Wow--A LOT has happened in 2 weeks!!!

Yowza! What a busy and eventful two weeks!! After getting back from a fantastic trip to Miami, Bill and I have had some non-stop excitement--which has been really stressful at times, but ultimately just amazing.

Where to start?? Well.....on the Monday we got back, I had a job interview with the top law firm in St. Louis, and on Wednesday of that week they made me an offer! YAHOOOOOOO! I'm not bragging, really, it's just unbelievable to me. I still can't believe that I'm not just in a really long dream--it has been a struggling 18 months since I left the PDs office and everyone has been so wonderfully supportive of me. Bill has been nothing but loving, kind, and overall perfect throughout and I am so lucky to have him in my life. Friends like Sarah, Kelly, and Teneil have constantly kept my spirits up, as have my parents and Teddy. I have learned a lot about myself as well as made some great new mentors and friends (Liz, Mary, Christy, Lisa) from my in-between work and will always be grateful to them for believing in me. Ok, now I'm crying....enough about me!

Bill has been selected to present a poster and attend a big conference in England! Yeah! His lab guy is only taking Bill--I think it's a ploy to get him to stay and not finish up his PhD this year. Bill has also had some cool breakthroughs in his human heart experiments--he was able to induce an arrhythmia which apparently hasn't happened before (these are "bad" hearts he gets from transplant patients when they get their new ones). So cool!

So now we are putting the house on the market and planning on moving to a condo downtown--we're sick of driving to work and we won't have any time to take care of the yard the next two years anyway. The condo building is literally right across the street from my new job, which is nice, but the best part is that there is a dog park on the roof! George and Otis went with us to check out the building and they give it 8 "paws up"--yeah! So....know anyone who wants to buy our house? The 'Stang isn't included, but I think some tools are negotiable.........

Amo Miami!

Ahh...Flying out of town--does it get any better? I don't think so. We had a fantastic family weekend getaway in Miami for Bill's cousin Tim's wedding to one of my favorite people ever, the beautiful Paola. We flew in on Thursday evening and after a difficult start (damn that Grand Avenue!), we met up with the Trosts, the bridal couple, and Paola's fabulous family for a Argentinian feast in Coconut Grove. Her dad absolutely loved Bill and kept calling me "my lawyer, my lawyer" which I guess is a compliment??? Friday was take two for our anniversary (Tuesday didn't really work out so well) and it was great--we drove down to Key Largo and went snorkeling for the day. I always freak out a little at first but once I calm down and feel safe, I just love it--there's nothing like it. The rehearsal dinner was a lot of fun that night, but nothing compared to the wedding.

The reception was gorgeous and a great time: Little Jake is an awesome bartender and knew how to treat the cousins right. Paola was stunning and Tim couldn't stop smiling--which is the way it's supposed to be.



Bill and I had a rocky start the next morning (I had to walk around and find a McDonald's about a mile away in order to get some Diet Coke and function again), but once we got rolling we were able to pack in some more fun before heading home. We toured around Little Havana, had some authentic cubano sandwiches, saw old men playing chess and checkers, and giant roosters everywhere. It's odd because when I asked the symbolism of the roosters the store clerk said that they bring good luck, yet the Cuban restaurant we ate at had them on the menu...that seemed like bad karma to me, but what do I know. One last trip to the beach and then most of us got on the same flight back to StL--actually, it was mainly the cousins who had to go back because all the "adults" drove up to Tampa to spend more time in the sun--not fair!

Congrats to Tim and Paola!!

And isn't Dylan the cutest?

Holtapalooza 07--Ahoy Mateys

Argh! Holts are mighty fearless pirates.

No, really, we're not. Granny's 87th, Dad's 59th, Steve's 57th, Theo's 7th, Terry and Laurie's 19th and our 2nd wedding anniversary--geez! The weekend was filled with family, food, and balloons! It was the first time in 10 years that we've all been together at Granny's house--and she enjoyed every

minute of it! Of course, she had to take a 10day trip to France afterwards to

recover.

2 Years Ago Today......

This is how summer should be.......

Gavin's got the right idea!!! Isn't he the cutest?? Anyway, I think sitting in the pool, reading, and just having a good time is the way summer's supposed to be. Gavin is, by the way, the coolest baby ever (he also has the best mom/friend a kid/adult could want!) and is the reason why we don't have our own people babies--how could they ever live up to him??

We're off to Quincy this weekend for Holtapalooza--I'm sure there will be some interesting stories to tell. One thing we might do is go to Navoo to see the Mormon settlement--Bill wants to carry along his copy of Under the Banner of Heaven, which I think is a little much, but who knows. Oh, he just got his second first-author paper published--that's two just this month! George had a late night/early morning visit to the vet again this week with the same problem as before. Now the vet thinks it might be some sort of muscle disease that (fingerscrossed) we may have caught in time to treat before it gets any worse. My poor baby!! He's going to also require extra spoiling as part of his therapy--somehow, I think I can manage that. Maybe I'll make him a carrot cake so it's easier for him to get his carrots?