PORTLAND!

We made the big move across country in December. We spent the last week of November packing our things and putting them into cubes/pods to be shipped. We left our Irvington apartment on November 30th (we worked like mad until late on Friday night to finish up) and spent five days at the Raab house in Greenlawn on Long Island.

Our car was picked up by a shipper on Monday and we flew out on Thursday morning. The flight passed easily - Seb entertained himself with books and my new iPad, and Liesl napped for nearly three hours. We landed in Portland, rented a minivan to transport all our luggage, and moved in to a temporary vacation apartment in the Nob Hill neighborhood. The neighborhood has so many fun restaurants and cafes and we loved exploring it with the kids.

We started looking for a home the next day. We've decided to rent a house for a year or so and get to know our new city and its various neighborhoods before buying a more permanent home. We looked at a variety of houses and condos in Forest Heights, the Southwest neighborhoods of Bridlemile and Hillsdale, the Bethany area of Beaverton, and some places in random neighborhoods.  My parents arrived on Sunday, thankfully, and were able to entertain and take care of the children while Steve and I figured things out.

Happily, we found a townhouse that we like in Forest Heights. It's a three bedroom, three bath, three floor house in a really quiet neighborhood with an excellent school district. It's in a newer development and lacks character, but it makes up for it with excellent preserved green space and tons of nearby trails. Steve will be able to ride a free shuttle bus to his office - a ten minute ride away. We are already very much enjoying our expanded space and the noise protection it offers.

We got our keys on Friday, December 14th, had our pods delivered that noon, and worked like crazy to unpack them entirely by the end of the day. And then it was a perfect frenzy of cleaning, laundering, washing, and rebuilding furniture. And buying new furniture and other supplies, of course.  We were all moved in and slept our first night here on Sunday.  We still have things to buy and boxes to unpack, but the home is comfortable and livable.

We are so happy to be here. I have to pinch myself occasionally that we finally made it to Portland, a city we have loved and dreamed of living in for so many years. We're on the west coast! My mom and dad are within a morning's drive! We have a house!

And so, on to Christmas!!!!