Made it to Kansas

These posts have been a long time coming. It is just difficult to take the time to sort through the pictures when there are a million little things to do around our house now that we have finally made it to Michigan. My goal is to try and let the pictures do the talking of how much fun we had while in Kansas but we'll see how that goes. I always think of stories and want to write about them once I get started.

Taking a flight with Lupin in tow wasn't nearly as difficult as we thought it was going to be. We had a direct flight and the plane wasn't that full so we did pretty well (except for the time I unzipped his carrier to pet him and he almost made a run for it).

After getting picked up from the airport we went to Kevin's cousin's house for dinner in K.C.. It was great getting to see Valerie, Paul, and the kids.

Paul, Valerie, Kevin, Patti

Cal was sick the last time we saw the family so I think this was the first time we got to meet the baby of the family.

Emmalyn, Luke, and Cal

Were able to see Adell when we got to Topeka. She's changed so much since we saw her at 2 weeks old. Such a cutie!

Poor Hailie was sick when we first got there so I stayed with her for a couple of days since she couldn't go to school. Seth felt fine and was stoked to climb all over Kevin.

Mr Monkey Man

Once Hailie was feeling better she was ready to mess with Kevin. Too bad he woke up before she had a chance to draw on his face.

Seth turned 9 the week before we arrived so we had to have a belated birthday celebration.

Happy birthday Seth!

Before heading to an ugly sweater party I had fun hanging out with the family. We'd been busy Christmas shopping all week since we hadn't done much at all before getting to Kansas. It was nice to have plenty of relaxing family time.

I loved the collection of 'Ugly Sweaters' picked out by Kevin and his brothers. Yes, James is wearing a Christmas tree skirt.

We opened presents Christmas Eve morning. Here Hailie is sporting several of her gifts. It's a pretty interesting combination.

A little later we headed back over to the Kent's to celebrate the holiday. I just loved this picture.

Adell doesn't get any attention when she is over there.

The dogs don't get any attention either.

Lupin was in for a little shock since he's never been around dogs before. Jackie just wanted to play with him but he wouldn't have anything to do with it. 

Christmas out at the farm was wonderful. Getting to see all the family and catch up. Kevin also got to see the Watkin's family when he headed out to their land to shoot guns with his brothers. Overall a wonderful Christmas.

Another one of my favorite pictures.

Last Weekend in California

Other than going to the aquarium our last weekend was focused on just spending as much time with Brian and Moria as possible. These two have been such wonderful friends to us over the years and we are going to miss them so much. Luckily for us Moria is from Michigan and her grandparents still live in the state so it will be easier for us to get them out here to visit!

Walk on campus

 Brian was determined to get the tap he received for Christmas the year before onto his fridge. He brews his own beer and now that he has the tap his setup is complete. Kevin has helped with the brewing a time or two so it was cool that he could help get the tap setup. 

Beer masters!

 We are so thankful that we were able to stay at the Brian and Moria B&B. (I know Lupin is grateful too although he has trouble expressing himself). It was a tight squeeze but it was nice being able to stay there with them rather than having to try and find a hotel that took cats. Plus...what hotels would make you delicious quiche and french toast?

Sleepover!

 On our last evening in California we went out to eat at The Fish Market. We walked over and enjoyed a wonderful fish dinner. It was a great night and only reminded us of how much we are going to miss these guys.

We are so thankful for Brian and Moria and the years of wonderful friendship. We've had a lot of fun over the years and we will always cherish our time at Stanford them. Luckily we know our friendship will continue and we look forward to seeing them in March! 

Monterey Bay Aquarium

 After returning from Michigan we had one day before the movers came. Having someone else pack up all your stuff is a little strange but also wonderful at the same time. One of us had to be there at all times 'overseeing' the activities so we took turns running errands. Moria kept us company for some of the time and we just hung out on the steps outside the apartment and watched. (You're not allowed to help for liability reasons). Once they finished early that evening we started the clean up of our apartment. We got most of the big stuff done that evening thanks to Moria's help and Kevin and I came back early the next morning to finish up before having the manager come over for the walk through. By lunch time we were done and out of the apartment! 

With just the weekend remaining there was one major thing we had left to do which was finally going to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. I have been wanting to go here for years but since Kevin isn't a big fan of aquariums we had never made it. Both Brian and Moria had been once before but luckily they were willing to go again with us.

Finally at the Aquarium!

I could barely contain my excitement of making it at last! This aquarium is supposedly one of the best in the world and has even had Great White Sharks on occasion. The last one they had was released on Nov 1st so we didn't get to see it. Kevin and I read a  book a few years ago about Great Whites near the Farallon Island's  (11 miles west of San Francisco) called 'Devil's Teeth'. The book was fascinating and it would have been amazing to see one.

 The Jellyfish exhibit was particularly amazing. They use these special tanks that aid in the suspension of the jellyfish. The music they had playing along with the dimmed lights made for a beautiful exhibit. 

 After the Jellyfish we headed over to check out the Sea Horse exhibit. It too was incredible. I'd never seen one in real life before and it was really fun to watch them float through the water and hold themselves in place with their tails.

Here is another one of my favorite Sea Horses. 

Once we'd checked out the sea otters at the feeding presentation we were a little hungry ourselves. We walked a short distance to the Cannery Row Brewery Company and enjoyed sitting outside next to the fire pits. Being able to sit outside in December comfortably is something we will definitely miss!

Not to mention the ocean.

The last time Brian and Moria were at the aquarium the penguin exhibit was closed for remodeling so I think they were excited to get to see them this time. It was really fun to watch them waddling around and 'yelling' or whatever you call the noise that penguins make.

Penguin Love!

Our day at the aquarium was a wonderful way to spend our second to last day in California and Kevin even admitted that it was actually pretty cool. 

Stanford Goodbyes

The month of December meant starting to say a lot of goodbyes around Stanford. It is so strange to be saying goodbye after seeing so many of these people on and off over the last five plus years. Since Colin is from outside of Toronto we're hoping we can drive up there this summer to see him for a weekend when he is back visiting his family.

Brian, Kevin, and Colin

We had to say goodbye a little early to Andi since she was headed back to Canada earlier in the month. I'm sad that we only  were able to start spending time together this year, but we're happy for the time that she was in California. She'll be missed so hopefully we'll see her this summer too.

Andi, Moria, Cara

Dennis was leaving while we were in Michigan so before we left we took some time to go out to lunch. Dennis  has become such a good friend to us over the years and we're hoping to works out to see him soon too. His girlfriend is looking at doing her residency in the Chicago area so I'm secretly hoping he finds work in the area once he finishes at Stanford...only a 6 hour drive away! We will also miss James the Aussie and his inability to say his own last name properly. (You try saying 'Walker' with an Australian accent...doesn't work well)

Dennis, Kevin, and James

A guy in Kevin's lab (Bob) wanted to hold a fire breathing demonstration. Yes you head me right. He also asked for volunteers to try it. Kevin was excited to go for it.

They practiced spewing water first to get the technique down and then went live with the mineral oil. It was amazing to watch!

Gave us a chance to see Jason which is always a treat. 

Jason, Brett, and Kevin

The men of Lokey. We headed over to the Lokey Chemistry building to grab something from our friend Matt. While we were there all these other guys stopped by to see Kevin (they work in the building and couldn't resist heading over)

Matt, James, Jeff, Kevin, Arun, and Mark

There were so many people Kevin and I wanted to see before heading out we decided it would be easier to have them all come to us at the same time. Therefore, we invited everyone to come out to The Nuthouse and we were able to see lots of wonderful faces.

                        

       Scotty! We're going to miss you!

                       

     Pratik, Jeff, Brett, Kevin, Brian, and Josh

Cara, Moria, Lindsie

A Kansas native group shot!

Kevin, Laura, Cara

It was great getting to chat with so many people. There were others there also but I had to cut a few photos to try and get caught up. This was originally two separate posts and had to be condensed down to one. We're going to miss everyone so much!

Visiting Midland

Early in December we finally got to make our trip out to Midland together to find a place to live. We were both excited to spend a little time in our new city before actually moving there. 

We took a red eye and arrived in Flint, MI on Sunday morning. From there we rented a car and drove the hour or so to Midland. After napping we took some time to check out downtown Midland. While we were there we had to check out the Tridge!

The Tridge!

 During our 2 1/2 days there we also were able to head over to Dow Gardens. Even though there weren't as many plants to see it was still fun checking out the area. We're excited to head back in the spring to see more...including the butterfly exhibit.

Hanging out in Dow Gardens

 On one of our days in Midland we were picked up by the real estate agent to go and look at houses. She had already emailed us the links to the places we would be visiting and we had it down to two places although we looked at 7 different houses. It was a little overwhelming...I'm glad we aren't buying right now. We ended up choosing the house we had at the top of our list! 

Our new rental house

 I didn't take any pictures of any of the houses but after putting in our application we went back to this house to at least get a few photos of the outside to show people. It is a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom house with an unfinished basement. There is also a fireplace which is a major plus. 

The house also has a small backyard with a decent sized deck for us. I'm hoping that the grill and fire pit stay there. It will be so nice to have more space. We had definitely outgrown our 2 bedroom apartment. The rent for this house is also cheaper then what we were paying which is a definite bonus. Once we get settled in January I'll be sure to get some pictures of the the inside posted. We're going to have to buy some more furniture to fill this thing but I'm up for the task!

It was a very fast trip to Michigan but it was a relief to finally know where we will be living! We take over the lease on January 18th and our stuff will be delivered on the 19th. I'm just glad we don't have to unload the truck in the snow. (In case I haven't mentioned before it is amazing having someone else pack up all your stuff)