Settling In & Traveling Around

Well, Don has been giving me a lot of grief about updating my blog...and yes, I will say it, he was right. :0) I've been woefully lax in keeping this updated since we've moved to Ohio. Needless to say, it's been a busy last month. So let me give you the lowdown on what's been happening.

We got here on June 27 and our movers arrived the next day. After spending that week trying to get everything we needed unpacked and then getting some other things in order, we had our very first guests, our good friends Jenn, Brad and little Paige came and stayed (and Brennan adored having a playmate his age). The next week my dad came and stayed for an extended weekend and it was great having him see our new home. Finally, we had an old Bel Air Pres. alum, Rourke, stop in for an overnight stay.

Here are our visitors:




Brennan enjoying his new favorite toy from Grandpa!

Hitting the ball for the first time.

A "nice" game of Carcasonne.


All this while still trying to settle in and preparing for Don's ordination on July 22 in Los Angeles. We headed out to L.A. on the 18th. The ordination service was beautiful and we had so many people there that were dear to us. It meant a lot to have friends and family celebrating the end of the seminary journey with us since they were there for the beginning. Don could only stay for the weekend, but Brennan & I stayed for a week longer. We had a great time and got to hang out with lots of people. We returned to Ohio last Tues and then two days later I was on my way to NY for a baby shower and to spend time with some of the six-pack. Good times...good times... :0). I got back late Saturday and so now am back to house stuff. And somewhere in all of this I finished the 6th Harry Potter book - I just have one word for it - AWESOME!! (Dave, Lindsey, we definitely need to talk soon :0).
Now on to some pensees (thoughts en francais, ask Pascal).

I love to travel. I wish actually that I could travel more, but babies; although small in size, still aren't the most portable considering all the gear that goes along with them and the fact that they have their own schedule to adhere to. I learned this partially in L.A. being by myself with Brennan for a week. It was definitely great fun and ended up being better than I thought. I was nervous because it was the first time I would be alone with Brennan for that long, but it all just flowed. Once we got home, I had to get ready for my solo trip to Dryden, NY. This was fun because I had some alone time. The radio/CD player was my companion. Let me tell you, there are funny things on the radio. The first thing I heard was a DJ say you're listening to blah-blah channel, the "family-friendly station." Now, I've been hearing this phrase used a lot, but never heard it followed up by Prince. I didn't realize he and family-friendly went together. This gave me a laugh. The second funny thing I hear as I'm driving was on a country station that came up as I was scanning. Someone crooning "...and all the trucks were broke..." (I kid you not).

At any rate, even though I was sad to leave L.A. and my friends in NY, even though I like going away somewhere, it's also nice to come home. Especially now, when we just got brand new flooring and carpeting and we can begin to finally paint and then hang things up on the wall. We're still in the fun decorating/furnishing part (especially for the two empty rooms). Too bad when you buy a house, no one gives you $10,000 Home Depot gift cards.

P.S. I'll add some L.A. and NY pics on the next post.