I have been horrible at keeping up with this and I will continue to try and do better. Since my last post in February a lot has happened!
In the end of February Andy and I were able to go to a Marriage conference with our church in Red Wing, MN. We got to stay at the St. James hotel and go that a great. Book It was a wonderful conference and a great way to check up on our marriage. We just need to work on better at keeping up with the things we learned while there.
In March, Andy's sister Abby came up with their parents for Spring Break. We had given her a ski pass and rentals for her Christmas present and she was coming to cash it in. We did not get a lot of snow this last winter so the snow was not great but the weather that day was great and we all had a fun time skiing.
April was a busy month. Andy worked for Wolter and Raak a tax company doing season tax preparation. He was working at both Sams and Wolter and Rakk so he was gone a lot. Andy's cousin Kevin also stopped in for a visit as he was in Mn for railroad work. We had a great weekend with him. At the end of the month I was able to fly to Dallas for Kristie's Baby shower and the weather was amazing there. She had a wonderful shower and I got to meet her family and see her place. We had a great time catching up with each other.
The beginning of May was Philip's graduation from Iowa State with is PhD in physical chemistry. Rebecca put on a wonderful reception on Saturday as the graduation was at 8 the night before. They made it thru the graduation with out Rebecca going into labor with their second child. CarrieAnn made her grand entrance into the world on May 15 in the morning. Andy and I had time to go to Ames and help with the birth and take care of Lennell. Andy kept Lennell the night of the 14th until I arrived back at the house after the birth on the 15th. CarrieAnn was a cutie with a precious cleft in her chin like my grandmother Mimi. Lennell and I hung out until Rebecca, Philip and CarrieAnn came home on the 17th. My mother was also able to come up and help out with everything. I also finished my physiology class with a B. :)
In June, Philip had accepted a job at Belhaven University in Jackson, MS. He and Rebecca need to make a trip to Ms to find housing. With CarrieAnn being so little she was able to make the trip but Lennell at 17months was not up for being in the car that long. We kept Lennell from the 4th until the 9th. Andy and I made it to where our schedules would work that he stayed home in the morning with her and I went to work and then we would swap. We all slept down stairs on a couple of air mattress. She did great and we did a lot of things each day to keep her busy. At night we would even try to skype with Rebecca and Philip so she could talk with them. Rebecca and Philip were able to find a place and got back into Ames on Saturday instead of Monday like they thought.
The end of June I hosted a baby shower for Bridget a co-worker for her little boy to be born in August. We also mad a quick trip to Kansas and took Rebecca and the girls along with us. Andy's grandfather Malcolm had passes after a very short battle with cancer. We went down for his funeral and then spent some much need time with my family as Philip stayed home and worked on his final defense.
Between June and July we were burning the road to Ames as we only had a few more precious weekends with my sister and her family before they took off for MS. Philip passed his final defense with flying colors and then we all took a mini vacation to Chula Vista in Wisconsin Dells. The boys enjoyed the water slides and the girls just enjoyed being in the water. CarrieAnn even enjoyed the water when she was not sleeping. On the second day we were there we found a toddler lazy river that was perfect for Lennell. She loved the slide and being in the water.
Andy has also played some softball for the church when worked allowed. Sam's has chosen to go to an optimized scheduling which does not allow Andy as much flexibility as he use to have. He is on the hunt for a better job that would allow him to use his degree.
In 4 days we will take off and head to Ms to see my sisters new place and help a little with unpacking and whatever else they need. We can't wait!!!!! In the 2 weeks since they have been gone we have really missed them. We have such a special relationship with Philip, Rebecca and Lennell that we also want that with CarrieAnn. We are currently in progress of what is the next step for our life and where it may or may not take us.
