We have been trying to fill up our months.
Part of the reason for this is that I learned some not-so-great news at work. I was hired to do project work on the new 5G technologies that Intel was developing for Apple. Just a few months into it – Intel announced that they were not going to pursue this any longer. This was a sucker punch to our gut – we had asked about how long this project was slated to last before they requested we move to the area. They insisted that this project will go on for 5 or more years. I know things change, but it feels like just yesterday I was saying goodbye to Amex, and now I’ll have to figure out what’s going to happen with the news from Intel.
On to other events. I wanted to show how cute Arabella is and our expansive backyard it makes for a great place to take photos. She also has a tendency to snuggle her brother EVERY DAY and each morning too. The kid likes him, what can I say? And as for him? She is his absolute most favorite person in the world.
We also moved to the PNW specifically so we could spend more time with family (outside of the job offer, obviously). Gramps wanted to take us to the Great Steam up! We met up with him and went, even though it was on a hot day, it was a lot of fun to hear Gramps tell us all about the tractors. He also got to spend some quality time with the kids. (pictured below).
I had to make sure I took a photo of our roadside snack. Those things are yummy and the kids get a kick out of them because they’re free and they always find more. Also had a nice view of the St Johns Bridge earlier this month with some nice colors due to some nasty smoke that was blown in our area. Side note, when did anyone tell Arabella she could get this cute?! STOP!
Intel is really a great place to work when you aren’t getting bad news. They appreciate their employees and they host different events. If you remember the bring your kid to work day? Well, they also had a family day too. They rented out Bullwinkles (a game place where you can play mini golf, play games, eat, and do other things). Everything was free for Intel employees and their families, so we were able to do the things we normally wouldn’t/couldn’t afford to.
This really was fun. We had gotten tokens for different machines to play the coin-operated ones too, the kids ended up wanting to go to one where you could get a large soft bouncy ball – so we got two of them. The next day that I went to work I received a nice sendoff from the kiddos.
A long time ago I entered to win two tickets to the Oregon Coast Aquarium on Instagram, I didn’t think I’d win – but I did! Long story short, they were good for 2 years (we were living in Mesa at the time) and were going to expire in a month. We decided it was better late than never and made the trip down.
The girl and the boy both really enjoyed the experience that you were surrounded by. Pro tip: If you are going to visit, arrive early otherwise people really flood that tunnel area you see in the photos. We looked up reviews that mentioned arriving early and that’s exactly what we did.
Towards the end of the month, we decided to visit the state Capitols again. We took a tour of the Oregon Capital building and went up on the roof to see the “Golden Man” also known as the “Oregon Pioneer” (read about it here) up close. After stopping for a photo along a marked area of the 45th parallel we zipped up the freeway to Olympia Washington to see the Washington Capitol building for a weekend trip to Washington.
just Pray
note: this post was published on 08/19/22 but moved the publish date back to the end of August 2018 to keep chronological order.
