A Whole New Life

It's killing me that I have not been blogging this tremendous month of our journey. Every day has been an exciting new adventure so attempted below is an account of our move across the country, our stop in Utah to partake in pure happiness, a whirlwind of unpacking, then a week of 4th of July fun at the beach, followed by two weeks of getting settled into our new life. What a trip it has been!

Catching up will take quite an effort, so let me start today by writing about today.

Joren is in Shorty Sporty camp this week at this incredible park in our town. He is learning about softball and listening and following directions. While he has been in camp, Eirik, Teig, Juni and I have spent our time exploring. The park has a splash pad and a skate park and basketball court in the woods. And it also has a trail. In Oregon when there is a nature trail, it is nothing ordinary. Every step is tremendously beautiful. I could not stop taking pictures and exclaiming loudly how gorgeous every single view is.  We walked down a big gorge and up the other side. My boys loved discovering 6" lime green banana slugs. It has been sunny and a perfect upper 70s lower 80s range of temperatures since we moved in. It could really not be more perfect weather. After our picnic lunch we went to check out some Tae Kwon Do studios, and then went to get ourselves a library card. We were all impressed by the new, beautiful library with two stories and a giant children's section. Joren loved that there are big statues outside. I read to the kids and Teig fell asleep in my lap. A minute later he crawled into Juni's carseat and the rest of us read until he had slept for a good hour. I tried to carry Teig in the carseat with Juni in the other hand to the checkout counter. We are a bit of a sight everywhere we go with such a brood. I love it actually. If only everyone were so lucky to have 4 gorgeous kids tagging along with them.
Tonight after we all relaxed and had dinner we all walked to the skatepark by our house. This is not like any skatepark I have ever seen. It has deeper ramps, steaper pitches and tons of valleys.  Joren has been dying to try it out. He has asked almost every day. He had all his gear and lots of courage, but he did not have the right teachers. Paul and I couldn't begin to show him how to skate that park. So I texted my bros and told them they had their work cut out for them when they come. Tor was FREAKING out while Joren was trying to skate. I think he could tell it was dangerous. I was a bit worried too. He is only 5 after all.
On our way home we ran into a bunch of wild blackberry bushes. We all ate handfulls of giant sweet balckberries, from bushes in our neighborhood!! I NEveR!!
I can't begin to explain how absolutely amazing it is to live here. Every day is filled with new delights. I tell my kids all the time to pinch me because I can't believe we actually get to live in a place that feels like a resort every single day. Unbelievable! I am one lucky girl!