Hurricane Irene

Well, the hurricane came and went. We were bummed that it ruined the last 2 days of Dan's week-long vacation (no extra days at the beach for us), but were happy that we were all safe inside. We lost power for about 24 hours. The worst part of that was worrying that it would be much longer. After Hurricane Isabel in 2003, my parent's had some neighbors without power for 11 days. Thinking about that stressed me out way more than a day without AC. Our neighbors let us plug into their generator, so that was wonderful. The only thing we plugged in was the fridge, so all the food was safe. :)

Here are our pictures of the clean-up: On Saturday morning, Dan and my dad moved a big branch that fell during the night (before it got really windy).
A really unflattering picture of me along with my dad as we made our piles of fallen branches and leaves for the city to come pick up.
The kids were such big helpers. I love how enthusiastic kids in general are about certain chores. Kevin was telling us all, "Good job, guys."
Wheeling from the back yard to the front over and over. :)
The finished piles. We probably could have made them taller, but my dad didn't want to inconvenience the collectors. Only 4 of these piles are from branches that fell, the other 2 are from some extra trimming we did.

The Perks of Our Move

The pictures in this post are not in order and do not directly correspond with the 6 points below. That was the original plan, but since I first began this entry a month ago, I think I'll just click to post it without making it all fancy or adding more photos.
1. Dan loves his job, the people he works with, and the extras (free lunch EVERYday, free gym membership, plus the resident group is invited to the occasional free movie/dinner/activity).
2. We get to live by family. We wish there was a way to live by everyone in BOTH of our families, but since Dan and I are from different coasts, that's just not possible. We feel very lucky to spend the next three years living so close to my sister and my parents. Although hopefully we won't live WITH my parents for much longer (love you guys!).
3. There's a lot to do here: First and foremost - the beach!!!
4. There's also a newly renovated children's museum that is great,
5. An aquarium, a zoo, a great public library system, parks all over the place,
6. And we joined the city rec center for super cheap, so we'll be able to swim year round and I can work out there (when my mom's willing to watch the kids).

Here are some pictures of us on a big sailboat one of out first nights in town. All the residents (who weren't working) and the new interns went on a 3 hour cruise. We really like everyone associated with the peds program here. Most of the pictures that I have of that night are with Elena because I put Dan in complete charge of Kevin. He's such an impulsive kid, and I was so worried that he would jump right off the side. I just ended up playing with Elena and trusting Dan to take care of Kevin.
At a park with an anonymous little girl:
We went to dinner with all the new interns (and the residency program director) just a couple nights before July 1st when work began. This is a shot of our table, but the program here is so big that the interns and their dates ended up filling the entire backroom of the restaurant. It was delicious by the way. I was happy to get to finally eat at a place that I had heard was great since high school but had never been to before: Steinhilber's.
Our fourth of July fun at home with glow sticks. The local fireworks were rained out and are rescheduled for sometime in September.
This is how my dad dressed to go blackberry picking. Isn't he the coolest? :)
At the aquarium with Granny and Aunt BB
That's right, ladies and gentleman, she touched the horseshoe crab! I was so proud that I had to get a picture. Whenever we go somewhere with a touch tank, I always beg her to try and she has always chickened out in the past.

Visiting with one cute niece and meeting a new one (on Skype)!

Just a week before it was time for us to move to my parents' house, we came for a visit so that we could see my brother's family. They were visiting from another state. It was great because my niece and Kevin were born 2 days apart so we had a joint birthday party complete with 2 cakes, a pinata, a sprinkler, and lots of fun new presents. We love to spend time with Ari and can't wait to meet her little sister (more about that at the bottom of the post)
We also went to the beach and Busch Gardens. No surprise there. They are our two favorite places!

Kevin was taking a nap in the stroller while Elena went on the tea cups at Disney World, so we were all glad that he got to have a turn at BG.
Cousins!

My brother and his wife welcomed a super cute new baby girl last week. Keira is beautiful. I'm so grateful that I can see her on Skype even though I only have this 1 hospital photo of her to share. She looked calm and extra cute yesterday in her little pink dress. Maybe they'll send more photos soon... :)

So...we moved last month

It's a been a time of transition. We had to say goodbye to our lovely house (it still has not sold, in case anyone is keeping track), our amazing friends, and a town that had really become home. I am SO grateful to all of my friends that helped out that last week. Different friends offered to watch the kids everyday so that we could pack. The missionaries assisted Dan in loading the truck. Someone else brought us dinner and a dessert our last night in town. Plus, I had 3 awesome ladies show up our last day in town to help me do all the cleaning, so we could leave the house in good shape. They scrubbed the house with me from 8 am until 1 pm! I honestly do not know how people move without friends as incredible as mine. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

Elena was extra glad about this show of generosity because it gave her an opportunity to have a playdate with some of her favorite people. I didn't remember to take a picture each day, but here are a few.

Izzy, Abbi, and Caleb

Nathan and Lizzy (with siblings) and Nathan's mom Marianne

Sadie

Reese and Becky (Presley was napping when this pic was taken)

Addellyn

Also, we went to the church Tuesday night before we moved to say goodbye to some of our favorite youth and their families. We miss our Winston friends very much!

Irma, Estela, and Andrea

Elizabeth

Elisa, Valeria, Andrea, Ricardo, Atzyri

Esteban, Ivonne, Anna, Yvette, Abuela Hernandez

Poor Elisa :)

On Saturday, Dan drove the truck and we followed (a couple hours behind). On Monday, Dan put the car seats into the UHaul so that the kids could have a ride in the big truck just like they had been hoping. I think he got a haircut later this same day.
*Among the friends that we miss is the Gasser family. Please keep them in your prayers as they mourn the loss of their beautiful four month old son Beckett. I am so grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ and the knowledge that families can be together forever.

30, Flirty, and Thriving!

Is anyone else a fan of "13 going on 30"? I love that movie.

I turned 30 last month, and I have to say that it was great! I hosted a craft night a few days before my birthday, and then we went to spend time with my brother's family.

Craft Night birthday cake and me making a really weird face:

Unfortunately, I guess I was too busy talking, eating, and crafting to take pics while everyone was there. I snapped this one as Summer (my ultra-crafty friend) was leaving at midnight.

I made one headband (the instructional video is here) and two belts. It was a lot of fun:

We had a great visit with my family. On my birthday, we went to Busch Gardens during the day and went to dinner and a movie that night. It was so great to go out with Dan, my brother, my sis-in-law, and my sister. I have a cute pic of us all at Panera Bread, but my computer savvy brother doesn't like his picture on the internet, so just believe me when I say that we had a good night. :) here is a picture of my desert though. We went to an amazing crepe/gelato place and I ordered the spaghetti. Awesome. It is supposed to be vanilla gelato (that they squeeze through a press to make noodles) with strawberry sauce, a chocolate gelato meatball and white chocolate shavings, but I mixed up the flavors a bit. Try to image how cool it would look if I had done it right. :)
First thing in the morning: Dan was so sweet and went out and bought party hats and a banner. Elena brought me mine to put on while I was still in bed:)
At Busch Gardens: Look how brave my little boy is! He wasn't even 2 yet! He's sitting between my Dad and me. We went on this ride 5 times. He loved it! It's a kid version of 'The Drop Zone' type of ride.
We used to always take pictures together before we went on big dates when we were dating, so I asked my sister to take one. This is what I look like as a 30 year old. :)