6.27.2010

whirlwind...

What can I say, the month of June was pretty much just crazy, and the only word I can think of to describe it is "whirlwind". We went from our lease ending in June, to them saying we could more than likely stay at least 2 more months (until after the baby was born), to again having to be out at the end of June.

At the the beginning of June, Steve made a trip out to Denver to visit his sister who lives in the area as well as network and try to put his face in front of as many people as he could in order to make some contacts and hopefully find a job. While there was no specific job offer, he was able to meet with a lot of really good companies that were doing work and actually showing signs of a somewhat improving economy in the area. He came home feeling really encouraged by the contacts he had made.

Although we didn't have a job and a specific location we were planning on moving to, we knew we had to be out of our place by June 30th, so what else could we do but start to pack. We worked throughout the month and tried to get organized and packed. All the while, trying hard to figure out where we were supposed to go next.

We knew that we had one other thing to think about in this move -- the new baby. As I was rapidly approaching the 36 week mark, we knew we had to act fast because my ability, and window, to travel safely was fading fast. We had mixed feelings about another big move close to the end of my pregnancy (I was 7 months pregnant with Jack when we moved from California to South Carolina), and I can tell you I wasn't really looking forward to the change right at the end either. However, we were also hesitant to move to another place in South Carolina and get settled for 2 months, only to have to pack up and move again. So we chose the big move.

Although Steve is looking all over for a job, he pretty much has focused his search to Sacramento, Denver, Dallas and Knoxville. We figured Denver was a little more centrally located to all of those places and he has had the most luck making contacts with companies all over the Denver area. So that's what brought us out to Denver.

We were so sad to say good-bye to our friends that we've made in South Carolina. But we know that those friendships will last a lifetime. The week before we left we made sure to utilize all the time we could getting together with some of our friends we were leaving behind.

Unfortunately, I didn't take as many pictures as I would have liked, but here are a few of the ones that I did take of our good-byes.

The Newbolds and the Agates came to swim at our hotel then we took a trip to get ice cream the night before we left. We had a great time!
Jackie, Macie, Curtis, Jack and Steve
We celebrated Father's Day at the Malcarne's.
Here are the dad's: Brian, Greg, Steve, Jeremy and Joel
The kids: Jack, Gus, Coleman, Emmy, Eliza, and Maggie

And the mama's: Sarah, Alisha, Allice, Me and Jamie

We sure will miss all over our friends, but look forward to the many Clemson reunions to come!!

Oh and I asked Steve to promise me that the next time we move, we can do it sometime when I'm not pregnant. He willing agreed.

5.30.2010

30 weeks


here's the belly shot at 30 weeks.


(don't mind my shadow)

5.23.2010

Steve's Graduation

It's hard to believe that two years have passed already. Well, they have, and a few weeks ago Steve graduated from Grad School at Clemson University with his Master's in Real Estate Development and I couldn't be more proud of him. These last 2 semesters have been a wild ride for all of us and we are glad we made it through with no delays in his education. I am so proud of his determination and continued dedication to his schoolwork even through everything he went through with his 2 back surgeries.

We were excited to have Steve's parents come out for the weekend to help us celebrate. It was so nice to be able to spend a few days with them and Jack had a great time playing with his grandma Nan and Papa Frank.



our little family

the graduate and the babe

with Steve's parents

with our good friends the Stockhoff's.

(belly shot at 27 weeks)

A friendly picnic

A few weeks ago we had a little BBQ at the lake with some of our friends. It was pretty toasty out, and it didn't help that we were set up right in the sun. Although the 3 pregnant mamas were roasting, the heat and humidity didn't stop the kids from having a great time playing the whole time. my cute boys

playing with daddy

the men manning the grills

the 3 mamas

jack with his friends macie and coleman

macie enjoying the shade

coleman having fun in the sun

We sure did miss our other friends that couldn't make it.

5.02.2010

It was a big day!

this little guy...


went to nursery for the first time today!

I decided to stay in with him for the first day to help out (last week there were 16 kids) and see how he did with all the other children. He did great and probably wouldn't have even noticed if I wasn't there. It helps that all his friends are in there and one of our good friends is the nursery leader.

But I have to admit that I got a little teary eyed (shocking, I know) as i watched him sit during singing time just taking it all in. I can not believe how fast the last 18 months have gone by. And I'm scared to think of how fast the next 18 months will go.

Pack it up...

With Steve's graduation quickly approaching, I've decided that I should start packing things up and getting more organized so when the time comes for our move, we will be one step ahead. Although we still don't know where we will be headed, what I do know is that the bigger my stomach gets, the harder it's going to be to bend and lift and twist to load things up. So everyday I think about all the things I could pack up that we won't need for the next few months while we wait for another for our next big move.

Jack decided he would help me decide on another thing to pack up...


I guess the movies are next on the list.

Oh, and yes, those are VHS movies amongst that pile. It's a good thing they are pretty much extinct because Jack has pulled just about every one of the rolls of film out of them and he carries them around like a bag.

I used to try to stop him, but then I decided that I would much rather him mess with those then the DVDs, which might have a couple more years on them.