Snowed In

Snow is dumping outside our hotel window today. Portland is smothered with white, and the kids are hiding in the closet…now they’re running into walls…now they’re jumping on the bed. Fortunately, there’s a swimming pool downstairs, plenty of local food delivery, and Dora the Explorer waiting to entertain my troops from the TV. The girls are just thrilled that we don’t have to spend another day hunting for a house—the whole caged-up-in-a-car thing is getting old.

The past month we’ve been living out of our suitcases between Orlando, Los Angeles, and now Portland. We visited Disney World over Christmas, and Karly was mesmerized by all the princesses and their “beautiful dresses.” Kiki discovered Pluto...and hasn’t stopped talking about him since. They both got to race around the curves on their first “koller coaster” and fly away on the Dumbo ride. But as much fun as they had at Disney and “Apricot” (Epcot), they preferred spending their days jumping on the trampoline with their very cool cousins and playing in Uncle Gerry’s swimming pool.

Our warm, wonderful two weeks in Orlando sped by, and then we flew back to L.A. to replace our T-shirts and shorts with sweaters and jeans. We sped off to the airport again until our shuttle to L.A.X. broke down. Our airplane also had mechanical issues, circling L.A. for almost an hour before we flew north. We were just grateful the plane didn’t leave us stranded as well.

It’s been cold and sunny since we arrived in Oregon—my first time in Portland. I love all the trees and hills and older homes mixed in with the new. I can’t tell you how many houses we’ve toured, but we’ve narrowed our search down to two. After moving so often during the past three years, its strange—and a bit scary—to buy a house. But I’m sure living in a hotel for a few more weeks will alleviate all of my fears.

Our official move is in less than two weeks—house or no house. Here’s to hoping snowy Portland is finally home!