A Good Day

We've just been hanging around D.C. over this last week, but now we're finally getting somewhere. We had been looking for a house and today we signed a lease for a pleasant little condo in Sterling, Virginia! We're hopefully moving in on Tuesday. Here's a picture I took from the porch while we were checking it out:

The porch features railings so you don't fall and get injured to death

The community is called Dominion Station, and behind that building is the pool! I know, we'll probably never use it. But still. It's a POOL!

The next step is moving all of our stuff here from College Place, Washington. I've been getting quotes from moving companies, and we're looking at around $4500. So that might not work. Our new home might be a little bit... spacious. At least until we figure out how to get our stuff here.

Heidi got a job as a lead teacher at a preschool about three miles from our new home! So that means her commute probably won't be too much more than an hour! Not bad. She starts work this Monday.

I also finally got that job I've been pushing to get for a few months. I'm excited and relieved. The job is going to be perfect. It's at Janelia Farm Research Campus, which is under Howard Hughes Medical Institute. The place itself is gorgeous and modern. Here's a picture:

The whole place looks AT LEAST this cool

I've heard it referred to as "Science Heaven." I'll talk more about the job some other time, but to over-succinctify, I'll be doing Science there. Lots of the people there are my age! That's good. I'm starting work on October 4.

We found out about both our jobs and our new home today. So today was good.

I'm going to have a couple more weeks to do whatever I feel like. I think I may choose to spend most of that time with you, my faithful reader, by blogging four times a day.

Graduation

Yet one more step in the year of craziness and change was our college graduation. I still can’t believe we’ve finished college and are now graduate students, but I guess we are. Graduation was a bit hot and stressful, since we had to move out that day and the weather was not cooperative. It was still great to be done and celebrate that with family and friends.

Early morning – ready to rock.

Me, getting tired of smiling, and us, with Dr. Craig of Biochemistry fame.

With Dr. McVay – the college president himself.

It’s definitely nice to be done, but it hasn’t quite registered because we are still in classes. Sean’s working on an MS in Biology, specifically focusing on animal behavior and sociobiology, while I’m working on an MAT in Secondary Education and a teacher certificate to teach chemistry and English. We have a cute little house on the college campus and keep ourselves busy, but we love it and the end is in sight. We’ll graduate for good (for now) in about a year and a half. After that, who knows? The world is waiting to be conquered.

The Beginning

And so begins our blog about us. I’ve never had a blog before but Sean and I thought we’d get one together to share with all of you our pictures and something of our lives. We were thinking about sending out a Christmas letter and postage, but decided this would be so much better because so much more can fit in a blog. So, back to the beginning – our wedding. It was magical and beautiful and all I’d ever dreamed of.

Here are some pictures from our hours of preparation. Sean checked his shoes for “Help Me” post-its or any other groomsman tricks. A full view of my dress – I love it!

Some of my favorite wedding pictures. It worked out so well to take time beforehand and get some really nice ones.

An assortment of wedding portraits and fun from the photoshoot! After all that smiling and posing, we were ready to get on to the important part – the ceremony and reception.

The cake – made with love by my Mom and the cake topper – a precious moments figurine called “You Are My Dream Come True”

The excitement of tossing the bouquet. My favorite shot of Grandma! We tossed the garter, said our goodbyes and headed off. What a perfect day! We were so exhausted but overwhelmed with happiness. It couldn’t have been a better wedding. Thanks so much to our parents and friends who gave us a perfect wedding.