Since you've been gone...

Atticus's new job: holds stuff for mom

Wassup?!!

Atticus has eaten cereal, prunes, green beans, squash, & pears

Our little boy has grown so much love!! Can you believe we have a six month old?!

Newport: Great People, Great Places

The baby and I got back from RI on Thursday morning and had a great time there. It was so great! We were always on the go, but managed to stay warm!

Friendly Faces

(I didn't get many pictures with friends, dang it!)

Jessica & Gabby Diaz

Hero Bremer & Atticus

Atticus had his first biscuit at the Bremer's

Atticus with the Kohl's

Atticus with Jennifer Mello

Roger (Rodga, Baby Whisperer, etc.) and Atticus. This man has such a BIG heart! He holds all the little ones at church just to give us parents a little break. Him and Carmen even let me use their car for the week. Amazing I tell ya! Love you guys!

Familiar Places!

Tracy & I ate here Saturday and had French Toast with carmelized bananas, delicious! Adam and I used to eat here a lot and romanticize our future...

Old theaters we used to spend lots of our time at when we first moved to Newport. There's nothing like an old, authentic place to catch a good flick!

The Hotel Viking was just a few houses down from our first apartment on Kay Street. It was on the way when we used to walk to the movies on Friday and Saturday nights.

Best Buffalo Chicken Pizza can be found here! This was an all time favorite restaurant of ours.

This one's for you Adam! Best Buy came to the island, right by Home Depot where the Christian store was.

One of my favorite highlights was bundling up Atticus and taking him down to Thames street. We walked around everywhere! It was one of my favorite things to do living there. Atticus enjoyed the bumpy cobblestone paths, while I had the worst time lifting him and his stroller up (and down) into all the shops I wanted to check out. This was a very memorable day for me that I will always cherish. :)






Thames St.

I think I have more appreciation for this historical landmark now than I did before... Trinity Church. We used to think it looked like an LDS temple in Newport.









We all have people and places that come in and out of our lives. It felt the same as we had left it, but I was certainly changed. As I spent the week in Newport, I appreciated the life I had once had there. I felt warm and content. While reflecting on this, I also came to a new found appreciation for the life we now lead in Seattle. I realized that someday when we've moved on again, I want to return to Seattle with the same warm feelings I had returning to Newport. Seattle IS a wonderful place and has always been so good to us. It has been in Seattle that I began my career as a teacher, had my first child Atticus, made a life long friend in Brandi and some others, lived near Adam's relatives, and was closer to my family in Utah. Even though it seemed we had delved deep into a new life in Seattle, visiting Newport helped me realize that I still haven't given it my all there to create a sense of home and well-being that I had in Newport, RI. I have a lot of work ahead.

Our Official Google Blog Launch!

We've had a profile since Atticus was born, but never really created and customized our blog. Evidently, Adam already wrote two posts when Atticus was born, they are sooo sweet! Check them out! At the time, we felt so overwhelmed with the new baby and felt like we were sinking in our communication with others. Life has eased up on it since and I've found myself with a lot of time on my hands lately to get this up off the ground!Some of you know that Adam left before our anniversary in October on a temporary assignment to the Baring Sea in Alaska. This came as quite a shock when he found out this news one day and then left on another! When he left, he had no clue where the ship was leaving out of Oakland, CA. We only knew he would be back in time to catch his flight to Virginia for Christmas on December 19th. To my surprise, Adam and Sara orchestrated a sneaky little surprise and Adam showed up at our front door on our anniversary, October 22. It's been 5 wonderful years! Although I was very excited to spend our anniversary together, I was the most grateful that he would be around for another big move to the Hage's on the upcoming weekend, Saturday October 25. We said our second goodbye to Adam on Monday October 27, 2008.When we found out Adam was leaving, Sara fortunately extended her trip to help us get settled in the Hage's basement apartment. We are so excited about living here and look forward to building a life-long friendship with our upstairs neighbors/landlords. :) Sadly, I had to say another goodbye to Sara on November 9, 2008. There was such a big void when she left. On that note, I will just tell you that Sara became the NEWEST member of our family after Atticus during the two months she lived with us. She now has a second home in Seattle. We love you very much Sara!With the change in circumstances of Adam leaving until Christmas and not having a job I was committed to, I immediately decided that I didn't want to spend this two months alone. Sara was generous and offered to stay until December, but I knew she wanted and needed to get back to Ogden to get her life started. My next thought was to spend the time sharing Atticus with his loving and very unique grandparents Bonnie and Leo. So, Atticus and I made the trip out to Virginia the day after Sara left on Monday November 11.With trials come many blessings. I had the blessing of having my sister all to myself after Adam left. Also, my dad came to spend Halloween weekend with just us girls. He wanted to contribute to the move, but I think it was just an excuse to see us! :) Then came the blessing of being at Bonnie & Leo's home. It has been a blast and a comfort to be out here. I am happy we could spread the joy that Atticus brings to our family.Tomorrow, yet another blessing will arrive! The baby and I are flying up to Rhode Island to visit our beloved friends there for a week. Newport brought me so much joy for three years and I can't wait to share this with Atticus!I am posting two videos of Atticus from the time he was born to the time we left for Virginia. This was Sara's work of art and gift to us, especially for Adam to take a piece of Atticus with him. I hope you enjoy!