Family Renunion

So we finally closed on our new house in Eugene, Oregon.  We're pretty excited. Since Tara was in Utah at the time of signing, I had to use power of attorney and sign for both of us.  It took 2.5 weeks after the original closing date for the lenders to finally get the paperwork ready, but we're glad to be able to move on.  Fortunately, our household goods got delayed in moving as well, so we didn't run into any problems of having them arrive before we had possession of the home.  The day after I signed for the home I drove back to Utah to meet up with Tara and the kids for her family reunion. We got together with her parents and all her siblings and their families, and went to Park City. 

Tara's parents were kind enough to get hotel rooms for everyone, along with paying for food and activities for the whole family. 

Zade's favorite activity by far was the alpine coaster (i.e., a downhill slide on a track). Aria and Ryzen really enjoyed the alpine slide (show below).

As always, the kids loved sugary treats. :)

The boys also enjoyed playing mini-golf. 

We also went an played in a local park.

The ladies also got together one evening for a girl's night, where they went out and got ice cream.Guy's night consisted of watching the NBA finals. :) 

Overall, it was a good family reunion.

The kids also enjoyed other activities while I was away in Oregon, such as the Planetarium. 

After the family reunion, we drove back to Oregon in one day. Nova was a wonder baby and didn't complain the whole way, otherwise we couldn't have driven that much in a single day. We stayed at my parents house for a couple days while we continued to wait for our household goods to arrive, and then moved into our new house.

Since we arrived, we have had a few surprises. Probably the biggest surprise is that there is a mother cat with a bunch of young cats living inside a bushy tree right outside our dining room.  We're talking 7+ feral cats here.  Not good.  Aria, however, thinks it's great!  She's enjoyed giving them cat food., since they were starving.  We have got to find a way to help them find a new home.  

Summer Camp

While hanging out in Utah, waiting for our house to close in Oregon, Tara signed up Aria and Zade to do a week-long summer camp where the kids got to act and sing.  They put on a play and performed Frozen. Aria got to be a snowflake, and Zade was asked to be the young version of Olaf the snowman.  They both memorized their lines and did a really nice job.

Moving

Getting ready for the move out to Oregon has kept us pretty busy.  Amidst all the chaos we managed to say goodbye to a bunch of friends in State College, PA.

Here's Aria and Zade at Miss Katrina's house, where they got to build another magical kingdom.

We've enjoyed our time in State College (except the winter weather), and are sad to leave so many good people that we've gotten to know.  It will be nice to be closer to family though.

Amidst it all, and despite all the kids protests that they never need a bath, we managed to keep them somewhat clean. :)

Two days before Tara and the kids were to flyout to Oregon, Tara noticed that one of her connecting flights was going through Salt Lake City. She decided it would be a great idea to get off the flight early and see her family, so that's what she did.  I stayed behind for 2 days to get the house cleaned up, and then drove over 40 hours across the country to Oregon.  On the way, I stopped off in Utah and dropped off everyone's luggage.  Since it was Memorial Day Weekend, we enjoyed some of the weekend festivities. There was a train ride with cops and robbers, which the kids enjoyed.

The closing date for our house in Oregon got delayed, so we still don't have a place to live yet. Hopefully that will soon be remedied. In the meantime, I'm staying at my parents house trying to get things in order so we can move in, while Tara and the kids wait at her family's house.