The Rigel Dr. House

We were so sad to leave our first home. Jake poured some cement in the side yard when he built the gate. He wrote our names in it when I was pregnant with Tom, but before we were even telling anyone his name. The second picture is the morning we moved out and the bottom two are our gorgeous view from the backyard.

Seeing people one last time...

In our last few weeks, we tried to see everyone we could one more time before we left for North Carolina.

Farewell Party

Our good friends from church threw us a farewell party in Valencia. It was so wonderful to see just about everyone we love from SCV before we left. It was so touching and we will really miss everyone!

Gram's birthday

For Gram's birthday we all went bowling, then out to dinner.

Visiting the Suscas

 The boys and I drove up to visit our good friends, the Suscas, in Santa Cruz while Jake was out in Texas hunting, (he killed a GIANT boar). Even though it rained the whole time, we had so much fun at the marine center touching ocean life, going to the play gym and just playing at the house. It was a LONG drive with the boys in the car but well worth it. We miss you guys already!

Big Changes

In November 2013, the company Jake had been working for for 8 years closed its doors. Leading up to its close, Jake went searching for a new job. He got two great offers: one from a great company called IPEX in North Carolina and one from a company called Balboa in Valencia. After MUCH consideration, Jake accepted the offer from Balboa. After a few months, it was clear that the job was not a good fit for Jake. He was working long hours, sometimes weekends and never saw an end in sight to the crazy hours. He started looking for a new job. At my encouragement, he went back to IPEX to inquire about the position or any position they might have available. It turns out they hadn't found anyone that would be a good fit for the position after Jake so they re-extended the offer and Jake accepted. This mean selling our house in Valencia and beginning a whirlwind of packing, shipping, moving, driving, etc. IPEX paid for the move, thankfully. Jake and I (and Damon) flew out to NC and found a house to rent. Our good friend, Sam Neylan, put our house on the market after A LOT of help from friends and family getting it ready to sell. We got two great offers after the first weekend. Jake drove across the country with Panzer to start his new job while the boys and I stayed at my mom and dad's house in La Crescenta for two weeks. After a few delays from the moving truck and a few complications with selling the house, we are finally all here together in Charlotte, the house is (mostly) unpacked, and Jake has started his new job which he likes much more than Balboa. We are so grateful to everyone who helped get us here and who sent us off from California feeling very loved.

Hiking

Grandma and Grandpa Chase came up for a visit and we went hiking at Devil's Punchbowl and had lunch at Charlie Brown's (mmmmm...garlic fries!)
It was a beautiful day for a hike!