Sunday, March 26, 2006

Buckle Your Safety Belts

A little time travel is in order...
I've been thinking about entries I would make on this site since I decided to
start it. The first posts would be about Killian and our trips to NYC and the
Midwest before coming to Ireland. If I start with what we've seen and done
here, I'll know it's in the wrong order. That will definitely keep me from falling
asleep at night. And because I'm quite accustom to drifting off within 10
minutes of turning off the lights and putting my head on the pillow, that
simply won't do. Besides, I have a lot of good pictures to go with this
period of time that I must share!

We're going to move back in history to January 10th for a super-condensed
recap to avoid any unnecessary tossing and turning and to catch you up
on the latest. That was the day Killian and I took a road trip to Albuquerque,
New Mexico to visit David who was there working. I was to go back to school
the following Tuesday and start my next semester, and David was going to
come home that Friday and be done with almost five months of weekly travels.
At least that's what we thought.

How quickly things can change! It was on that very day that we got a call
asking us if we wanted to go to Ireland. Once we talked to David's mom
about the prospect of her taking care of Killian for awhile, it only took me
about 10 minutes to know I was on board. In hindsight, I am so glad Killian
and I decided to join David because it would have been really hard to work
through this big decision over the phone, without the benefit of seeing each
other face to face. We spent the next few days in Albuquerque. I had two
wonderful, surprise afternoons with Jennifer McGee, shopping around and
having girl time. When David got off work, we talked about the possibilities
ahead and how all of it made us feel.

We officially decided we were taking the Ireland offer on January 18th, but I
think we both knew before. School had started on the 17th and David
suggested I not waste the day since he was almost sure I wouldn't be going
back to ASU, right now anyway. Jennifer Jones flew in from Traverse City that
day and stayed for a long weekend. Once she left, we had exactly 17 days
before leaving for New York to meet David's new boss here in Ireland. It was
a busy two and half weeks. Killian humored me with a few photo sessions
between the week in Albuquerque and the two weeks before we left.
Here are a few of my favorites...


This is him in the car, poking his head out the window so he could hang
with me when I stopped to pump gas.


Killian is exploring in New Mexico....


Taking some time to meditate in the back seat during our road trip...


And Just catching his breath after digging a hole and running around.


This is the throw pillow that was on our bed. Killian found
himself suddenly fascinated with them. I think I was feeling
a little guilty knowing that we were leaving him in the states
when we'd set sails for Ireland. So, those pillows now belong
to him. I'm such a sucker!


This picture CRACKS ME UP! We were in the middle of playing when
I pulled out my camera. He barked at me while I took a few shots. Cute stuff!
See the window behind him? That's in our old bedroom in Phoenix.

It overlooked the foothills of South Mountain. Pretty view -- There's a lot
to see here, but we miss the mountains, palm trees, sun and desert.


Killian loves his toys! He keeps one with him much of the time.
The cutest is when he falls asleep with one of them in his mouth.
This rope was the toy he was most likely to bring to couch when

settling in to hang out with his mom.


SO CUTE!


The portrait pose. Isn't he beautiful?!

Both of us were very excited for our New York trip. We left on Thursday,
February 9th in time for dinner and were having so much fun that we
decided to bump our Saturday return to Sunday. While there, we did
a lot of walking in efforts to see the city! Our exploits gave us a chance
to hit Ground Zero, Time Square, the Empire State Building, the Statue
of Liberty, and a lot of the city. The best meal when we were there...Sparks
Steak House. Amazing. Go if you ever have the chance.

We did not really believe the weathers forecast of a blizzard. Everyone
there was saying the snow always missed Manhattan...NOT THIS TIME!
All area airports shut down and the city got a record 27 inches of snow
in just over 12 hours. We didn't do much on Sunday, needless to say.
The movers were supposed to come to our place on Monday. So, I
bumped them back a day in hopes that if we showed up to the airport
on Monday morning, they'd get us on a flight back to Arizona. Luck was
on our side! David, myself and Harry (from David's company) all got put
on a direct flight to Phoenix around noon that day. Not bad.

I didn't get to play with my camera very much when we were in NY,
which was kind of a shame. It's such a beautiful city - with an energy
like no where else. Here are few we did catch...


The Chrysler Building


Rockefeller Center


Grand Central Station


David and me on top of the Empire State Building


The cross at Ground Zero


I had a total tourist moment on our way to see the Statute of Liberty.


Our Lady Liberty


David and I joined Colm Casey and John Matthews outside of the hotel on
Sunday morning to watch the snow fall and the cabs get stuck and unstuck
from the snowy streets. Colm is David's new boss here in Ireland. John works
closely with David at Intel.


Look at all the snow! The streets were virtually empty,
spotted with an occasional courageous cabbi. It was quite a site.

David and I picked up Killian when we returned home that Monday night.
He had so much fun hanging out with Anthony and Jenny's dogs, Bocci
and Blue. He was happy to see us though and slept like an angel for the
next three days! It was actually a great time for him to be tired because
the movers were there Tuesday and Wednesday. He really didn't mind too
much at all! We managed to get our place all moved into storage units and
get the car packed for a road trip to Michigan. Plus, we squeezed in great
sushi dinner with friends, and I had lunch with Lindsay before we left.
(We miss you guys!)

We left Phoenix excited to get on the road, very happy to be going home
for a long overdue visit, and full of anticipation for our new journey. At the
same time, I think we were a little sad to leave. Arizona was really good
to us. We made some great friends and just loved the mountains and
weather (minus the three months is was over 100 degrees). David was a
little sad to leave the office there, and I was definitely sad to leave Arizona
State. But we were energized by both of the big moves we had made in
the last five and a half years. Knowing how much we learned and grew by
living in Dallas and Phoenix, we were ready for the next step.

And with that, we were off -- for a 30 and a half hour drive to Michigan, during
which we did not stop to stay overnight. That's right -- straight through. That
is one hell of a drive. Killian was a complete angel. He slept the whole way,
and besides a few yawning stretches, he never made a peep. (He is such a
good boy!)

OK - Now we're caught up!
Sam

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