A new beginning

So yet again we are in a new town and we have a chance to reinvent our selves. Marcus started his new job as the executive chef at the Portland RC restaurant on May 30th. His first day he was really regretting our move. The restaurant was a mess in more ways than one but he's pushing through it and he feels good about what he is accomplishing there. I think if we can get through the tough stuff we will all really enjoy it here. At least we hope so cause there isn't really any turning back at this point. If we absolutely hate it here, we may return to CA someday cause there are so many restaurants within the company to return to, but that wouldn't be a possibility for quite a few years, but we are hoping to really love it here. We really hope to buy our first home, which is really exciting, after our lease period at this house is up.

Speaking of the house we are in...it wasn't our first choice, but it is working out well. It didn't come with a pool, a fitness center, a park, a covered patio or even a good sized backyard, so it's not perfect, but if it was we probably wouldn't have the incentive to get out of here & buy, so I think it's a good thing!

Yesterday was our 4 year anniversary and we went shopping. I love shopping so I had a great time, Marcus loves me & watching me be happy, so he had a great time too, even though spending a good amount of money is hard for him. Ethan was sleeping on my parents old daybed/trundle that they left at Dan & Misha's house and they were excited to get out of their garage, but it was not holding up well. So we checked out a consignment store that had a bed first but the one I liked had sold the day before so we headed to IKEA. I LOVE IKEA! It's like my favorite place to look for stuff for the home cause they have cute stuff at very reasonable prices. Someday I would like to upgrade our stuff to real wood and quality furniture but while we are young, not rich & we move so often it's better to have stuff that we don't mind getting slightly damaged or scratched cause something seems to have that happen with each move, unfortunately. At IKEA we also got a bed for our queen mattress set, something I've had on my wish list since we got a real bed for our bedroom. It's white metal and feminine. We also spoiled Ethan with a bunch of Buzz Lightyear themed bedroom things and toy organizer from Target & a play kitchen from IKEA. Hannah also needed a dresser and we got a few other things to make her room look cohesive. I will post pictures of our house when it's all unpacked and put together. Marcus will be assembling a lot of it tomorrow. put together the toy organizer & kitchen today, so that's two less things for him to worry about. We also plan to buy a new BBQ.

So I think that's all I will include in this, our first family blog post. I know some of you have followed my personal blog and I may continue to post stuff there as well, so check in on it from time to time, but I wanted to create a blog specifically for the purpose of staying in touch with family & friends far away but close in heart. One I could feel comfortable making public so I could link it to Facebook. My personal blog may become more like a journal who knows. But I hope you all enjoy reading what is happening in our lives in this way. There will be fewer pictures posted to this blog because it will be public, so look on Facebook for more pictures.

Stolpps signing off...