On To the Next Adventure!

I am writing this post as I sit among boxes, piled clothes, and utter chaos.  There can only be one explanation for my house being in this condition...we are moving!  In five weeks we will be pulling out of Eureka and will no longer call this picturesque city home.

I have lived in Eureka nearly my entire life.  I actually counted the exact number of months I haven't lived in Eureka the other day and discovered that it was only 18 months.  That means in nearly 32 years of life, only 1 1/2 of those years were spent away from the city I thought I would always call home.  Of course, God had a different plan for my life.  So in 5 weeks, with the help of our families, my husband, sons and I will make the 7-hour trek to Salem, OR, where Todd will begin his job as a Carrier for the United States Postal Service after patiently waiting 5 years as a Clerk in Arcata for the same opportunity to open up here.  It never did, so here we are.

My feelings about this move are definitely bittersweet.  I have a full list of Pros and Cons, so I decided to share them here.

CONS

• I have never in my life went longer than 6 weeks without seeing my mother.  I have also never lived longer than 6 hours away from her.  I am going to miss her like crazy.
• I have never missed Christmas with my family, but due to the nature of Todd's chosen career (which is the same as my father's), we will not likely ever be able to spend Christmas Day with my family again.
• I will miss my Daddy, too.
• My sister and I, while always close, have gotten even closer in the last two years since her pregnancy and the birth of my niece.
• I was looking forward to my sons and niece growing up as close cousins.  My boys adore my niece and she loves them.  It will be hard to give up that dream.
• No more sleep overs at Grandma and Grandpa's.  This is one of the boys' favorite things in the whole world.  Mommy's and Daddy's too.
• No more "free" baby sitting.  I always knew that if I had an appointment or needed to get something done, all I had to do was ask my parents, sister, or grandmother to watch the boys.  If they could not do it, I had some lovely friends to back me up.
• Our church family and friends have been super supportive to us over the last 8 years.  We will miss them dearly.
• I will miss living so near to my grandmother.
• We have our oldest son enrolled at NCLA here.  At the observation appointment the class and teacher seemed perfect for him.  I hope his new school will fit him just as well.
• I will miss the ocean.

PROS

• Cheaper housing - by A LOT!
• Ag country means lots of fresh fruits and veggie varieties!
• Ag country also means USDA Housing Loans.
• More variety of stores, which means lower prices.
• Oregon = NO SALES TAX
• Four seasons!!!!
• There is a YMCA is Salem, so we WILL be signing the boys up for swimming!  It also has free childcare and Kids Club, so I can take my youngest with my while my oldest is in school and not have to worry about who is going to watch him while I work out.
• The Discovery Village at Riverfront Park looks really cool, and a family membership there will also get us free admission to Seattle Science Center, which Todd has fond memories of from his childhood.
• Instead of driving 1-2 hours to find the best camping/swimming holes, we only have to travel 15 minutes.
• We will be only 3-4 hours from Todd's family instead of 10-12 hours, which means a lot more visiting.
• My best friend (whom I have missed terribly these past 6 years) will now only be less than 90 minutes from me!
• New Community = New Opportunities
• The Willamette Valley Chapter of Romance Writers of America is based in Salem.
• The Salem-Keizer Volcanoes are a Single-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants!
• Cheaper gas prices (Thank you I-5)!
• We do have some friends already living in Salem.
• Olive Garden, Outback Steakhouse, Chang's Mongolian Grill, and Red Robin.  I think that is self explanatory.
• If it isn't found in Salem, Portland is only a 45 minute drive away.   

I'm sure there are a lot of other reasons I am sad/excited about this move, but regardless of them the bottom line is that this move is an adventure for our family.  I hope to blog a lot more as I start a new outlook on life of treating everyday like an adventure.

I won't just be blogging about recipes, but about places, activities, and personal musings.

Here we go!!!