Kori's New Home

 The next morning we were on to Oregon. It was a beautiful drive! We drove along the Columbia river. We had to cross one of the giant bridges to throw a rock in the river and say we had been in Washington. We helped Kori move in to her apartment, took her to dinner a couple of nights, bought her some supplies, and tried to help work on her car to no avail. At least we were able to get it into a shop. She's without a car for a bit, but she has Kent close by to drive her wherever she needs to go, and she lives next to a Fred Meyer. Her apartment is in an older building, but it's really cute and looks well taken care of. It is a one bedroom with a living room and tiny kitchen and big windows. Just perfect for one person. She is thrilled to not have any roommates. She is tickled to be in Oregon. We think it suits her. She is just outside Portland, and about two hours from the coast. She feels like she cheated out of winter. Our weather was great the whole time we were driving there and while we were there. We couldn't believe they were out mowing the lawn!

Packing Up And Heading To Oregon

Kori moved to Oregon! She's been looking to get away from her hometown. She loves the pacific northwest. She works remotely now, so she could go anywhere. Having a boyfriend in Oregon helped with the decision of where to go:) The week that she was packing up to leave, Wes was on a motorcycle trip to Death Valley. I helped Kori pack up our truck with most of her stuff, and then she took off to drive to Oregon. We were supposed to be a day behind her, but Wes came home from his trip with Covid! Yuck! So we had to quarantine for five days before we could leave. Meanwhile, Kori was camping out with just the bare essentials. Two hours from her new apartment, her car started giving her fits. A check engine light was on and it was making strange noises and smelling funny. She kept us updated while she continued to drive and she was able to pull into her apartment. Sadly, we were able to get her car in to a shop and it needs a new transmission! Cha-ching! On the bright side, she didn't break down in the middle of nowhere. Her car was able to get her where she needed to be. Wes and I finally were able to leave. Wes had repacked her stuff into another of his packing masterpieces and we were off. The first night we stayed in the funnest hotel in LaGrande Oregon. It was originally built in the 1880s. It has seen a few renovations over the years, but they've tried to leave as much of it original as possible. It had been used as a sanatorium and health care building for a while, and then it had been abandoned for many years. Of course it is supposed to be haunted. We found it nothing but charming. There is even a hotel cat named Rocky IV. The hotel sits next to a hot lake, where something like 3,000 gallons of hot water bubble up every day. The water is used to heat the building. We were able to dip in the hot pools that are supplied by the lake which felt soooo nice after a day of driving. But the lake is way too hot. People have died in it. Maybe that's where the ghost stories come from. We didn't see any apparitions, but it was a little spooky walking down the long hallway to the bathroom in the middle of the night. It was a super fun stop.

Giant Snowman

 Every year the past few years, a giant snowman has appeared along the highway close to Tony Grove. We finally stopped to check him out. He is enormous! Today we noticed two more giant snowmen up high on a couple of the peaks. People are so fun and clever.

Happy Birthday Little Buddy!

 Our little Aubrey man turned 2 on the 22nd in the year 2022! We had a little celebration with all of the Ulrich family. Those cousins and sisters could hardly contain themselves when Aubrey would s l o w l y pull tiny pieces of gift wrap off his presents. They had to be told "move back," "give him some room," "let him open his own presents." It was pretty cute. Karlee made the cutest tractor cake, and it was super delicious too! We love you so much Aubrey! You are just the cutest little guy with the most adorable grin. We love it when you give us hugs and snuggles! We hope you have a wonderful year!