Fall Break

In celebration of Fall and the fact that we have survived NC for over a month, Christopher and I are going to take a ferry out to Ocracoke Island next week, where we'll be staying at this little beauty...

Can you tell I'm excited?

Crash with us

So I'm not so sure how I feel about North Carolina yet. Things are definitely getting better, but I still sometimes ask Christopher if we can move back to Utah. He always says yes, but I know we should stay here. :(

I'm being a whiner. What I really want this post to be about is......the new guest room! Which means that Utah (and Connecticut, Tennessee, Hawaii, Kansas, and Alaska) can now come to me!

I have to tell you guys--remember this post? How we almost killed ourselves bringing the mattress back home? Okay. After driving that very mattress across nine different states and buying a lovely bed to place it in, we discovered that we had a full-sized mattress in a queen-sized bed. And just in case you are wondering--that makes a big difference. Just one of the many mistakes we've made since moving. After many tears, we decided to rent a van and drive the stupid mattress to the nearest IKEA--in Charlotte NC which is 2 hours away.

You know what? We had a great time. We spent a ton of money. We returned the too-small mattress and bought one that fits perfectly. And now the guest room is completely finished and we need to advertise it so we can get some visitors soon.

Ta-Da! We can't wait for you guys to see it in person. :)

North Carolina

Okay you guys, we made it. And there is so much to report, I feel bad it's been so long.

1-Our apartment. Small and cute, second floor, with all windows facing the busy complex swimming pool. This is not my favorite feature. As of this moment, I can hear kids playing some crazy tag game that involves a lot of squealing. But it hasn't been such a big deal. I mean, who really cares if it's noisy during the day? Everyone is really good about leaving when it gets dark except for this one large man who murks in the pool after hours and always creeps us out. But it should cool down soon and be less of an issue. Right...? Right?

2-Christopher's first couple weeks at Duke. Awesome. He's made friends, become a Stats 101 TA, and is even challenged with homework occasionally, which is great. He works really hard at school and then comes home every night to hang pictures.

3-The job hunt. Yikes. The market here isn't great, and there are all kinds of rumors about hiring freezes and high competition for the few jobs that are available. But I'm doing fine-I've applied all over the place and work hard to find a job every day. And I'm taking the time without employment to fix up our apartment and become acquainted with NC. Also to watch America's Next Top Model...don't judge.

Every day gets a little easier. I'm getting used to the lack of Mexican food available both at restaurants and grocery stores. Maybe I can turn my attention to the overabundance of Asian stuff instead. The weather is graciously cooling down a little. We're being nice to people and making friends. But we miss Utah like crazy!

oh my gosh...

According to mapquest, the drive from alpine UT to durham NC should take 32 hours and 17 minutes. With a moving truck stuffed to the brim, it will take hours longer. We've got books on CD, podcasts, music, and I'm in charge of treats, so obviously, they'll be good. Also, Christopher's generous father is coming to Utah to help us get as far as Kansas City. Hallelujah! But what will really get us through is seeing this little baby...

and this not so little baby...

We can't wait!

moving

We have exactly one week before we head out to Durham, North Carolina. In Durham we will become DUKE Blue Devils which will be quite a change from BYU Cougars. Especially since with BYU's honor code and the way they convert every building into a church house each Sunday, they could easily be known as the Blue Angels. Ha ha....

Needless to say, we're busy packing and playing with friends before we leave. I told Christopher last night that we will be eating every dinner at Cafe Rio and getting Red Mango every day before we leave. He didn't take the news well.

The good news about our move is our apartment has 2 bedrooms and we're already working hard to convert the spare into a fabulous guest room. That means everyone who reads this blog needs to plan on visiting if they would like to remain friends. (Or sisters, in most cases).

We even bought a guest mattress at IKEA the other day, since they offered a deal we just couldn't pass up. However, in all the excitement, we forgot that Christopher drives a small Mazda 3. Yikes. But we secured our new purchase with all the free rope IKEA could offer and headed home. The mattress was safely tied on the car, but both ends hung off the roof and we had to hold on to the rope from the inside. We drove about 50 mph on the highway, and EVERY SINGLE CAR laughed and pointed as they drove past. I was positive we were going to a. die b. get arrested c. both. It was the longest drive home I have ever experienced. When we stopped at a red light, a man next to us rolled down his window and laughed hysterically.

When we (finally) made it home, Christopher was laughing too. And he insisted on taking a picture. In the picture, I do not think this is a funny story yet. It's taken awhile.

library

This summer hasn't been all play. A tiniest portion has been dedicated to work. I just finished clearing out our family library, which includes not just books, but movies, journals, audio books, violin music, piano music, strings for instruments, manuals, vases, pictures, a large number of fake plants in baskets, and a collection of magazines dating back to the seventies. Phew! The thing is, I could have finished a long time ago if I didn't have the need to sit down with every book and re-read it. Now that I think about it, I was probably the worst person for the job.




Anyway, my favorite thing about this project was seeing all the books that have been ripped into four or five sections due to hard wear. Beverly Cleary paperbacks just don't stand a chance when four daughters read them over and over through the years. I found six pieces of Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone. Pride and Prejudice was missing its cover and back cover, and I found the Babysitters club book that I spilled tomato soup on when I was nine. What's the moral of the story? Maybe invest in hardcovers. I don't know. But I'm glad I come from a family of big readers, even if it meant that I had to search through piles of rubble just to find the missing middle section of Harriet the Spy. I probably should have been cleaning anyway. :)

Christmas in July

When you marry someone like Christopher, you have to accept that for every birthday and Christmas, when you ask him what he wants he'll probably say nothing. And he's SERIOUS. My lists are always endless and detailed so I don't understand this at all. So for Christmas last year, I was so fed up trying to think of a present that he would actually like, I bought him a paragliding flight. He hasn't ever expressed interest in paragliding. We had never even talked about it. But a paragliding trip is what he got. That's what happens when you don't a-s-k.

Luckily, he liked the idea, and insisted that I come along with him. The weather was finally good enough for us to go last night and we had an incredible time. Here's a video that Christopher took of me in flight.



If you are wondering if we felt sick after half an hour of flying like that, the answer is yes. But it was totally worth it. Merry Christmas!