I have a lot to write about but no time to do it. So here's a quick summary of recent news.
Disneyland: We spent April 21-25 at Disneyland with Carol's parents, then went to my parents' in Palm Desert until the 29th. We had an absolutely fantastic time. We were a little concerned that Charlotte might be too young, but she wasn't. The girls were far more adventurous than we hoped and went on many, many rides. Charlotte loved the Haunted Mansion. Audrey loved Buzz Lightyear. They both loved Winnie the Pooh. Then it was relaxing to be at my parents' home and Audrey spent a lot of time in the pool.
Audrey: While living in the pool on vacation Audrey decided that putting her head under water was fun. That's quite a breakthrough. Once she figured out it wasn't scary she couldn't do it enough. She was very excited to show off her new skill at her next swim lesson at the YMCA after we got home.
Charlotte: The day after we got home from vacation Charlotte decided to learn a new skill: pumping herself on the swing. She's also excited about her new ability and loves to show it off.
House: Before we went to Disneyland I wrote that we had listed the house. That happened on April 7 and we received and accepted a good offer on April 17. All contingencies have now been removed and we close on May 22. Then we rent the house back until June 20.
Moving: Which means we have a definitive move date. That's right, we'll drive away from Seattle on June 19. Carol and I both had a good bout of sadness about the move when we got back from vacation but now we're reconciled to it again. I'm sure we'll feel it again as it gets closer.
Road Trip: We've been playing with the idea of driving to Boston in our Vanagon camper. We have now made the decision to do it. We've mapped out a two-week itinerary that takes us to Yellowstone (I've never been), Mt. Rushmore, across Nebraska and Iowa (two of the five remaining states I've never been to), Chicago (home of my Uncle Gary and Aunt Kathy), Detroit (home of my Aunt Charlotte and my cousins Andre and Renee), then Philadelphia, New York City and finally Boston on July 4. The longest day in our plan is about 8 hours of driving, most are 4-6 hours. We'll take lots of breaks at small town playgrounds. I'm having a bunch of work done on the van to address the most likely problems before they occur.
School: This semester of school has not been enjoyable. I had one fairly easy class (Project Management) and one very hard and time-consuming class (Molecular Modeling). I took the final exam for the former class while in Palm Desert and the final for the latter is in about two hours. I have one class remaining to take and had planned to take it in Summer semester and receive my masters in August. But last night in bed with Carol I decided to cancel Summer semester and take the class in the Fall. I could do it while driving across country but I'd rather just move and get settled without the stress of school. It's quite a relief to have made that decision.
Boston House: Carol and I go to Boston May 12-18 to look for a house there. We have been doing a lot of research online and have several areas identified as good targets. We're very decisive, so we expect to buy a house during this trip. If all goes well and that happens, our household goods can go straight from our Seattle house to our Boston house and will never see storage, and we won't have to live in temporary housing.
That's it for now. Time to get to work and take my final.
I have tons of Disneyland video to edit and photos to post, but that's going to have to wait until we get back from Boston.