Having waited so long to post, I keep feeling like I need to post something really momentous and "worth it." Too much pressure! So, here are the random thoughts on my mind at the moment and I am going to post them no matter what so that I can get into my rhythm again.

We moved. We left Ann Arbor (sniff, sigh) on August 1st for some serious road tripping (if you think you were on our route, but we missed you, please don't hate us! We had several family commitments and movers to coordinate and we did our best. We'll catch you the next time around). One highlight was Nauvoo and the pageant there put on by the LDS church. It was fantastic! My goodness, was I impressed. My expectations were a little low, since I have seen the Hill Cumorah pageant many times and found it a little cheesy. This was my favorite of the pageants I've seen. And the spirit in Nauvoo is just so wonderful. I bought a couple of books there which I am planning to read someday soon to learn what I ought to know about our church's history. While we were there, we ran into a couple of people we know from Ann Arbor who were working the pageant as volunteers. That was fun.

Lots of fun stops along the way, and one stop that was the least fun I've had in recent memory. We were in Claremont Oklahoma, a couple of days into our trip, when Dirk woke up and realized that he had forgotten to post the third day of his bar exam. The CA bar is three days long. Participants write out the test on their laptops and are supposed to post the their work after leaving the testing center. Dirk took his test that third day and flew back to Ann Arbor that evening and forgot to post his work by the deadline. I don't think I can really describe the sickening feeling of having sacrificed for a summer to study and study and then have your work not be accepted. Or, even worse, to be the person's wife who must anticipate another four or five months of bar study, not to mention thinking that aforementioned husband could have hung around to help with the move if it wasn't going to count anyway :) We thought all was lost, and it probably is, but Dirk wrote up a very impressive petition to have his work accepted anyway and we'll see what happens. I have no expectation of success, since they are real sticklers. But at least he gave it his best effort. Honestly, it didn't seem like as big a deal as I thought it should. Everything has worked out so perfectly up until now, we were due for a bump in the road.

I also have to publicly apologize to Dirk, because I think I said something at my last book club in Ann Arbor about how he was useless for driving on road trips. In fact, he drove most of the way and didn't fall asleep once! It's the GPS in the new van; he says it makes him feel a sense of accomplishment as the nice lady tells him where to go and shows the milestones and how much longer is left, etc.

So, we arrived here on August 21st, rushing to meet the movers, who then didn't show up for another week and a half. Really. We camped out and went to the beach and Sea World and I painted most of the house. It was actually kind of fun. Then, on Dirk's first day of work, they came! Now all I have to do is unpack!

That's all for now. As soon as I find the camera and the USB cable at the same time, I will upload some pictures of the chickadees.