So much time has gone by...

Oh, my goodness! I can't believe it is already April and I haven't added a blog entry in ages!!! So many things have been happening since I last added photos of our family!

Let's start with March 5th! At 12:30am our cat, Mayleen finally decided to have her kittens! Six in all... 3 Siamese, 2 Tabby & 1 all black with a patch of white on it's paw and chest! They are definitely cute!!!

On Sunday, the 8th, I said goodbye to some very special people. I will truly miss my church family! I loved the opportunity to praise God with my music and such wonderful people!

On the 9th, we loaded our van... Dele, Jen, Derek, Sade, Ayodele & Kayode all with pillows, clothes, a few toys and miscellaneous necessary items and our cat Mayleen and her 6 kittens and headed for Washington. We drove 23 hours with only one or two "Are we there yets?" Dele and I took turns driving and the only rough travel we had was between Vegas and Bakersfield, CA where the wind was very strong! A little snow in Northern CA and Southern OR was no biggy compared to the wind! We arrived safely at 11:30 Tuesday at my brothers.

Once we unpacked the car and loaded our "family" bedroom, Dele and I went to the schools to get the kids enrolled. Ayodele started 2nd grade on Wednesday the 11th. He's actually going to school at Pinewood ES which is the school I taught my very first year! He's got a great teacher and he loves it! He's even got a few good friends already! Sade started 7th grade on Thursday the 12th at Cedarcrest. She's disappointed as none of the kids she knew in 5th grade are at this school.. they're all at the other 2 MS. Maybe if we find a house soon, she'll be able to transfer...who knows! She'll be okay! She gets off the bus and walks Ayodele's school so they can walk home together! Derek started 9th grade at MPHS the following Tuesday! He's a little disappointed... the HS has small learning communities and, of course, he didn't get into the same one as all of his friends. Fortunately, he's still on the same campus as his friends, so he'll at least get to see some of them in passing. He seemed okay with everything after the pretty girl gave him a tour of the campus and showed him where his classes are for tomorrow! :) Kayode is adjusting to not being the "baby" of the family. Carter, Jeff's son, is 3 1/2, so he's having to learn how to share with the younger "brother." They are all getting along surprisingly well!

I've been to Anacortes & Olympia to have my fingerprints done and turned in all of my paperwork for renewing my teaching certificate. Hopefully within the next 2-3 weeks, I'll have a temporary license and I can start subbing. I already have a long-term elementary music teaching job lined up for May and June and a principal friend of mine told me she'd keep me very busy once my license was released. Carter's daycare said they could take Kayode which would be a great pre-view for Kindergarten next year as he's always been home with me.

Dele has been back and forth to Vegas tying up loose ends and getting us checked out of our condo. While he was here he made quite a few connections and already has had an interview. I am confident that he will find something very soon! We miss him and can't wait for him to come back!

We've already seen so many special people since we've been back!!!

The day we arrived in town, we surprised my Grandma with a quick visit! Dele called to arrange a meeting, but he neglected to tell her we were all here! I only wish I could have seen her face when the first of the kids started walking through her door! By the time I saw her she was speechless! We didn't tell her we were coming because we didn't want her to worry about our travels, especially since there was snow in the forecast! She forgave us, though, since we all made it safely in one piece.

We've met up with Jodi, my college roomie, and her family for a quick visit. Jeff even let me leave the kids with him so I could meet her in Tukwilla at the mall for shopping and lunch! What a nice brother!

Dele came back for about a week and the night he arrived I left him, too, with the kids so I could meet Katie, my best friends from Elementary, Middle & High school, in Arlington for dinner at my favorite Mexican joint! I finally got to have my favorite "Arroz con Pollo." They don't make it in Vegas, so it was great not only to see my friend, but also be able to have a delicious meal!

Last weekend we had the opportunity to have dinner with very special friends of ours, the Brady's! They were my neighbors growing up and were always like a second set of parents to me! Dele and the kids raked the leaves up out of their backyard, played basketball and played in the front yard! Carter, my brother's son, played on the computer with Bill most of the day and absolutely loved it! It was so wonderful to be able to visit with Cathy for the afternoon. Lucky for us, it was a beautiful, sunny day!

Dele returned to Vegas again after a week of making employment contacts and searching for somewhere to live! Boy, is it hard to decide where we want to live! We're probably going to get a big enough place for my brother and Carter to move in with us while he goes back to school to get his Master's in Education. We're still looking!

Before he left again, we got to spend the afternoon bowling with my mom, who came up for a visit and my Grandma! Then we had a yummy dinner at the Chinese Buffet in Everett! The kids ate so well after bowling!

The kittens continue to grow!!! They are now crawling around the upstairs! Currently, this is the kitten we are keeping... it's name is Minnie (as long as it's a girl), but it might end up being MJ.

Things are crazy, and maybe we're crazy, but it's all good! We're so glad to be here! Dele should be back by Easter with our stuff and then life can begin again as a family here in Washington! I hope the weather shapes up before he comes, or he may find reason to stay in Vegas a little longer (until it warms up here!)! I keep trying to tell him that the weather is abnormally cold! Oh, well! I'm just glad to be here, and I know he, too, will get used to the weather! We're so glad he's made the sacrifice so we can be here closer to our extended family!