Oregon Trip

One of the big draws to moving to Reno was being closer to Oregon! We decided to go on a quick road trip up to Glide over Labor Day weekend. I love Oregon. The weather, the scenery, everything about it, so I am always up for a trip. We left after work on Friday and drove about 6 1/2 hours and got there around 12:30. It was a pretty easy trip, I was just nervous we would hit a deer b/c we saw about 8 of them on the way up. We got there and the girls were in heaven! They loved playing with everyone. Now that John and Stephanie live there it's even better. The kids had a blast playing down at the river and swimming!

Grandma has the funnest toys :)

Down at the river. Morgan and Stella really liked it. Stella loved throwing rocks in the river!

We didn't even plan on matching!

 This is John and Nick swimming across the river to get Maverick! He never goes in the water, but he swam all the way across, got out, and ran up the other side of the valley chasing cows. Long story short Nick and John were able to find him after about 30 min, but not before meeting up with a very angry farmer with a gun ready to shoot! Needless to say the situation was diffused when they found they were Graham's. They literally dodged a bullet on that one!

                                                           Alice "helping"in the kitchen!

Swimming!

I love this one. All 3 of them have the funniest expressions!

Super Baron!

We love Glide!

First Day of School

We got back from Hawaii at about 11:00 at night and of course school started the next day for Reagan. I can't believe that she in 2nd grade already. She always get excited about starting, and I think she was especially excited to meet some new friends.

The Kindergarteners don't start the same day as everyone else. They take that first week and have all the kids come in 1 on 1 and meet the teacher and do a little assessment. So Alice started the next week. Needless to say she was very very excited.  I really can't believe she is in school. She's been my little buddy for the last couple of years, and as much as she drives me crazy sometimes, I miss just our 1 on 1 time. I told I was going to miss her being my buddy and she said, "Don't worry Mom, I will be your buddy in the morning and then just go to school for a little bit, and Stella can be your buddy while I'm gone, and then I will come back home after school and we can be buddies again." I love that little girl. She is obsessed with ponytails and having her hair slicked back and it drives me crazy.

Hawaii

Of course since the move was a unexpected for us, we of course had planned an anniversary trip leaving from Vegas to Hawaii :) My parents were so awesome to come out and help us move and then stay and watch the girls while we went on our trip. We joked with them saying it was the shortest week of our life, longest of theirs! It was our 11 year anniversary. We were planning to go on our 10 year but Stella was still pretty little so we put it off for 1 more year. We obviously had a great time! Hawaii is so beautiful and it was so nice to just do whatever we wanted to and not have to be on a schedule. We went to Oahu and stayed on the North Shore at the resort Turtle Bay. I am really glad that we stayed up there. We went all over the island. We paddleboarded, which of course I got sick doing, stopped where a bunch of movies were filmed (Hunger Games, 50 First Dates, Magnum Pi, Lost), Waikiki Beach, hiking, Dole Plantation, and of course laying on the beach!  Pretty much all Hawaii is just amazing.

 We stopped by the temple and it was so beautiful! The pictures don't do it justice.

 Jumping off the cliffs at Waimea Bay (it ended up being our favorite beach)

Getting a Pineapple Whip

Hiking

After an incredibly long day getting back home filled with delays and barely made connections, we made it back to our little sleeping beauties and decorated door. Stella was sleeping face down :) 

It was an amazing trip! 

On the move

This one is going to be a long one...

    Nick and I went to Reno last summer to check it out. Nick had a good friend from the DA's office in Vegas who went up to the office in Reno and was selling Nick pretty hard on Reno. We took a trip and really loved it! So Nick applied last fall for the Washoe County DA's office. After waiting and waiting, it looked like it wasn't going to happen. They kept telling him we really want you but we are waiting for a so and so to retire, or a spot to open up, etc. Well I kind of gave up thinking it wasn't going to happen. So of course, I finally bought a brand new large sectional and some patio furniture I had been wanting, but waiting for to make sure we didn't get the job so we didn't have to move it. Then we also decided to re do our kitchen cabinets. Well wouldn't you know 2 days into the cabin re-do Reno calls and offers Nick a job! We were needless to say surprised! I knew this move was going to be a hard one, but the right one for our family. When Nick graduated law school and we were looking for jobs, I never in a million years would have thought Vegas. Not that anything was wrong with it, it just wasn't on my radar. However my sister , moved there and so we thought let's look there. I have always wanted to live near my sister, and raise my kids with hers. That was just a given. Well it turned out that Vegas is a great place to get a judicial clerkship. Nick accepted and we were all set to move to Vegas! As life happens, my sister ended up moving to Arkansas right before we moved to Vegas. I was obviously totally bummed, but excited for a new adventure, and a bunch of our law school friends had accepeted jobs in Vegas too. Fast forward 6 years later. I knew it was going to be hard to leave all our friends. My friends had grown to be more than friends, they are my family. They are the ones who laughed with me, cried with me, and just sat on a couch with me. They have raised my kids with me, told me when I was labor, watched my kids when I couldn't. My kids love your kids, and I love your kids.
I could go on and on about how my dear my friends are to me, but I only have some much time and energy. I have cried endless night and random times in the day when I think about them. I have learned so much from each and every one them. We did have lots of last girls night out!!! We always have so much fun! They have no idea how much I will miss them.  Thank-you to all of those who let us into your families. I love Vegas and all the people there. It will always hold a special place in my heart.