[Love the person you are next to. Whether it be your husband, friend, stranger, enemy or grandma! Just love them. Give a hug, a smile, a note, a hot meal; give yourself to others and you will never regret it. My goal is to inspire, encourage, and invite those around me to see life differently. Brighter, purposeful, and so important. It's simple: Faith expressing itself through l.o.v.e.]

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Some Photos For Ya

Here are some other photos that I couldn't load a while back from our trip and some from our new home! Enjoy!

Monday, October 24, 2011

Goin' to the Narthwest!

There are a few interesting things that we have been finding out about since we have moved up here. A few hick-ish things, and a few awesome things!

Hickish things include the following:

  1. People drive with goats instead of dogs in the back of their trucks
  2. The local High School has a gun club- and it happens to be around the block 
  3. Deer roaming in yards is normal
  4. LOTS of people own their own chickens
  5. LOTS of people spray paint their trucks camouflage 
  6. This is hickish but also awesome: bars named "Doofers"
Awesome things include the following:
  1. You can merge in and out of the carpool lane whenever your heart desires 
    1. negative byproduct- you cannot merge onto other freeways from the carpool so swerving across traffic to make your change is common
  2. The skyline is always filled with trees
  3. Drive through coffee shops are literally everywhere
  4. There are lots of apple trees that hang out of peoples giganto yards and we can pick apples off 
  5. Washington is literally lined with berry bushes that people pick 
  6. We have seen the three couples/families we know up here a few times already 
Okay random post for you guys. Here is a cute picture just for fun.


Friday, October 21, 2011

Long Awaited!

Hi friends-

Well the biggest reason I have not posted photos and updates from our journey to the NW is because my computer won't let my phone sync to it anymore and  I can't upload my photos from my phone OR my photos from my camera- because our other cord is packed away. Wah wahhhh. So that being said, there are a few that I was able to sync by some Christmas miracle and I have a few photos for you.

Our going away party was a blast. Thank you to everyone who came and showered us with love as we begin this new journey! It is scary but so exciting for us. The drive went really well! Zoey slept literally the entire way until we were two blocks from the house and she was fed up and screaming/howling/wimpering/barking- but I still see that as a victory!

Our first day we drove up to Sacramento or "The Sac" as Kevin likes to call it, and stayed with our friends Phil & Kathy. We had a great time, went out for appetizers at the Diners, Dives, and Drive through guys restaurant- yummmmm. Then we went on a journey to Phil's favorite taco truck (which involved a 30 minute drive into God knows where- it looked like we were in Indiana! Sorry Em..) But let me tell you- THOSE TACOS WERE FLIPPIN AMAZING! YUMMMMMMMMMMMMM . Thanks PHil! And ended it with DELISH donuts! Thanks Kathy for sharing the Mint N Chip!




Kevin on his first leg of the trip ( I took the mornings he took second shift)
Lookin' snazzzzzay in his new jacket and glasses


Guy Fierrere's (or however the heck you spell it) restaurant!


Posing for my parents by his picture!





Em- Doesn't that look like Indiana!? Come on!


The famous truck. We will meet again.


Phil and Kev determining their orders- note the seriousness.




Into Oregon now! 


What Kevin does when I ask him to take pictures. 



Getting closer to Portland.




Mema's swanky condo!


Her sweet view!


Funky breakfast place we went to! Double Yum!


For Tiffany.



Everyone told us to go to Voodoo Donuts b/c they are the best..
They were right!




The famed "Bacon Maple Donut" 
Kevin chanted that mantra the entire way while we walked there...



Leaving Portland!



We spent the next day driving for 11 hours up to Portland, Oregon to stay the night with my Grandma in her hip condo in the city. That place is dog central. We took Zoey on a walk and business owners asked if we would bring her into the shop and they proceeded to get on their hands and knees and kiss/play with Zoey and then give her treats. It was really strange. I'm talking grown men and women in business clothes. Maybe it is just weird to me. *Fun fact about Washington- apparently it is now known as the biggest dog state in the US where more people have dogs than they have children- thus the giant section of dog clothes everywhere we go. 

The third and final day of our voyage was.... really crappy/horrible/draining eventful. While leaving Portland, I noticed the car tow was swaying pretty strongly and dangerously next to cars. We pulled over and found out the lever to the car tow and lodged its way up and under the bottom of our bummer (into this plastic area) and there was no way to get it out. We tried to drive slow, but the front tire being unlocked was  making the car shift all over the place and we were not willing to keep driving. So we pulled over, tried 10 things that didn't work, and figured the only thing we could do is pull the call off the tow and drive our two cars separately. We did so, and bent the underneath of our bumper pretty bad, but better than the car flying swinging into someones car and creating a huge crash. So that short 3 hour drive turned into a 6 hour drive because we also hit ridiculous traffic coming into WA because a truck slid onto grass. Let me repeat- a truck- did not crash, and no other cars were involved, and no car was even damaged, but a truck, slid onto grass on the side of the road, and needed to get pulled off - SO LITERALLY JUST A TRUCK SITTING ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD- and people decided that was 5 mph worthy on the freeway.... LAWD people in WA can't drive! 



(Kevin has the entering Washington Photos)
Here is the sign that we drove up to!


Did I tell you they have chickens who we get fresh eggs from..?
With names... and personalities!? They hold them! haha!





We had our first and last Dick's burger. It is NOTHING compared to INNOUT.


Pretty views!


We had our first Five Guys. Pretty good man.



Our drive home everyday. 


Snapshot of my classroom!


View of the Bergin Home!


Sunshine for all your WA haterrrrrs out there- it happens!

:-)


In my sweet fleece my sister got me- I fit right in now! 





So anywho! We made it to WA with overall great ease and we are having a great time. We live in a beautiful neighborhood with my aunt/uncle/cousins and we are loving all the trees. I mean seriously, its like the woods. It is beautiful. All the leaves are starting to change color, the fog sits nice and low on the mountains behind us, and on clear days (which we have had quite a few) it is even better. My job at the preschool is great! The facility is beautiful and the kids are so sweet and fun. Kevin has a few prospects, but we are still figuring out a few things. We have driven around lots of neighborhoods and cities looking for where we would potentially live. So please pray for these specific things:

-Kevin would find a great full time job that he enjoys and can learn from
-I find a fun restaurant to work at that is closer to wherever he works
- We find a nice place to rent (we want to rent a small home)
-We are patient
-We find a church in that area

If you read this whole thing- I love you! Thanks! More pictures and posts to come!
xoxoxoxoxo Colleen