Greetings from Salem!

Wow!  Who knew that moving would take so much out of me that I would need to take an 8-month hiatus from blogging?  Well, to celebrate making it back to blogging, I have changed the look of the blog.

Our lives have been very eventful in the last eight months.  Here are a few high lights, month-by-month:

September - We arrived to fairly hot weather and were able to get some awesome family time in before Todd started his job and AJ started his new school.  Gordon and Scott (the FIL and BIL) helped us move and stayed one extra day.  The day they left my parents arrived to visit.  Two days after they left Chad and Jamie (BIL and SIL) arrived to visit.  What a wonderful time!

October - Todd started work, AJ started school, Gordy and I decided to "get lost" a lot in order to find our way around town without depending on GPS.  It only took us two weeks to stop using it.  Halloween was fun (the boys were Mario and Luigi) and we were able to sneak a trip down to Eureka to celebrate Ti Aula's birthday.

November - More adventures around town.  The leaves turned, so we were able to have some fun in the leaves.  Rain toward the end of the month provided Todd with his first challenge as a carrier: delivering mail in a flood.  Was able to host Thanksgiving with most of Todd's family (missed MIL).

December - Busiest month of the year!  I decided to bake goodies for Todd's co-workers 2-3 times a week, and apparently they liked them.  My parents surprised me by visiting the weekend before my birthday.  I cried like a baby (we are talking huge sobs) when I opened the door and saw them standing there.  The in-laws were here for Christmas and then a week later we traveled to Eureka to celebrate with my family.

January - The New Year was rung in while visiting family in Eureka.  After returning home the rest of the month was spent settling in to a routine and enjoying life.  Mommy and Gordy spent a lot of time at the YMCA and the biggest excitement of the month was the "new" bunk bed Daddy found while at work for $25.

February - Being a short month, it flew by very fast.  Uncle Scott and Mike and Justin all sneaked in visits at the beginning of the month, and the boys got to spend a bit of time at the Discovery Village.

March - This month was packed VERY full.  Between a quick trip to California for my niece's birthday, Easter, another visit from Mike and Justin, and AJ being invited to TWO birthday parties we were busy every weekend.

April - Finally, last month opened with a BANG!  AJ turned 6 and my parents surprised him with a special visit.  We celebrated all weekend by doing some of his favorite things and ended it with a party at his favorite pizza restaurant.  The rest of the month zoomed by.  As the temperatures started to rise we spent more time out of doors.  It culminated with a visit from our cousins, a trip to the Ag Fair, and a case of pneumonia for AJ.  Not the ending we would have chosen, but he is doing much better now.