All good things!

So, wow.  Another month flying by me.  I cannot believe tomorrow is the first day of May.  Seriously?!  April was a good - no make that a GREAT - month!  We sold our house and I was offered a job.  It seriously doesn't get any better than that - at least not for this family it doesn't.  

We went under contract April 4th and that was the same day I got the call that HELP wanted me to come out for a second interview.  Yes!  I scurried to put a game plan in place - was I going to drive or fly to Door County?

Casey suggested I call Maggie to see if she was up for a road trip (um, best husband ever?!).  So, I did.  And sure enough, she was in!  Pending work approval, of course.  

Maggie and I hit the open road on April 12th.  I picked her up from work at 3 PM and off we were.  We drove until 12:30 AM, then stopped in Omaha for a few winks (literally).  We were back on the road by 6 AM and made it to Door County just in time for cocktail hour!  

There was A LOT to cram in to 48 hours, so I had to act quick.  We had cocktails and dinner with Casey's parents before heading to Stone Harbor to meet some friends.  We had only planned on a couple of drinks (isn't that always the case?), but before we knew it was almost 2 AM and we needed to get some sleep.

We got up around 10 AM and mozied out of the house by Noon.  I took Maggie to Greystone Castle for lunch.  I just had to.  I knew Maggie would enjoy dining among "friends".  

Then we headed north and, of course, it was snowing!  We met up with my friend Paige and headed to the tower at Peninsula State Park.  75 feet up in the air and this is the best picture we could get...SO COLD!  I got to show Maggie most of the places I wanted to, but the weather was not good enough to get the full effect.  Now she has to come back and visit in August:)

Back at home, Casey was having a fun weekend with his boys.  They got up early Saturday to get their hairs cut and headed to the railroad museum in Golden.  A fun day for all!

LOVE, LOVE this photo!

I feel like I got a glimpse of what Milo will look like as a big kid in this photo;)

Sunday night we had a FaceTime date with Casey and the boys.  Technology is so awesome!  And I wish there was a way that I could convey that to my children now - they will just always think that being able to FaceTime is normal.  That is crazy!

Anyway, we had our FaceTime dinner and a few minutes later my phone rang.  Ian was calling me to say he lost his first tooth!!!  How exciting?!  His two front teeth have been loose for a few weeks now and we did a "tooth check" every day.  I didn't think he would lose them while I was gone though.  He was playing with a toy and it bounced up and knocked his tooth out.  He said it did not hurt.  What a big boy!

Ian's note to the Tooth Fairy

Monday I was off to my job interview bright and early.  Then I met up with Maggie and Mike for lunch.  I had another interview in the afternoon and then it was time to hit the road again.  What a whirlwind trip, but a great one!

Right before we hit the road, I got a text from Casey saying Ian lost a second tooth!  He was at Lily's and it just popped out.  Holy cow!  What a lucky boy...and a broke Tooth Fairy!

I made it home just in time for dinner on Tuesday night.  The picture above says it all I think.  I missed my boys so much.  Home is good.  Even if it is only my home for a few more days...

I received the call Thursday morning and was offered the job.  WooHoo!  Gainfully employed at last.  I start my new job on May 8th.  I am going to the Adult Advocate for HELP of Door County.  The boys and I leave on May 5th.  Casey will join us early June - he is staying to close out the house and pack everything up.  It will be a challenging first month, but once June rolls around we can all start to settle a bit.  

Easter 2013

Easter crept up on me this year (let's face it - everything is creepin' up on me these days!), but in true Courtney/Andrews fashion we pulled it off like it was nothin';)  We FINALLY had a revelation...put all the candy into one big bowl and then fill eggs.  Duh!  It was truly a moment when you stop and ask yourself, "Why in the world did I never do it this way before?!"  So, ta-da...Easter Mix 2013 was born.  Yummy!

Our Realtor, David Lorraine, invited us to Boulder for an eggstravaganza that he puts on for his community every year.  We have heard stories, but never been able to make it in person.  It worked out perfectly and kept the boys busy while we had to be out of the house.  They have been troopers, but that is a hard part about selling a home when you have small kids.  Fortunately, there was candy involved so it wasn't like they were going to put up a fight.

This is Martin Acres Park.  You can't tell in this picture, but the grass is full of Easter eggs just waiting to be gobbled up by little kids.  They had it sectioned off by age, which I thought was a good idea.  The playground was for the smaller kids (0-2) and it went all the way up to 6+.  

We arrived a few minutes early, so I entertained the kids on the playground while Casey helped Dave finalize the set up.  It wasn't long before the neighborhood kids/parents started to trickle in.

And they are off...let the hunting begin!

Casey tagged along with Ian and I stayed back to help Milo.  Neither of my boys have been to a true Easter egg hunt before.  They have always just been in our backyard.  I soon realized they really weren't sure what they should be doing.  Ha!  Milo had to inspect each one before moving on to the other and Ian only wanted to get green eggs.  They had fun though!

They had a water balloon slingshot competition.  Casey helped Dave out with the whole thing, so Ian got to do a few test runs before it began.  Fun!

We woke up early on Sunday to find that sure enough, the Easter Bunny came while we were sleeping.

Later that day, the Courtney family joined us for an Easter celebration.  Usually they are only able to join us for the egg hunt, but this year they were able to dine with us as well.  It was lovely!  We had a traditional Easter meal - ham, cheesy potatoes, green beans...it was delicious.  The best part were Kate's beautiful cupcakes.  She has got some skills in the baking/frosting department, wouldn't you say?

Milo is ready to get right in there this time.  Don't you love his Easter outfit?  Ha!

Not the best picture of Ian, but I wanted to include him:)  He was too busy munching away on his candy to let me get a good picture of him.  

Ella is so cute in her Easter dress.  I wanted that headband!  Sadly, I wasn't able to get a picture of Ava.  She has been good at "escaping me" the last few times we have hung out.  But I promise she was there.  The kids ate as much candy as they could before we cut them off.  It was a fun day in all, but definitely had its' challenging moments.  I guess that is what you should expect from a day that starts and ends with candy:) 

There have been many changes on the home front.  We are under contract and hope to close on our house at the end of May.  These last few weeks have been an absolute roller coaster of emotions.  I am leaving today for Wisconsin.  I have 2 job interviews on Monday and we shall see what that brings.  Many fun, sad, exciting, scary times ahead for this lil' family.  I will do my best to keep you updated...

and on that note, I will leave you with Milo's cute "cheese" face.