Ocean to Ocean

It has been a long haul! We have had a busy year and even more to come. Richard and I are going to try to keep everyone updated through our blogs. So here it is. It may not be terribly exciting, but I love it. ;)

This past year as most of you already know, I taught third grade and Richard worked at Premier Performance Products where he was the supervisor in the returns department. It was a hard, but rewarding year teaching and working. I definitely helped us prepare for the big move and to get things together. Richard found out around August or September last year that he was accepted into West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine (WVSOM). We took this as a chance to prepare. I got a year of teaching under my belt and we were able to look at apartments and scope out other things in the area to know about.

We finished work in June and took the opportunity to spend time with family and traveling a little bit. We first went on a family reunion with the Newman side up to ocean shores, WA. It was a blast! We did all sorts of activities like swimming, playing in the ocean, horseback riding, going for a walk in a beautiful forest, go-kart riding, fishing, and visiting little shops in the town. It was really nice to connect with the whole family together again for a few days.

After the end of the reunion, Rich and I decided that while we were in Washington, we should go and see Seattle. It was a city I had never been to before and it was a fun adventure for us. So we drove there and found a hotel to stay in and immediately hit the ferry across the way to Seattle. And coming in, it was a beautiful sight.

You could see the city as you came in and for the first time seeing it, it was enchanting. We got some lunch and looked around for a while before the Mariners game started. The only thing I have found so far that I did not particularly like about the city was that there were a lot of hills and stairs everywhere. And not short ones. No, no, they went on for hundreds of stairs and hills. ughahaha....

Everything else was wonderful. 

We went to a couple of museums too. One of the coolest ones we went to was the EMP museum. It had the actual costumes from the Star Wars movies. (and yes I am a total nerd for star wars)

The last thing we did was see the space needle. Which explains itself. 

After Seattle we went to Utah for my family reunion with the Crandell's. Also a blast! We did the Hogle Zoo and went on a bike ride to Utah lake. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was such a beautiful ride. There was also great food, a water fight, and of course, star wars movie. :)

Lastly, we made the drive to Ronceverte, West Virginia. It was roughly 30+ hours in two incredibly full cars and one frightened cat. It wasn't as bad as I expected. We were able to make it without a hitch. The cat was frightened and found a little cave to hide in the entire ride, but we made it. We quickly found just how humid it is here, but making it work. The first two days we put the house together, the next two days we bought all necessary items like food. :) Now we are making friends and just kicking it. We are excited to be here and are can't wait for the adventure to begin!

Thanks for reading and I promise they will not all be this long! Had a lot to cover! :)