I sent my DSLR in for repair the weekend before we moved, thinking the weirdo time of moving to Colorado, then “visiting” Oregon in hopes of getting settled would actually be a fine time to be without it. But I’d been thinking about getting a point-and-shoot for when I don’t feel like carrying around my big DSLR, so I bought one and tried it out for a day while we were still in Lawrence and it was just noooo good. After more research, Nat and I decided to buy an X100–much better. It arrived in the Forest two days before we left for Oregon, so we were still learning how to use it when most of these pictures were taken (are still learning how to use it). Anyway, I didn’t think I’d give these pictures a second thought or post them, but I don’t want to totally skip over this time, so here’s a sampling of what life was like two weeks in early July. An Antlered Post Express, if you will.

We were in Colorado for a week and a half before we (said goodbye to our kitties, who were being taken care of by Nat’s parents, and) drove across a whole lot of Wyoming to a campground in Lava Hot Springs, Idaho. We definitely did get in the hot springs, and they were awesome. The next day, we drove across all of Idaho and Oregon and made it to our Airbnb in NE Portland. That first week in Portland, we took walks in Forest Park, visited Multnomah Falls and Horsetail Falls, explored neighborhoods and little Oregon towns, went to the coast and swam in the ocean, met my old friend Johnathan (!), had some job interviews, and put down a deposit on a rental house (!!!).

We moved to a hotel further south at the end of the week and we just weren’t looking forward to staying there the next few nights, so I texted my cousin on a whim and asked if he and his family were up for hanging out for the weekend. And they were! So we spent the weekend with my cousins at their home in Issaquah, Washington. We went on a hike in this incredible area that’s practically in their backyard, went swimming and took their boat out on Lake Sammmamish, and played games with the girls, who love our dog and call him “Coco” and were almost always holding Nathaniel’s hand. It was such a great time. I am so, so happy to have family nearby. All are in agreement that my parents need to move here now, too :)