BEWARE! This post is long and may be extremely boring to you. It chronicles our decision of where to move for the next 3+ years. At least I illustrated it!
So we narrowed our choices for Corey's chiropractic school down to either Dallas or Portland. We visited Dallas last month, in the heat of late June. The heat was CraZy!! Every time I opened the door to our air-conditioned car, it was like delving into a sauna. It was around 100 degrees and nearly unbearable. The good news- the school was amazing. It made my dental school look like a dump! It had nice, cushy seats, fully equipped, clean labs. It was great. The administrators were extremely gracious and helpful. It is really a top-notch school. The housing there was bizarre to us. Any of the newer homes were on these minuscule lots with about 10 feet of yard around the house. That was not inviting to us, as we relish our 1/3 acre here. Honestly, the homes were packed on like sardines. The insides were nice, but it just felt so foreign. I interviewed at a couple of dental offices and was offered a position at a fabulous office of one of the ward members that looked like a MANSION. It was stunning. It would be the perfect job. So we kept an open mind for our visit to Portland.
Fast forward a couple of weeks to our trip out to Portland which served the dual purpose of being at Mikey's wedding and checking out the chiro school and housing. On our flight, there was suddenly a HUGE mountain out our window, with others in the distance. Mt. Hood, Rainier, Bachelor, St. Helens, and a few others were clearly visible. It was a breathtaking view. As we came in to land in the city, I could already feel like we were coming home. I said something about it to Corey, but said I'd keep an open mind until we saw the school.
We drove through ridiculous midday traffic to get to our lodgings and back to the school for a tour. In a word, the school is ghetto in comparison to Parker in Dallas. It's like Motel 6 in the shadow of the Hilton. It is an old girl's Catholic school that has been disguised as a professional school. Everything about it is OLD and MUSTY. The grass is dead, the paint is peeling, the chairs are old and wooden or plain plastic. It leaves much to be desired. The administrators were nice enough, but none of the pampering we received at Parker. We spoke in-depth to them concerning the curriculum and philosophy, and had a good impression. The students we spoke to had no regrets about their choice, though neither did those at Parker. We looked at housing in Vancouver, across the river (no income tax and lower housing costs than Portland), and felt a lot more familiar with the housing styles and lot sizes. They are still a little smaller than we are used to, but acceptable.
By the end of uor trip, we both felt that Portland was THE PLACE, despite the outdated school facilites. Corey says the material being taught is more important than the surroundings. Jobs are fewer and further between for me. I have an offer 45 minutes away, but that will get old quickly. It's also tricky because it's on the border and I may have to get licensed in both Washington and Oregon- yuck!
SO. Now we have the wonderfully, stress-free job of getting OUT of this house and IN to another. We purchased this one at the peak of the housing market highs, and it has drastically dropped in value. We may have to rent it out for awhile until the market recovers, which I fear. Or we may have to look at other options. We will keep you updated on what we decide. School starts in early October.
As a sidenote, we loved our entire stay in Oregon. Mike and Erica's wedding was beautiful! We stayed a few days on the coast and loved it, although it seemed unseasonably cold and windy to me for the beach. We look forward to exploring it more in the coming 3 years.
WESTWARD HO!
This super cute outfit that Melanie got him for Christmas FINALLY fits him. I am so afraid it's going to shrink now when I wash it. I am learning some things the hard way, like 3-6 months means the size it is AFTER it is washed. These clothes sometimes look HUGE, so I wait to put him in them. Then I wash them, and they're tight. We hope he fits this well into football season!!
Like all his Alexander boy cousins, Zach already loves to play with swords. He can't wait to have his cousins come stay with him for awhile while they are finding a new house. He LOVES all his cousins! Zach is starting to crawl all over the place. He also pulls himself up to things, like the couch or a chair. Watch out if you are holding him- he likes to rock back and forth and might just give you a fat lip with his headbanging, like he did to his mom! 
I accidentally shoplifted some baby sunglasses, but since I'm confessing the sin on this blog, I already feel better about it. I just can't make it back to the mall to return them right now. But next time I go, I'll give them $2.50.
They were happy at the same time. 
They got tired at the same time.
They got bug-eyed at the same time.
They gave Nana crusties at the same time. 
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