A long overdue post.

Hey all. Our apologies for the lack of posting - it's not for lack of inspiration, just exhaustion. So here's a rundown of the latest news on the Gregory family front.

1. Uhhh, yes, we're back. Have been for about a month and a half now. We initially were staying with Nathan's parents over in Vancouver until we figured out some long term lodging. Our last post was entitled "I'd give my right hand for a fan...". Well, we still have both of our hands, and we were able to get something better than a fan. It's called A/C! And it was delightful to finally be cold!

2. Whitney started her new job at PRIDE for Kids in Vancouver a mere 5 days after our arrival back in the States. (PRIDE provides all sorts of services for kids from 0-3 years old, including PT, occupational and speech therapy). Whitney works one-on-one with kids to help them meet their physical goals. Unfortunately, the current system requires federal funding and the feds require home-based therapy, which means Whit is travelling all over Clark County to treat her kids, rather than hosting them at PRIDE's center. Some kids would greatly benefit from a group class (and some parents would benefit from meeting parents in a similar situation). The good news is that she feels comfortable with her job and responsibilities, and the parents seem to respect her knowledge and skills.

3. Now, the lodging question. About halfway through our Europe trip, we got an email from the Gavins that kind of blew us away. We always knew that they intended to move to Portland when they're done being pirates, but for some reason, investing in Portland real estate made sense now. So they bought a place in the Pearl District (one of the best places to retire in the US, according to the AARP) with the idea for us to rent it from them for the next four years or so. We're very excited, as it is easily the nicest apartment we've ever lived in. It goes without saying that it had all of the amenities that we were looking for in a new place (insulation and a modern - post 1920 - electrical system)! It also has a lot of other great features that hopefully all of you all will get to see in person when you visit. We're finally almost all the way settled, with only a few pictures left to hang, and we're pretty happy here.

Looking forward to seeing all of you in the near future.

N+W