A few more pics and reflections of this MOVE!

Jim, Natalia, Milana and Simon came to visit just before Christmas. We had a great visit, although Simon had a stomach bug and initiated some of the furniture and toilets.  Of course, I got sick after he left and was ill for twice as long as he was.

Jim, Natalia, Milana and Simon (all better now), on Christmas in Long Beach, CA.

While Simon recovered, Milana and I made cookies. She is getting so big.

Milana told me that she needed to learn how to use the hula hoop.  Evidently it's quite popular in Long Beach.  No sooner had she said that when I ran across this picture of me when I was just a little younger than she is now (I was probably 4).  Anyway,  I still had this skirt and top.  My dad brought it  back from one of his TDY trips to Hawaii.  I thought I'd surprise Milana by giving her the hula outfit and a hula hoop.  As you can see, I was having a good ole time - not a self conscious bone in my body.  Milana was not on my wavelength; she was not going to be caught dead outside of the bedroom in that skirt and skimpy top; thus the reason for no cute picture of her! Oh well, we did practice the hula hoop. 

...and, we decorated a gingerbread house when Simon started feeling better.  The other little girl is Maureen Hanrahan's granddaughter, Quinlan.  The workroom works perfectly for kid activities.

I think she likes sugar!

So, now that the excitement and adventure of creating our dream home is a reality, there are a couple of burning questions; what are we going to do with ourselves and are we happy with our decision.  

What we going to do with ourselves remains to be seen. We have lots of projects; the one that I want to tackle this year is a family history, a new cookbook and the landscape.  That ought to keep me fairly well entertained.  We're also going to do some traveling to see family and friends.  We ran so much $$$ through our Southwest card that Phil is able to fly anywhere with me for free.  We also earned so many miles that even I'm able to fly free.  We've booked about 6 trips for next year  so far (about 1/month). 

Are we happy with our decision?  Yes!  It doesn't mean that I don't miss being able to hop in the car and see all my friends and family who live in California.  On the other hand, we have wonderful friends here and are making new friends in our neighborhood.  I don't know what is is about Denver, but it is a very friendly place and we're enjoying it very much.  We like the changing weather.  We like the price of gas.  We like the extra income from renting our condo in downtown Denver.  We like that we are able to handle travel easier to the East coast to see Kelli and Kirsten and their families.  We 're getting used to the dryness.  We like the accessibility of the city.  Friends Maureen and Peter  and Sue and Anthony have been great guides to the city. As a result, we have enjoyed a variety of museums, art exhibits, bike trails, live performances (big and small) -- many more than we did in the Bay Area; it just seems more accessible and affordable. 

 

Besides people, what I miss most about Alameda is my year round herb garden and the always fruitful lemon tree.  And,  by spring I know I'll miss the greening of the hills; it takes until April/May here to get a touch of green.

Most importantly, we feel incredibly fortunate for all the love and support we feel from all of you.  This move has been and will continue to be an adventure and the change has been stimulating and rewarding.  We love having visitors, so for those of you who have made plans to visit...we're looking forward to seeing you! 

Sending you love and best wishes for a happy new year.