Brian had last Friday off because he was between jobs—he got a new job as a Senior Portfolio Tax Analyst in Hood River, OR! Thursday was his last day at the accounting firm he has worked at for 3 years. We are happy to be done with accounting! Especially since our baby is due right in the middle of tax busy season. He started his new job on Monday and is enjoying it so far.
Friday we went out to Hood River to look at houses. Yes, houses! We have gone back and forth on whether or not we want to move. Hood River is small—like 7,500 people small. It’s the windsurfing capital of the world (read: windy! Troutdale is crazy windy, so it’s hard to imagine a place being possibly windier). It is about 45 minutes up I-84—a beautiful drive and is basically the next city after Troutdale when you head east along the Columbia River. We have gone to the ward, which was surprisingly big. The biggest pro to moving would be that we would see Brian more without a 45 min. commute on both ends. The cons are that we would be 45 minutes further from family that we love and that Elna adores seeing as often as possible, 45 minutes further from Costco, Winco, the temple, and the airport. Also the housing is quite expensive—way more than Troutdale and way more than White Salmon which is right across the river from Hood River, and it is a small town—too small? I don’t know. How isolated would we feel? Luckily, we won’t be able to sell our house right away, so we have plenty of time to make the decision.
Blaine Franger Photography. The city of Hood River, Oregon with Mount Hood in the background as seen looking south from the Washington side of the Columbia River. (I took this from the internet, because I have forgotten to take pictures every time we have gone) It’s beautiful, huh?
Later that day we went to see horses compete at the equestrian center. Elna LOVES horses now! She says “nee” all the time now, and drags us toward the door, hoping to get to go again. We had such a fun time! Elna makes even simple things really seem so exciting!
Elna’s face on the right it what she looked like about half of the time on the first day we went—a little worried.
This is the smile we get these days when we say “smile, Elna.” Funny girl.
So brave of Elna—she usually got very nervous if she were any closer than 5 feet away from the horse, but she finally touched this horse, Kyla, a horse that belongs to one of my Young Women, Lindsey.
The next day we went again:
This was the first picture I took her that day, right as she got out of the car—ready to explode with excitement.
And then she was off and running!:
Pointing to the baby.
This is Elna just moments before telling her it was time to go.
And this is Elna when we took her to go home.
Saturday evening we headed to one of our favorite restaurants, Veggie Grill. Yum!
Elna eats there just for the ketchup. She loves dipping and if we’d let her she would eat ketchup it by the spoonful.
We also worked on this project—a ruler/growth chart to hang on our wall.
It was originally a me project, which quickly evolved into an us project, and finally into a Brian project—somehow I did nothing on the project except for come up with the idea—and even that I got from pinterest.com.
Here is the finished growth chart:
And some pictures of getting it up on the wall:
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Elna putting clothes on over her clothes while Dad was busy—she loves dressing herself.
I love it!!! And I love how handy my husband is—and how cute my little girl is! I love that my husband is no longer working as a tax accountant! I love 3-day weekends! Our life is good! I’m such a lucky girl!
Great post. Love the boots. Love the growth chart. Hood River is beautiful!
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ReplyDeleteGreat weekend!
ReplyDelete45 minutes to go to town once or twice a month or even once a week doesn't seem much compared to 45 minutes 5 times a week. Time with Brian/daddy is priceless. Compared to the trip from Wendover, that's nothing.
Fun post Lucy! Wow lots of changes for you this year! Sounds like a Better job for Brian. As for moving at least you have time on your side! Keep us posted! Adorable photos!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThat growth chart is adorable! We are going to miss you once you make the move to Hood River. Good luck with all the changes!
ReplyDeleteGreat idea on the growth chart. We're going to have to copy that idea.
ReplyDeleteCommutes are all relative. Some people only know a 5-10 minute commute all their life, where most people in major cities are looking at 45min+ commutes.
congratulations to brian! what exciting times in your neck of the woods. i hear awesome things about hood river. my friend, kjell, from high school, actually works there doing something with wind energy. he is also an avid paraglider, so it's a good fit all around. hope you guys figure out something that will work for you in the long run.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the new job! It sounds like it will be great for your family. I know my husband would rather commute 45 minutes w/out traffic than 20 minutes in stop-and-go. You look so great, Lucy! And I love the growth chart!
ReplyDeleteGood luck on the house decision - it looks like you live in such a beautiful area! I love the northwest. And little Elna is so adorable in those boots! She should be a little boot model. And you should, too - I love your whole outfit with your striped dress and your green boots. You are such a cute pregnant lady. Also love the growth chart - I think I need one. We used to just write the kids' heights on the wall under our calendar, but it got out of control and really messy with numbers all willy nilly everywhere, so then when we painted we painted right over it, and I haven't let anyone write on the wall again. So that would be a good solution. Do you remember us all doing our heights out in the garage at G&G Linford's house? So fun.
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