Biting the Big Apple!

"Start spreading the news 
I am leaving today 
I want to be a part of it 
New York, New York 

These vagabond shoes 
They are longing to stray 
Right through the very heart of it 
New York, New York 

I want to wake up in that city 
That doesn't sleep 
And find I'm king of the hill 
Top of the heap 

My little town blues 
They are melting away 
I gonna make a brand new start of it 
In old New York"

-Thank you Frank for reading my mind.  

 Well if my musical hint and post title have left you wondering, let me explain.  New York was not on our radar for jobs that long ago.  But when Adam started networking with some great attorneys up there, we began to wonder if the Big Apple had room for us. I especially did not think Adam would like it as much as he did.  But when he started to get a surprisingly amount of call back interviews, we took a closer look at it.  So off he went to NEW YORK CITY! He was impressed with how nice some of the firms were, and even left one firm saying that he felt like they could all be his best friends.  (Seriously, Adam said that he had to fight the impulse to give some of them hugs!)  Relying on all of the crazy networking he did earlier this year, he had connected with a lot of people and lots of firms he was hoping to get offers from.  But even at this point, we still were not sure if we could actually move to New York and if it would be the right decision for our family.  I mean, it's New York: it's big, it's expensive, and it's maybe a little intimidating for two kids coming from the Western suburbs.

So Adam decided to keep all his interviews he had in Dallas just to compare.  And while he really enjoyed lots of firms, and had several call backs interviews offered, in the end we decided that he fit in more with the New York firms and we are just not ready to settle down.   

Also, since my former company is based in Long Island, I have been there several times and have to admit that I did not love it there, which I've reminded Adam about throughout this process.  So we decided to take a last minute family trip and check it all out together, to really see if it would be something we think we could a) actually pull off as a family, and b) be happy with. Adam had a couple more interviews that lasted 3-4 hours at a time, so on those days, Solana and I went and explored the city.  

Here are the quick highlights:

Thanks to the lovely firms, our trip was all paid for, and we were put up in nice hotel right on Central Park.  This was a view from one of the rooms in our suite.  We loved it there!

(Haha, just kidding.  We had a nice, but small "street view" room with no view of the Park, but of course, we loved it.)

The first day we got there, we ran around Central Park, and Solana had a blast chasing birds, climbing rocks, and playing on the playground.  Honestly, she can just chase birds, running full speed in circles, for like twenty minutes at a time.  It is really impressive.

"Daddy, good luck on your interview!" Adam and I stopped outside of a busy office building on 5th Avenue so that I could take his picture before he met with another firm.  We parted ways and wished him luck. 

p.s. Who is this chic mad doggin' me?! psh!

This is the moment I wished I could buy her everything.  

While Adam was at interviews, we headed over to FAO Schwartz, and oh she had so much fun, she played with all the dolls, and got to run around on the floor piano, and played with lots of stuffed animals that were bigger than she was. Of course the fun didn't stop there, we then headed to the 3-story American Girl Store! It was fun for me because I grew up with American Girl dolls, but it was especially fun because Solana thought she had died and gone to baby heaven.  The whole 3rd floor is all the bitty babies, and she ran from room to room playing and make-believing and it was the sweetest thing to behold. 

Hanging out in the subway on our way to Brooklyn. 

  I became a giant germaphobe in the city.  Solana hates sitting in her stroller, and she doesn't really have a walking speed, so anytime she moves it's either jumping or running, but in the city I could just not do that.  So she was strapped in tight and actually did pretty good holding in her energy, waiting to release all of it on the birds in the Park.  

Our last day there we headed out to Brooklyn (we heard its the best place to live for families in the city)  and we had so much fun. We could not believe that we were still in New York — it was so quiet! They had lots of parks and not just city parks, but like huge parks surrounded by trees and walking trails. She ran wild and it was great for us to see a place for us to possibly live next summer. 

This is how we kept Solana busy on the subway, we let her take pictures with my phone.  It worked for like 5 minutes out of a 30 minute ride, but hey, it makes for some fun memories.  

Now on to the fun part, making a decision for our future!! Adam has a deadline to make a decision by September 3rd, so it looks like soon, we'll know exactly where we're going!

Wrappin' up the Summer

Seriously, where has the summer gone!? I can't believe Adam starts school on Monday, and my hours at work pick up again, oh man! I must say that Adam and I are schedule people and function so much better on one, so we are excited to get back into a routine. Summer has been fun, but oh so busy! And not just the run around and play fun (we did do that) but mostly just the busy busy kind.  Adam worked 2 jobs and then took on an internship in Richmond (before the summer started he said he wanted mainly to relax during the summer) then on top of all that, he was applying for jobs, stepping up his networking skills, and tuning up his interview skills.  But it all paid off, because he spent the entire month of August flying around for call back interviews in New York and Dallas, so we feel pretty blessed (more to come on the job offers).  So with all that, Solana tried to stay cool at the pool, Busch Gardens and Water Country.  Here are some random highlights and fun pictures that I thought I'd better document.

Adam had a lunch appointment in D.C. and I needed to head to the design center, so last minute we decided to tag along for a couple of hours. While he was having lunch, Solana ran around (literally) the Air and Space Museum for an hour. She loves it there, and she especially loved her boyfriends that she met.  She really likes mannequins (no joke). 

Her besties at the candy store in Colonial Williamsburg. They are all so cute together.

So after dinner, while I was doing dishes, I noticed how quiet it had gotten (Solana is NEVER quiet) so I knew she was getting into something, then I walked into the living room to find her like this! At first I was impressed that she could even open the blinds to the perfect height for her to see out of. Then I was embarrassed that she was almost naked and showing off for the neighbors, but then I could see how proud of herself she was and I let her stay up there for awhile. 

Solana loves playing basketball with Adam, so one afternoon she got all ready go.  We thought it was pretty hilarious that she grabbed her purse and then put on Adam's basketball shoes.  It was quite the get up.

"What a nice photo of you CheyAnn" well thank you, Solana took it!

We finally let her have a try at the fancy camera, and I was pretty impressed with the results (the fact that she actually got me in the frame is amazing.)

Then she went and took daddy's picture.  He didn't get so lucky, but still a great try. 

Then I took her photo! She loves to pose for the camera, and she loves to say "my turn" after I take hers.

Gigi's second visit (part 2)

For 10 days we stayed pretty busy and some days seemed longer than others with the heat, which was the most intense we've had here.  We had some favorite things that we all got to do together for the first time.  Here is a breakdown of the activities:

Virginia beach (where my mom was attacked by a crab and woke up to a dog licking her face, lol) 

Yorktown beach and colonial Williamsburg (for my birthday)

Charlottesville (home of UVA, and Monticello, which was Thomas Jefferson's home)

A couple of days at the pool

Jamestown

Shopping at JCrew

Surry (to pick blueberries at college run farms)

Richmond

And my cousin Calyn and her roomate Brooke came out from Utah to visit for a couple of days.

We had so much fun, and I was sad that it ended. My mom came and did all the wonderful things that moms do.  Made great food, helped take care of Solana, babysat so we could go on a date, and hung out with us during our lazy summer moments, she always takes such good care of us.  Solana cried pretty hard when we dropped Gigi off at the airport, they were roomates for a week and Solana couldn't have been happier.  

And of course, I wish I had taken more photo's. But I love the ones I have!

Gigi's second visit (part 1)

My mom came into town for 10 wonderful days! It was great to have her visit, and if I could have changed one thing it would be the weather! She came during the heat wave, and let me just say that if there was a theme to the trip it was: Sweaty! Gross I know, but really it was like being in the sauna all day long! We had some great thunderstorms and a tornado almost come though, but it was still over 100 degrees.  Once she left the temp dropped back into the 80's—oh this weather! Anyway enough about that. On to the fun stuff we did. On one of the "cooler" days we decided to head out to Surry and go pick blueberries and corn at College Run farms. It was only a short 15 min drive to the ferry, and then the ferry was only about 20 minutes across the James River. It was Adam's first time on a ferry if you can believe that, I guess there is not that many ferries in Texas :) 

We were pretty much the only people there, and had the whole farm for picking. It was beautiful out in Surry, just a rural county with lots of land and farms.  We decided to have a contest to see who could fill up their basket the quickest.  Well my mom won by a long shot (and she had a bigger basket) and Solana lost by a long shot (she would put a bunch in her basket then sit down and eat them all) but they were hands down the best blueberries we have ever had! And my mom made a delicious blueberry pie for my birthday and also blueberry muffins and another blueberry dessert (we picked a lot). 

About halfway through picking Solana decided it's too hot for clothes, so she strips off her clothes in the middle of the field. It was then that I took her inside the farm's little market to cool off and get dressed again, but boy she was one sweaty-betty. We felt so bad for her—she was hot, thirsty, and sweaty, but shopping always makes her feel better.

All in all is was a great trip and a neat experience, and I'm already counting down till we can go back and pick peaches!