Hello all! It's been quite a while since my last post, but we've been pretty busy lately. However, there's certainly a lot to update everyone on. We finally got a chance to both go back to the east coast a few weeks ago for VACATION! It was much needed after everything that's been going on over the past few months, and it was great to see family and friends. We spent the first weekend with my parents who were in the process of moving so they were staying at a friends house near Chapel Hill. The house was way out in the country and being able to sit on the screened-in porch was incredibly relaxing. We then spent the next week at the beach with Cari's family (Ocean Isle, NC). The weather was great all week, we ate some amazing seafood...and a lot of it, and I owned my in-laws in golf (haha...not really). We came back to Chapel Hill the following weekend, stopping in Rocky Mount to see some good friends and their adorable new baby. I also got the chance to see my sister on Sunday before we left! Overall, it was an excellent trip...awesome to see everybody and also incredibly relaxing.
Albuquerque has been treating us pretty well, although the weather has been pretty stifling. Luckily, the humidity is not nearly what it is back east, so I don't really mind the dry heat too much. We've tried a couple new restaurants, namely the Genghis Grill, which is a Mongolian style grill (fill a bowl with whatever meat, veggies, starch and seasoning you want and they cook it for you). It was a great experience and excellent atmosphere. We also tried the Blue Cactus Grill, a small local New Mexican restaurant, where I discovered Chile Relleno. I know, not a new dish or anything, but amazing nonetheless. Finally, we recently went to an Albuquerque Isotopes baseball game. They are the minor league affiliate to the LA Dodgers and played a pretty good game, beating Nashville 8-4. The ballpark was quite a bit bigger than we expected, although the food was definitely nothing to brag about. Overall, we enjoyed it!
In other news, for those who don't know, Cari has officially accepted and started a preschool teaching position with Head Start. She's spent the past two weeks in orientations and trainings and also getting to know the people she's working with. She'll be head teacher for about twenty 3-5 year olds with the help of a teacher's assistant. Things have been pretty hectic as a result of the limited time she's had to set up her classroom and get things ready, but the kids come tomorrow, so we're praying for things to go well. Also, we've completed our "Knowing Christ, Knowing the Church" class at Desert Springs Church. It's been a joy gettin to know more about the church we're thinking of attending, but it's also been challenging for us to work through some issues and discuss some "hot topics" in the church. We've also made quite a few friends there, which is definitely a positive for being in a new place and trying to get connected into such a large church.
The next couple months will be pretty busy with my continued work and Cari's new job. Belle won't know what to do with herself, but I'm sure she'll manage :) We'll be back on the east coast a couple times this fall (me for a fishing trip with my best bud, Jon and for work, and both of us for Jon and Megan's wedding!). We're not sure how much we'll get to see people while we're there, but once the new year hits, I'll have more vacation time...so hopefully we'll be able to spend a little more time with family and friends back home. Also, Cari and I are hoping to get away next summer...somewhere tropical, all-inclusive...so any suggestions/ideas are much appreciated. Love you guys!!
