We're Back in the Saddle

After almost a 1.5 year hiatus and a lot of pressure from Ashley and DeeAnn we have decided it is time to at least do one other post. We haven't decided whether or not 1.5 years is too long, so we'll just feel it out.














Rather than attempt filling everybody in on all that has happened since we last posted, we will start with a quick summary of our DC adventure that started just over 3 months ago. After Jared Johnsen and John moved the family in, Erin flew in from Texas where she had just wrapped up her usual 2.5 month 24/7 first tri-mester nausea. John lucked out with a great welcome home dinner at a hibachi grill just outside BWI Airport. After our cook put on a show we went out for some Cold Stone. Because it had been almost 1 month since we had seen each other, a simple evening was all the more fun.

A couple days after arriving John went to work and everyday DC life began. John leaves just about every morning at 7:10am, walks 8 minutes to catch the metro at the Vienna/Fairfax stop rides in for about 30 minutes and finishes off the commute to The Philanthropy Roundtable with a 5 minute walk. This commute has been a blessing because it has allowed John to read 4+ books, papers, and magazines since arriving. A true luxury considering the 5 minute walk commute at Babson never afforded the time to do any kind of freelance reading.

After a long, grueling day at the office where John has thus far been learning the ropes and planning conferences for donors he begins his daily commute around 6:15pm. Once John makes it back he typically gets about 30 minutes playing "getcha" with Moriah or throwing her on the bed or reading her a book before the 30 minute ordeal to put Moriah to bed begins. Putting Moriah to bed at night has thus far been a joint honor between Erin and John. I only wish we had a "pat counter", it would not be a surprise to find out that Moriah's back has been patted more than 100,000 times since she was born; and this is a very conservative estimate.

Since beginning work John has spent considerable time flying to Colorado, Chicago, California and New York to meet with donors. The Philanthropy Roundtable (TPR) recently had its annual conference in sunny southern California at Dana Point. Since John would be gone for a week, have a free hotel room and Moriah would soon be 2 months old and therefore require her own air fare, we decided we needed to take advantage of this business trip as an opportunity for a little vacation. In spite of getting very little sleep we had a good time. While I was either meeting with donors or assisting with the conference Erin and Moriah were enjoying a Ritz Carlton breakfast, time on the beach or hanging out with Elizabeth. Some highlights while at Dana Point were eating b-fast and watching surfers together in front of the large picture windows, a visit from SeaWorld animals to the hotel where Moriah was able to hug an aligator and become totally confused by a talking parrot that said "meow" and "mooo", playing with her cousins Leiah and Jonah at the beach, visiting the emergency room to check on Erin and our baby boy, and enjoying the beautiful weather.

After the conference wrapped up we got a chance to visit Greg & Elizabeth in Carlsbad, then fly up the following morning to San Francisco to meet with the families of two of John's good friends' - Phil Sharp and Ben Smith. Although we had planned to be in San Francisco for 2 additional days and even visit Jane & Rich who had just moved from Japan to Monterrey, CA - we decided that we had stretched Moriah a little too thin, and it was time to get back home. Before we took off we were luck enough to fit in a trolley ride, a visit to Lombard Street, Ghiradelli Square and to the Fisherman's Wharf area.

It's now been 2 weeks since we got home, and just enjoyed a great Thanksgiving where we had Thanksgiving breakfast with Chase, Abbey and Sadie Cannon, and John, Jessica, Lizzy and Thomas Garder. Erin made some mean breakfast burritos. Later on Erin made a mean roast with all the other particulars of Thanksgiving where we feasted and followed up that feast with some dessert at a friends house in the ward.

To top off our weekend we went out to Harper's Ferry in West Virginia - the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac rivers. It is a beautiful little town that was booming back in the mid 1800s and was the site of several Civil War battles. Although we were pained as we watched the Utes lose, yet again in a lucky last minute win by the cougars, we were able to finish strong with an "Office Night" at Jonathan & Julie Lintons in Leesburg, VA.

And finally we arrive to the present - Sunday November 25th. A great lax Sunday where I prepared a talk on families in the morning, then giving the talk at Church with mixed reviews. We ended up leaving church an hour early due to Moriah's 102 degree fever.

We hope you will forgive the struggling blog entry as we try to fit in as much as possible, and assure you that future blogs will not be soooo long.