Utah!!

So I've been back from Utah for two and a half weeks and I still haven't posted about it. I'll blame it on the fact that Casey has been working nonstop on finishing everything up for school. He's done, by the way, which is a huge relief. I have been busy packing and getting everything arranged for our move. I can't believe our time in Massachusetts is coming to an end... That is for another post.

We had such a great time in Utah seeing family and doing Utah stuff. As soon as we got there, it felt like we never left. We realized how much we missed the mountains and family and friend and feeling "normal."

Here are some of the fun things we did (in no particular order because I'm too lazy to rearrange them)...

Enjoying the fish at the Salt Lake Aquarium. Claire really liked the turtles.

Claire with her cousins. It was great fun to see all the kids together.

Another picture from our visit to Temple Square. I love the flowers.

Visiting my mission companion Diane who just had a baby about one week before. Its really showed me just how big Claire has gotten.

Claire with her new favorite cousin. They are only 5 months apart so I'm sure they will be great friends when they get a little bit older. As of right now they like to see who can scream the loudest. I love the matching open mouth poses.

Casey with his brothers and sister.

We had a barbecue with some old roommates and friends. Most of them slipped away before the picture, but here are a few. It was so good to see you all!

Overall it was a lot of fun and we are sad to be so far away from you. Thanks for a great time!

A New Job. . . We are Georgia Bound!

I am happy and relieved to announce that I have found a job! I will be working for my Aunt and Uncle's business in Newnan, Georgia. In case you are wondering, "Where is Newnan, Georgia?" here is a map to help you out.

View Newnan Location in a larger map

I will be working as a Marketing Coordinator for them. I am very excited about the job and the chance to move somewhere warmer (no more New England winters!!!). I would try to explain the nature of their business but it is pretty complicated, the bare bones explanation is, they work with banks and financial lending. I am sure that in 5 or 6 weeks I will be able to explain it much, much better.

I have a ton of family in the area, many of which work at the same company, so it will be nice to live near all of them. Newnan is also a very nice area. Suzy and I were looking at information and were comparing Amherst to Newnan. We found that the cost of living here is something like 20% above the national average, while the cost of living in Newnan is 14% below the national average. So we will see a 34% reduction in our cost of living expenses!!! We also figured out that in the 2 years and 9 months that we have been married we will have lived in 4 states (Utah, Massachusetts, Florida, and now Georgia) and lived in 5 different houses (2 in Massachusetts)! We are hoping that once we get to Georgia we can stay put for a while, we are really tired of moving.

I am excited to return to the South, I love the culture and the food there. And we are excited not to be poor college students any more too. This job is a wonderful opportunity for me and I am excited to graduate in 20 days and get down there to start. Although, it is kinda strange to think that Claire will learn to talk with a Southern accent.

Stay tuned for more updates.

Kodak Moment

During our trip to Utah, we headed up to Salt Lake to Temple Square, one of my favorite places on earth. My family has a little tradition of taking the kids up there every so often and taking pictures of us in front of the temple, the same stop where photographers take wedding photos. So we have a series of pictures of us growing up in front of the temple, which is cool because we grew up mostly outside of Utah.

So while we were there we took Claire to get her picture in the same spot. The pictures turned out kinda dark, they need a little Photoshop work, but I grabbed this picture and fell in love with it, and wanted to share it with everyone.

Number 100!!!

At the beginning of the year we, well... really I, noticed that we were closing in on our 100th post and have eagerly been awaiting this moment (I know I am such a nerd!).

Yet, when it arrived, I did not know what we should post on, plus I have been insanely busy with school work and Suzy and Claire have been in Utah and I have been left the lonely man in our sweltering apartment in Massachusetts.

We (I) had a wonderful visit to Utah, full of hanging out with friends, playing Wii (and beating my brother at bowling several times), blessing Claire, and being content in the presence of family. It was really hard to come back here all alone and having to put my nose back to the grindstone for the sprint to the finish.

Today I finished my one final and am down to finishing up my two projects and walking across the stage and I am DONE!

Well, enough about me, my life has been really boring, I will now entertain you with images from the first week of our visit to Utah...

We took Claire for her first official visit to BYU. She loved the campus! It was all springy and well manicured with freshly cut green grass and colorful spring flowers. She also enjoyed the big Y up on the mountain. After her first visit to UMass the week before I think BYU is in the lead for her choice of college!

We also headed up to Salt Lake to see my grandparents. We snagged this awesome 4-generation photo! I miss my grandparents, it is hard to see the deterioration in their health these past two years that we have been gone.

Here is another one with Suzy, Claire and I with my grandparents.

I don't know... maybe I am a horrible parent or something, but I love taking these pictures of the faces Claire makes when she is crying or upset. They are the best, and this is one of my all-time favorites to-date! Gotta love that hair!

Claire's Blessing

Claire had her baby blessing on Sunday. We decided to wait and do it out here so we could be with family. It was a really neat experience. I don't think I ever understood the love a parent has for a child until I had my own. Its amazing how instantly that bond is formed. I just feel so blessed to have her as part of our family.

I know I'm biased cause I'm her mom, but I really think she is the most beautiful baby. She looks so cute in her white dress. She's showing off her standing skills. She really love to be upright and standing.

Here she is with mommy, before putting on her sweater.

I think she will be a daddy's girl. Aren't they a cute pair. I just love them!

Although she looked so cute, she didn't even make it all the way through sacrament meeting without messing up her dress. She pooped on it and I had to go out and change it. She hasn't had a blowout for a long time, and so of course she had to do it on her nice, white dress. Oh well...babies will be babies.

We're having a great time out here in Utah. Casey is leaving to go back to MA tomorrow and I will stay out here and spend some time with my family. We will post more about our trip later.