drawn out calculated motion. I think something sounds awesome, and then do it. But God hasn't really allowed any othat sporadic business...

We sold our house...it fell through...sold it again

Moving to Portland...moving to Dallas...moving to Portland

Got on-campus cheap housing...house got condemned...just secured a home (without "major structural damage")

None of these things were really devastating to us...just little bumps in the road. The only thing I really know about the path that God has for us is the final destination...I won't really complain about detours or road quality.

All that to say...we have a place to live, have a place to work, have a place to learn and now we are ready to go! Now I just need to figure out how to sneak my mom on the rental truck without her realizing it.

We do have a lot of fun things happening in the next 6 weeks though to keep me occupied. Landon is in a wedding next weekend. There WILL be hilarious pictures of that. Jordan is officiating 2 weddings...one being my mom's! My family will be meeting my grandma for the first time as she is flying in for my mom's wedding.

I am not quite ready for the trauma of saying goodbye to family, friends and co-workers yet, so I will continue living in denial of that reality until the last possible moment!

No more front yards landscaped with rocks?! What will we do with all of this grass?

Friends and Family

I have a lot of recent pics of the kids with their little friends and they are too cute! I can't believe that in 6 weeks we will be leaving this place. So this is just a little recap on the haps.

I should really post the pic of them laying side by side at ages 1 month and 4 months so you can all appreciate this the way I do....not a whole lot warms my heart more than watching these two together. This is Austen with his BFF Gracyn.

This is something we like to call "tripod". It occurs when you are least expecting it...it's been happnening for the last 6 months.

My dad drove his Harley from Tyler on his birthday to come see us! He is hardcore.

Noelle likes swinging at the park...you can even push her higher, she will only smile.

I told him "Landon you are too big for the baby swing". He was persistant. And he does not like to be pushed higher.

This is Jacob and Pierce...Noelle's boyfriends. I said "It's picture time babes!". Clearly someone has had some photo-op training.