Burlington, Vermont

Picture courtesy of Enoch Petersen

I spent the week before I moved to Portland in Vermont, visiting my sister who just had her second baby. My mom orchestrated the whole thing and stayed that week with Missy also. My mom is so gracious, and knew I would need some time to decompress after leaving Carl, and even paid for my plane ticket to Vermont! So, it was my mom, Missy, Chase, Enoch, new little Tessa, Jude, and me, for a week, just hanging out and playing a lot. Here are some pics. . .

Here we are enjoying some story time.

We went grocery shopping. (Enoch and Jude had a hard time coordinating their steering wheel movements and very little was accomplished)

Jude found the shoes of his dreams

We went to Shelburne Farms

And just played around

Jude finally learned how to drive a tractor, so now I can put him to work!

He was reeeeeaaalllly excited about the tractors

I know this is blurry, but Jude always had a fun time sitting back there with Enoch. I quickly learned that anything involving spit is funny to young children.

We visited the Cider Mill and got to drink fresh-pressed apple cider

And we saw this awesome rainbow. It was a double rainbow (don't know if that really shows up here)

Here is a sneak preview of our life in Portland, Oregon. We had a big family dinner the Sunday after me and Jude arrived. All the cousins were having races in the backyard, and when they came in, they told Briton they needed a car wash. So Briton graciously washed all their "tires" off. From farthest to nearest. . . Talmage, Joseph, Sydney, Isaac, Jude.

It has been really fun living with Robin and Briton (my cousin and her husband). There is always something to do and ideas to discuss and plans to make. Mostly, I am trying to be patient while waiting for my Oregon nursing license to go through. I can't apply for jobs until that happens, and it's a little frustrating. Also, though, it's a nice excuse to just sit around and eat bon-bons all day with Robin. Ha! Portland is the perfect city for running. It is SO EASY to stick Jude in the stroller and go for a nice long run. By long I mean 3 miles. I'm still "acclimatizing", right? Right?? Robin and Briton are running the St. George Marathon this weekend. That's all I have to say about that.

Jude seems to be adjusting well. He is always having fun, but he can feel that we're in limbo, I think. He's not sleeping as well as he usually does. He has Skyped with Carl a couple times, and that seems to put him in a really happy mood. I think Carl and Jude need each other. Maybe I just needed to get out of the equation. Anyway, things here are good. I have already been to a session at the Portland temple and I was overwhelmed with a feeling of love, and that Heavenly Father is intimately aware of me and Jude, and He loves us and is watching out for us. It was the most powerful temple experience of my life. I can never deny the love I felt there. I am grateful to be near a temple again.

The Last of Chattanooga

I wanted to post some pictures from our family reunion in Utah and also some from the last few days Jude and I lived in Chattanooga, Tennessee. So, here you go!

This was taken at my Grandma Kartchner's cabin (where we had the family reunion). It is mostly a picture of that bare-bones "shopping cart" that was the cause of much contention among children ages 18 months to 2.5 years old. I can't tell you how many times we removed that object and hid it from a huddle of screaming, fighting children, only to find that someone had found it again and was currently defending their right to push it around.
Here are a bunch of toddlers from my cousins' families, including Jude.

Jude, Isaac, and Joseph at my mom's house. I can't believe I caught ALL of their faces! They had a great time together, and now are loving living so close to each other in Oregon.
Here is Jude at my friend, Stephanie's house. She has a really big and awesome backyard with this hammock swing. Jude LOVES it! And I love Stephanie and I already miss her like crazy!
I took Jude to the Chattanooga Aquarium to swim one last time. They have all these great pools and "rivers" that are perfect for toddlers to practice swimming in.
Here he is "playing a trick" on me. This is the one where he hides water in his mouth until I ask him if he has water in his mouth, and then he spits it out or lets it dribble down his chin. He seems to feel so sneaky when we play this game!
Okay, that was it for our last little bit in Chattanooga. It was hard to leave in a way, but also quite refreshing to just leave the negativity behind me. When people ask me how I like Chattanooga, I have such a mixed response, and I don't know what to say. It's beautiful and fun, but I have such a negative association with it, like that's where the very jaws of hell gaped open after me. I will say this. . . Chattanooga was the most pivotal place and time in my entire life. Now, on to the new stuff!

If this video works, it's a video of Jude painting a picture for his great Grandpa Farrer. Unfortunately, the picture found its way into the recycling bin in the rush of moving.

Vermont, Oregon

I don't have any pictures to add right now since I don't have my own computer set up yet, but I just wanted to say Jude and I were in Vermont last week, and we have made it safely to Portland, OR. I have some great pics and videos from both places. Just hang in there until I can get my computer set up! That's all!