Jake's Post

Jake wanted to post about the hotel:

We have a new room. We have a new fridge. We have a tennis court. We can play tennis and I hit it so high it almost went in the hoop. We have our new computer so I can watch movies in bed. I like breakfast, I have pancakes, waffles, blueberries and yogurt. I like that JoJo is here in the room.

We played this weekend outside at Grandma's in Tahoe. We played in the snow. I played with Abby, I had fun. I played with Gram. We left Milo there with Gram for a little bit. I get to sleep in the bed with Daddy. We have pizza.

Bye.......I miss Mommy........

Our New Town

Everyone who is secretly thinking, "Why BOISE?" might enjoy this site. See what our new town has to offer!

downtownboise.org

These also might be fun to look at:
hiddensprings.com (our new community)
foothillsschool.org (where I will be working)

Life in the Marriott continues to go well. I actually am kind of enjoying the free breakfasts, dinners, and house cleaning :) It feels like we are on vacation a little bit. I am sure it will grow old, but for now it is much better than I had feared. It is clear that home is where my boys are (all three of them!) as the room truly feels like home already. The boys are doing great with it- Tanner apparantly likes sleeping in the kitchen and Jake is thrilled to be sleeping on the floor next to our bed! We have already established a daily routine. I'm not sure we will know what to do with 2700 square feet next month! Love to everyone.

What I've Learned...

I've learned that pregnancy and moving have a lot in common: They both cause heartburn, indigestion, weight gain, slight but constant nausea, exhaustion, niggling worries of "What are we thinking?" and "Are you sure this is the right thing to do in our lives right now?"; they both require a sense of adventure, a release of control, teamwork, and a willingness to explore the unknown; and they both produce something wonderful at the end of a lot of hard work.


Our first night in the hotel went seamlessly- we ALL slept from 8:30-6:00 without interruption. After breakfast at the hotel, I headed back to the house to meet the movers. Miraculously, they arrived on time. Although they all look like they recently made an escape from the local prison, they seemed nice enough. I guess I just have faith that the things they are loading up won't end up on the black market somewhere. I couldn't watch them load all of our stuff so I went back to the- clean- hotel room (Boy, having a maid clean up after us every day for a month is going to be NICE!) to relax a little before picking up TJ for his six month appt.

More updates as things happen. For now, both Brian and I can be reached on cell phone only.
Love to everyone.

Technical Updates

A couple of new things with regards to the blog:

1. I figured out, I think, how to remove the "you must create an account to comment" annoying feature. You still need to do the "type in the code" thing to prevent the site from being spammed. But now you can leave comments as anonymous and it should be much quicker.

2. I have it set up where I get an email whenever anyone leaves a comment. So if you can't get a hold of us while we are in witness relocation, just comment on the blog and we will get it and get back to you.

3. The posts will probably be without photos for awhile as all of the picture stuff is on the other computer which is somewhere in a moving truck....we will posts the photos after the fact. Trust me, you will die when you see pictures of the little hotel room we are all living in.

Talk to you all soon,

Brian

Give our regards to 6th Street

So we are out of the 6th street house and into our hotel for the month. That house meant so much to Marisa and I, as it was our first house/home together, the house where we brought the boys home from the hospital, the house where we fought until we learned to talk, and where our relationship grew to the point it's at today, where we can take on something as terrifying as this adventure knowing that we will come through it just fine. 6th Street was the house that put the faith into our marriage. Some great memories from that house for me:

1. Marisa screaming from the hallway and waking me up to come get her, in the middle of the night our first night there because she couldn't find the bathroom and was afraid of the dark.

2. Marisa realizing, in the middle of our first major renovation, that the hole in the floor under the toilet was supposed to be there because the toilet has a drain in and it doesn't work by magic.

3. Jake learning to crawl admidst the dust and construction debris in his room (which was the dining room at the time)

4. The steel that major construction can put into the backbone of a marriage if you can survive the three month, 1500 different option- search for bathroom sconces.

5. Debating whether Jake was too young and it was too late at night to walk down and watch fireworks at Robertson Park on the fourth of July last year, doing it anyway and realizing how wrong we would have been to have not done it. (Still one of my top ten experiences in my life).

6. Meeting great friends (Nikko & Shannon) because Nikko was the foreman on our addition/remodel job, and staying friends with them since. Every Saturday, breakfast @ Nations.

7. The great "paint parties" that we were able to host, both when we moved in and our friends couldn't believe how much paint the old walls and ceilings could soak up, and after the addition, when they could believe that every room was going to be a different color.

8. Learning the life lesson that planning on replacing the kitchen floor (or doing anything really), waiting for three years to do it, and finally getting it done, invariably produces the, "we should have done this three years ago" response.

9. Having the perfect hallway for; soccer, bowling, foot racing, ball bouncing, car racing, sock sliding and dog chasing.

10. The house always, and probably forever, feeling like home.

We'll miss you 6th Street, thanks for all the great years and memories.

-Brian

In lieu of a card.....

Happy Mothers Day!

To all of the mothers in my life....

To my mom whose greatest strength in our relationship is having an opinion, but letting me make my own decisions (mistakes, to some!) and be my own person. She has always supported me in everything I have done. Looking back on my life and some of the choices I have made, she has been a stronger person than I to be able to hold her tongue and offer nothing but support. I love you Mom and am looking forward to seeing you soon.

To my wife and partner....to say that living with me is sometimes difficult is like saying that the ocean is a little damp. She is my best friend and the best mother to our boys that I could ever ask for. She is the patient person that I am not. The objective voice, that I am not. The innocent one, that I am not. She is the best parts of me that I wish I could be better at. She is a risk taker and has the strength of the Incredible Hulk (that part is from Jake!). Honey, I could not imagine starting out on this next phase of our lives with anyone but you. As long as it's you and me, we can do anything together, you make me so happy (even when you are making me sooooo crazy!). I love you more than I thought possible. Tanner and Jake are so lucky to be able to wish a woman like you Happy Mothers Day for the rest of their lives. Like a flower among the rocks, you will thrive even surrounded by boys! We love You.

To my Auntie Sue.. who has always been more than an Aunt to me. Happy Mothers Day! You are the worst casualty of this move for me personally. You love my boys as much as you loved me when I was their age, and if helps you to know how I feel about you, they love you back almost as much as I do.

Happy Mothers day to all. I have to go now, Marisa is dropping off the boys and I am supposed to be painting........


Love,

Brian

One week left on 6th street

Bill found our new house on Google Earth and it seemed like a good way to show everybody where it is in relation to Boise. If you click on the photo it will blow it up larger and you can see that we are a little bit north x northwest of downtown Boise, up in the foothills. One of the things that we like about the town is that when you are there, you really can't see back down into the Treasure Valley, it feels like you are a million miles away from anything.

We have one week left to finish up everything on the 6th Street house. We move out a week from Sunday on the 21st into the hotel. We have a significant amount of packing and repairs to accomplish between now and then. This weekend the boys are staying with their favorite, Auntie Sue ,on Saturday so Marisa and I can get somethings done. And on Sunday, we are going to Kim & Bills house for Mothers Day to see Cori and Kim, Bill and Abby and newest arrival; Aiden Colby Evans. Aiden was born this week and I haven't had the chance to meet him yet, so am really looking forward to the visit. Congrats to Kim and Bill! Welcome to a higher level of chaos than you thought imaginable....

Once we move out, our highest priority will be visiting friends and family before we make the final move at the end of next month. We already have; my mom, Cori and my Dad and Joan scheduled for visits in Boise. I have also heard rumors of Lisa, John and the girls as well as Lisa, Clark and their kids, but don't have firm dates on them yet. Having all of this family around will really make easing into our new home a lot more fun than going it alone. So if you don't have a trip out scheduled yet, plan on seeing us in the next month as visiting with you will be our main focus (with the exception of the Giants - Pirates game on the 10th of June). Go Giants!

Our Boise Home-To-Be

This is it.... our new home! Escrow closes on May 31st and we will be moving in June 28th or 29th. Things are moving much faster than we had originally anticipated due to several factors. First, our house in Livermore closes on May 24th and the buyers won't rent back to us, so we have to live in a hotel until school ends on June 17th. Second, Brian's job is ending sooner than originally expected. So, rather than hang out, paying 100 dollars a night to stay in a hotel (won't it be cozy with the four of us in a studio??) we decided to head on out to Boise and get this adventure started. Luckily Mary will be joining us for the first few weeks or so to help us with the boys as we get the house unpacked, find daycare, and get adjusted. I am so happy she will be with us!

We will have new contact info to you all soon- new email, new cell phones, new home phone, etc... Step by step we are going to get this done. It does seem a little overwhelming at times, but we are crossing things off our list little by little. Brian has been a packing maniac!

The pictures above show the kitchen, backyard, open space behind our house, and master bathroom. It is a bigger house, by far, but still feels cozy.It is is almost exactly twice as big as our current home and half as expensive. I have spoken to many ex-Californians that live there and everyone assures me that we will love it. The woman who runs the preschool at Hidden Springs (the community we will be living in) grew up in Los Gatos- a stones throw from Saratoga where I was raised.

We will keep you all updated as things happen. Jake and Tanner say hello :)

The Easter Bunny Arrives!

TJ and Jake are doing great. As you can see, they are both growing like weeds. These pictures were taken on Easter morning, which we spent at Auntie Sue's house being spoiled rotten! The Easter Bunny visited her house prior to our arrival and Jake had a blast searching through the house (not outside, as it was POURING!) for treasures. Tanner watched the proceedings from his comfy seat on the beanbag chair. We are having so much fun with our two boys and we love spending time with Auntie Sue. I keep wondering- how did I get so lucky?

Won't Be Unemployed for Long!

Well, after an interesting and eventful 24 hour trip to Boise last month, I have a job! Actually, it is not just a job- it is the teaching job of my dreams! I interviewed at two very different schools- one "back to basics" and one to the far left of center (I call it "The Hippy School). One of the places I LOVED and one I couldn't imagine working in. Can you guess which was which???
I will be teaching 4/5 at Foothills School of Art and Science in downtown Boise. Their focus is on teaching kids HOW to think and HOW to learn, they foster creativity in all its forms, and allow for autonomy of both students and teachers. I hope I enjoy it as much as I think I will. Though sad to leave Sycamore- my home for the last ten years- I am so excited to begin this new professional adventure.