On route to Colorado: stopover in Memphis!

Hurray, we are on our way, and Memphis is ON the way!

On July 26th we headed out from Durham with a packed car and lots of road trip supplies, and after a long day we made it to the Brinks' house in Memphis. What a great way to celebrate along the way with this big move!

One morning we visited the Memphis Botanic Garden, which has an amazing 'family garden' called "My Big Backyard", with tons of interesting spaces to play and explore. I think we could have happily camped out there for a week - it helped that the weather was so pleasant and not too hot during our entire visit.

Gemma loves hula hoops

That evening Noah grilled up some delicious bruschetta pizza. (Thanks to Katie for the bruschetta and pizza dough! They're a good team.)
 

Elsie and Gemma enjoying a treat of chocolate pudding. I think they actually look like cousins in this picture!!

Meanwhile the boys helped with dishes.

Another morning - another chance to play! This time at the Shelby Farms "Woodland Discovery playground". I think this ranks as one of the coolest playgrounds ever. And off go Elsie and Gemma!
 

the girls riding in a nest swing

Since we had just seen the Brinks up in Wheaton last month, it was really neat to see how the cousins enjoyed being together again, and particularly how well Elsie and Gemma are learning to play together. (Not without screaming moments, of course...) The winning shared activity was Legos!! Isn't there scientific research on Legos and brain development in children? Oh yes. I'm so glad Gemma has reached this age!
 

David looking particularly happy after half-tackling his sister

Meanwhile, Timo hung out at the musical table.

Oh hey, we even managed to get a photo of all 8 of us! With all adults smiling and no kids crying!
 

The attempt to get a photo of the kids sitting on the 'photo op' couch. (yes, both Gemma and Elsie had just undressed, so Katie drapped a little towel on their laps. Yes, the parents were wildly clapping and singing to get these smiles. And yes, Jim took about 20 photos.)

Thank you, thank you, Brink family, for a great time together!!

Good-bye to Durham

A little bit more looking back - 

It's the last week of July: the moving truck is packed; lots of stuff has been sold on craigslist as we continue to downsize; we've moved out of the basement apartment and are staying our final days with Dad & Mom Hawkins...time for one final date (coffee and a croissant in downtown Durham - just the two of us) before we depart. 

Naturally, we had to go rub the Bull's nose and take a picture in front of 'Major', an iconic piece of the "Bull City", the name for Durham originally taken from Bull Durham Tobacco company.

Below, selecting a few delicious items from Loaf, one of my favorite newer bakeries downtown. They have a huge brick oven in the bakery that you can observe. And the most amazing gougère (peppery cheese puffs) - and they even sell Nanaimo bars!! Of course we got one of each of those, plus some yummy flatbreads to share with everyone else back at 1406. Fun fact: did you know we had homemade (by Mom) Nanaimo bars at our wedding reception in 2001?

 

Another catch-up - water fun!!

 Warning: lots of bare skin in this post!

Durham finally got some hot, humid days towards the end of July, so the cousins did enjoy some water fun together (while moms sipped iced tea on the sidelines). One afternoon, Rachel let Asher and Gemma use the water hose to cool down. It was hilarious!

Asher had the hose - and very good aim! Much to Gemma's delight.

On another humid morning, we took a trip to the Museum of Life & Science "one last time" to see our favorite exhibits and say good-bye before the move. We already miss this museum A LOT. Gemma asks almost daily, "And are we going to find a new museum in Colorado?"

One of the most amazing & creative exhibits is the outdoor exhibit on mist. There are small sprinklers that come up out of the ground and spray a fine mist, and kids can run through them freely. It's like a child's dream come true!

We didn't capture it very well on camera (it was crowded inside), but Gemma of course wanted to see the astronauts and lunar exhibits one more time. It was because of this exhibit that she has become fascinated by astronauts and the moon and planets. Here she is with Jim in front of the lunar module (an authentic lunar lander prototype used in Apollo 15 preparations - so cool!).

Another favorite place in Durham is Duke Gardens, so we took a farewell trip one morning along with a picnic. (See, isn't it great, all the family stuff we can do when Jim isn't working?! What a terrific way to close out our months of "what is next???"). The Gardens are extensive and we could happily spend years there, learning all the plants and seeing them change throughout the seasons. Being summer, there were plenty of beautiful flowers blooming (but, being summer, it was hard to photograph them in the bright sun) on this visit.

Jim & Gemma crossing over a little creek

One more photo - and it's Timo, who has learned how to pull up in the crib! And anything else he can grab! (I think it is quite apt that the "Ethiopia, 13 months of Sunshine" poster is behind Timo, as we prepare shortly to move to "Colorful Colorado, 300 days of Sunshine a Year".)

Catching up on summer-times

Yes, we are safely moved in and residing in Colorado Springs!! The last few weeks have been tiring and very busy, so we've had a hiatus from blogging. But slowly now we will try to get back into it...so here's a post catching up on some summer fun with family (with the Weltys in town for 2+ weeks). 

...back in early July: The Weltys, Freys and Giesers (and our 7 kids) were able to get away for a couple of nights in Montreat, NC, thanks to kind friends loaning us their two cabins. (And then the Weltys stayed on longer, meeting up with friends.) Even though it was quite rainy, we had a good time seeing this little community and enjoying the 'mountainous rainforest' that Montreat is! And maybe next time our kids will be old enough and the weather will be nice enough for some hiking. And drop by to say hello to Billy Graham, of course.

three cousins within 6 months of age - and playing together well!

Timo shows off some chub and relaxes with Auntie

Ice cream for Gemma and a napkin for Timo (this boy loves to eat paper)

a view of little Lake Susan, though the rain

Craig and Rachel and Lillian cooked up some delicious stromboli

Mountains. Mustaches. Yeah.

Back in Durham - Timo started crawling!! (8 1/2 months old) No more sitting idly by while Gemma dances and plays and runs. Watch out, Timo's coming, too!

July 14th was our 12th anniversary!! After putting the kids to bed, we headed out to American Tobacco campus downtown for an al fresco Cuban dinner. Lovely. (oh, don't worry, Jaja graciously stayed with the sleeping children.) And lovely to sit together and reflect on the last year - birth of Timo, selling our home in Bloomington, moving to Durham open-endedly, job-searching, Jim's graduation, and now the anticipation of a job & new life in Colorado Springs.

 

who knew old tobacco warehouses could look some dreamy?

Soon after, we had to say good-bye to the Weltys, and they continued their cross-country trip (up to Maryland, then Connecticut, then Ohio, & then home to Texas).

Wait, don't forget to get a photo of the three sisters!