The Wirlwind

The story of the last 3 weeks is a long one. I'll start at the end. It's Sunday June 26th. We are now living in Lancaster, CA (45 minutes north east of LA). Jake is selling for Clark Pest Control (the biggest pest control company in California). As I am writing this post, Danny and Erin Edvalson, their boys and our boys are all playing in the living room together. Our car now has 1500 more miles on it since a week ago. How did all this happen???

REWIND 3 weeks.

We were doing great in Texas, and planning a vacation in Boise for the next week. Juli was about to have her baby, and I was planning on being there for the delivery. over the next few days Jake and I started to really consider leaving Texas. Work had been great there, but as the season turned and summer came- so did about 60 other sales guys!! We knew of places in California where Jake could work that weren't over-saturated....and they started to become really appealing. Danny was working in Fresno, and when we told him we might want to come his direction- he was able to easily match Jake up with Clark Pest Control in the Lancaster/Santa Clarita area of California. They were happy to hear he wanted to sell for them!

By the time we got all of that figured out- it was the day before we were supposed to go to Boise. Now what??? We decided it was time to move. We spent the next 24 hours packing up everything that we wanted to take with us, and gifting the stuff we didn't. We got out of our lease, filled the car, parked it in a friend's garage there in Texas, and got on a plane to Boise for the week. The 105 degree weather along with the 80% humidity made it a little easier to leave the lone star state. When we arrived in Boise it was almost midnight Sunday night....but I was sooooo happy to see my family again!



We were in Boise with no apartment lined up to move into when we left! We had only the next week to make all the arrangements we needed to make for living in California. We were staying with Grandma and Grandpa Bassett- which was great because the boys became familiar to them and really got attached. Grandpa Bassett had a special treat for the boys, a pet squirrel!! "Rusty" is not really a pet....but he likes grandpa a lot and hangs out with him outside. :)

I took the opportunity to get pictures of Juli pregnant (which she had said she didn't want to do), that turned out super cute!







While we were waiting for Juli to have her baby (which was the main reason for the Boise trip), we hung out with different members of our families trying to soak up every minute of Family time we could. The boys couldn't wait to go on Opa's boat, which had become a favorite activity of theirs last summer.









After much anticipation, on Thursday, June 16th, Juli had baby Amielia Kierstin Aldrich at 3:55pm. She was a gorgeous 7lbs 3oz, and 20 inches long, I got to be there to see the whole event! I took a gazillion pictures and videos, and I will (as tradition has set forth) be making a "Baby Ami" movie. It was so wonderful to watch a perfect little baby come into the world, and it made me want to have another one of my own..... Almost!




Friday. Now that Juli had given birth- we felt like we could relax a little, knowing that there was nothing pressing that might pop up and put the kibosh on any other plans. I had a wedding to photograph that morning (which I had also been looking forward to). I have missed the photography business, and this was just enough to keep me happy for a couple months. The rest of the family got the opportunity to meet the new family member. We played, and tried to make moving arrangements, and mostly just took the time to take a short break in the middle of what is always a crazy summer for us.



Saturday afternoon Juli indulged me by letting me take newborn pictures of Amielia, who was only 48 hours old. Besides her birth- it was probably a close second for the highlight of my trip there. I just love taking pictures of babies- and Ami was just sooooooooo furry and beautiful!



Saturday evening we had planned a big birthday party for all of the kids since they all had birthdays within a couple of weeks. Jack, Beth, Jess, & Ami sat in Grandma Bassett's living room surrounded by immediate family (since extended family would be too much for little Ami). It was great fun, and sooooo nice to see everyone that was there. It was the only opportunity we got to see the Reid family (Mike, Dana, Austin & Mikayla), and we were reminded of just how much we enjoy their company. :)



Sunday morning (Father's Day), Jake had to fly back to Dallas to pick up our car full of our belongings, and begin the 24 hour drive to California. I felt bad that he had to spend his Father's Day traveling, but we wanted to get settled in Cali as soon as possible, so it was necessary. The boys and I got to go to church, and visit our old ward. I LOVE those people.....and I wish I could just clone them all and take them everywhere with me. I was also happy to get to spend Father's Day with my own Dad- and visit with extended family at Grandma's family dinner.

Monday came, and I realized we had yet to nail down an apartment- even though Jake would arrive there that night. YIKES!! I ended up just handing it all over to Jake, since he was actually there in California, and I wasn't. He did a fabulous job picking out an apartment, furniture, and tying up all of the loose ends that come with moving. I was very impressed with how much he was able to get accomplished on his own, and how much I liked the end result. He was working hard while I Spent the afternoon getting a picture of the new group of Bassett Grankids.

Tuesday. Grandma Camp day for Jake's mom Christie. She had the rare treat of having all of her grand kids all in town all at once! Cobie and Eddie arrived that day from El Paso, Texas, and Johann and Jenean's kids had been there for a few weeks already. With only one day where we would all be there at the same time- Christie wasn't going to waste it! The kids painted, and played in the sprinkler, and all got spoiled by Oma. I'm really glad that it worked out that way, and we were able to still be there for that event.

Wednesday the boys and I flew out from Boise, and arrived in LA, where Jake picked us up and brought us to our new home. The goodbyes sucked of course, the flights were tolerable, the boys behaved satisfactorily, and everything was fine except- we still didn't have a home to go to. Jake had arranged an apartment for us- but it wouldn't be ready until the next day. Luckily- he got an awesome suite at a hotel in Lancaster- and we had a little family party to celebrate moving to California.

Thursday!!! Moving Day!! Erin Edvalson and her boys drove down from Fresno, to help us get settled- and we were able to do all of our shopping and running around without much difficulty. Danny joined us on Saturday morning to go out to sell with Jake (to explain the many confusing differences between Texas and California when it comes to selling pest control), and spend the rest of the weekend with us. After they got home from work Saturday, we had a BBQ and swam in the complex swimming pool. While they stayed with us, the boys all got to have a sleep over together in Jack's room. Erin even read them bedtime stories by the light of their new flashlights. They loved it! Spending time with them is always such a treat for us- and I'm glad that we're a lot closer to them now that we live in California.

So now you are caught up. Most of that was just for me. I want to be able to remember how crazy Jake and I were as young parents! :) In the time that it has taken me to complete this post, Danny and Erin have left to drive back home to Fresno, and now we are on our own in southern California. What's next, we don't know. What I can almost guarantee though- is that it'll happen within 3-4 months from now, and it'll be completely different from whatever we are thinking we are going to do! Someday we'll live somewhere for more than 4 months, and know what our future holds.....but not today! :)