Hoosier Weekend

Josh graduated from Indiana's Kelley School of Business almost two years ago.

TWO YEARS.

While he was in school, we made so many great friends. It was awesome. I miss them. Most of us were new to Bloomington at the time. Most of us were on an adventure. Many of us were pre-kids. We were all a bit short on cash. We clicked for those two years of business school. And then graduation happened, and we scattered to different locations for different jobs.

Some of us landed in Columbus. Praise God for Kelley friends here! It made moving to Columbus so much easier.

But others landed in Minneapolis. Indianapolis. Chicago. And, sniff sniff, we haven't seen some of our friends since graduation.

And you know what? Many of us have gotten busy since then. As in, busy making babies. When we graduated, one of us was pregnant. Now between us there are five babies. And more on the way.

It took months of planning. And emailing. And coordinating car seats and pack & plays. (Most of that was done by our terrific hosts, the LaRue's!) One family took their nine-month-old twins on an airplane. The rest of us drove, and met in suburban Indy for a reunion weekend.

It was baby central: Ryan, Oliver, Tyler, Stella, and Caroline.

I love how Tyler is gnawing on Oliver's arm, and how Stella is stealing Caroline's pacifier.

Stella: Haha, I've got it!

Moms and babies. For the record, Lora (in pink) is holding one of Kendra's twins.

Oliver - isn't he handsome?

Love the baby blues.

Stella, Oliver's twin, has awesome cheeks.

And she learned to crawl that weekend!

Krueger twins! Adorable.

Cute family!

Tyler is a month older than Caroline and can now sit up on his own. She was impressed.

Ryan was the "old man" of the group at almost 2. His baby sister is expected in the next month. And he wasn't a huge fan of his mom holding Caroline.

He warmed up to her eventually, however.

Tracy and Kendra with their sweet little boys.

The LaRues were fantastic hosts. They opened their home to the baby madness, made all kinds of food, borrowed extra baby equipment, and overall made all of us feel right at home.

This is what we did most of the time.

Adult hung out; babies played.

Actually, the men played too.

Little kid basketball. Ryan's toys. Plus beer. In the mud room. For hours.

The boys felt that they needed a "team" photo.

And we girls went with a more normal shot.

You know you have good friends when, after two years of not seeing them, it feels like nothing has changed.

You know, except babies.

Goodbye Bloomington

*tear*

Did we really just close this chapter? But we just moved there - to the land of Chick-fil-A, Hoosiers, the Kelley School of Business, and Mother Bear's Pizza - didn't we? I had no idea how much I'd enjoy this experience, and am so thankful God led us here a couple of years ago.

It has certainly been great for Josh, too. You know, the whole reason for coming! I know he values the education he has received - both in the classroom and out of it. In addition to his classes in marketing, finance, etc., he has had significant opportunities to network with recruiters, business professionals, and other students. (Hm... I should get him to blog about his experiences here sometime.)

In short, we loved it there.

But the best part by far? The people. I've never known such a group of people - sweet, diverse, talented, warm, and generous - and am privileged to call them my friends.

We spread out "goodbyes" over a couple of weekends.

First we enjoyed an authentic Indian lunch with our friends Rimjhim and Sayak. Delicious!

Then night we went out for ice cream with some of our best friends.


We had a blast at Amber's baby shower (she's the one in the blue):



Cheers to baby LaRue!

And on to a Partner's Club farewell party. I'm thankful a couple of first year MBA families will be joining us in Columbus for the summer!

And before we knew it, we were here:

(We felt like we graduated, too!)


And then there are many, many other friends who we didn't get the chance to formally say goodbye - friends from all over the country and across the world.

To all of you: I will truly miss you and I wish you the very best in your future adventures. Our door is always open for visitors, and I hope our paths cross again soon. Much love to you all.

Wordless... uh... Tuesday: A Night With Friends

the girls:


... and the boys:


We wish they were ALL moving to Columbus with us! However, we're thankful we're getting at least one couple.

(Wordless? Not so much. But you get the idea.)

Christmas Card Photo Shoot

Last weekend we headed to campus with our friends Jim and Amber and shot some pictures for upcoming Christmas cards.

We all-but-froze to death, but got some great shots. We'll only use one for our card, but I'm glad we were able to capture some scenes from the beautiful IU campus before we're out of here.

I haven't included our "official" picture, but these are our runners-up:

Sample Gates


Check out the "IU" in the bench.


We had a get a shot or two by one of the red clocks!





Quick let me take off my coat and you can shoot a picture of us in our Christmas-colored sweaters!

IU Tailgate

What is fall in Bloomington without a traditional tailgate? Nevermind that 80% of tailgaters don't make it to the football game! We're there for the food, friends, and excuse to drink beer in 40 degree weather at 10:00 am. Well, not us, since neither of us care for beer, but you get the idea.

Some of our best friends in Bloomington:





Jim and Amber brought their adorable new puppy, appropriately named "Coco." She was a hit!

Happiness Is (Bloomington Style!)...

... being back home!

... seeing our friends again (and those of you who aren't back yet - GET HERE SOON!)

... a trip to the farmer's market (and corn from the stand with the long line)

... a bagel from the Bloomington Bagel Company

... new audio books from the library (I have trips to Jacksonville, IL and Lexington, KY scheduled for next week)

... a chocolate truffle from Blu Boy ( it was totally expensive and really tiny, but absolutely delightful)

... a quiet, beautiful, undergrad-less campus

... dinner at Grazie

... a solo, slow paced trip to Target (which just happens to be right around the corner from us!)

... meeting new Kelley families and welcoming them to town

... a new coffee shop discovery

B-Town

Countdown to moving back to Bloomington: 11 days!

Josh and I have been talking a lot lately about what types of things we're looking forward to getting back to when we move. Don't get me wrong, we've enjoyed our time here in Michigan. It has been an excellent (albiet busy) summer and a great work experience for Josh. In addition to seeing friends and family, we've enjoyed getting to know this small town. And the LAKE... oh the lake! I've really loved living so close to Lake Michigan. It is JUST beautiful.

But here are some things I'm especially looking forward to about our move back, in no particular order...

10. Our Own Apartment. We've lived in a furnished rental house for the last eleven+ weeks. While it has been mostly functional, it just isn't the nicest place by any stretch of the imagination. Our place in Bloomington has central air, normal paint jobs, and doesn't have a window in the shower. Not to mention it just seems more like "home." Last summer we did some decorating and painting to make it feel homey. And it does!

9. Our Own Stuff. Going along with #10, we're definitely looking forward to using the dishes we picked out, sitting on the new (to us) furniture we love, and watching a tv that a. doesn't require a bobby pin jammed into a hole to turn on, and b. is big enough to be able to see baseballs, numbers on player jerseys, and stuff like that. This one is quite high on Josh's list!

8. Our Own Bed. This one gets its own number! The bed here is fine, but it tends to roll us into the middle every night. All 3 of us - Riley included. Our bed in Bloomington is C-O-M-F-Y.

I do realize that #8-10 are a little superficial, but I'm telling you using other people's stuff for a summer gets a little old!

7. A Nearby Starbucks. Actually, there are like 8 in town. Here? Only one, but it is in a grocery store I never shop at, so it doesn't count. In Bloomington there is a drive-through 'bucks right around the corner.

6. Hobby Lobby. Not that I've had time for scrapbooking this summer! But I heart Hobby Lobby (especially when they have 1/2 off sales! And we happen to have one located just a mile away.

5. Kelley Partner's Club. Along with my friend Lora, I help lead this group. Basically, those of us who are along for the ride, B-School-wise, band together and plan activities, share tips on the area, and make friends! Since Josh can get pretty busy with school stuff, it is great to have things to do in the evenings. I made a number of amazing friends last year, and, as I've mentioned, I can't wait to see them again soon!

4. Our Church. We go to a great church in Bloomington! I appreciate that while they're passionate about the gospel and true life change, they also really encourage being active in the community we live in. We enjoyed going to young couples Sunday School and making friends through Sherwood Oaks. I participated in a Beth Moore Bible Study that I really enjoyed, too. We're looking forward to getting more involved this fall.

3. Fall Colors. I've lived in Michigan (well-known for color tours) all my life but I don't think you can beat the brilliant colors of fall in southern Indiana. We even live close to a little artist colony that is only somewhat tourist trappy. But it is marvelous in the fall. Plus that area is known for covered bridges... beautiful!

2. Bloomington Restaurants. MMM... I'm definitely looking forward to getting back to some of our favorite places! College towns, at least in my experience, do a good job with offering a variety of great food options, from pizza to international fare. Plus there are quite a few places we didn't make it to last year that I'm looking forward to trying, like FARM and Little Zagreb's. HINT HINT, JOSH! :)

1. Welcoming New Families to Bloomington. Last year we were totally welcomed, suppored, and befriended almost immediately after setting foot in the area. I'm excited to turn around and do the same, now that I'm an "expert" at this Bloomington, B-School thing. I know the lingo, what to expect the first year, where to shop, and where to take my car in for repairs. The first year students (and families) will be arriving soon, and I'm totally excited to get to know them and help make their transition just a little easier.

Year One: Complete

Yes, Josh has completed his first year of B-School! He finished his last two exams yesterday. He has worked hard this past year and done really well. I'm very proud of him!

Hard to believe he is half done already. At this time next year he'll be wearing a cap and gown, and we'll be preparing to start our new life somewhere. We don't know where yet. But somewhere.

It's exciting.

And now we're getting ready to move to Michigan for the summer! And the search for a place to live mercifully ended. We DID find a place to rent in St. Joseph, Praise the Lord. We are thankful Josh will have a quick, easy commute and that we'll only be 6 blocks from the beach.

Yes, you read that right! WOO HOO. I'll put that bathing suit to good use.

Here's "our" "new" place:

We welcome any and all friends who would like to visit!

We leave in less than a week! Thankfully the place is furnished so the packing will be minimal. Clothes, craft stuff (of course!), some pantry items, sports stuff, and work stuff will round out the list. And now that Josh conveniently has some extra time on his hands, he is being put to work! Willingly. This week he has dropped off and picked up dry cleaning, gotten oil changes for both cars, and deposited money at the bank. LOVE IT. I believe he is packing kitchen stuff as I write this.

AND my very cute and sweet husband just came home from errands with a cup of Starbucks and one of my favorite movies. What a keeper.

Full Circle

A year ago now we were just thinking about our upcoming move to Bloomington. I'm a huge planner and I had SO many questions and concerns and wonders and worries about what it would be like.

I really appreciated the opportunitied to visit the school last spring. Josh got to do school-ish stuff, while I found that they had an entire day planned for me and the other "partners." A greeting from the Dean, and snapshot about student life from a professor, and a housing tour were all involved, along with ample time to ask questions. They even sent me home with a "Survival Guide" - a big binder full of all kinds of helpful information.

And this past weekend it was OUR TURN to plan Kelley Experience Weekend (well, the partner side of things). Remember how Josh predicted that I would lead the partners' group? Well, I do, along with my friend Lora.

For weeks we were buried in powerpoint slides, faxes from caterers, emails from school staff, and lists of volunteers. I soon found out that quite a bit goes into planning such an event! We thankfully had great volunteers that took on a lot of the work.

On Friday we had almost 40 partners roll into town with their prospective students. I remember having the same questions then that I answered all weekend this time around. I remember feeling nervous because I didn't know anyone.

Would I make friends here?

Where should we live?

Where could I work?

Looking back, it is crazy to imagine how normal (and great) life has become in Bloomington in less than a year.

I really enjoyed introducing all of these people to Kelley and IU and Bloomington. You know how when you really like something you can't wait to tell other people about it? We have LOVED our time at Kelley so far and it was so fun to get to see others getting more and more excited about opportunities here.

Smiling

I have two big reasons to smile today:

1. Riley is back at home with us. My parents took care of him while we were gone and they were nice enough to meet up with us in Merrillville last night for the hand off. (Thanks again, guys!)

2. March Madness starts soon and "bracketing" is a non-negotiable item on my agenda today. I love the NCAA Basketball tournament. And I'm so very excited that a team I care about (Go Hoosiers!) is actually competing. Michigan, sadly, hasn't made the cut in awhile. Each year Josh and I put stakes on our brackets and compete against each other in addition to other pools we're in. If I win, he has to take me out for Chinese food. I haven't beat him yet, but THIS IS MY YEAR.

IU Flags

Seriously, this is the most excited I've ever seen a big group of people (including Lora) get about cheerleaders running around in circles with flags. SUPER big tradition at IU basketball games. It is a little crazy how much people get into it.

Valentine's Day Date

We're not huge into Valentine's Day around here, but like to celebrate on a small-ish scale.

Actually, on our first married Valentine's Day we decided, in light of a limited budget, to let the holiday pass us by - we didn't need it, right? Then that night I came home from work and cried because I didn't get any flowers. One of my more shining moments - ha! We then decided to bake heart-shaped cookies and watch a romantic comedy. Much more my style!

Anyway, this year we're going to help out with a "Parents Night Out" event with the business school - basically providing free babysitting on Valentine's Day. Should be fun. So to celebrate the holiday we just spent the day together on Saturday. Wonderful! It involved a trip to Archiver's (yay!) and a real mall in Indy and lunch at Stir Crazy, which we decided that we liked. Our gifts? New shoes for each other (Josh's were needed, mine - not so much).

There is something so romantic for me in simple times spent together. I love it.

As Promised - Gala Pictures

Completely Random

I realized that I've missed blogging about some things recently, so here is some catch up.

See left for a shot of Josh & family playing some golf from our recent trip to Phoenix. I was observing the game from a hill next to the bunker - a great place to sit. We spent a relaxing 5-ish days in the Phoenix area over New Year's. Lots of good eating, board game playing (I even won a couple games of Settler's and Ticket To Ride this time!) and family time. Plus IU was in a bowl game (BIG STUFF for IU) and we got to see them lose. Sad, but still fun to go and support the Hoosiers. Plus, who doesn't get excited about a little arm marching?

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And now we're back in Indiana and working/schooling/etc. and have been for about a week.

I am in LOVE with my new Cricut. A scrapbooker/card maker's dream. Seriously, with the exception of the Christmas tree on the left, everything you can see here was cut out with my new toy.

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I'm not a manual-reader but my friend Lora is and went through page by page and explained all the cool features. Glad she did because I learned all sorts of fun things about its capabilities. Like big shapes, small shapes, paper saving, etc. I'm looking forward to making special cards and things for family and friends. Plus the exciting scrapbooking dimension... mm... :)

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And of course a fur-ball update. Josh and I came home from AZ early Thursday morning, but we didn't get the rug-rat back until Sunday evening. A very sad couple of days! But we knew of someone that was conveniently already driving from Grand Rapids to Bloomington that Sunday and figured it was worth it to wait. Definitely nice to not have to take a big road trip to get him! But we're super excited to have him back at home with us. What a joy he is, even if he does like to chew on my slippers from time to time.