The Hall Family

Spring??

2010-04-27T13:58:00.001-07:00

Spring in Utah is an adventure. We have warm days and then cold days. Either way its been a great joy! Katelyn was baptized Easter weekend and we were able to have Grandma and Grandpa here to spend both with us. What a specail day it was. Katelyn is an amazing little girl who strenthens my own testimony with her simple love of the savior and pure faith. She was so excited for her baptism!! So excited to be blessed with the gift of the holy ghost. She has always said "ghosty" is her best friend since she was able to talk. Makes me feel like Ive done something right as a parent. ♥

Skyler has had a rough winter. She has had strep throat 4x's. Twice she was admitted to the hospital in DKA because it just sent her diabetes into over load. Then there was the hospitialization in Nov while we were in So Cal for a visit and Grandpa Halls funeral. Before that she had not been admitted since her diagnosis. And yet I feel so blessed to have great insurance and a great nurse advocate who has helped us out so much. We just found out all her insulin and supplies are covered under our medical plan 100%. This saves us so much money! What a blessing. We are working on getting her tonseils out as our next step. And thanks to her new like and appreciation for primary childrens hosptial in Salt Lake I dont think shes so scared of the idea anymore.

The twins are growing and flourishing. They amaze me every day. Sami has an intense love of animals. Her favorite toys are her little ponies and the various animals she has collected. Lexi is all over the place I dont think shes defined to one of anything. She speaks like a little person and knows her colors, shapes, were working on number the correct order anyway. Some days are hard getting anything done with those two in tow. But I wouldnt trade being their mom for anything.

Heres looking to Spring and warm sunshining days!!

Procrastinating

2010-02-27T17:03:00.000-08:00

Well rather than clean the kids room Ive decided to blog. I have not been to good at it so its time for an update. We are loving Utah. I am greatful for the time and experiences as well as wonderful friends we made in Mass, but its nice to be back West and close to family. I cant believe how much I missed having Mountains around. And now we live on a mountain and have a beautiful view. The winter has been very mild so while we have snow on the ground its really been great. The kids have adjusted well and we live on a culdesac with kids thier age so everyone has made friends. The twins are growing so fast they are a real joy most of the time of course we have moments where I feel like I may explode from excessive kids whining. Chris is doing well at work and showing off implementing new ideas and things he learned in the East.

We are living in a nice newer home and I love having a basement and a main floor I dont miss the 3 levels we had in Mass. Another thing I love is having gas heat. I cant tell you how much cheaper our utilities are. The cost of living here in Utah is like getting a large pay raise. So all my friends should just move here. I never thought I would live in Ut I would visit and say that was nice but I dont want to live there. But really I love it I know I said that already. There is so much to do outdoors and in. The family atmosphere is amazing. And having church members all around is nice to. Thats a big change in Mass our church family was spread so far apart but we had to be a tight knit group that was special.

Katelyn turned 8 years old a few weeks ago so we are planning her baptism. She is going to be baptized Easter weekend. Our bishop is great and is going to help us make it happen. So that way we can get grandma and grandpa out here for the holiday as well. We hosted Christmas this year with everyone that could travel it was fantastic. I loved having a house full of people. My dad and brothers came. Then after they left Steve, Julie, Carli, Angie, Erik, Abbie, came in to stay with us. And of course Taylor and Sasha were here. We had a great time. I so missed being around the family. Now Im just working on getting my sister out here. It just makes sense Erik has had a terrible time finding work in RI and I have a great lead right now. Her boss also just transfered here so she may be able to follow him. The lord has blessed us and I feel like he wants us to be together so he will prepare a way.

We went to the chidrens museum today in Salt Lake it was my favorite one to date. I have been in Providence, Boston, and Manhattan but we had a blast at this one. I will post some pics. If I can remember how.

WE MADE IT!!

2009-10-06T13:07:00.000-07:00

Were here in Utah. Im loving our new house. Its the nicest house we've ever lived in. Getting here was an adventure. Of course packing and cleaning is always hard but I have twins so boy oh boy. The truck got loaded amazingly well thanks to the wonderful men of our ward. And an Elder from Brazil with a knack for using every inch of space available. It took longer than most because we had to go slow and make sure it was efficient. Luckily enough everything important fit and we didnt have to leave to much behind. The one upside to not having a corporate move was I had to go through all of our stuff and pair down. I purged and purged I got rid of so much junk and garbage weve been moving around for years. So now in the new house I feel things will be less cluttered we will see if thats true.

After the truck was loaded on Saturday we had a small window of free time. Sunday was the primary program and the kids were great. After that we traveled to Vermont and went to the Joseph Smith birthplace. By this time Steve, Julie, and Taylor were with us. It was an amazing place to visit. The spirit was very strong and the visitor center was awesome. We watched the Joseph Smith video telling the story of his life. What a life he lived in such a short time. After enjoying that we went outside to walk around the grounds and take pictures with the obelisk. As we were leaving I slipped on the wet granite stairs and slid and fell hard on my rear. I had a terrible bruise but I was ok.

Monday we started cleaning up and packed the suburban and ford full with the misc. items left out. Clothes, TV's and such. It was a busy day but Taylor, Trevor, Steve, and Julie were amazing. We went to a Red Sox game in the evening. Chris had been twice but I had not gone so we had to make sure I got to see a game at Fenway Park before we left. So again the group of us went. No kids though they were with a babysitter. What an amazing experience. Fenway Park is so incredible. The feeling there is electric. Everyone is so into the game we did the wave and chanted it was so fun. I wanted to enjoy a fenway frank with onions so I went down stairs to the concession stand to get it. I spend $22 on dogs, a souvenir cup and frys. Upon walking up the concrete stairs to our level I slipped and fell yet again. This time I came down on my knee. I spilled the food and hobbled up the stairs and throw it all away. I sat in my seat and held back the tears from embarrassment as well as the new pain in my knee. After that I decided the hot dogs from the guy walking up and down the aisle were just fine I didnt need onions that bad. Just before the 7th inning after singing take me out to the ball game the skys opened up and poured rain. So the park started to clear out. I could barely walk and had my human crutches to help me out. Taylor and Trevor while Chris lead us out. And then again while leaning on Chris and stepping down two stairs to go into a shop I slipped and fell for the third time. The guy at the entrance called over the fenway EMT and I did get a Red Sox band aid out of it and an ice pack for the car ride home. That was my hat trick of the evening the red sox lost but we still had a great time. And I did throw away the awful shoes I had been wearing around. Stupid sandals with no traction what so ever.

Tuesday came and the men folk left in the Penske truck towing the Ford Focus, and the Suburban. Julie and I finished cleaning the house with the help of some amazing sisters. And then we were off to stay the night at Cathys house. She had a nice dinner for us and we got to sit and relax for a few minutes. On Wed I had a few things left to get done. Cathy took a half day and took the girls all out to Chuck E Cheese. After that we were off to the Airport. I had to drop Julie off at the curb with 4 kids and 7 big bags to check along with at least 3 carry on bags. They were small but you need supplies with that many kids. The Sky Cap was great and there was no one else there so he came to our rescue. I could not find the Enterprise Return lot its off the airport grounds and it felt like forever I was driving up and down the street finally I got ahold of my sister and she directed to me to an invisible street next to Hooters. I made it back to the airport to go through security with 4 kids a stroller 2 car seats that seem giant! 3 carry on bags and two purses. Insulin and medicine has to be taken out it took 10 minutes to get our junk in buckets. After finally getting everything through the xray we had to pin the twins down put their shoes back on and get to the gate. We had a little bit of time to kill so we let them run around and get the wiggles out. Boarding is an adventure. We had to walk down the aisle carrying giant car seats on our head. A nice man did help me and carry mine down for me. So then you have to buckle everyone up put things away and finally sit before take off sweating now from the work out you just had. We took off and the kids were exhausted so the twins played for a lil bit and fell asleep. It wasnt long before they were awake and we were getting ready to land in Chicago Midway. Sami had slept and had not popped her ears so they were hurting and she was crying and putting her fingers in her ears. The flight attendant was trying to help me and got her some juice but she didnt want anything at all so she just cried luckily we were almost done with this leg of the flight so I wasnt going to sweat it. Then we had to run to the next plane sweating and dead from carrying all the junk we had. I had to change Lexis diaper right on the waiting area floor because boarding was starting and Julie was trying to grab some food at McDonalds. When it came time for family boarding the guy taking our tickets tried to say family boarding is for mom, dads, and kids, only. So she said Im grandma and I followed with Im not super human I cant get them all on by myself. We didnt give him any time we were walking on. Our you kidding me crazy guy you want me to do it alone and stick Julie back in line. Sure 2 giant car seats a stroller 4 kids and bags that wont disrupt the others. The express purpose of Julie being there and having bought a ticket for the flight was to help you idiot ticket taker man. But on a nicer note every other Southwest personnel we had met was very nice and helpful. People should have a little understanding and empathy when families are on board. That flight was killer the babies would not go to sleep yes I gave them benadryl Julie let Lexi out of the seat so I had to try and hold her. The dvd player and various objects were not entertaining enough. And they both had moments where they cried and did sleep a little. I made it through by saying I can do anything for two hours, I can do anything for one hour and so on. We finally arrived and then made it the mile to baggage claim and then I realized I left my phone it had come out of my pocket on the plane. So I left Julie and the kids and ran most of the way back before I found a nice man on a cart who drove me there to the terminal and it was all closed up its now after 10:00 Ut time. We find an employee who can unlock the door and I get on the plane to find my phone on the seat. I get a ride back down to baggage claim and super woman Julie has loaded the 7 bags on two carts and the kids are holding it together pretty good. We get outside its pretty cold and load it all up into Sasha's borrowed suburban. We make it to Charlenes and eventually get a small amount of sleep the traveling is over.

So we survived that and now we just have to wait for Chris to get here with our stuff so we can move into the house. I went and saw it for the first time Thursday and got the keys. I loved it I was excited and happy even though I was a walking zombie. We were all staying with Aunt Charlene in her small condo but the kids had toys so they were awesome. The boys didnt arrive untill late Friday night and I think after all those days in the car they were sick of eachother. Chris and I headed up to the house Sat morning with his dad and started to unload. We had some help arrive around noon and it all came out of the truck pretty fast. Chris and I ran some errands and Trev and Taylor showed up and starting putting things together. The weekend went well we enjoyed Conference and started to unpack a bit.

Things are going great so far I really love this place. I still have a lot of work to do but it will get done. Denay should be here this weekend for reinforcement. I feel like I just typed a book. What an adventure it was. And its only the beginning. Were in the mountains and Im sure winter will bring some fun times. ;) The schools have been closed for some holiday or teacher in service. So I need to go register the girls now. They are excited to get to school.

Utah Here We Come

2009-09-17T11:20:00.001-07:00

Were moving back West!! We took a nice vacation to Utah in July and while we were there I had a thought that I could and would like to live there. Its funny because when we were in CA and would visit I would always think I could never live here. Chris had been applying for a few spots in CA at the same exact time. I told him if those didnt come through he should look at Utah. So he did and its worked out perfect. I think the lord wants us there. So were going to live in Draper. We found a great house that has plenty of room for visitors so come on up people.

Of course I cant wait to hop in my car and take a road trip to CA. I'm so excited to go live near family. It will be great to spend time with Taylor and Sasha and little Jaxson. And everyone else is in driving distance. Were all really excited to go and sad to leave at the same time. I have been so blessed to make some really great friends here in Mass. Our ward family has been so amazing it really is a special place. I have tried to make the most of it we visited a lot of great sites and soaked up some history. The kids have had a lot of great opportunities as well. And of course I will be so upset to leave my sister I'm just blocking that part out for now. As soon as we get to Utah we will be on a mission to find Erik a job out there so they can move by us.

So here's to a new adventure for our family!! I have 8 days left to pack this place up and we fly away on the 30th. Chris will be driving a moving truck along with Taylor, Trevor, and his dad. Lucky boys. Should make for a good story or two. =)

2009-06-03T10:35:00.000-07:00

Its finally Warm

2009-06-03T10:20:00.000-07:00

Well Im not sure who follows but incase someone stops by I should write a little about whats been going on the last few months. Were closing in on the end of the school year and have had some fun field trips with both the girls to the zoo. Katelyn is reading very well and I hope to get her interested in some chapter books for the summer. Skyler is obsessed with Twilight and has read the books multiple times. What can I say I love them too. Who wouldnt love to have an Edward Cullen around. =) Its fun to have something in common and it of course is a ground for love life and laughter talks. She is growing up so fast. I am so blessed to have my sweet girls. Sami and Lexi are all over the place. Lexi is currently obsessed with the light switches and wants to turn everything in the house on. And the gate at the bottom of the stairs does not stop her shes over it in seconds flat. Samantha is a little more mellow every time its quiet and I dont see her and I think she must be causing trouble shes not shes playing sweetly in one spot she found comftorble. Alexis how ever has colored on multiple walls and likes to climb in the bathroom sink for a quick shower. She must be my most "Chris" like baby shes so busy. They are getting to a fun age I love to watch them together they are playing well and fighting to of course. Lexi will climb the table and pass the treasures down to sami its team work at its best.

We just went to VA for Trevors graduation from law school a few weeks ago and were able to see most of the family. We met Carlis long time boyfriend briefly. It was so nice to see the brothers and sisters its been far to long. And it was wierd to feel like the old couple because the others all have infants and we have a crew including a ten year old. YIKES!! But it was a nice trip. We stopped in DC for a night and ran around trying to see all the monuments and museums we could. We did really well. The girls ran the stairs up to the Lincoln monument I walked behind them. I had wanted to go there for some time and Im glad we did it in May before the heat and humidity got worse.

We came home from the trip and I had surgery the next day to remove my tonseils and widen my pallett. I had my nose done about 2 months before to correct my deviated septum all in hopes to get a decent nights sleep and stop snoring. Im still healing so I dont know if the snoring is gone but Ive slept better than ever before.
We brought Julie home with us from VA so I could have time to recover. While she was here we went to Plymouth Rock and saw the mayflower 2 and went to the museum along with visiting the "ROCK" it was fun! We really do live in a fun part of the country I hope to see and do more while we are here. I am a CA girl and am missing home pretty bad. But well have fun while we are here.

I FELL

2009-01-14T11:43:00.000-08:00

Well in my last blog I said I had yet to fall in the ice/snow. And of course since I said it I had to slip and fall this morning. My neighbors side walk was iced and I slipped must have been a funny sight. I skinned my hands when I caught my self and I felt like a little kid again do you remember the burning, stinging feeling you have for a while after your hands smack on the pavement. It sounds wierd but I kind of liked it. Who wants to be an old lady with an achy back I would rather be an active kid who smacked her hands on the pavement when she slipped outside having fun in the cold. Just a thought that made me laugh.

Never Boring

2009-01-13T12:58:00.000-08:00

We have our first broken bone and the owner is Alexis. She has been mistakenly believing she is part monkey and climbing everything for a while now. My dining chairs have to lay flat on the floor so they are not pushed around to climb up various places. The outside of the staircase had been the latest hot spot. And then it happened the inevitable yet early attempt to climb out of the crib. She made it out alright and she broke her forearm in the process. And of course as I was getting ready to take her to the ER the door to the basement was left open by a child and Sami took a tumble down the entire flight of stairs and took the trip to the ER as well. She couldnt let Lexi have that all to her self. She was fine not even a bruise. And Lexis arm will be healed with in 3 weeks. Oh to be a baby and "bounce" back so easily.

As for the rest of us we are maintaining an injury free winter. The snow is falling often and I havent yet slipped and fell. Thank goodness for my nice warm Ugg boots with great soles. Chris is hard at work and Skyler and Katelyn are excelling in school. Skyler is playing piano as well as clarinet. They all love playing in the snow. Winter is cold here!!! But its still so new its fun. I walked to the neighbors house today and thought "I'm treking through the snow in my yard wow this is odd". Thankfully oil prices are dropping so heating the house isnt killing me. Still cant believe my heat is powered by oil it seems so pre-historic. Im finally feeling like Massachusetts is home. I am happy to have some really great friends here and amazing friends in CA. So Im going with the flow and enjoying my life!

Lexi has a perfectly healthy heart!! We were concerned for a while that she may have had a heart condition but we saw the pediatric cardiologist yesterday and shes perfect. What a relief. And after being out of CA I have to say our health insurance and coverage in MA is so much better. If you have to be sick it should be here. There are so many amazing hospital and dr.s available and the coverage that is mandatory by state law makes it available to everyone. Skylers insulin pump will be covered 100% in Ca it was covered 0%. Im greatful for so much my childrens Health is definetly the top of the list!

2008-10-22T11:20:00.001-07:00

Seasons

2008-10-22T10:48:00.000-07:00

Fall is here and the colors are amazing! Soon it will be winter its already getting cold. I now have to prepare for winter its a whole process and its odd to a California girl. Im finally feeling like this place is home. You can see that Ive made the house my own. I took pictures I need to post. Erin youre supposed to help me. Funny how writing a blog makes me feel poetic I want to break out into a poem wierd!

I have the best group of friends a girl could ever wish for. I want them to know how full my life is because of them and how greatful I am to have them in my life! For my birthday we were able to get together and have some fun. After we picked up Alesha at the airport there was the five of us piled into the van and I just looked around and had to fight back the tears. How blessed am I to have these great women in my life for so long. I am not alone and never will be even if 3,000 miles of land seperates us they are always here for me.

Ok so enough of the mush. We tore up Las Vegas! Friday night we went out to The Palms and went up to Ghostbar (we were on the guestlist btw). The view was amazing from 55 stories above the strip. The wind was insane that day. So we hung out for a little while did some people watching. There was music playing but no dancing allowed so went back downstairs to Rain (the nightclub where again we were on the guestlist and breezed past the long line and cover charge). It was still early for night club time and people were filing in and still waiting for someone to get the dancing started so I grabbed my girls and off we went. There was one other group of girls celebrating something one was wearing a crown, and us. But before the next song started the dance floor started to fill up. We had so much fun dancing for hours. Alesha and I just kept going while Erin,Heidi,and Denay had to take a break. So Erin came back to get us a while later and as soon as we stoped dancing and started walking I could feel how sore my legs were. 30 was setting in and I hadnt been on my feet dancing like that in years. But it didnt matter I was having to much fun.

Saturday came and we went out for some supplies one of which was a pregnancy test I bought for Erin. We went to lunch at a mexican rest. I have to get in all the mexican I can since it doesnt exist in New England I dont count Taco Bell as mexican. After lunch and lots of talking Erin took the test it came back negative. I think she was secretly dissapointed. That night was THE Concert. New Kids On The Block!! Alesha and I went together it was like a childhood fantasy come true. We loved them together when we were 12. It was so freakin fun!!! They sang alot of old songs knowing thats what the fans wanted. I was on my feet screaming and dancing for the whole 2 hour show. The place was packed of 30 year old wome going crazy! Again we went clubing after the show. Alesha, Heidi, John, and I. We got back to the condo around 4:30 am Heidi made me the best sandwhich ever. So Alesha and I stayed up until the sun came up partying like true rockstars afterall! We took a picture of the sunrise and crashed.

Sunday was a relaxed day we did the touristy stuff and I wore my big Donnie button all day telling people he was my boyfriend. We were on a date! It was nice to hang with the girls. And monday early a.m. I took Alesha back to the airport and Denay, Erin, and I were on the road home later in the day. We talked the whole ride home it was awesome. One big slumber party. Turning 30 was the best birthday ever!!!!!

Oh yeah and a few days later Erin took the second pregnancy test and it was POSITIVE!! Yeah another baby. Congratulations Chase family.

Been a Long Time

2008-08-15T12:17:00.000-07:00

I havent posted anything in a long time. Life is busy with four kids. I am finally feeling at home here. Im not so uneasy about being an East Coaster anymore. Its still seems odd. But there is a lot to do while were here so Im making the most of it. Our house is pretty well put together except for the storage side of the basement. Its a disaster area nationally declared. I love having a basement to put the kids in so they can play and horse around and I dont have to hear it. Its a slumber party must!!

The twins just turned one! I survived the first year and I hear from those with experience thats the hardest part. Im really enjoying them. I am so blessed to have mild mannered happy girls. They are sleeping through the night. They go down to bed so easy. And still take two naps a day.

Skyler and Katelyn start school on the 27th. We are ready. Sky will be in the fourth grade and Katelyn the first grade. Very exciting. Im just not ready to think about fall because winter is so close behind. Im sure the fall will be beautiful. I just dont want to be cold. The summer weather has been nice except for a few bouts of humidity. But overall its very mild. Mid 70's low 80's and always an ocean breeze. I love breathing in the ocean air. The sky is always blue. We get scattered showers with thunderstorms frequently but they blow through pretty quickly just cooling things down and watering the lawn.

Overall life is good I just miss all my California friends and family. I wish I could visit everyone. I am planning a trip for my 30th birthday. I will be going alone no kids. A few days in So cal and a few days in Vegas where I will catch A new kids on the block concert. And I am so excited. My boy band has grown up and I get to go see them.

Settling In

2008-04-04T14:59:00.000-07:00

Well things are coming along pretty well. Considering I have twin babies darn well. I have the house almost completly unpacked. I dont have any pictures hung but it will come. And really I need Julie here to help decorate and make it home. As soon as I can get a few more things put away I will take a bunch of pictures and post them. I really do want to show off the house and surroundings. I cant believe how incredible the neighborhood is. I have had two dinners brought over by my neighbors. And boy was it good. Stuffed manicotti and Spaghetti w/homemade meatballs. The people are so friendly. Skyler and Katelyn have a bunch of friends. And they can play outside for hours. We have never lived on a street where they could play freely. I have never felt comfortble letting them out of my sight but here its different. Our backyard faces a culdesac full of families of kids. We always have kids playing over here too. I like being the house where the kids like to play. I cant wait for Spring and we can all play outside. Chris wont be as excited when he has to start mowing the lawn our yard is really big. The house is on a lot close to 1/2 acre. We also have a nice size deck the babies can have a little pool or play on. As hard as it is being so far from all my friends and family there is so much to be excited about. Im really greatful to be in such a good place. I just need some visitors.

Were Moving!!

2008-03-08T08:36:00.000-08:00

I am very excited its almost time to move. On the other hand I will miss having my sister around. And her little house is so easy to clean. But anyways we found the perfect house in the perfect city. Its 3200 sq feet 4 bedrooms 1 and 1/2 bath with a full basement. Half of the basement is finished for a big playroom with new carpet and the other half is storage which is great because there is only a one car garage and we have a lot of stuff from our old garage. So the basement is perfect. The first floor has a beautiful entry way with the staircase being open up and a big hall closet so this everyone can take off their boots and hang up their jackets. It opens to the living room and formal dining room with beautiful hard wood floors theres a fireplace on this side. Theres a doorway to the den and kitchen the den/family room also has a fireplace and a big beautiful set of windows looking into the backyard. Its nice because there are doors so I can close off the family room and the kitchen so when the babies are crawling they will be confined to this area. The kitchen is big enough for a small table and chairs set with a wall lined with three or four pantry closets on it. There is a sliding glass door leading to the deck thats plenty big for a bbq and fire pit. On the deck there is built in benches but I would like to get a patio set. There are no fences but the big grassy area is open to a culdesac. And the cities police captain lives on the culdesac behind us. Compared to the neighborhood our house looks small and simple. The street is lined with trees and big big houses. Just a few blocks down the street is a mansion with private beach access but the family has opened a trail for the public to take walks on. Its wierd out East much of the beach is privately owned. There is a perfect public beach about 1 mile away and durring the summer there is a lifeguard Im sure we will spend a lot of time there. Ok so back to the house the only down fall is that the kitchen and bathrooms arent as modern as I would like the floors are nice and new but the fixtures are not. But its worth the trade off of so much space. Just dont mind my bright yellow countertop in the upstairs bathroom. We decided to rent for at least a year so we can settle into the area. I love this house it would be great if we could buy it next year. We will have to see what happens. The upstairs is nice the 4 bedrooms are good size. And there are secret storage closets in some of the closets its funny. They made good use of all the space. After I settle in a bit I will surely post pictures I cant wait to show you all. We got some new furniture its going to look great!! Im so excited.

The city is Marion we are right on Buzzards Bay just before Cape Cod. So we get warm currents where Cape Cod has cold ones. The water is perfect in the summer. The city is like something out of a book. Listening to the realtor I was in awe. There is so much available to us. The YMCA offers so much for the kids to be part of swimming, dancing, arts. There of course local sports teams. The elementry school is newly renovated and at half capacity. They offer all day kindergarden (it does come with a tuition) music and instruments. Swimming lessons at the beach. Its a great place for a family. Its a small town of around 5,000. Chris will be commuting to work its about 45min. To be close to his work we would live in a small house and the Boston city schools dont have a good reputation. So the burbs are for us. Not to say there arent nice areas closer to Boston but believe me you pay for it. This works out great and Chris is willing to sacrafice. I was more worried about his drive than he was. And he could always end up in a district closer to this place who knows.

Well if you have managed to keep reading this long thanks! Im really excited to set up our new house and we have a great guest room with a king size bed!! So come visit us. Its like being in a beach house. The kids are all looking forward to it. One more blessing the school secretary said I just talked to the principal about you and she wanted me to tell you that both herself and the VP are trained in diabetes care. Plus they have a nurse full time. I really had to hold back the tears. Feeling a great sense of relief. That settled it this is the place for us.

2008-02-18T07:19:00.000-08:00

Loving The East Coast

2008-02-14T07:19:00.000-08:00

Well I have been here for close to two weeks. I must say I love it so far. We have had some cold weather but its not nearly as dreadful as I had thought. Its cold so you wear a jacket and when you pump gas you have to wear gloves. For some odd reason the pumps dont have that thing that holds the lever up you have to hold it until the tank is full. That will suck when I have to fill up the truck and its 23 gallon tank. The first time around I didnt have gloves and my fingers were frozen solid. It snows and its so beautiful the snow glistens like there are diamonds amongst the flakes. Its soft and almost fluffy so not like the ice in the mountains of CA. Its around long enough to play a little with the kids, mess up the traffic and then it melts.

The only thing I dont love out here are the Drivers! There should be a handbook for new comers on the oddities of driving in Rhode Island. There was a school bus wanting to turn left so everyone stops traffic and lets the bus go ok fine thats nice enough. Then later theres four cars going all which way trying to cross the street, turn right, turn left, everyone just said go for it. There is no common sense on the Fwy like slower drivers keep to the right. And street signs are a rarity. And as if its not confusing enough with out signs they have 5+way intersections in some spots. So forget about GPS navigating in RI. The machine says turn right and you thing ok which right I have two options and no street sign. It was so bad in Providence I was ready to park the car and call someone to come get me I was giving up. I had two different navigating machines. Neither was any help. The streets are tiny and criss crossed all over the place. There are fwy entrances next to the 5story parking structure with no signs dictating hey it looks like this is the way to the parking structure but guess what its really 3 different fwys so pick one hurry up. And I encountered my first "Masshole" on a day trip to Boston with Erin. "Lola" my gps navigator said turn right well I had just turned it on and didnt have any notice so it was a last minute turn. I was at a red light so no big deal I will turn on my blinker and when the light turns green I can get over and turn right. The cars in the right lane were nice enough and I was able to get over. The car behind me was extremly bent out of shape about having to wait 5 seconds at a green light and let me know as he leaned on his horn. Upon passing me he swirved over as to scare me. I honked back and boy was he now ignited with anger. He swirved over infront of my lane and stopped his car I thought he was going to get out and want to Box me. I thought wow this guy is crazy I didnt react I just stopped and waited surely I wouldnt honk my horn again I guess he showed me who was boss. In CA this behavior would surely result in the driver in my position pulling out a weapon and shotting the crazy guy making threatning moves. It would have been self defense because no doubt he was readying his weapon. Boy was I ready to get home after that. Lola did help me get my way back to the Fwy with no further "Massholes".

Ive covered the weather and the driving what else is there to dictate whether or not I can be happy here in a new place. Only that its hard being so far from my family and friends. I will just have to focus on the family and friends I have here. I do get to spend time with my sister and I have missed her terribly. Trevor and Camela are also close by. And guess what people its only an airplane ride away to come visit. I know I will have visitors so I will get to see the people I miss. I talk to everyone on the phone only I have to remember not to wake them up at 6am Ca time. And the world is really a small place I have already made a friend in Boston that grew up with the Hall family in Corona. And of course I have church Im sure to meet people and find some friendly faces in church. The kids will have primary activities and life will seem the same in some ways. We just have the sunrising over the ocean instead of setting.

I cant wait to blog and share stories of the adventures we are sure to have on the East Coast!!
I hope someones reading.

First Try

2008-02-12T11:23:00.000-08:00

Starting on a new adventure. Im here in Rhode Island at my sisters house looking to find a home for my family in the Boston area. What a move. Chris is working on Boyleston St in Chestnutt Hill just outside of Boston. The kids and I are still getting used to being here. We had our first good snow fall the other night about an inch in an hours time. It was so fun the girls and I played outside and throw soft fluffy snow at each other. Katelyn made a snow angel it was great. Wicked Awesome you might say. Im sorry Erin wasnt here for it. She flew out with me and the girls and was an amazing help for the first week of life on the East Coast. She did get to see a little snow before she had to leave. I will try and upload pics of the snow soon. Lets see if I get this started and posted first. Am I possibly interesting enough for a blog?