Mid-March Check-Up

David and I are sitting on the couch, going through pictures from the last few weeks.  I just realized that it's been almost 2 weeks since my last posting, so here's an update from us:

• Last weekend, we drove to Fayetteville, NC to visit Ft. Bragg and Devonwood, the neighborhood where David spent 2 years of his childhood.  David has told many stories about playing at that house.  He also talks about summer days spent on base, where he and his brother and sister would spend endless hours playing in the pool and then sit at the tables at the golf course enjoying french fries from the grill.   Of course, we had to check out the pool and the french fries!  Even though some of the buildings and the pool on base have changed a bit, he said the french fries were just as good as he remembered.  What was most vivid to him was the joy he experienced there with his family.  It was a lot of fun to be a part of that trip down memory lane! Here are a few pictures from our trip:

Max cheering for the Longhorns at David's former Elementary School

David's Childhood Home in Devonwood

Max is critiquing the putts on #18

Max and David trying those famous french fries

• We're in the middle of getting our belongings packed up for our move to Boston.  We decided to wait until after the seminar (3/19) to make the drive, so we will be enjoying St. Paddy's Day here in Durham.   We're living amid half-packed suitcases and boxes.  Almost there though.  I'm hoping we can finish up tomorrow so David and I can have one more date night before we leave our beloved babysitter behind!
• We plan to drive out of here on Wednesday morning and make the 1st leg of our trip to Alexandria, VA, where we'll visit with my friend Nikki and her family.  The Scullys welcomed their 2nd child - a baby girl - Nora Elizabeth, on March 5th!  I can't wait to see them.
• The 2nd part of our drive will include a visit to New York, where we plan to stay with David's Aunt Diane and catch up with his family there.  It's been about 6 or 7 years since we've been to NY for a visit with them.  Bagels!  Pizza!  Cheesecake!  Oh, and Family of course! (cough, cough).  Finally, we resume our drive to Boston on Sunday.  
• Our home search in Boston has been educational, to say the least.   We had high hopes of staying in Back Bay, where we could walk everywhere.  Space comes at a premium in Boston and with our need for a room for Max plus an office space for David, with parking for 2 vehicles, you can easily head into the territory of $4,000/month!  EASILY!  Yikes.  We finally found a place where we didn't have to share a bedroom with Max.  Then, just when the sticker shock had begun to wear off, we were thrown for a loop when we realized we needed to start over because of lead paint!  This was a new challenge in rental searches for us.  Finding a rental that's been certified de-leaded in a historic part of downtown has been almost impossible.   We learned that most landlords don't bother with certification because it can become nullified quickly after inspection and if they don't pass, it's a huge expense to fix.  (I found an online forum organized by parents that talks all about this issue for families in Boston.)  So, to avoid a potentially hazardous living condition for Max, we drifted out of downtown, into the suburbs, and found a great modernized 50s ranch in Lexington, which is about 30 minutes from downtown.  It has 3 bedrooms, no stairs, a nice wooded lot, and a garage for 2 vehicles.  It is not steps from Boston Common, but there is a fantastic Farmers Market only 15 minutes by foot.  And we can take "the T" into Boston when we want to visit the city.   We're pretty happy with the find.  The only downside at this point is that we can't move in right away and will have to find a hotel to live out of for a week or so.  Hey, nothing we can't handle.

Okay, so this was a bit of a long one.  Guess that means I should post more often again, huh?  More from the road...