This Past Week

This last week has been good.  Last Sunday we had some new friends come over to play games and have dessert.  They have an adorable, chubby little girl named Evelyn and she was very giggly that night.  She loved watching Glenn--it made her laugh and laugh!

Her parents were amazed that I was getting it on film because whenever they try, she stops.  So I'm glad I got these videos of her cute girl laughing!

Let's Go Fly a Kite

On Friday Paul came home with a surprise for Glenn and for me.  My surprise was from Ferrovial--they gave us a membership to Rosetta Stone so we could learn Spanish!  Sweet!  Rosetta Stone is expensive and it's really great of them to provide this for us.

Glenn's surprise was from a co-worker.  He is also a new employee and will be going to Spain about the same time that we go--we still don't have a definite date yet, but they told us to look at flights to find a good price and when we would want to go, so that's what we are doing.

Anyway, Zach--this new co-worker--came to work with a small gift for Glenn.  It was a kite!

Black Eye

Glenn got his first black eye on Wednesday February 13th.  We were on our way downstairs to eat dinner that the hotel provides for us (Tuesday-Thursday because we don't have ovens in our room).  We decided to have a race down.  Paul went down one staircase while Glenn and I went down another.  When he got to the third level--we are on the fourth--Glenn was so excited and was going too quickly and he turned right into the hand rail.  It instantly bruised and we had to go back upstairs to get his little penguin ice pack.  We then went back down to dinner, and while I was holding Glenn, he fell asleep on my lap.  So I didn't get any pictures that night, but I took some the next day.

Fun

Here's another post about some fun we've been having lately...and of course some silliness that goes along with that fun.  

(Half) Birthday Present

After the post office tour and playing at the park, we headed home.  We stopped at our post office to get the mail.  We received a package from Grandpa Dennis and Grandma Robyn for Glenn.  Turns out it was a birthday present, but because of the house fire they had, they hadn't been able to send it until now.  It was good timing because Glenn's half-birthday was just two days later.  So it was perfect!  It almost made me realize that Glenn is now closer to being 4 than 3.  He sure is growing up!  We love him so much!!

Post Office Tour

Last Wednesday--February 6th--Glenn and I went with a Church/local playgroup on a tour of a post office. I was really looking forward to it because I've always wanted to see what the back looks like.

We didn't know the other people in the tour because we just got on the sign-up emails, but that didn't matter.  We were included right away--and I even was asked to take pictures along the tour.

Sorry for the blurriness of this first picture, but this is where we started...

We first gathered in the open area where we've all been before to buy stamps, send mail, etc.  We had a post master talk to the kids about what goes on at a post office.  To be honest I think most of the kids were too young to really understand or care, but the older kids thought it was cool--and the moms too. 

"Gravity"

Glenn made up this song the other night--hope you enjoy it!

Our First Trip to see Downtown Austin

Yesterday, February 2, we did a little sight-seeing in downtown Austin.  

We saw the Capitol Building and the Visitor's Center there.

Magic Trick

Last Sunday we had a couple from our new ward come over for dinner.  She made a salad and she made the most delicious fish!  Seriously!  I'm not a fish person and it was so good!

We had a good time getting to know them better and spending the evening with them.

Just before they left, Ryan showed Glenn this magic trick.

Start of Life Here in Austin

We have now been here for 2 and a half weeks.  During that time we have done a lot dealing with getting things from the move worked out. Not by choice, we picked the coldest day here in Austin to unload our truck to put out stuff into storage.  Seriously, it was cold.  Not as bad as Utah--and we didn't have snow--but it was still cold.  Plus it took us 6 hours because it was just the two of us.  We started around 10am and finished around 4pm.  We rented a Home Depot truck so we could unload the trailer--which had been deposited some distance from our storage unit so as to not block other units.  So we would load the truck, then drive to our unit and unload it.  It took some figuring once we got the stuff there.  What did we want accessible and what needed to be on the bottom, etc.  We did pretty well at doing that--but we still think of things that we might need for Spain that is behind a lot of stuff.  Oh well, looks like we'll just have to rearrange things when that time comes.  

Isn't it amazing that our stuff fit into a 10x15 space?!

Our New "Home"

Paul, Glenn and I arrived in Austin, Texas on Saturday January 12th.

Historic Sites Day Three

Carthage Jail

The morning after we saw Nauvoo, we drove out to Carthage Jail.  They had a Visitor's Center there, and when we went in, immediately one of the sister missionaries said, "This must be Glenn!"

Glenn sure made an impression on those missionaries. ;)  Some of these missionaries had performed in the show the first night and some hadn't, so they hadn't met us yet, but they heard about us.  It really was a great time to visit Nauvoo and surrounding areas.  They get so busy in the summer months, so it was so nice to have a more personal experience.

Outside the VC and the actual--and original--jail building, there was a beautiful statue of Joseph Smith, Jr. and his brother Hyrum.  This pictue shows the VC on the right and the jail behind the statue.

Historic Sites Day Two

We took some pictures of our drive along the Mississippi River--pretty nice, eh?

Historic Sites of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Day One

During our little road trip to Texas, we took time to visit some historic sites of our Church.  We saw places in Illinois and Missouri.  We had originally planned to see more sites, but due to weather--rain and fog--we didn't get to see some of the countryside sites.  But we did get to see a lot of things and we were happy with that.

Nauvoo

Our first visit with in Nauvoo.  We spent Tuesday the 8th and Wednesday the 9th seeing all we could there.    The first day we only saw one other couple, but they were related to one of the missionary couples and mostly stayed with them.  We practically had Nauvoo to ourselves!

On the Road Again

Because we left Virginia on the 6th of January and Paul didn't start work until the 14th, we decided to take a little trip on our way down to Texas.  We went to see some of the Church's Historic Sites.  So we went a more northern route than what others may think of when traveling from VA to TX.

We were excited to see how many states we could travel through.  And of course we wanted to take pictures of each sign, welcoming us into that state.  

Disclaimer: Some of these were taken at night, some by the driver when the passenger was asleep, and some came sooner than expected.  So they may not be the best quality.  But it shows that we were there! : D

Our journey first began in Virginia:

The New Job

So I guess I haven't really explained all that happened during the last few months of 2012.

Back in mid-September Paul had a phone interview with a recruiter for a Spain-based company, who had an office in Austin, Texas.  I wrote in my journal that Paul wasn't sure if he wanted the job.  He liked being on this side of the interviewing process though--the side on which he already has a job and is maybe looking for a step up, instead of wanting any kind of job.  He did seem interested in the company though--and he liked that they were interested in him.  We then had to wait to see if the company would contact Paul.

Cheryl

We really enjoyed Cheryl's visit!

Glenn loved having another playmate around too.  Even though it was kind of a busy time for us--packing and organizing and all that--it was actually kind of perfect.  She would play with Glenn while I packed during the day, and then in the evening we would play Dominion.  I lost count, but we played probably 20 times?  Whatever the actual count was, we had a lot of fun.

I captured this fun moments between Glenn and Cheryl.

Manassas Battlefield

So New Year's Eve we spent with our friends, and Cheryl spent the night at Uncle Kim and Aunt Shannon's house.  They live about 30 miles away from us, so it was easy to get there.

The next morning--January 1--we drove out there to pick her up.  We stopped at Cafe Rio for lunch and then we went to the Manassas National Battlefield Park.

Baptism

Paul and I taught the kids who were 7 turning 8 during 2012.  We had the opportunity to go to some of their baptisms.  Each one has been special.  We are proud of them for making this wise and faithful choice!

New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve was spent with our good friends Jennifer, Graham and Graisen!

We enjoyed dinner together and talking.

We also watched part of Happy Feet--Graisen was really into penguins, so they got that movie.  Glenn liked all the music, and would dance to it.