Holy cow, has it really been almost a year since I've written here?
That is kind of awful on my part. Let's see if I can do some justice of
catching up.
So, quick re-cap, then some more detailed
of the most recent happenings. A year ago we sold our home and moved
into an apartment. The plan was to live in the apartment for roughly a
year and decide what we wanted to do and where we wanted to be on a more
permanent basis and (hopefully) build a home. That plan was going
great. We were loving our apartment and loving the area we were in.
Unfortunately,
one key thing Cory was not loving, his job. He actually quite enjoyed
the work he was doing, but the environment had become toxic for him and
he simply didn't enjoy going anymore. So toward the end of the summer,
he revamped his resume and started putting some feelers out. Nothing
very serious came about. But, we had hopes that something would come up.
In October we decided that he had had enough and decided that it was
time. He put in a month notice (his job would be difficult to fill and
train in simply two weeks) and a huge weight seemed to be lifted from
his shoulders. Before the month was up, his boss decided his heart
wasn't in it anymore and they parted ways earlier than expected.
Before
the month was up, he had another offer. A really really great offer.
With a small catch. It was in southern California. Mr. "I'll never move
to California" was now accepting a job and uprooting our family to move.
We were both excited and nervous. But we were in for a change and
thrilled for the opportunity.
So we started making
plans to move to Beaumont, California. We eventually rented a house,
sight unseen, as we had no time and limited options before we were
supposed to move. A couple days after Christmas, we headed out for our
adventure. We were planning to stop in St George for a few days and move
into our new home January 2nd. Just in time for Cory's 30th birthday.
Which was kind of a planning bummer as I was going to have a big party
and invite everyone Cory had ever met, but I guess a new job and a new
place to live would have to suffice.
So here we are in
April and Cory is loving his new job and we are really enjoying life in
the warm California sun. We recently made our first trip to Disneyland
on a Tuesday while staying in Anaheim for the week. Cory had some work
events and we decided to just make a family trip of it. And it was
pretty awesome.
Aceson could not have been more excited
to go. He really didn't understand until we made our way to Toon Town
and he got to meet some of his favorite people, Pluto, Goofy, and of
course, Mickey Mouse. He gave hugs and kisses and didn't want to leave
their sides. It was adorable. First we met Goofy. After standing in line
for about 15 minutes, and having to chase him and bring him to our spot
in line multiple times, we finally had our turn. He gave Goofy a huge
hug and would not let go. After some convincing he finally turned around
so I could take his picture and bade Goofy a "See you later." Next we
went to Mickey's house to meet him. After a longer wait of about 30
minutes, they ushered us into the "Studio" with about 10 other kids and
their parents to meet Mickey. Aceson had no regard for lines and went
straight into Mickey's arms. After an extended hug, he pulled back and
gave Mickey a huge kiss. The genuine adoration and excitement was
adorable. We snapped a few pictures and told Mickey we would come back
another time. On our way back to meet up with Cory and a hopefully
sleeping Kinnick, Pluto was headed for a break, we hurried and gave him a
hug and snapped a selfie. It was certainly a highlight of the week.
Cory's
parents were slated to come in later Friday evening, but surprised us
by meeting us at Disneyland Friday morning. The kids were ecstatic to
see them and even more excited to be able to go to Disneyland again,
with Grandma and Grandpa Junck.
The fun didn't stop
there. A couple weeks back, Cory had found a groupon deal for some race
tickets and bought the whole family one. So on Sunday, we all went to
our very first, live NASCAR event in Fontana, California. It was pretty
fun. But very loud. We had ear covers for the boys and they weren't
nearly as excited as I thought they might be, noting our recent
obsession with the movie "Cars". But it was fun none the less. Kinnick
actually fell asleep. Then again, he has always been the kid that naps
at nap time, no matter where he is.
For Easter, we went
with some friends to their Evangelical church. Their son plays drums in
the band. And does an absolutely amazing job at it. Church was fun.
Definitely a different experience than the church we are used to. They
played a lot of fun songs to open up. Everyone was up on their feet
either singing and clapping along or dancing. Then the pastor gave his
Easter lesson, which I thought was an excellent lesson. Then they played
a couple more fun, rocking closing songs and everyone went outside to
experience the Easter fun. They had an egg search set up for the kids,
train rides, live, on the spot baptisms. It was neat. Then we went and
hung out at our friends house for an excellent Easter meal and a day
full of peeps, chocolate, and friends. We didn't make it home until
almost midnight. And there was definitely a hangover effect from the
long and eventful day.
We are loving our time out here
in California and Cory is loving his new job and the freedoms it is
affording him. Like being home with his family almost every day, and
traveling to far off lands, like Columbia. We will keep you posted on
what else the year brings.
