Seattle, here we come!

Oh yeah, we got a job, oh yeah! After a whole summer of grueling (and there isn't a better word to describe it) job hunting, it has finally paid off and we are heading for Seattle! Torry got a Product Management position with Zillow (an online real estate company) and he starts at the beginning of October. The job is everything he was looking for(except that it's not near family) - so I am grateful we held out. I'm happy it's in the northwest, near mountains and that it snows there in the winter. I'm also stoked because we have friends there! Whoo-hoo! Anyway, we fly there next week to look for some new digs. Anyone have a favorite Seattle area suburb?

Still in limbo

Well, I keep on wanting to update our blog - but I have to say that I just don't feel like there is much to say. We have been living with Torry's parents since June and Torry works on finding a job everyday while I hang out with the kids and Torry's mom. It's been a really laid back summer with playing in the backyard and the occasional trip to the city pool. We've gone up to Montana to visit my parents twice - the first time we spent the majority of it remodeling the basement of my Grandma's house so that my parents could live in it. My parents sold their house earlier this summer (bummer). This last visit to Montana was a ton of fun - a lot of the extended family was there and we spent everyday playing on the lake and every night around a campfire (my idea of paradise). The job hunt is going slow - Torry finds a lot of good possibilities and everyone seems to like him, but no one seems to be ready to hire just yet - we haven't gotten rejected and no one else is being hired for the positions he is interviewing for - we just are told something to the effect, "yeah, in a couple of weeks/months we will be very interested in you" Ahhh! But I am trying to be patient and supportive and I know that something will work out soon. Meanwhile, if anyone is passing through Utah and doesn't have enough family to visit, I would love to see you. I am feeling kind of lonely for my friends. I miss you all!

Giant Cupcake pan

My mother-in-law gets Family Circle every month and on the cover of July's issue was a picture of a cupcake - I just thought that it was taken up-close, but no - it was a giant cupcake pan (from Wilton)! I knew that I wanted one right away - how much fun is that? It takes almost 2 cake mixes and you cook the top and the bottom separately and then "glue" them together with frosting. It worked like a charm and Elaina loved it. I was surprised on how easy it was to do.

Happy 3rd Birthday Elaina!

Elaina had a pretty good birthday. We did a lot of her favorite things - she got to eat Lucky Charms for breakfast, we went and picked out some balloons, we went out to eat at McDonalds, went to Kungfoo Panda and opened presents and ate birthday cake. I asked her what she wanted for her birthday and she said she wanted candles. It's fun when their requests are so simple!

Good Bye Chicago!

After 2 very fast years of school, we only have 1 day left here in Chicago. The time has flown by so fast, I can't believe it is almost over. Before we came, it felt like two years was a long time to live here.

Things I will miss:
1. My wonderful friends I've made here. They have made my Chicago experience a wonderful one. They are some of the best friends I have and I am sorry to see us all move away from each other.
2. The food! Torry and I rarely have eaten at the same restaurant twice, and we haven't had a bad experience yet.
3. All the museums - the aquarium, the Museum of Science and Industry, the Field, the Nature Museum with the Butterfly garden and the Children's Museum. Elaina and I spent many hours in all of these and I will miss having such fun and educational places to take her to.
4. Hyde Park Produce. Seriously the best grocery store ever.

Things we will not miss (by Torry):
1. South side Chicago customer service. We rarely had a good experience, with Treasure Island being a consistent exception - sadly, it's only been around for about 3 months, but the people there are very nice.
2. Hyde Park traffic - the laws are a little different down here. For example: At a four-way stop, it's not about what order you arrive in, it's all about who will "win" or who has the least to lose (strongly correlated to how big or how beat-up your vehicle is); if there's room for another car, apparently there's a lane whether it's marked or not; and the world is your parking lot as long as you use flashers (this one is convenient on occasion, but it's a nuisance waaayyy more often.)
3. Potholes on the south side. C'mon Mayor Daley - it's June! Can't we get some of these fixed?
4. Taxes on everything. If you move a quarter from one pocket to another, only 23 cents makes it to the other side.
5. The Traffic Management Authority. Essentially humans who just tell you to do what the traffic light is already saying, this seems like a work-welfare program, probably a bone thrown to union leaders by the city at the taxpayers' expense (see #4 above). This agency would be just as useful at about 10% of its current size.
6. High-rise living. Getting two kids to the car is a 10-minute endeavor. And if you get down there and happen to forget that shirt you need to return? Forget it, you'll just return it next time you go out. We're excited for an attached garage.

All that griping aside--most these are minor complaints--we're sad to be leaving.

Our Beautiful Elaina

We took Elaina to the University campus and tried taking some cute pictures of her. I think I took over 50 some odd pictures and these ended up being the only ones that turned out (the last one being my favorite). She was looking everywhere but the camera and moving everywhere but where I wanted her to go. I guess we'll have to settle for candids for the next couple years.

Congrats to Torry!

After two years of school, Torry is finally done! We have really enjoyed our time in Chicago and Torry has loved school. I think both of us are a little sad to see our time here come to a close, but we are also very excited for the making money part our lives to start. This time around, Torry will hopefully enjoy doing it! Graduation is on the 15th of June and both of our parents are going to be in town for the event. We are also going to bless Camden that day and in addition it happens to be Father's Day. I guess it's going to be a little busy around here. To top it all off, we are moving to Utah on the 18th! Life is just a tiny bit crazy. Oh yeah, and I forgot - it's my birthday on the 14th. Bummer huh? I've always enjoyed spoiling myself on my birthday - plan lunch and dinner out, go to a movie, maybe go shopping or get my nails done - let Torry wait on me and take care of the kids. Yah know? Sigh - Se'la'vie