Traveling: Hermiston to Lacey

We Made It!

The Drive.  This was the most beautiful leg of our trip by far.  The Columbia River is amazing!Widge got so excited when she saw "Our Mountain" (Rainier).  I had planned this really cool easy hike for kids that  would take us to a beautiful waterfall.  I was so excited because I had actually gotten the timing right for us to do the hike and then eat lunch.  Both of the other days, the stops I had planned we ended up there too late.  Of course, when dealing with a 3-year old, you might as well just toss the plans right out the window.  She fell asleep 15 minutes before our stop with absolutely no chance of waking her.  She missed the most beautiful part of the drive.  Oh well. :)  So instead I decided that whenever she woke up, we'd stop, I'd find a park and we'd lunch.  We were only an hour from our destination, but she was happy.

Playground in Kelso, WA

The Arrival.  Not only was seeing a friendly face, well...friendly... But when I walked into the house and found a perfectly prepared girl's room, it was absolutely incredible! Thanks, Kimmers! :)  She loved everything about it. There was a girl-sized kitchen, dolls to dress, a small sofa, new puzzles and a special present to open.  She played in her room for at least an hour.

A special present!

First night in her new bed - Cozy!
(The horse was the present)

 The Firsts. On Thursday, we both had our first day. School for the little miss, work for me.  So far, I love the school, it's open and clean and everyone was very friendly and kind.  She was so excited to go and had a great drop off - no tears, just a bit of shyness.  Today she drew, played outside, sang songs and made new friends.  She misses Dad a lot.

First day of school drawing

 The Museum, Day One.  My day consisted of meeting people, meeting more people, attending budget meetings (my museum 2014 budget was approved - yay!), seeing my offices, getting oriented with my boss, meeting more people, getting my i.d. card, meeting with HR, filling out forms and meeting more people!

First Impressions:

• I really like my boss; she is very glad I'm there.
• Everyone seems very supportive and happy.
• I have a *ton* of work to do and half of it I don't know how to do yet (where are the photographs and how do I find a specific one?).
• I wish there was a book on Lacey history because I need to know it by Tuesday.
• People seem to be waiting for me to share my expertise and help them do better.
• I am really looking forward to going to work tomorrow.  It's been a very long time since I felt that way.