Five years ago today we moved to Portland.

We drove our extended cab pickup loaded with our five fuzzy faces (3 black labs and two cats) towing our malibu (loaded with fragiles) from Denver to Boise (actually, Mountain Home) through high winds in Wyoming and a blizzard in Eastern Idaho.  We stayed with some dear friends for the night and drove the rest of the way through snow in Eastern Oregon, and a driving rain and darkness through the Gorge.  Only to hit rush hour traffic on 217 on the way to our rental house on Bull Mountain.  We stayed with friends in the exact neighborhood where we have ended up…and met the moving van on the morning of January 3rd, 2006….probably the only DRY day in that record setting wettest January in Portland.  Welcome to Oregon!

A lot has happened in those five years.

I found a wonderful job (that I miss a lot).

We started seeing a marriage counselor (money well spent, people…and housecleaners).

We decided to start a family.

We started to explore our new home state and the surrounding region.

Our little guy joined our family.

Not more than a week later, after we had been planning to move to Boise with a Xerox transfer, Ryan left Xerox (after 10+ years) and started a new career in medical sales.

I joined a mom’s group through the hospital and have made some amazing momma friends (we still have our playgroup of 15 moms…and a lot of kids)!

I made the hardest decision I have made in my life (even though I knew it was the one I would make all along) to stop working and stay at home full-time with our little guy.

We bought a house (which I love, but it also needs a bit of TLC).

I started exercising on a regular basis for the first time in years with Stroller Strides (which deserves a post of it’s own once a week because I don’t know what I would do without the exercise and great group of mommas)!

We traveled to Colorado, Idaho, New York and Maui with the little guy.

I (we) suffered a miscarriage.

We got pregnant again!

We said goodbye to our beautiful cat, Miss Murphy the Boss Lady.

I got a new car.

Our precious baby girl joined our family (and quickly became the  new boss lady when she decided to come 3 weeks early and mess with all my planning).

We said goodbye to another one of our four legged fuzzy faces…Grand River Medicine Oak (who I will someday be able to write about…until then she is my little black angel).

We took our first trips as a family of four to Seattle, Bend, and Pacific City.

Ryan started another new job in a different specialty of medical sales.

And, we have celebrated 1st birthdays (2nd and 3rd for the little guy); had many visits from grandparents, sisters (and their husbands), friends (not enough of you, so come visit us); made new friends; and made it through the ups and downs of life in new city…and life in general.

home is…calling Portland home.