Day on the town.....

We went out to explore downtown Boise (now hipply nicknamed BoDo...don't know if that will catch on), for Grandma Mary's last day here. We went to Julia Davis park, a very large park that also houses the Boise Zoo. We could not go to the zoo today as that is a current bribe in play for Jake to sleep in his own bed. Once he makes it for five nights in a row, we can hit the zoo. If he sleeps in his own bed tonight, that will make......one night in a row (yes, the sarcasm is intended, we're having issues...).

We ventured into this pizza place, more due to location and pending nausea than a desire for cool pizza, but were very pleased with the results. Very good pizza, made right in front of you, in a very neat little restaurant. It is right across the street from the Qwest Arena, where the minor league hockey and basketball teams play, so I imagine that we will hit this place quite a few times. Jake liked both the chef and the pizza. He leaned over the table after a few bites and said, " Mommy, I have to tell you something. This pizza is DAMN good!". This of course prompted spitting of beverages and much laughter, as well as a cursory warning for yours truly to watch their damn language around the k-i-d-s. But the comment was taken in the spirit that it was intended.

It will be sad to see Mom leave tomorrow morning. She has been a lifesaver for the last month. Without her here, it is not hard to imagine the house still full of boxes, pictures not hung, kitchen not stocked and one or both children having been duct taped up and locked in a closet for at least an afternoon. She has allowed us to get through this move (oh yeah, and the pregnancy thing...) with our sanity intact, and even allowed us to enjoy the journey as well. Mom - you are and will always be the greatest, thanks for everything you did (and do). I love you and we'll see you AND AUNTIE SUE in September. - BRIAN

There's nothing like having a mother in law that is also a friend. I hope Mary has had as much fun being here as we have had having her here.- MARISA

Hot Days and Sleepless Nights

Full blown nausea and 24/7 exhaustion has kicked in. Oh, the joys of pregnancy. Thank god Mary is here. She has been such a huge help and a lot of fun to have around as we get used to our new town and explore. Brian and I told Jake about the new baby and his face lit up. He looked down at my tummy and asked if he was in there. When I said yes, he put his hand down on my tummy and rubbed gently. He was very clear that he wants another brother, not a sister. He has been a sweetheart while I am sick. He comes upstairs and asks me if I want him to rub my back, if I need some saltines or some water, etc...

We are calling this baby "Casey". If it is a boy he will be Casey Jameson Alan and if it's a girl she will be Kimberly Cate Alan (after my sister, of course) and we will call her KC (or Katie, as some have suggested). Although I had to shake on it, there is still wiggle room of course. (Brian says, "NO there's not!" as I type this!)

The above pictures were taken this morning at the tennis court down the street. Jake definitely has a talent for the game and he is so excited to play with Papa- the tennis pro- when he comes to visit next month. He and Brian hit balls back and forth and he gets them a lot of the time. A round of tennis is usually followed by a trip to the pool on the way home. (Do you think this lifestyle would get old after awhile?)

Speaking of visits, we had a great one with Kim, Bill, and the kids last weekend. Besides Mary, they are the first people to come see our new place. I think, despite the record breaking temperatures, that they could easily see why we decided to move here. We spent a lot of time at the pool and lake, trying to keep cool. It was great for the boys to spend time with their cousins. We miss them already.

Tanner is doing great . He is still working toward crawling. He is quite adept at scooting and can get places very quickly with his little army crawl. He also loves to hold onto Grandma's fingers and walk from one side of the room to the other. Food is his greatest pleasure, though, and he will happily stuff various types of fruits, vegetables, and crackers into his mouth for long stretches.

We have three weeks of vacation left together. It is going quickly, but we are definitely making the most of it. I have to admit that the pregnancy is slowing us down somewhat, as I tend to nap whenever I get a spare second, but we still have lots of adventures planned before this phase of our move is over. Next up is a much anticipated visit from Nikko and Shannon- which will hopefully include a day trip to the REAL Redfish Lake :)

Good News, a Funny Story, and a Warning...

The good news first: Brian is officially employed! Starting August 15th he will be a supervisor at Farmers Insurance in Meridian. We got the call this morning and even though we were both fairly certain he would be offered the position, it was definitely a load off our minds. Now we know that we won't be trying to support THREE kids on a (private school) teacher's salary :)

Now for the bad news (this is where the warning comes in): Our phone numbers have changed once again. For those of you keeping track, that will make three new numbers in the same number of weeks. Let's just say that nextel stinks. After trying to make our phones work consistently for the last three weeks and spending countless hours on the phone with Nextel, the last straw occurred yesterday. With my phone still not accepting local calls- which we realized only after having potential employers, my new employer, and prospective daycares try to get ahold of us unsuccessfully- I made one last attempt to work with the tech guys at Nextel. I was given the run around. Finally I got a hold of someone that told me (and I quote) "Nextel cannot help you. You should find new cell phone service". He told me he would switch me to the cancellation department. The incredibly rude man there refused to stop service without charging us a 400 dollar "early termination fee" and when I asked to speak to a supervisor, I was told, "My supervisor WILL NOT come to the phone to speak with you." Period. Brian called back and was told the same thing. After going around in circles with the company for the better part of two hours, they told us the only recourse we had was to write a letter. So we did. And cc'd the FTC, FCC, and "our lawyer" (OK, so it was really just a made up name of a pretend lawyer in Berkeley, but still...). Anyway, to make a long and incredibly frustrating story short, we got new phone service, hence the new numbers which we will be sending out in an email shortly. WARNING: DO NOT USE NEXTEL FOR PHONE SERVICE UNLESS YOU WANT TO BE SCREWED OVER LIKE ALL THE PEOPLE ON THIS WEBSITE!

Ready for the funny story? As you know, we've been trying to explore Idaho while we try to settle in and unpack. So last Sunday we decided to take a drive to Redfish Lake- a lake resort I had heard great things about that was about an hour and a half away. We packed a big picnic, loaded the boys up, slathered on the sunscreen, and hit the road at about 8:30AM, preparing for
a fun day in the sun. We programmed the resort (Redfish Lake Lodge) into Brian's GPS and set off. We drove for about an hour and a half, thinking as we got closer and closer that it really didn't look anything like we expected it to and wasn't it strange that we were right on the freeway and the navigation system said we were going to arrive in 2 miles. Hmmmm. As we exited the freeway and approached our destination, we began to realize there may have been some mistake. We found ourselves in the middle of nowhere- in the middle of Jerome Idaho, to be exact, with no lake and no resort in sight. As the GPS announced "You have now arrived at your destination on the left" we had a sinking feeling that perhaps there were TWO Redfish Lake Resorts in Idaho. We looked out our car windows and instead of a pristine lake we saw rundown buildings, old gas stations, and steaming hot pavement. This was definitely not the right place. We pulled into the closest service station and got a map. Yep. We'd gone the wrong way. In fact, we had gone 100 miles south, when the real Redfish Lake was 90 miles Northeast. Trying to make lemonade out of lemons we asked the service attendant where we could hang out for the day and have a picnic and she pointed us toward Shoshone Falls (see the above picture). Luckily we were all in good spirits and laughed at the fact that this is the second time in a week that we have found ourselves somewhere we never intended to be, but enjoying it nonetheless.

Go Boise Hawks!!!!!!!

We took Jake to the Boise Hawks game the other night. The Hawks are the Cubs (not Angels like I thought) A- Ball franchise here in Boise. For those of you not familiar with the way the minors in baseball works, A-Ball is the lowest level of minor league ball, really just above high school, and in some way worse than some of the major college programs. For example; one of the Hawks players hit a single, stopped at first, realized that nobody was paying attention to him and just ran to second, while the ball was still in the infield . That makes the game much more fun to watch.

You don't have a rooting interest for any specfic player, and the teams try all sorts of bizarrre promotions to keep attendance up. One of the billboards in center field has a fishing net as part of the billboard, if a home run goes into the net, someone wins a trip. They have dizzy bat races, hot dog eating contests, bean bag tosses, etc. It's just a fun environment, and a lot different from a major league game.

We had a really good time. Jake was waaayyy into the game. We were sure he was going to annoy everybody in our section with his, "GO BOISE HAWKS" cheer. He has a little bit of actual baseball knowledge, and it is important that he show everybody what he knows. He knows, for example, that the batter who is next up is known as being "on deck". EVERY batter that came up to bat; he would find the on deck circle and announce, "Daddy, that man is on-deck, he is up next".

I am pretty sure that we did not help the situation by keeping him up way past his bedtime (the game didn't start until 7:30) and hyping him up with the Idaho State dessert, the Hawaiian Icee. Which is ice and sugar, combined with artificial colors and flavors.

We had a very good time, and a very tired boy when we left in the fifth inning. We bought $75.00 worth of souveniers and the Hawks have some very dedicated new fans.

GO BOISE HAWKS!!!!!!

Umm....okay...right, now...umm.....wow....okay.....

So, at this point I firmly believe that the powers that be in the universe (he/she/they/it....but after today I am leaning towards she...) LIKE it when our lives are out-of-control-crazy. I mean really, just as we get the last few boxes unpacked, get some pictures up on the wall, and start to see some light at the end of the tunnel....WHAM...... Express Train!

So if you can't tell from the out of focus picture (best I could do while suffering a nervous breakdown, sorry), or the above analogy, we are pregnant again. So at this point Jake and Tanner will be sharing a room and we should get a little bit more serious about figuring out our health care picture for down the road....WOW! Marisa puts this event firmly under the "Man plans, God laughs"
category.

Those of you that haven't made plans to visit to see the new house, now will need to visit to see the new baby sometime next March (and the new house, which is one bedroom too small again!)

On a serious note, both Marisa and I are thrilled (and terrified!) by this unexpected news. We are so happy and....I guess entertained is the right word-everyday by Jake and Tanner, that one more should just add to the fun. Everybody should hope and pray that this one is a girl though for Marisa's sake, otherwise she may just move out once the boy army gets organized! Jake and I already gang up on her, once Tanner and the new boy (if it is a boy!) get in on the action, she won't stand a chance.

All Work and No Play...

(This picture was taken on a morning hike outside our house last Friday)

Well, I can't say that we've been entirely dedicated to getting this house unpacked. We spent Saturday morning at the Boise Farmers Market. There was lots of produce (of course) and an array of prepared foods for sale, too. In addition, they had a craft and art section and free children's lessons in art. Jake participated in a watercolor lesson. I love outdoor markets and this one was a lot of fun. It was a beautiful morning and we found a little coffee house downtown for breakfast that makes their own pastries, oatmeal, granola, etc... Even Brian, a non coffee drinking heathen- had to admit it was a pretty great place. We will definitely be back! Downtown Boise is filled with restaurants, parks, museums, and shopping and since it is only a 15-20 minute drive I figure we will utilize it often.

Then, instead of making up for lost time on Sunday and getting something done, we decided to head to McCall for the day. It was a beautiful two hour drive along the Payette River. The town itself was a "beach town" in a way. It was quaint, on the shores of Payette Lake where there were lots of waterskiers and other boating types. We had lunch at the marina out on the deck and swam/waded in the lake, played baseball on the shore, and just generally "wasted the day away". We all had such a nice day- it didn't matter at all that our walls were still just as blank when we got home as when we left or that each room still had a minimum of one unpacked box in it and at least one hefty bag full of garbage or goodwill stuff :) Both weekend trips had the same effect: they made us realize once again what a great choice this move was for our family.

The boys are doing well. TJ is trying so hard to crawl and is sitting on his own with much more regularity now. He continues to grace us with many smiles and giggles, especially when given free reign with a smooshed banana, yogurt, or diced mac and cheese. Jake is excited about starting preschool, loving the pool, and has been starting each day with the question, "So, what's the plan for today, guys?" Wonder where he got that from, huh?

Hope all is well with you- so many of you are on your own adventures right now- Thailand, the Pacific Northwest, Hawaii, Connecticut, etc.. We think about you often. Please respond and let us know how you are.

Happy 4th of July!

Here are some photos that show what we were looking for when we decided to move here. This is the 4th of July parade in Hidden Springs. Led by the Hidden Springs Fire Department and the Ada County Sherriffs; the parade then becomes a mass of kids on scooters, bikes, wagons, motorized cars, strollers, home made floats, and parents trying to keep up and direct traffic. It was so great to see all of the kids in the neighborhood spending the morning decorating their bikes etc. for the parade.

The parade starts and finishes at the park just outside our front door, so Grandma Mary had a front row seat for all the festivities. Jake had a great time " making new friends " (AKA running around screaming and attempting neck-breaking headstands with about 20 other kids). Tanner napped in his room, but was great guns for the picnic afterwards. There was a really great band in the park, games, the FD cookout; it was really a great set-up. The band had played about 5 songs, which had all of the smaller kids running around and jumping in-front of the stage, when, yep, you guessed it, ...the rain came down; followed by wind, lightning and thunder and everybody high-tailing it for home. Our 4th BBQ of hot dogs and hamburgers followed by fire works has become; frozen pizza and pasta and "Toy Story 2" with popcorn.....oh well, what can you do. All you can do (and this is the major life lesson that we have learned during this whole move with two young boys)...is adjust!

Recent Pictures

Well, here it is: photographic proof of our new state of residence! I finally got the new pictures downloaded.I threw in a few new ones of my Hawaiian boys hanging out on the shores of Tahoe Donner, too, just for good measure.

IMPORTANT UPDATE:
None of our phones are currently working. To get a hold of us, please use our email addresses that were listed on our cards. We will email everyone with new contact info once we get the phone fiasco figured out. Hopefully that time will be very soon.

Everything here continues to go well- minus a few mishaps with the phone company and a malfunctioning BBQ. We are swimming a lot, frequenting the parks in walking distance, and gearing up for the big 4th of July party here. The boys will be part of the local parade- Jake on his scooter sporting his red, white, and blue cowboy hat and TJ in the stroller, holding onto (or sucking on more likely) a plastic flag. A band will play out on the village green and we will attend the neighborhood picnic in the evening. For fireworks we plan on driving to McCall (1.5 hours away) to watch two barges of explosives to be set off on the lake. We are not entirely sure if this idea is a really good one or a really stupid one. Time will tell.... and we will keep you posted!

So Far So Good

I love it here! The house is beautiful and the neighborhood is gorgeous. There are kids everywhere and is definitely the kind of place where Jake and TJ will be able to run around, ride bikes, walk to the pool, etc... with their friends when they get older. We have met some nice people at the pool and are heading to the farmers market at the barn later this morning. We have walked on some of the trails and done some exploring around our house and are excited to get downtown one of these days. The weather is cooling off a bit, which is nice.

Mary arrived yesterday and Jake is in HEAVEN- a playmate that doesn't have the pressure of hundreds of boxes to unpack, break down, and throw away! He is going to wear her out for sure.
I signed him up for an art camp held at the community barn. I am hoping he will meet some friends. He seems a little homesick- he keeps mentioning his friends Cody and Ian and saying how he will never see them again. When I put him to sleep the first night in his bed (the first time he had been in it for 40 days!) he put his arms around me and said, "Everythings getting back to normal now, Mommy." Bless his heart. All of these changes must be confusing for him, but he is a champ and I am so proud of him. Milo is also finally getting settled. He wouldn't eat for the first four days and had a difficult time convincing himself that the stairs were safe. He would stand at the bottom and whine instead of coming up to join the family. Tanner is oblivious, I think, to the changes and slept for 12 hours last night without waking- a first for him. He is so close to crawling and is happiest when he is sitting in his high chair with a big pile of cheerios in front of him! That boy can eat :)

Please email us and keep us posted on your summer. I miss my friends and would love to get some updates. I will post pictures just as soon as I can find the camera connector :)

Home at Last!

We left Tahoe at 9:00 this morning and arrived in Boise 8 hours later. It was an easy drive and both boys behaved far better than we could have hoped for or ever imagined. We were a bit worried when we had only been in the car for 20 minutes and Jake asked plaintively, "Are we there yet, Mommy?" But, luckily, it was not a sign of things to come. In fact, the only fussing or complaining that we had to contend with was when Tanner fell apart 10 miles from our house. I think he had just had it with his carseat and I had used every trick in my bag to keep him happy. Jake watched movie after movie while Brian and I listened to XM Channel 16 the whole way. Lots of great country music :) and, as usual, we sang along loudly and enjoyed the drive.
Brian did get pulled over just outside of Winnemuca for speeding. The cop did not give him a ticket- which was very generous and much appreciated. I think it helped that right after the cop arrived at our car Jake said, "Mommy, that policeman is a very nice man!" (No coaching from us, but we did give him more candy when we pulled away!!)

Jake was very excited to arrive at our new house. He was hyped out of his mind due to lack of sleep and too much sugar (He's still working on that giant lollypop we got for him at Marine World!) and didn't go to sleep until 11:00. It stays light here very late. In fact, we were out on a neighborhood walk and didn't realize it was close to ten already! I can't wait to explore more tomorrow. I am especially excited to take the boys to the pool. It is only 5 blocks away and is way bigger than I had anticipated. We'll need it, as it was close to 100 today.

This house is great! It is nicer than I had remembered it and I keep walking around it thinking, "Is this really ours???" I am so anxious to get our stuff moved in tomorrow. It is sure to be another long day. The movers arrive at 8:30AM.

I guess we should try to get to sleep. Just wanted those of you that are checking up on us to know that we arrived, are in good spirits, and are ready to continue this adventure.

One thing that moving on does for you: It sure shows you who your friends are and how much you are loved. The things we take for granted daily come into focus so clearly. We have been so lucky to spend time with those closest to us over the last month in preparation for our move. Friends and family have spoiled us and spoiled our boys with their love and affection- and more than a few toys for the little ones! Although we may be moving on, part of our hearts are definitely staying here in California with friends, countless "aunties" and family.
We are truly blessed.

Happy Fathers Day!

Happy Fathers Day to all...This photo is from the Giants game a week or so ago. We had a great time. It was very cold though and the Giants lost, so not all positive. On the good side, my Fathers Day gift from Marisa and the boys was tickets for the Boise Hawks minor league team (an Angels affiliate), so we have that to look forward to once we get settled. My real Fathers Day gifts are in the picture to the right--------------------------->>
These two boys have changed everything about my life for the better. Very few things make me happier than seeing my boys first thing in the morning. I am really looking forward to the next six weeks or so that we will have off together so I can help them (and their mother) adjust to life in Idaho and we can spend some time just enjoying time together. Both Tanner and Jake are so good natured and adjust so well to whatever circumstances we are in at the time, I have no doubt that they will adjust just fine. Jake especially has been such a trooper with all of this chaos, I have been so proud of him. He has his own map to Idaho that he drew with his new house, new school and friends on it. He is planning on navigating with HIS map so we don't get lost on the way to Boise....

We spent yesterday with Bill, Kim, Cori, Kiri and all the kids. We had a great time, with a good BBQ dinner to finish things off. All in all a very nice Fathers Day.

I wanted to write a Fathers Day post like my Mothers Day one, but those kind of words just don't come as easily when talking about men. I don't know if that is sexist or chauvinistic, but I just can't muster the emotion....

Dad: I love you and can't wait to see you next month. I can't wait for you to meet Tanner and see what a little man Jake is growing into. Thanks for your great emails and words of encouragement and support over the course of this process, they've meant more to me than you know. I'll see you soon.

Love,

Your son,
Brian

Goodbye Sycamore

Today was a tough goodbye. I have worked at Sycamore for ten years, have made countless friends, and have learned so much along the way. What a great place to have called home. Walking through those gates for the last time was hard. Still, despite a few tears (OK... so at one point I needed a friend to bring me a box of kleenex and was actually babbling) I am excited to be done with school for now and am ready to get this adventure started! We are down to 6 days in the hotel and can't wait to be on our way to Tahoe, then Boise. Brian appears to have a job on the horizon but won't start until after the first week of August. Six weeks of vacation together as a family does not happen very often and we are really looking forward to it!

Tanner miraculously recovered from whatever was causing him to scream endlessly for four days as soon as Brian returned from Boise. Coincidence? Brian thinks not. He is back to being his smiley self. He is very close to crawling and we have to be VERY careful when he is on our bed as he rolls and rolls and rolls. Just a few minutes ago I heard Brian yell from the bedroom. I ran in and found that he was holding- just barely- onto Tanner's foot- Tanner dangling off the side of the bed. He loves his food and is starting to feed himself cheerios and anything else he can get his hands on. Jake is a swimming fool these days. Tonight he learned how to jump off the side (with floaties) without someone "catching" him- a giant leap for water confidence, I think. This morning on the way to school he saw a cow all alone in a field. He commented that he was a "sad cow" and that he must be "lonely". He continued on, saying that the daddy cow was probably jumping over the moon. I tell ya, that kid keeps us entertained. Tired, but entertained.

In Idaho (temporarily...)

Hello All. This post is actually coming from the office in the new house. I went out and bought a desk chair yesterday and it's the only furniture here right now, so while I was sitting down I thought I would catch up on the updates. The drive up was beautiful and quick. Once you get outside of Reno, it's two lanes, desert and no cell phone service almost all the way there. The drive took me 10.5 hours from Livermore to here, pretty much non-stop. If you are looking for a more scenic route (albeit slower), you can take 1 up (down?) the coast to Portland and over, which, if you are not a fan of scrubrush, I would recommend.

I am here this week to try and get some things set-up. I have been pretty successful so far; we have a lawn mower (and a mowed lawn), a fridge, freezer and washer/dryer, cable service and internet, a pool access code and mailbox service (almost). I also got in two job interviews here, dropped off Jakes pre-school registration, and signed him up for swim lessons at the community pool, so all in all a very productive trip.

I still very much like the area, so no buyers remorse here. It is a little bit more like the mid-west weather wise (hail the size of golfballs yesterday for about 15 minutes, followed by thunderstorms etc.) It's raining today but is nice otherwise.

Unfortunately, as Murphy would have it, Marisa is having a tough time with the boys. Tanner is teething or sick or just pissed off and has been inconsolable since I left (could be he misses Daddy...). He has been such an easy baby so far that this is kind of out of the blue. Plus she's there with both boys and Milo in the hotel room and trying to finish the school year with no sleep......honey I feel so bad I am not there to help, I will be home soon. We've both been doing the single parent thing lately and are both amazed that people who are acutally single parents survive the process. I don't know how I would make it with out Marisa's help with the boys on a regular basis. To the single parents out there...I am in awe, you are much stronger than me.

Marisa and I are both kind of ready for this transition phase to be over. It is great to be able to visit with our friends and stay in touch with the area, but our lives have been on hold for six weeks now and we are ready to get going again. We leave for a week or so (we don't know when the furniture is coming just yet) in Truckee on Thursday the 22, so one week left.....

Talk to you soon - Brian

Great Day!

We moved!!!! Ok... so we only moved across the pool. But, still, we MOVED. What a great day! After dealing with water damage in our studio hotel room for the last two weeks, complaining nicely, having blowers in our room, workmen trying to fix the problem etc... we finally said "enough is enough" and were rewarded with an upgrade to a room twice the size of our studio. It is like a castle in here! We no longer have to move TJ's crib in order to access the kitchen and there is actually some room to sit down to watch TV or play with toys or read somewhere other than the bed. I tell ya... it is like heaven.

Also, Brian was contacted by a ServePro in Boise that he had randomly sent his resume to last month. Turns out the owner wants to "retire"- or cut way way back on day to day operations- and is looking for a replacement. It is the same business as Brian is in now. So he is meeting with the guy next week in Boise. His phone interview with Farmers Insurance went great and he is being flown out for an interview soon. I guess his talk about karma is true. He has been so kind and overly accomodating to many during this transition and good stuff is happening. I think it is great that he may get to choose which job he wants instead of just having to take whatever comes along.

I returned from Outdoor Ed camp on Friday afternoon. It was a fun time, but it was good to get home to my guys. I talked to Jake each night and on the last night he told me that he was "eating ceral with marshmallows for dinner in the bed".... I figured it was time for me to come home! Seriously, though. Brian was a champ dad and the boys had a great time.
Let's hope I can do as well when Brian leaves for five days next week!

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.

The Craziness Continues

Update time! After having our house on the market for a month or so earlier this winter with no luck, we pulled it off while we were making the decison to stay in CA or move to ID. Since we put an offer in on a house there, it was time to put our house back on the market here so we could remove the contingency on our offer. Within 10 minutes of signing the paperwork, we got not one but two offers! Both for what we wanted, and both from people who looked a the house a month or so ago. We accepted the better of the two offers and have sold the house! The only bad thing....we have to be out by May 21, and we won't be moving to Boise until July 1st at the earliest....so, can we use your couch?

We started packing boxes right away, and while packing, Marisa got two phone calls for potential job interviews in Boise on Friday. So she flew out tonight, is interviewing with one school in the morning and one in the afternoon and meeting the realtor after that to get into the house and take some photos. Despite the fact that she is really nervous about the interviews, she will do great. She is such a good teacher and represents herself and her desire to teach so well, that I will not be surprised if she comes home with two offers. Good luck honey, we're all pulling for you here.

The other big news is that Jake got a visit from the "night-night" fairy. This visit was prompted by a visit to the dentist, who told Jake that the "night-night" was starting to hurt his teeth. So Jake put all of his night-night's on our dresser that night (he didn't want the fairy to actually come into his room!), and the fairy brought him some new super hero "guys" and an Emporer Zurg figure. He was very excited, but is having some trouble getting to sleep without his night night and keeps saying how he misses it, but is doing a great job getting through it.

Auntie Sue flew back from her road trip with Mom to MN. Marisa and Jake met her at the airport. Of course, she came bearing gifts and now Jake has even more stuff, but he missed his Auntie Sue. Marisa and the boys are heading to our friends Anna & Geoff's Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, while I work on the house, and then we are off to Auntie Sue's on Sunday for Easter Brunch.

Happy Easter Everybody and we'll let you know how Marisa's interviews went ASAP.

New House!

Hi Everybody -

The latest update...this is our house. After much trial and error and soul searching, we decided to buy a house in the development that we like that is being re-sold as opposed to buying a brand new house.

Not only does this save us some money, but it's ready to move into now (not that we are ready to move into it!). We have a 60 day escrow and if all goes well, it will be ours May 31st. Our plan is still to move out (hopefully with jobs!) in the beginning of August. We are still not sure what Marisa will do, as the school year starts there on August 9th, so that might be a little tight, but we'll see. So many things go into every decision, in this case, we need healh insurance, and she can get it quicker than I can.

So now we need to sell our house. We do have some off-the-market interest, so we need them to step up or we will need to put the house back on the market here very soon. Resumes are going out, along with daily checks of Monster.com and Career Builder.com, so hopefully we will start to get some return phone calls.

Things are starting to get a little scary....as Marisa says, " We bought a house, so I guess we're really going?". That's pretty much it.....Yikes! Everybody needs to come for very frequent and very lenghty visits.

Talk to you soon.....

Idaho Photos

Here are the aforementioned photos of Hidden Springs, Idaho. As an update, we have now tried to buy, and have lost out on, five separate houses in this development. They just keep selling out from under us. This is the most sought after development in the Boise area (mostly by expat Californians it turns out) so we are having a hell of a time trying to make decisions via email, looking at floorplans, site plans etc.

We are now trying to put an offer on a house that is being re-sold up by the entrance to the development that we looked at on our trip there. We'll let you know how it goes......

Happy 3rd Birthday Jake!

Right before all of the stuff with moving and buying and selling houses and looking for new jobs happened, it was Jake's 3rd Birthday.

Marisa did a great job planning everything right down to the Lion King themed underwear that each child was given to wear so that everything was coordinated (just kidding, but not by much!). But she found a great place in Dublin for the festivities. A new party place that has a really cool playroom with blow up giant slide and everything. They take all the pictures, the ones here included, coordinate the event and here's the big kicker for the parents, CLEAN UP EVERYTHING AFTERWARDS. A GENIUS idea and worth every cent.

Jake had a great time playing with his friends and opening his Midas-sized haul of birthday gifts. You can tell when your child had a good time by the amount of the fit that they throw when it is time to go to bed, so he had a REALLY good time, and was exhausted after all was said and done.

It's so hard to believe that he is three already! He is getting to be such a big boy. He is a crack up on a minute by minute basis, a character of mythic proportions and just the love of his Daddy's life. Happy Birthday Buddy, Daddy Loves You (hang loose dude!).

Nobody really likes this but......

....we are moving to Boise. Yes, Idaho, that Boise. I don't really even know where to start. Moving out of state has always been a topic of discussion anytime that we have come to a new stage in our lives since we've gotten married....can we afford to move to Livermore, or should we look at moving out of state; can we afford to have a baby here, or should we look at moving out of state; can I afford to take a cut in pay to lower my commute and stress level, or should we look at moving out of state, so while this may seem like a snap decison, it's been a long time coming.

It's too easy to say that we can't afford to live here anymore, and I think that is a problem that we have had. We have been trying to distill our reasoning down to what is logical and black and white. Both to make the decison easier to explain to our family and friends, as well as make the decision easier on us to make. Without going onto all of the reasons (which we would be happy to do, if you would like, just call us and ask), we have made a very hard decision to move from the Golden State to the Potato State.

In trying to keep this post upbeat, I'll just concentrate on what we found when we visited this last weekend. A disclaimer up front...these are just opinions, not condemnation of anybody else's likes, dislikes, lifestyle etc. My website, my opinions, no offense should be inferred.

We really loved Boise. We flew in Friday night, it was dark so we couldn't really see anything of the area, but the airport seemed nice enough. What really struck me was that, when we went outside to get our rental car, it just smelled clean. It was crisp, but not really cold. Once we found our POS Kia rental, it was a very quick and easy drive to downtown. We got to the hotel about 10:00 PM. At which point Marisa wanted to go back out and drive around and begin exploring the city. I tried to explain that it was dark and that most things would be closed, but she would hear none of it, so out into the night we went.

We drove around downtown, which was easy because there was no traffic. We found the dark spot where the Boise River is during the daylight, found a couple of areas that we were quickly able to rule out as possible relocation spots (I am NOT living there!), but mainly just drove around lost for a couple of hours. We got back to the room and to sleep @ midnight.

We got up early on Saturday and drove around to several of the surrounding areas just to see if we could get a feel for the towns and see if there was anything that we could rule out. We met with the realtor and spent all of Saturday looking at houses in various areas. We really liked an area called Hidden Springs in the foothills of Boise, www.hiddensprings.com is the link if you want to check it out. We are trying to get a house up there right now.

We met with a guy who is the moderator of a Yahoo! chat group for Californians who have moved to Idaho. Marisa found the group before we went to visit and we made arrangements to sit down with Mark and talk to him about the area and his experiences. There are so many Californians moving there, it's a whole underground community. Everybody moving for more or less the same reasons; money, commute, traffic, the rat races, the outdoors etc.. It is nice to have a group of people with a shared experience and knowledge to bounce things off of.

But we had a very nice time and really loved the place. We arrived home Sunday late afternoon, exhausted and missing our boys. We will update with what happens next and will post some photos as soon as I get them downloaded from the camera.

The Happiest Place on Earth?

Hi Everyone,
Well, we embarked on our first official road trip in the BBV (Big Blue Van) on Thursday, February 24th. We set Jake up with many a movie and even more snacks and set out to San Diego to meet with the owners of Brian's company to talk about the much anticipated "buy in". The trip down was uneventful until LA at which point TJ started screaming bloody murder, Jake was overtired and overhungry and there was no food or rest stop to be found. We traveled at approx. 2 mph for several hours until we reached Orange County. I tell ya... that little Tanner is one smart guy: He already has an aversion to Los Angeles! We spent Friday and Saturday at John and Liz' house discussing the financials/particulars of us buying in to the company and interspersed our serious conversations with playtime with the four boys. Jake loved swimming with Nick and Joey and really enjoyed playing in their gigantic backyard. On Sunday, with business concluded early, we went to Legoland. It was gorgeous and sunny and perfect for a three year old. I don't know who had more fun: Jake or Brian. We decided to spend the night in OC to get part of the drive out of the way and upon waking in the morning couldn't resist the lure of Disneyland. Despite having been told by numerous people that Jake was really too young to enjoy it, Brian and I decided to give it a go. Hmmmm. Let's just say that at one point Brian turned to me and said, "This is the happiest place on earth, damn it!" At which point we both burst out laughing. Jake was scared of many of the rides, the lines were way too long for a Monday in February, and the weather was "iffy". It started to rain about noon and began a torential downpour at 2- hence, we made the disney folk a bit richer by rushing into the nearest souvenier store and purchasing mickey mouse ponchos. Jake was a tropper, Tanner was blissfully unaware as he was sleeping under my poncho (see picture above), and we quickly ran for the nearest exit ( a good ten minute walk through the pouring rain!). All in all it was quite funny and we are glad we had the adventure and now have learned from experience. I will surely pass my two cents worth on to any other families with children under the age of 6 and say, "Don't do it!" but many will probably not heed the advice and have to learn for themselves that Disneyland is HIGHLY overrated! We drove home that evening. Being highly intelligent people, Brian and I came up with a great plan... we left Anaheim at 5:00 on Monday night, heading through LA. Yes, it took us many, many hours to get over the grapevine and we arrived home at 2:00 in the morning. Luckily both boys slept almost the entire way and we had the IPOD to keep us entertained. I know, it sounds like a nightmare, but in an odd way it was a great time.

Lot's of posts today, sorry folks but when you find some time these days it's a minor miracle. Granted a lot of this craziness is self-imposed. In the middle of both of the boys being sick, Tanner being a newborn and Jake trying to potty train, we have also decided to....sell our house.

That's right, after all that hard work and remodeling, just when we got it all done (literally, I am doing touch up painting in the kitchen this weekend). We have discovered that the one thing that we can't do to this house is add on a backyard. Having a toddler and soon to be two, really made us re-evaluate what we need in a house. So after much soul searching and admitting that I have been right on this for a year now, Marisa agreed to look at moving.

We have put an offer in on another house is Livermore, that, surprise, surprise, needs some work. But it is a large house with a large lot, is in walking distance to an elemenatry, middle and high school, and will be big enough for all of our needs. I blame this habit of mine on my Uncle Rick, who was buying and fixing up houses my whole early childhood. I always thought that it was so cool that if it wasn't what you wanted, you just made it what you wanted. If you wanted a river in your backyard, you made one. If you wanted a hot tub off of the Master Bedroom, you put one in. I have always been able to look past what shape a house is in when I buy it and see it how I want it to be, and I think some of that comes from Uncle Ricks living construction projects that I was always playing in growing up. So thanks Uncle Rick....

We will try to keep the posts more regular as we go forward. But as you can imagine, with our lives, sh*@ happens. - Brian

Our Littlest Man

Here's Tanner (or TJ or Tiege, depending on who is reading this). He is getting so big so fast. He is a joy, truly. Still bald, still sleepy a lot of the time, but starting to smile and "play" much more. I am enjoying my time with him, as I go back to school in 5 1/2 weeks (but who's counting?). Don't tell Brian, but I think I may want a third! (only kidding... sort of!).

Potty Training Success!

Quite proud of himself, Jake poses by the potty for a picture commemorating the fact that he is officially on the road to being a BIG BOY. He has been wearing pull ups for a month now and stays dry all day. I can't tell you how little I miss changing those poopy diapers!!! I have to give a great deal of credit to Miss Julie- she did most of the training, sitting him on the potty every 20 minutes for several weeks. Still, Jake deserves the credit for making the decision to get it done. Not to be too graphic, but it is pretty amusing the urgency with which he tells me he has to " GO POOP! RIGHT NOW, MOMMY!" and the ensuing rush to the bathroom makes me feel like I have joined some sort of Mommy Club. He still resists wearing big boy underpants- despite the fact that we have sbout 15 pair in all sorts of his favorite designs- Bob Builder, Thomas, Elmo, etc.... Our deal is that he can have gum (something he has been wanting for at least a year now) when he wears his big boys and stays dry for a week. So far the bribe doesn't seem to be working, but we'll keep you posted! In any case, I am relieved to know that my son won't go to high school wearing a diaper. Now if we can only get him to give up that binky....

Something Tells Me It's All Happening at the Zoo...

After a bit of discussion and debate we decided to visit the SF Zoo on Sunday. It was a great decision! Neither of us had ever been there and we were pleasantly surprised at the beauty of the place and the atmosphere. The zoo is right on the ocean and very close to Golden Gate Park. The giraffes live side by side with the zebras and ostrich. Jake, however, only had eyes (and patience!) for one thing- the big cats. He seemed to be saying,"Yeah, yeah, yeah... the giraffe IS tall, Mommy, but let's get to the good stuff!" I have to hand it to him, the lions and tigers were truly impressive- one tiger was so close we could have reached out and touched it. Not that we would have wanted to, as it was growling as it passed by! Jake loved it. We also visited Pumba and Timon (a warthog and meerkat for those of you that haven't watched Lion King lately). Tanner slept the entire visit (that's him covered by the blanket on Brian's chest.). It was a beautiful day. We liked it so much, we bought a year membership so we can go back anytime.

Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay, so there were NO fireworks at our house on New Years Eve. With all of the rain we got that day and the day before, I ended up working until 9:00 or so on New Years Eve. Jake and Tanner were already asleep by the time I got home. I think Marisa and I talked for about 10 minutes and then both fell asleep as well. Our whole house was out before 10:00.

I think I heard a firework at around 12:30 or so, and we were up a few times during the night with both boys, but all in all a very quiet New Years Eve.

We had a very nice (quiet) New Years Day. I didn't have to work that day and we spent some good family time together. I have been working like a madman since with all of the claims that have come in because of the rains (we had a small roof leak ourselves at the house, but no major damage). We are still working our way out from under, I have a full crew out working a full day today (Saturday) just trying to catch up.

Marisa has had more nights alone with boys than she bargained for this last week, luckily Cori stayed over a couple of nights so that made things much easier.

I hope everybody had a safe, fun and happy New Year. Here is a wish for love, luck, happiness and health in 2006. - Brian

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

We had a wonderful holiday. We spent some time alone at home with the four of us (Sorry, Milo... I meant the FIVE of us!) in the early morning as we opened stockings and saw what Santa brought. Jake loved his new Spiderman Scooter. Then we headed to Auntie Sue's for a yummy-as-usual breakfast and gift opening frenzy.

Jake was subdued- definitely not his normal self- as he surveyed the scene. He liked opening a few presents, but soon tired of it and wanted to go outside and play baseball. I can't say I blame him as his Auntie Sue and Grandma Mary are quite the baseball players. Unfortunately it was raining that day, so baseball had to wait! He was given some great toys, but I think his favorite gift was the handmade blanket from Grandma. He has slept with it every night since and uses it to snuggle up with whenever he is tired or cranky or resting with a movie or on my lap with a book. I don't blame him- it is the coziest thing I have ever seen!

I can't speak for Tanner, but I think he had a good day, too. He slept. And slept. And slept some more.(Sounds like a blissful day to me!).

Brian andI had everything we needed for Christmas this year before we even opened a box....We enjoyed sharing the time with some of the people we love the most in this world- Auntie Sue, Mary, and our boys.

After a failed attempt at naps, we headed to Kim and Bill's house to see my side of the family to round out that list of "people we love most". We opened more presents, enjoyed a delicious meal (Two homecooked meals in one day... that's gotta be a record!), and talked and talked. Yoshi, and old and dear friend of mine, showed up unexpectedly from London and we had a chance to catch up after two years apart. He got to meet my two boys and see what life with small children is like.

At the end of the festivities we headed back home. Jake was exhausted- as were we all! It was truly a joyful day. Thanks to everyone that helped to make it so special.

- Marisa