We're Officially Becoming Coloradans-BUT not for almost a year, so no worries.

It's official! Jon interviewed with Stockman, Kast, Ryan, & Co. last week when we were in the Springs, and he was offered the job on Monday. They gave him until the end of the week to respond and he let them know today that he was going to accept the position. So, WE ARE MOVING TO COLORADO SPRINGS--but not until next August!

Jon is really excited about the company. They were some of the nicest people that he interviewed with, so that's a plus. Also, most of the partners have worked for one the "Big Four" accounting firms. They are the big, momma, johommas that make good money (about 5 thousand more starting out) but work insane hours (like 60-70+ hours/week during the busy season which can last up to 6 months)and burn out really fast as a result. So the nice thing about the fact that all the partners have done this kind of work, is that they really appreciate overtime and try to compensate their employees for it. Jon will get paid for every hour about 40 that he works. This is VERY uncommon in the accounting world.

Also, he won't have much of a commute to work. The company is in downtown, but that will not be nearly as intense as Denver. Maybe 20 minutes, maybe 30 on a really busy day at the most, which is a big plus, considering Denver's commute is about an hour. The cost of living is much lower there too and there's plenty of opportunity for me to get a job, go back to school, etc.

So we are super excited about it and look forward to getting more "settled." It's just another bit of fun to add to this already exciting time in our lives!

Pictures

Garden of the Gods.
More of the Garden, which is about 15 minutes from the middle of town.

The trees were still changing there.

View of Pikes Peak, although not the best picture.

Jon and I asked Justin to take a picture of us. This is what we got.

Jon's always climbing on something!

Boys!

The girls and I posing by the rock. The girls had been watching a couple of guys climb the side of one of the rocks for at leas 30 minutes by the time I got there.

The boys trying to look tough.

Weekend Trip

Jon and I had a great time with our old pals last weekend. We got to spend time with people, some of whom we haven't seen since before we moved to Wyoming. It was great to get to see them and do a little exploration of Colorado Springs. I hadn't been there before so it was kind of fun to check things out. I was actually exploring for a different reason...this was during the time that Jon was interviewing for a job (more on that later). It was a beautiful town. Pikes Peak is right there, Garden of the Gods is about ten minutes from downtown, and there are literally mountains on three sides. I was impressed with that, I have to say! We all went to Garden of the Gods one of the days and had a great time, although I am pretty sure that we were breaking the rules because we were technically climbing on the rocks. I have lots of pictures that will be coming just as soon as I can find the cord that connects my camera to the computer!!!

Snug as a Bug in a Rug

This week was an eventful week baby wise. I think I am starting to "pop out." They say it happens, and I do believe that I am there. I wore some of my favorite pants to work yesterday, and found that they were practically cutting off the circulation between the waste down and the upper half of my body. They were one of the only pairs of dress slacks that I had left that I could wear comfortably, and they were officially retired last night. Pant-wise, I am down to one pair of jeans and two pairs of corduroy pants (same pant, same color, so really it's just one pair). Shirts seem to be fine, especially since I am able to wear some sweater...they just have more room. I am prepared with a few pairs of maternity pants, however I may have to shop for some more over the weekend, if it really is true that I am going to make the switch. So, while most women would dread this stage or perhaps be indifferent, I am excited. Maybe for the first time I will actually look pregnant, rather than just appear to have gained ten pounds of belly fat in the last two weeks. Plus, I am looking forward to looking cute and prego, so that is always exciting. Friends and family that will see me in the next few months, be prepared! Baby Haddy is saying hello to the world!

Stinking Whole Foods

I had never been to a Whole Foods grocery store until last weekend. I had read about these sodas that are recommended for pregnancy because they have that "special drink" feeling without the alcohol or caffeine. When I looked on their website, it appeared that the only place to buy them was either online or in a Whole Foods. I had been wanting to visit one, as my friends all rave about it. One friend swears the cake is better than anything else, another loves the fruits and veggies. I have driven past the Whole Foods in Ft. Collins a million times, and never could persuade Jon to go inside. He's very anti-organic and jokes that he "likes genetically altered foods."

I knew that this time I had him because I actually had a specific reason to go there. I also clinched the deal by volunteering to pick up some glutten-free pasta for a friend at work. So at the end of our evening in Ft. Collins, he hesitantly drove me to this mysterious store. I guess my whole interest in it was that we always drive by, and all you can really see is the produce. I was always amazed because it always looked so pretty. Definitely eye catching. That is really what I was looking forward to the most. I mean really, there's nothing better (well in a grocery store anyway) than a well stocked, well arranged produce section.
We parked near the produce doors and felt quite out of place in the parking lot. We aren't the kind of people that eat organic foods. In WY and CO, there is definitely a "look" and we don't fit it. Anyway, so we went on in through the produce section, when to my surprise, it smelled! It smelled awful! I am not sure if it was just my ultra sensitive, prego nose or what, but I was simply overwhelmed with the smell of fish. Come to find out, where the produce section ended, the fish section began. It was so gross! Jon and I walked quickly through the produce section, stopping only to gawk at the ridiculous prices. Now this is not to condemn anyone that does shop at Whole Foods or likes to buy organic, but it was just too much for me. I just refused to purchase artichokes at Albertson's the other day because the price tag was a whopping two dollars each. I nearly passed out when seeing the beautiful artichokes at Whole Foods for the low, low price of $3.99!! Call me cheap, but I just couldn't comprehend spending so much on groceries. Okay, okay, please call me cheap. I will take no offense. I am cheap, just like Jon. It's why we work so well together!
So, needless to say, we were not off to a good start. At this point, I was desperately just trying to find the precious beverage jewels that I had come in for, as Jon was getting a little ridiculous. He stopped only to draw attention to the fact that this is not possibly organic, I can get that at Wal-mart or to gawk more at the obscene price tags on sodas, chips, and Asian sauce. I have to say I did agree with him on most things, however I did feel my cheeks flush when we walked past the "Asian" section only to hear Jon say, "are you kidding me?" That was when he followed up with,
"that's not organic, that's Wal-mart." Finally we had found the isle with the sodas. Of course the ones we were looking for were hidden (not really, but they were hard to find).
We are both in a hurry at this point...Jon because he doesn't want to be seen supporting this ridiculous establishment, and myself because the fish smell was really starting to make me nauseous. We also had to purchase some pasta for my work friend, and I wasn't about to walk up and down the aisles looking for the "glutten-free" section. Fortunately, there was a God-send (although it was probably his job and he didn't mind at all) at the end of the soda aisle, who quickly walked me over to the glutten-free section. He showed me all of the choices and then left me to make my decisions. He was a very nice man, and while I did not appreciate his store at this moment, I did appreciate his help.
Alas, our shopping extravaganza was over. Four items later (3 bags of pasta, one four pack of soda) we found our way to the checkout. We didn't even make it to the bakery, but it was no loss for me at the time. While I was in line, I couldn't help but stare at the people unloading carts full of organic food...many were overflowing. I couldn't help but wonder and whisper to Jon about how much they would be spending. According to my figures, it must be at least three times what I spend on the same cart full at Wal-mart. Perhaps that is an over-exaggeration, but I am convinced that it can't be too exaggerated.
Jon took our nice recycled paper bag of goods and we proceeded to the exit. We of course got one more strong wiff of the fish department on our way out. Goodbye Whole Foods. We were never happier to be out of a store! I am sure you can guess that we probably will not be going to another Whole Foods for a while...if Jon has anything to say about it, a LONG while. I have to say that I am in agree-ance with my husband on this and would prefer to be able to save our money for any number of other things, than to waste it (in my opinion) on fru-fru groceries. I already have a hard time with the expensive price of groceries living in WY, and I don't believe I want to spend more than I already do. I guess deep down, I really am cheap and really do like "genetically altered" foods, if for no other reason than they are cheaper.

"Bass-akwards" Plumbing

This is the kind of plumbing that we have in our apartment. It all started Friday night. Jon and I were doing some intense cleaning on Friday night, and while not exciting to most, we were having a good time. There's nothing better than really get things deep-down cleaned. So anyway, I had asked Jon to spot clean the carpets. He started to do this and then decided, when he ran out of resolve that he would just shampoo the whole house. Sweet! I was secretly hoping he would want to do that, but it is a lot to ask of a person. So he got busy, and we were both so astonished at how dirty your carpet can get. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that we don't have an air conditioner and so all summer long, dust flies in through the open doors and windows. Anyway, so it was quite an exciting evening and while he did that I was scrubbing down the kitchen and doing laundry, and occasionally helping out when needed with the carpets. When he was done with the carpet cleaner, he was emptying the dirty water as we were admiring how dirty the water was, even the second time around, when we noticed that the inside really needed to be cleaned. We thought it would open up if we removed all of the screws, but were mistaken. So we just cleaned it out the best that we could. Jon then went on to put the screws back in and inevitably we dropped one down the drain. So Jon climbed under the sink to remove the "trap." Apparently this little jewel is there for this very purpose, so it would be no big deal to pull it out. That is until Jon began his under-sink exploration. The pipes were a lot tighter than he had suspected and began using a bit of force. He dislodged one side, and decided that it would be too much work to remove the other side. So he fished out the screw with a combination of magnets, toothpicks, and tweezers. No sweat for my man! I had gone to bed, as I knew I would be more of a hindrance than a help in this situation...it's not so helpful for me to tell Jon how I think he should be fishing with the toothpick. When I left, he was almost finished. I woke up the next morning, a little bit after Jon since he had to go to work. He nonchalantly mentions that he might have broken the sink. What? What do you mean, I am thinking? I was pretty sure that he was almost finished when I went to bed! It was true, he did technically break the sink. Remember that "force" he has to use to get it out? Well apparently the reason was because the person that fixed our leaky sink last time (it's been leaky twice since we lived there), decided that he didn't want to come fix our sink again, so he just glued the pipes together! Nice! So when Jon was pulling on the sink, he messed up the "seal" that should never had been there in the first place. The guy was kind of mad at us at first, but then realized that it was absolutely not our fault because sinks are never supposed to have the pipes glued together. He couldn't even imagine who would do something like that (I know--his co-worker, but I did refrain from ratting him out). So after a Saturday morning of having a whole in the pipe (it's really tough to remember that you really can't use it at all or you will flood out your cabinet), it was temporarily fixed, until today, hopefully. Good times with crappy plumbing!

Good News from Friends!!!

I got a phone call from my friend Wednesday night, although I was about to pass out from exhaustion. I ignored the phone call and prepared for bed. I decided I would call her back the next day. I sent her a message on facebook to let her know that I would call her the next day and in fact was not ignoring her. She replied to say that she was just calling because she and some other Edmond friends will be in Colorado Springs at the end of the month and wondered if Jon and I were game for meeting them. I was so excited, although nervous at the same time because I didn't know how certain she was. When I talked to her on the phone, she confirmed that she and Ashlie would definitely be there, but then maybe some others too. I have to say that I am so stinking excited. It is always so good to be in the company of great friends. So the weekend of the 24th is blocked off and should prove to be an excellent time. I haven't really been to Colorado Spring before either. It is just three hours away, but there is so much to explore between here and there that we've never made it down there. I have driven through it, but that is all. I am looking forward to checking it out, as I know from our drive through that it is a beautiful area. Although I have to admit that I am most excited to see my friends. It will be great to have a little bit of home so close by!

Interviews-Boo!

Not really. Interviews are good. They are especially good when your husband is going to graduate from school in May, you are going to have a baby in April, and moving is in sight. They have, however, caused me to have a rather stressful week.

Jon has now survived his first week of interviews. They will continue on through next week, then hopefully that will be it for the first round. The second round should start the week after, should he get called for a second interview. He had three interviews this week, along with two job fairs, a meet and greet, and a golf tournament. Did I mention that he is taking 12 hours of graduate course work at the same time?! What a trooper! And, all of the events above (except the golf tournament and class) required business professional attire (aka. black suits). So he been spiffing himself up every morning...he's even putting gel in his hair and shaving his face! It's all quite exhausting for me, maybe because I am not used to him being so high maintenance. I think he's pretty pooped from it all too.

I am fortunate enough to have my own office, so Jon has been suiting up in my office each day. He drives the bus every morning (that's one of his jobs) and doesn't really want to wear a suit and tie to do that. So he comes to my office for about 10 minutes each day and changes clothes, de-lints his suit, and prepares for his interviews. That in and of itself has been stressful for me, as it is nearly impossible to actually work while he's here! So I have been shaving some time off my lunches and staying a few minutes late to make up for it. After the interview or at lunch he recounts the day's events and fills me in on all of the details of the interviews.

This has caused me to be very excited about the opportunities in front of us. Although I am a little nervous because several of the places that he originally wanted to work aren't hiring because of the economy. Not to worry though. I am confident that the Lord has a plan for us and has a great job out there waiting for him. Jon is a great student and a very hard worked. I am certain that these companies will see that and want to hire him.

So the next few weeks look to be a little crazy as well. As I said early, we are expecting more first interviews next week. Then the following two to three weeks will consist of second interviews. The first interviews are all on campus. UW has a great recruiting program, so the companies come to us. The second interviews are all on site. So he (we) will get to go to the towns where the companies are, stay the night, go out to dinner with them, etc. Should be fun, at least for me, because I will get to do some shopping or touring while he is busy being interviewed. I am glad that this is all going on now, rather than this time next semester, as that would just be nuts! The nice thing that that he will hear back with a final job offer (if they decide to offer him a job) by the first of November. That works out great for Jon and me, as we are planners and like to know what is ahead of us! So keep your fingers crossed or say a little pray for Jon if you think about him, that he would not be stressed and for favor with the interviewers.