The Ark Has Found Land!

Almost all of us are settled into the hotel in Connecticut and we'll likely be residing here until mid-week. The trip to Connecticut was a bit more stressful than I had hoped. Picture this:

We arrive at the Portland airport almost 4 hours early so we have enough time to check in 9 bags, 5 passengers, 3 hermit crabs, 2 very scared cats and 1 unsure puppy. We were the second in line when they opened the United desk for the day. The United airlines folks then proceeded to shuffle us from one person or one line to another. (I think the real story is that no one wanted to take the time to check all of us in.) We barely made our plane because of all the shuffling. I was not a happy mom. We flew through Chicago and then ran into storm problems and got delayed almost two hours. We finally arrived and it took a stretch limo and town car to get us from the airport to our hotel due to the pet carriers and luggage.

The pets are doing OK at the hotel. Apollo spends most of her time snoozing and sleeping on my bed. (This isn't new behavior on her part. Sleeping is a major life activity for her.) Erte is stalking everything in the room and comes out of hiding a bit more each day. She's taking to hanging closer to the hotel room door and is becoming more curious about what might be on the other side of the door. Right now Erte has decided sleeping with the youngest three members of the house is the place to be. Jayke, the pit bull puppy, is generally happy go lucky and is fine most of the time. He's kind of part dog, part chicken and so is pretty jumpy about noises. The room that sits next to his has a small dog next door and it keeps barking at him through the locked adjoining door. :( Poor Jayke. We found a nice dog park today that has open space and a small creek to play in. Rowan and Riley weren't too excited about the dog park because the dogs like to lick their faces and jump on them. I guess they're just the right height for dog kisses.

The good news is that the youngest three members of my house were great travelers and were not a source of stress at any point in our trip. They have done well at the hotel, especially since they have access to a swimming pool. Jayden is turning into a major fish and Rowan and Riley are following suit it seems.

I work tomorrow so big sister Taylor is on duty with the youngest three. They have a day of swimming, lunch, Hannah Montana and dog walks planned for the day. Our furniture arrives at the Connecticut house Tuesday morning so we'll be unpacking starting Tuesday. (Yeah!) I can't wait to eat something from my kitchen and sleep in my bed. And keep in mind the only reason I have a kitchen is that they come with the rest of the house. :)

We did sneak away for a day after the house was packed up and spend the day with my brother's family who were on the Oregon coast. It was great seeing them all, though there were several missing family members. They have all become such great adults.

I will say leaving the Northwest was harder than I thought it would be. It didn't help that everyone was telling me that my Mom was crying a lot about the move. You never want to hear that you're making your Mom cry. I'm hoping she'll come visit us soon. It's also hard to leave friends and family members that are so close by.

Devin will be out next weekend for the summer. She's my point person with the house in Vancouver as the wood floors are being redone and the carpets cleaned. Dan will arrive Wednesday night for a number of job interviews Thursday through Tuesday. Hopefully he'll land a job here soon and join us here.

I hope everyone has a great 4th of July. We're going to try to find something fun to do here. This area seems to have a ton of amusement parks so we plan to find something with water to play in.

Photos As Promised!

The first photo says everything about their personalities!

Where Do I Start?????

Hi Everyone,

I have been a very bad blogger but life has been all about finding a new job, finding a new house and as of tomorrow, starting that new job. Here's the latest:

The Job: After many interviews and discussions with various employers, I have accepted a position with Chemtura as the Director of Compensation & Benefits in Middlebury Connecticut. Yes...that means our household is moving from Vancouver Washington to Connecticut. (Hey it's only about 3,000 miles!) I am VERY excited about the company, the people who I'll work with and value I know I can bring to their business. The people I've met have been great and are committed to the business and the employees of the company. The team of people that make up the compensation and benefit group are equally as committed and very simply, good people. As an HR professional, I can't ask for anything else.

The Girls: All of my girls will be joining me in Connecticut. The youngest three have no choice but they are very excited about the move. They are very impatient with me because of all the travel I've had to do over the past 3-4 months. However, they can't wait for the actual move. Their biggest challenges was learning how to say "Connecticut." :) It has a few too many C's and T's for there mouths it seems. Taylor will also be joining us and will be helping me out with child care over the summer months and will enroll in college for the Fall. Taylor is bringing her pitbull puppy Jayke with her as well. Devin will spend part of summer with us, her senior year at Pacific in Forest Grove and will then take a year off before law school. I'm hoping she ends up in the Connecticut area but she's factoring in her boyfriend's school choice as well.

Taylor has to have her tonsils taken out about 2 weeks ago and had a miserable time of it. On one of our house hunting trips to Connecticut, I realized she had a very serious case of sleep apnea. Seriously, it's bad. I took her to an ENT and her said her tonsils were bigger than golf balls and encased in scar tissue. We also discovered she has problems with the pain and anesthesia meds they used and she stopped breathing. She earned herself an overnight stay at the hospital, with this Mom insisting on spending the night with her. She's doing better but has had tough few weeks. What is most interesting is that her voice is several octives higher and she's finally sleeping. She's likely beginning to sleep well for the first time in 3-4 years. Pretty scary.

Photos: I promise to post photos when I get back in Vancouver. I'm in Connecticut right now and start work tomorrow.

I'm incredibly thankful for many people in my life. They've been loving, supportive and the bedrock I've needed. My Mom, Dan, Teri, Edward, Toni, my girls...these past few months would have been impossible without each of you. And thanks to the people I've met along the way on my new journey these past few months - Cathy Sutherland, Karen Hall, Mike Landis, Alison Sparks, and others.

Have a great week everyone!