June Pictures

Carson had to present a paper at a conference he couldn't physically attend, so he set this up in the classics library at school. He texted me this picture, and I'm not really sure if he had it on timer and took it or if someone took it for him, but I'm glad it's documented. Please take note of his get up - business on top, shorts and sneakers on the bottom. 

I've been going for walks sometimes in the evenings by myself at the park and I love it. I play a podcast and just walk and run stairs and it's very relaxing. 

People use the bank parking lot at night to go to bars and restaurants, so I guess someone had an after party one night because we arrived at work to see this.

Wanted to do something fun for the front door, so I painted this $2 round board, glued some ribbon to it, and done. I used a chalk marker to write with and then painted over it, because I wasn't sure if the chalk marker would run or rub off.

Can't win 'em all: along with our salmon and salad, we had some tator tots.

Make your own pizza with the Kings!

We went for a walk around Cascades at night.

Beach day! I had a day off work and it was sunny, so we headed out to St George.

A former roommate of mine tagged me in a post about popcorn making, because we used to make it on the stove all the time in college. So I started craving popcorn.

June 11 marked four years since we lost our first baby. FOUR! He or she would have been due in January of 2013, so this garnet birthstone would have been his or hers.

I FaceTimed with Jillian, Gracie and Wren one day. The girls are getting so big!

Went to a going away party for a coworker at Midtown Caboose. It was as good as people said it would be, but the service was SLOW. Would still go back. 

I worked a week at another branch and that was also slow.

We learned how to play Ticket to Ride, thanks to our friends the Kings. It's the Europe edition and we loved it. We met with them for dinner a few times this month and have played it three times!

Happy Father's Day, Dad!

Yep, that would put me to sleep too. 

So, packing is going well. This was a different day than the above picture but Carson never stops wearing that one shirt.

We had the Kings over for dinner one night and threw some things on the grill. A very summery - and tasty - dinner!

Pretty sunset at Cascades Park

The "running late to work" look. I asked Carson to take a picture of my hair so I could see it. He thought it looked too messy and I said that was the point... let's hope I pulled it off like it was intentional. 

Finally joined the library. We've been meaning to since we moved here.

Oops.

Dinner Carson made. Love our little $5 Craigslist grill.

I went to Downtown Thomasville with Christina one afternoon to explore. It was a short but fun afternoon!

The blood drive truck was parked next to our car after church and I have never donated before and always felt a little guilty about that, because I have a universal donor type. So I suggested that we donate. They stuck my right arm and it wasn't going fast enough so they had to switch to my left. It hurt, but didn't bruise too much afterward. I really really hate needles so I sort of regretted doing this as I was doing it, but now I'm glad, and I think I won't be too afraid to donate again. 

Definitely didn't want to go anywhere afterward though because I looked ridiculous.

Went to Goodwill looking for suitcases (success, surprisingly) and found this gem. Gee, wonder why it ended up at a thrift store?

I went to SkyZone, a trampoline park in Tallahassee, with some of my coworkers. We had points to use for work and so this is what we chose to do. It was more of a workout than we expected, and everyone was sore the next day, but it was really fun too!

Afterward we still had money to use so we went to BJs and had dinner. The pizooki was the best part. 

So much rain this month!

I just thought this sign was worded funny.

Pitaria - amazing. 

Oh, what a deal!

How Do I Do This Again?

Despite the fact that I have moved cities every two years since 2008 (in 2010 we moved to Central Washington and then back to Spokane, so it holds if you're doing the math), I am not great at packing. 

I am a champion list maker, but actually putting things into the boxes I've categorized on paper? Not easy. There's the sorting, the fitting into the boxes, finding the right size box in the first place, and also the part where you have a bunch of boxes sitting around everywhere. If I had the money, I would be sorely tempted to hire a professional organizer/packer. 

Do you do this too? You're sorting through things to move and suddenly find a box of letters and cards from high school and suddenly you're in a black hole of old memories. Two hours have passed and all that was accomplished was a not-so-satisfying mess and a slightly smaller stack of letters you're hanging on to for ten more years (I did this two days ago).

Every move we've taken has been done very differently. In 2008, I moved from South Carolina to Spokane with some suitcases and shipped boxes of things I didn't need. In 2010, we stuffed our car full of possessions from Spokane to Naches, and on the way back from Naches to Spokane, we had to take two trips (wedding gifts) in that same Civic. In 2012 from Spokane to Cleveland, we sold everything that did not fit into a box or suitcase and shipped our belongings by train, packed that same poor Civic full, and drove. From Ohio to Tallahassee we decided that getting rid of furniture and having to buy new things was more expensive than renting a truck, plus we somehow accumulated a LOT because we lived in a house that had actual space and also had two bedrooms and a basement, so we rented a truck. 

Loading a Civic down is not going to work for our trip to Germany, so we are doing something new and storing everything. After four years, we plan to part with some things, like our trusty Target bookshelves, and a few other things we use but don't love, but for the most part it's all going into a 10x10 space (and we hope it fits. I have no concept of how large or small that actually is). We plan to take two suitcases each, which sounds excessive and cumbersome until we remember we are going to be there for a year and we don't want to have to rebuy things we already own, like boots, just because they're bulky.

Anyway, I'm a little overwhelmed about how in the world to pack for a trip like this. In the past, we've packed sort of haphazardly, because in the three or four days the moving process has taken in the past, we haven't forgotten that the silverware is mixed in with the towels and socks are in with the pots and pans (full disclosure: I do not pack like that. In my desperate last minute rush to clear out our homes, I mainly throw things away, while Carson stuffs everything in sight into one box, so we will open one with pencils, someone else's slippers - happened last move - whatever was in the dryer, the toothpaste, trash bags, and  a half-full bottle of water). This time though, I am going to follow the cardinal rule of moving which is LABEL EVERYTHING. I think it's right up there with starting early and getting rid of absolutely everything you haven't used in the last year and don't foresee using. 

We will see how it goes, but so far our evenings have been far too relaxing and far too empty of actual moving progres. Five weeks until we leave Tallahaseee (six left in the States.)

Gulp.

Christina's 30th!

Our friend Christina celebrates her birthday at Level 8 at Hotel Duval downtown, so we got to join this year for the celebration!

We went to birthday dinner at Azu with the Kings and the Holmes before meeting everyone at the hotel. It was our first time and it was delicious (and if we're being honest here, we knew where it was because it's in the same shopping center as the Pizza Hut we go to and Pizza Hut usually wins for us classy folk). Carson ordered for me and it was a LOT of food.

They brought out a fun birthday dessert!

We got to Level 8 right after Josh and Christina and loved the view. The temperature has been either rainy or heat in the 100s, but it was a beautiful night with the perfect temperature. Rare but very nice. Christina thought up this picture and I think it's really neat. She took the panorama halfway, and then I stepped in and did the other half on her phone.

You can see rain way off in the distance, as well as a neat view of the city. Florida State campus and stadium are to the left of the blue building in the middle of the picture.

It really was an enjoyable evening.