As most of you probably know by now, our family has successfully relocated to the scorching deserts of Arizona. We are very excited to be together as a family again - the month and a half prior to the move that we were separated was the longest month and a half of our lives. Doug secured a wonderful home for us - the girls and I are definitely loving all the space we have now. Seriously, our old home could have fit into the area of the dining room, kitchen, and garage (and yet, we were so happy there :0) The landscaping doesn’t match what we had back in Oceanside, but since we weren’t really able to enjoy it much before, we’ve been able to cope with the numerous cactus, aloe plants, and sun-scorched palm trees.
Doug is happy to be back at work with a manager who respects him and teaches him skills that will help him advance. His commute now is 20 minutes - much better than the hour or more he was driving to Costa Mesa. With Doug working so close to home, the girls and I havebeen able to meet up with him for lunch a few times. I am amazed at everything there is to do now that I don’t have work distracting me from my domestic duties. It still seems that I can never keep up on the laundry or dishes, but I have been able to unpack most of the boxes in our garage, which is more than I ever accomplished back in Oceanside. Aiden and Reilly are extremely active and curious - about anything and everything that crosses their path. I am much busier now than I ever was before - trying to keep up with the two of them is the best workout I can think of. Aiden has proven to be quite the little fish - she loves anything and everything water, which means that we spend a lot of time outside in our little blow-up pools or at one of the many local splash parks. Reilly loves playgrounds and has proven she did not inherit her mother’s fear of heights. Anytime we go to the park, I have to keep a watchful eye on her because she usually tries to find the tallest slide or structure she can and starts climbing away. Both girls seems to be fearless, which is great and scary at the same time.
We are looking forward to our vacation to California this next week. Doug’s younger sister Bethany will be getting married on the 26th of July, so we’ve decided to take some time away for the family. Doug has made plans to spend lots of catch-up time at the beach, as well as a day at Wild Rivers, so we will make sure to take lots of pictures and post them on here later.
I know this is a rather long update, and I apologize for taking so long to catch everyone up to speed. As always, we hope things are going well for you and your loved ones. I appreciate all of the recent emails and updates on everyone’s lives. Hopefully, I will be much better at blogging with the extra free time I have had bestowed upon me!!
Love you all!!
