fields of opportunity

Well, since clearly I need a "Take 3," here I go! Inspired by my amazing friend Samantha who is so on top of her family's blog, I'm going to give this another go.

Its August 11, and since I last posted...

* My hubby successfully defended his doctoral dissertation @ ETSU on February 29.
* That very same day we received our SECOND offer on our house, which we accepted (literally driving from the defense to the realtor's office to sign the papers)
* 3.5 weeks later we moved temporarily to Graham, NC, while we were job hunting
* We had a wonderful trip to Johnson City for my hubby's graduation and really enjoyed spending time with our friends there again
* Spent wonderful time at the beach
* Spent countless hours with Auntie Leslie & cousins Joey & Katie (who also moved during the same time frame to Winston Salem, just an hour away)
* David interviewed at University of Iowa and at Northwestern University in Chicago
* He accepted job offer at U of Iowa
* Spent one day in Iowa City looking at the area, then from NC we bought a house, sight unseen (AHH!!)
* Had an amazing trip to MD/PA to visit with Jeff, Lindsey & Jason - we went to Hershey Chocolate World, Zoo America, toured Oriole Park at Camden Yards and had a wonderful time with them
* Came back home & celebrated Mark's 4th birthday with an aquarium party on July 14, with Papa & Boggie, Auntie, Joey & Katie, and Mum (my mom's mom), and we had a wonderful time
* Packed up the whole house and then hubby, dog, moving truck/trailer with Suburban went first on Thursday. Friday we left along with my parents and headed west, and then on Saturday July 21 -950 miles, 16 hours, 2 days, 2 cars later - we set foot in our new house!

Its really beautiful. Its way more hilly than I ever imagined Iowa to be, and a wonderful active community. David has been enjoying his new job, taking the bus while he gets his bike in gear to bike to work as so many people here seem to do. We've tried a couple of churches and met some very nice neighbors. The house is coming along, we've gotten some new furniture and we are getting settled in more and more every day and having alot of fun exploring. :)