What have we been up to??

I know it's been a while since I've blogged, and that is because we have been SO busy moving and visiting family and having a blast! Here's a recap of the past few weeks, well close to a month now, so everyone knows where we are and that we are ok.

Sat. Dec. 19th: moved all of our stuff into a storage unit in Tualatin, OR. Long story short, the management company we were working for was horrible and basically made me finally choose between the kids and them... so we said we were done and moved out before Christmas vacation since that would be the only way we could have spent it with our families.

Sun. Dec. 20th: drove out to Redmond, OR (by Bend, OR) to stay a few days out at Eagle Crest Resort with the Graham side. No snow :(, but lots of fun just relaxing and playing games, and to Jacksons great delight, swimming! Oh, and John & I once again dominated in couples tennis :)

While at Eagle Crest, we found out that we got a job we had interviewed for the previous week with a new managing company for a complex that is much better and with a bottom floor 3 bedroom apartment in Aloha, OR. It will be available at the end of Jan.

Wed. Dec. 23rd: got up at 5 am and drove 15 hours all the way to sunny southern California to my parents house! We stopped in Sacramento along the way and had lunch at Rubios with one of my college buddies from my BYU-I days. Thanks again for lunch Amy! It was SO good seeing you!

Thurs. Dec. 24th: walked to the park with the boys and family that was all down there (my sister Brittany and her husband Josh, and their super cute puppy dog, Cali, came down from Provo for the week too!) and enjoyed the very sunny weather! Did some last minute shopping and spent the evening talking about Christ and having a nice and very yummy dinner with my fam.

Frid. Dec. 25th: MERRY CHRISTMAS! Had a very fun Christmas opening presents and playing with toys and having dinner with all the Barons at my grandparents house. I think my parents were a little excited to have 3 of their grandsons staying at their house for Christmas morning... they sure spoiled them!

Dec. 26th-Dec. 30th:Went way too many places and had way too much fun! Here are some things we got to do:

*Went to Ruby's on the pier in Huntington- a favorite family tradition

*Went to Newport Beach and tested out our wetsuits and booties (we never even got cold in the water!)

* Went to Naples to see all the Christmas lights

* Stayed up really late almost everynight playing games and laughing like crazy

* Temple date at the Newport Beach Temple with my sister's and their husbands and lunch afterwards at Pei Wei (a smaller PF Chang's) while the grandkids all played with Papa and Gramie and Uncle Colby

*John & I went on a date to see Sherlock Holmes and ate out at Rubios again! Definitely recommend seeing it- it was SO good!

* In'nout and frozen yogurt trips! SO YUMMY!!

* Swimming in the spa - Jackson and Deacon are crazy and so not afraid of drowning!

* Lots of bike rides and wagon rides to the park- Baron absolutely loves riding in the bike seat. I love riding with him!

* Went to a breakfast reunion party with a bunch of my seminary/high school friends and their spouses and kids... it was so much fun to see everyone and catch up!

Dec. 31- Jan. 1st: Drove up to the mountains in the Idlywild area to visit my grandparents and spent New Years Eve and Day at their cabin riding horses, driving the tractor, enjoying the gorgeous scenary and playing lots of games all night!

Jan. 4th-6th: My parents were SO sweet and volunteered to watch the boys for a few days so I could go stay with John in LA while he was at a training for work. We got to stay at the Westin Bonaventure, which is such a neat hotel! It's in a lot of movies and has the glass elevators that are on the outside and shoot up the building- which makes it perfect for viewing the city day or night! It was a very relaxing and perfect quick little break for both of us.

Thurs. Jan. 7th: I drove back up to LA to pick John up from his training at the end of the day and we got to go to the LA temple to do a session together. That was a really neat experience for me... I had only gotten to do baptisms as a youth in it and so this was my first time inside all the rooms with the gorgeous murels. I couldn't believe how big it was too! I am SO glad we got to go. The LA temple is where my parents were married and where my mother-in-law was sealed to her parents after they joined the church! It was a really special feeling to be there.

Frid. Jan. 8th: Packed up all our stuff in the morning and then went and saw AVATAR in 3-D. LOVED IT! Seriously, an amazing movie. Some people said the story line was too Pocohontas like... what's wrong with Pocohontas? I loved that movie as a kid... besides, this was actually totally unique and different and the animation, or whatever they would call it for this movie, was brilliant and so amazing... totally worth it to see it in 3-D! Anyways, later that night we went out to Don Jose's with my family (my favorite chips and salsa restaurant), and made one last frozen yogurt run and said goodbye to everyone :(

Sat. Jan. 9th: Got up early and drove 13 hours back up to Oregon where we stayed the night at John's parents place. It was a very bittersweet drive. We were really sad to have to say goodbye to my whole side of the family (the boys really grew to know and love their Papa and Gramie and all their Uncles, Aunts and cousin Deacon this trip), and we really miss the 70 + weather we had been enjoying for the past almost 3 weeks, BUT, we were also glad to be getting back home to Oregon.... back to our routine and our stuff and the gorgeous scenary of good ole' Oregon... rain and all.

SO NOW, we are back in the Portland area, living in Aloha to be exact, in the apartment complex we are going to be managing starting at the beginning of February. They had a 2 BD apartment open and we thought it would be best to be here already getting to know the area and close to the current manager for me to be able to train with her before they move. So that's where we are now, and that's where we will be for the next year or so..... and who knows where we will be then! We are always moving and doing something crazy :), though not to our enjoyment... though it has always been for the best and what we feel is the right thing at that time for our little family.

This next 6 months will be pretty crazy, busy and stressful with unpacking, a new job for me, and John taking 3 CPA tests in 3 months along with busy season... but we are determined to be organized and prioritzed and to stick together as a family and make the best of our situation. I am really looking forward to the summer, when things will hopefully slow down for us :) When I get the pictures from our past month on the computer I will post them! Until then, wish us luck with our crazy life!