We made it!

We made it to Waukesha yesterday. Now we need to find a house to rent for the next year. This is much more difficult than you might think, especially here. We have looked at 5 places so far and only one would even work out. Unfortunately, someone got to it first and they are still first in line if they want it. We should know something soon. The amazing thing about most of these places is the size of the master bedroom which is the same size as the other bedrooms. We couldn't even fit our king-size bed in most of them much less the actual dressers, armoire, etc. Doesn't make sense to build that way no matter what decade if you ask me.
We found two houses on Pewaukee lake and they are totally redone but again, the floor plan just doesn't work for our stuff. One house I walked into a bedroom and said, "Drew this could be your room," and the guy showing it says, "oh, this is the master bedroom." yeah, people, that is how small they are. He said, "because it had two closets it was considered the master," - mind you it was one closet split in half so they called it two. Anyway, we are still searching. Something has to come our way, it just has to.
I am just hoping at this point that I was feeling pretty lonely and discouraged when I moved to PTC, Georgia, last year at this time and it ended up being such a wonderful place with such memorable friendships that I still have hope Waukesha could end up the same way. Let's just hope I am still feeling that way after we go to our new ward on Sunday! :)

33rd birthday

We are traveling on my 33rd birthday today making our way to Milwaukee! We drove to Nashville yesterday through Chattanooga where we saw Rock City and then drove to Louisville, Kentucky today and saw Church hill downs and the Louisville Slugger museum. We arrived in Indianapolis early this evening and we had a nice dinner at Maggiano's. Tomorrow we plan on seeing the Indianapolis 500 and onto Chicago after that. We are having fun on our road trip and the kids are doing great, but it's also tiring in general from the move which started a week ago or so. I'm still sad from leaving Georgia but I am trying to remain positive. It's hard though when you are away from your sister on your birthday (Happy Birthday, Keely!) and the whole family is celebrating without you. Although David did good this year and got me a bluetooth headset so I could talk on my cell phone and hold Dilan at the same time without getting a crick in my neck. It was a great gift!!! And Drew did sing me, "happy birthday," today which was a lot of fun. We have some neat pictures from our family vacation that I'll share later! :)

Last Girls Night Out!

For me, this was my last girl's night out in Peachtree City. We went to Gezzo's right by my house for burritos and such - it was yummy but even better was the company. I will miss these girls for sure. I have made such good friends here that I wouldn't even know where to begin in saying thank you to all of them - for making this year bearable without my family around, for always being willing to get together, have playdates, help when I had the baby, and most of all, being supportive and caring friends when you need them. I'm not sure we will ever live in a place like this again (other than home in Houston), where I find women that I've grown so close to so quickly but I hope to. I am grateful to have found such women who truly care for one another and treat each other like family. Thank you for your enduring friendship; it is the kind of friendship I will treasure no matter how many miles separate me from you.

MLK Historic site

One of my dearest friends, Jennifer, and her family came to visit us last week from Houston. We went to Stone Mountain one day and the MLK historic site the next day along with Centennial Park in Atlanta. We also dined out at Gladys Knight's Chicken and Waffles restaurant which was delicious! We had so much fun and were grateful they took the time and effort to visit us. We miss them already!!!

Drew, Maria and Sara at the eternal flame of MLK's burial site.

Drew marching along with MLK.

Kinsey, Dilan and Jennifer at the MLK burial site - they are doing some remodeling on it

The oldest firehouse in Atlanta - they still have an original truck.

MLK's house he grew up in.

4 months

Dilan is 4 months old already! I still feel like it was yesterday that I was pregnant with her but she is getting so big. She is still thin and long - she makes these adorable squeals and is trying to talk to us - although she's not loud about it. She has an adorable smile with her dimples her daddy gave her and she is really starting to grab things and put them in her mouth. She can roll over from front to back but not the other way around just yet. Dilan is such a joy to have in our family and we love her very much. :)

Chuck E Cheese Fun

As every kid does, Drew loves to go to Chuck E Cheese. At the one here, you can take these great pictures. David took Drew last month to a birthday party for one of Drew's friends and they came home with the picture at the bottom for me. I loved it and it has remained on the fridge for quite some time.

Well, when my mom came into town to watch Drew for us while we went to Milwaukee, they visited Chuck E Cheese as well. Here is their souvenir! Drew loves doing this and playing at Chuck E Cheese. In fact, when we were in Waukesha, I noticed they have a Chuck E Cheese and I immediately thought how great it would be for a fifth birthday party - yes, I'm one year ahead already!
Anyway, I also want to thank my mom for doing such a great job taking care of Drew. He absolutely adores her and he just waved by to us when we left with no problem at all. I gave her a list of fun things to do with him and she did them all in the first two days! He was so happy she was here and very sad when she left. In fact, days after her departure, he woke up in the middle of the night saying, "I want my MawMille (her grandma name)." He sadly told me how much he missed her and so I keep telling him in only a few weeks (July), we will get on an airplane to go home and see everyone. He is very excited for this. Thanks, mom, for all you do for us - it is appreciated more than you know! :)

More party pics

Drew's 4th Birthday

Drew had his 4th Birthday party last week while my mom was still here. We were going to do a small party at home but after David thought about it, he didn't want it at the house and so we were off to Jumping Jelly Beans for his party! I was happy to plan it there because Drew spent a lot of the winter months jumping indoors with his friends at this place. It was so much fun - Drew had a blast! We only did a small party - 10 friends total. They all jumped for an hour, then had pizza, cake, and Drew opened presents. Drew chose Thomas as his theme (what else?) and I did bags of jelly beans (the name of the place) as favors. I took lots of pictures and video and my mom had "Dilan duty." I am so grateful she was there for that as it's not an easy task. :)
I know you don't have to do a lot for their birthdays at this age but my mom always made a huge deal out of our birthdays and I remember the parties fondly. So, it's just a must with our kids at this point! :)
We love our little boy so much and I'm glad he had so much fun for his 4th birthday! Here are the pictures - in two slide show albums.

Don't mess with Texas

Remember the camera I got a few months ago? Well, this is what David got for his "toy." Yes, a gun - are you surprised? Not really, I know. I'll let him tell you what kind it is exactly but all I kept hearing for months and months was his goal of getting an assault rifle. Here it is and he is one proud and happy camper. He will be able to protect us now even better than before I guess. We did drive by a gun range while we were in Wisconsin near the area we are going to be living. I think I know where David will be! :)

Last Day of School

Drew had his last day of school a few weeks ago. They threw a fun party and it was a lot of fun celebrating all that the kids had learned and their friendships they had made throughout the year. The only downside was that Drew had to say goodbye to his teachers. When I told him to give them each a hug, his smile quickly turned to a sad frown. He allowed them to hold him, hug him and he put his head on their shoulders with a very sad face. Once we started to leave, he started bawling. He really and truly cried and the whole way home and even time afterward, he kept saying, "I want my teachers." I told him he'd get new teachers but that did not help at all. It was a fun but sad occasion as my little boy hates goodbyes. All in all, he had a great time in his first year of pre-school and for a hesitant boy on the first day of school to a boy who didn't want to leave it at the end of the year, it speaks volumes to his experience there! :)

Sidewalk Chalk

We took a morning to draw with sidewalk chalk and Drew had so much fun. He's really starting to get into it. Later that evening, the weather was so nice, we all went out in our back yard and spent time together. David brought Dilan's swing out there and Drew and I continued to draw on our patio. It was a lot of fun and I got some great shots of the kids.

Water Day

A few weeks ago at Drew's school he had Water Day. It was a day they all wore their swim suits and played in the water outside. Drew was hesitant at first and eventually, I had to get into it with him and show him how it was done! I had a blast and he loved getting me wet. He was just cracking up about it all. Luckily, Dilan was so good and she just sat in her seat while I played with Drew.

More on Waukesha

So, our trip is over and we still don't have a place to live up in Waukesha, Wisconsin. In fact, if I'm going to be honest, I was in tears by Saturday and we paid extra to get home early on Sunday if that tells you anything. First, the good news - The good news is that Waukesha (and the surrounding area) is a totally quaint town and livable - good shopping nearby - two Walmarts within driving distance, good restaurants, and real suburbia. The sign below welcoming you to Waukesha should tell you that it is small town. Also, David's work building looks more like a wearhouse than an office so that is pretty representative of where we are going to live the next year. Other good news is that David met his new boss and liked him very much. He feels it will be a good marketing rotation.

Cooper Power Systems building

Cooper's oh-so luxurious sign

Her's the BAD news - rental market is scarce and house prices are ridiculously high. We couldn't find anything to rent and what we did find was frankly, unlivable, for us. All the homes were built in the 1950s and not redone at all. See an example of a house below that I am talking about. Every neighborhood in Waukesha is pretty much like this. We found a few areas that were nicer but they were further away or didn't have any options for us to rent in those neighborhoods. What we did find was $600 more than what we pay now a month for our house here in GA. That is quite a jump in our budget for housing. Worst case scenario - living in an apartment again which we haven't done since we were first married. The other options are living further out and David having more of a drive so we are looking into that as well.

All in all, we are remaining hopeful and staying positive. We only have 3 weeks left here in GA and I am missing it already!