NY living

With our previous experience in finding an apartment in New York and being scammed, Jake and I decided to fly out this time to find a place. We had a few priorities:
1) being close to Jake's work (for a short commute...his hours are going to be a bit longer than we're used to)
2) a minimum 2 bedroom
3) washer and dryer in the unit
We quickly learned our priorities were a bit out of our price range. We did get our top priority though. We are a mile from Jake's work...20 minute walk or a 5 minute bike ride on the Hudson River Greenway. It's in a place called Battery Park City. A fun, safe little area down on the south west tip of Manhatten. There's a pool, couple playgrounds, a library, a port with boats, and of course the greenway to keep a mother and 3 kids occupied. Not to mention that we're walking distance to the Staten Island Ferry, a short free shuttle ride (or walk) away from the South Street Seaport and the Brooklyn Bridge. Our apartment is small (as you can see) but we're hoping it will work. We'll put the kids in the bedroom and treat the rest of the space like a studio apartment. We'll put a divider between our bedroom and our living area and we can even build a wall if we need. Visitors are still welcome! :) We'll have our futon and air mattress. It'll be fun! We also have a great view of the Hudson River (almost the Statue of Liberty), downtown, and New Jersey (Hi, Steve!!). Now the trick will be minimizing all of our stuff to fit in that place!

Columbus

Last weekend we headed up to Columbus, Ohio for Jake to be best man at a high school friend's (Matt Mele's) wedding. I almost didn't go because of the dreadful 7 hour drive but I'm glad I went. On our way up last Thursday I needed to make a stop for a restroom and we noticed a sign to Mt. Airy. "Mayberry," home of the famous Andy Griffith, had been on our "to do" list since we moved to North Carolina but just not a priority considering the 2 hour drive. Well, completely unplanned we stopped in for an hour visit of the town. What a blast! Especially walking down Main St. with the theme song whistling away.








Jake did an awesome job being best man. He helped calm Matt's cold feet, he didn't drop the rings, and he gave an AMAZING speech at the reception.
The reception was at Ohio State University. We had fun touring the campus a little bit and thinking of all our friends who attended here.
What a stud huh? I loved the tux!
...more Brussels friends
We were in Columbus for my birthday so we celebrated when we got home. Rachel had made a beautiful birthday banner and they were both SO excited to have me open my presents and help me blow out my candles. They're the best. And a big thanks to my mom for the gifts and the delicious cake!!

And the good news is...while we were away we received an offer on the house. We counter-offered but we settled at a pretty low price. It kinda stinks to be desperate! But, it is officially "under contract" and the headache of it is gone, although we do have to worry about inspections and everything else going smoothly. I wish I could relax for the next few weeks but we're headed out tomorrow to NYC to look for an apartment. Life is crazy right now!!!

Our Memorial Weekend

We had to get one last trip in to the beach. We went to Hilton Head with my mom and we LOVED every second of it! Nothing beats that warm ocean.

Rachel's Dance Recital

Last Saturday Rachel had another big day. She was super excited for it and she was super cute! I think she got the best costume out of all the classes. It was a fun surprise to see her do her tap dance to "I wanna be a Rockette" with the knowledge of moving to New York City in the next month. We also had grandma in town which was a real treat.





And Tom Bom was pulling out his moves as well...