Pictures

Putting together our furniture.



Yes, the directions actually said to wear gloves. And yes, Michael needed them to finish the task. Those Ikea instructions are genius.



Captain Michael driving the boat.



Old Church in the middle of Annapolis, MD.
It was a joke while we were in Europe in college that we always had to stop and take a picture of the churches we saw. I guess we still do it...

Pictures say a thousand words

In case you haven't read my blog recently, Michael and I have some news. (If you have read my blog, then the following is old news).

I think the picture says it all:

And...Our New Apartment

We're so glad to be here! We are trying to figure out what furniture we need as we unpack. This is most of our stuff. To some, it's a lot, to others it's barely anything. Either way, we got it all into our living room.



The Kitchen



The Bedroom


The Dining Room


Maybe we'll post a few more pictures once we're organized.

Last pictures of the trip

There was a huge motorcycle rally in South Dakota. It ended the same day we left the area, and we passed hundreds, literally, of motorcycles throughout the rest of our trip. Even as we pulled off the PA Turnpike at our exit there were still bikers driving further east.



We stopped in Allen, Nebraska, where Michael's grandparents used to live. It was a very small town that wasn't even on the map. We had to call Michael's sister to figure out how to find it.



Sunrise as we headed East on our last day of the trip. I'm so used to watching the sun set on the west coast that it seemed odd, but it was beautiful.



Welcome to PA



The last hour of our trip. We always get really, really antsy. We were so excited and giddy to be so close to our final destination. The last two days of the trip we listened to books on CD, which definitely helped pass the time.

More Pictures #3

Still a few more pictures...



What can I say? We were inspired...



Mom and Baby on the side of the road, early in the AM.






This was the viewpoint from our campsite after we saw Mt. Rushmore. The city lights were beautiful. We were on a cliff and the wind was TERRIBLE, it kept us up most of the night.

More pictures...

We crossed the Continental Divide three times, this was the highest point.



Old Faithful Geyser



Old Faithful Geyser right as it first erupted.



Another geyser...


The Lodge.

More Pictures #1

I thought I'd post some more random pictures from throughout the trip:

This is in Jackson Hole, WY...All made from real antlers.


Some more buffalo...



Me taking a picture of Michael, taking a picture of buffalo.



Stopping and waiting for Buffalo to cross the road. They were in no hurry.



These two guys were right above us, just watching cars go by.

We've arrived...

We pulled in today at out about 4:30pm. We're here and are getting settled into our cozy apartment. It took us a few hours to unload our car and uhaul, mostly because we live on the third floor and carrying boxes up three flights of stairs gets very old, very fast.

Once unloaded we decided to venture out to find something to eat. Luckily we live right next door (within walking distance) to an Acme (the Albertson's of the East Coast) and a Big Kmart. We picked up a few essentials (milk, cereal, tp) and grabbed a slice of pizza at "Peace of Pizza." I thought that was a store a good Quaker boy could support.

Once we are unpacked tomorrow and feel a bit more oriented we'll post some more pictures and give a glimpse into what the last few days were like on the road.

Good night!

Day Four -- Mt. Rushmore

After leaving Wyoming (seemingly the worst state in the union... including Delaware), we arrived in South Dakota. The Black Hills are great and Mt. Rushmore exceeded our expectations. We had heard it wasn't very impressive but that's all in perspective...




We had reserved a campsite "2 miles northeast of Mt Rushmore." After driving around for 1 hour in the mountains... going through tunnels, over bridges, under bridges we found no such campground. Apparently we took a right instead of a left..who knew? Once our 1 hour loop was over and we were back where we started we just drove on to the next town, Rapid City, so that we could get a jump on the morning commute.

Next stop... Des Moines, IA.

Day Three -- Yellowstone

We walked EVERYWHERE and then some today. And see Amy...we did see a Buffalo. In fact we saw so many we kept getting stopped on the road.



The highlight for the day was seeing Old Faithful. We got there and it erupted, and by the time we walked around the entire Geyser area it erupted again.


It was a great day...


We even got the first hot meal of our camping trip!

Moving/Traveling Day 2

We got out of Boise around 8:30. The trip through eastern Idaho was brown and mostly boring. Getting to Jackson, Wyoming was a bit crazy...yes Uncle Dennis, a construction project made us take the Teton pass... (Here's us at the summit of the pass.)



After our brakes stopped smoking we set up camp in Grand Teton National Park. We weren't even in the park 5 minutes and we saw this moose.




And then on our way to town to use the library's internet Michael spotted this herd of Bison... crazy!



Tomorrow we're headed to Yellowstone. Be on the lookout for some pictures of Old Faithful.

Moving Day 1

First day of our Philadelphia adventure is under our belt. It's time to go to bed but here are the highlights:



Stopped in Bend to visit some goods friends.

Drove to Idaho through Burns (note to self: never do that again.)

Arrived in Caldwell just as the sun was starting to set.

Ate dinner on aunt and uncle's back porch.

Enjoyed homemade fajitas with fresh veggies and fruit from their garden (great watermelon uncle Dennis!).

Ate applecake and ice cream for dessert.

Looked through trunks of grandparents old belongings.

Stayed up way too late hearing stories, looking at pictures, and reading old letters.



Goodbye Oregon...

growing

We've been getting a lot of compliments lately about our marriage.

Living in Salem has been interesting because it's my hometown, and many of my friends are here. So, we have ended up spending a lot of time with my friends, mostly single girls.

A lot of our single friends have told us that they really enjoy hanging out with us because we never make them feel like a "3rd wheel." And my friends tell me repeatedly how much they love Michael and really respect our relationship and marriage: how we treat each other, how we act around others, our views on money and on life.

Michael and I have also been noticing that this year has been really good for us. We have grown a lot. The other day we played tennis. I am terrible at tennis, having never played it in high school. I used to be really stubborn and would always get frustrated when we would play because I wouldn't want to admit that I wasn't really getting it and that I needed help. But, the other day we went to play and Michael made the comment that it feels like we've really grown in our patience because I was more more receptive to him helping me and to just playing in general.

It's been a wonderful and quick year here in Salem.

Candle and Prayer

We've committed to praying about the future and grad school every night for 30 days. We light a candle and lay in bed and pray. It's been really meaningful. I think it could be a cool thing to continue to do all the time. Somehow lighting the candle makes it feel a little more sacred and intentional. And we both feel like God is blessing this time and continuing to give us clarity.

one more...

The best part about all the items we enjoy together is that it all has to do with EATING! We are such FOOD people!!!

We are also sleeper-inners.

Yesterday was a fun day of naming things that we really enjoy together. Throughout the day we found ourselves making statements that consisted of the line, "We are such ______ people."

In the morning we woke up and made French Toast. One of our favorite meals. After talking about our love of all things breakfast I declared:

"We are such breakfast people."

After breakfast we made our daily Americanos. Instantly...

"We are such coffee people!"

It wasn't until late that night when we were grocery shopping that the final declaration came. We found ourselves down our favorite aisle, drooling over the newest flavors and the best deals when we both began laughing and said...

"We are such ice cream people."

Thanks Melissa for enjoying the same things as I do, it makes eating, drinking, and desserting a whole lot easier.

Do-over...

Sometimes in our blog-life, as in marriage, we need do-overs. This is one of thos times.