Happy Birthday Pappy!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAPPY!

Today is my father's birthday. I won't give you the number since he thinks that he is so old. I'll just say that he's really not. I'm sure he'll be pleased to have his picture plastered on the internet......NOT! I hope you have a great day Dad. I love you and miss you very much!

On Saturday, we had a gathering at our house for the last time with neighbors and enjoyed some of Dan's halibut that he caught while fishing in Alaska. The past two summers have been great for us living in this neighborhood. We cannot say enough about how awesome our neighbors are! They have made living away from friends and family much easier because of their friendship and generousity. They go above and beyond to help us out whenever we've needed anything. Sometimes when we don't ask for any help, they just jump in and do things that they think we might need done. It has all been very much appreciated by us. If having great neighbors could sell our house, there would be a bidding war! The new owners of this house will be very lucky to have all of these people for their neighbors.

Bill was the fish cooker and he did a fantastic job. Even I (the non fish eater) liked it. Everyone brought a dish and we had a really good time. There was a lot of great food and also some really good frozen drinks (well, the ones that made it to the cups anyway!!). I tried to entertain everyone with music and I think I succeeded for the most part. We all know that when Sammy gets worn out, it's probably time to call it a day so we all cleaned up and everyone went home. We finished up all of the leftovers at Wendy & John's house the next afternoon for dinner.

Goodbye Greece!

Our house in Rochester is officially on the market today! Here's a link:

http://www.nothnagle.com/property/property.asp?PRM_MLSNumber=620797&PRM_MlsName=GRAR&VAR_SearchType=

Although we are excited that we'll be living closer to our family and friends, we have made some good friends here in Rochester too who we will miss a lot but hopefully they will come and visit us. Our current house is my favorite out of all of the houses we've lived in. It will be impossible to get something this nice in Massachusetts for the same money. Prices are at least double!! Dan and I were talking last night and figured out that the home above is the 5th home we've owned. WOW! I never thought we'd end up moving so much! I wish I could pick it up and take it with us....that would solve the issue of trying to find an affordable home. We are truly ready to settle down in one location now. We have learned to enjoy living away but miss our family and friends so much at times. Now we'll have the best of both worlds. We'll be able to have our friends and family visit us and entertain like we used to (we really miss that), go to Maine when we want to and then go back home and enjoy some quiet time. Dan is excited and ready to begin his new job. He has worked very hard for this position and to get us back to the northeast. I'll keep you all updated on our progress but hopefully it goes quickly and then I can count on some of you to come and help us unpack boxes on the other end!

Dan just returned from a trip to Alaska along with 3 friends, Charlie, Darryl and Leon. They had a great time fishing for halibut in Homer, king salmon in the Kenai river and touring the countryside. As you can see by the picture, he had quite an awesome adventure. Click on the link below to view all photos. With our new digital camera, Dan has found that he has a creative side for taking some really great pictures. Enjoy!

http://dansalaskavacation.shutterfly.com

Here is a video of Dan hauling in a 75 lb. sting ray. He got a good workout reeling this one in, as you'll hear from the audio!

The Beginning...

We've decided to join the blog party along with our family. It seems there are always major changes happening for us so hopefully that will keep this page interesting!

Dan has recently accepted a position with a company in Massachusetts! This is great news for us since we've been on what we like to call "on tour" for the past 4 years, leaving our family and friends back in Maine and moving to Austin and then on to upstate New York. While it has been a great experience for Dan and I overall, we miss our family and are happy to be moving much closer!