LA comes to town

The second week I was in Boston, Laura Anne came for a visit.  She got into town on Tuesday, November 9.  This was a very busy day.  I had my first interview at Children's Hospital, our couch was delivered from IKEA, Laura Anne came, and it was the first night of the Dave Matthews concert.  As soon as Laura Anne's taxi arrived, I was out the door headed to Children's.  The interview went well, but more about that later.  John and I got home just in time to head out to the concert.  We walked down the street to get on the "T".  This has become our new "favorite" mode of transportation here in Boston.

We rode the T to TD Garden.  Because we have never been to that area of town, we got there early enough to find somewhere to eat.  We walked about a block from the venue and found a restaurant to grab a quick bite.  John Butler Trio opened for DMB but we did not make it in time to see that.  While John, Laura Anne, and I have been to our fair share of Dave shows, this concert had a few firsts. 
1. This was our first show in a city we were currently living in.
2. This was our first show in an indoor arena.
3. This was the first two night show in the same city.
We found our seats and were ready to see DMB!

Another great show!  We were all ready for Wednesday night.

John got up and went to work Wednesday morning while LA and I slept in.  As we were getting ready, I recieved a call from Children's about coming in for a second interview.  This changed mine and Laura Anne's plans but we were excited for my possible job opportunity.  So, we hurried out the door to the hospital right around lunchtime.  While I had my interview, John showed Laura Anne around the hospital.  Afterwards, LA and I got lunch then began our sightseeing.  We hopped in a taxi and went to Harvard Square.  Neither one of us really knew where we were going but we had a blast wandering around.  We walked all through campus, found a bookstore to buy some souveniers, and then found the Harvard law campus. 

We then rode the T to Washington street where we did a little shopping.  Due to our late start, we didn't have much time here.  We got back to our apartment to meet up with John and change clothes for the second night of Dave. 
We decided to go have a nicer meal and took Laura Anne to Burton's Grill.  Yum!! After dinner, we headed back to TD garden (where the Celtics and Bruins play) to see the concert. 

We had a great time, only heard a few of the same songs from the previous night, and it was John's 30th show!
Thursday was LA's last day in Boston.  John got up for work but because it was Veteran's day, he got to meet up with us for lunch.  Before lunch LA and I went to Newbury Street to walk around and do some more shopping.  This is a beautiful street with lots of good stores.  They range from little boutiques to more expensive places like Burberry, DVF, and other designer places.  There are cute restaurants, coffee shops, etc.  We walked around for a couple of hours then met John for lunch at Cheers.

As I'm sure many of you know, this became the inspiration for the TV show.  We had a great lunch and enjoyed a beverage or two while we were there. 

Sadly, it was time to get home so LA could get her stuff together and head to the airport.  We had such a fun time and John and I are so glad that she came!!

Getting Settled

While Mom was in Boston, we worked hard to make our apartment into home.  Thankfully, while the Kuevens were in town to get John settled, they unpacked all the boxes, hung shelves, got our TV and computer working, etc.  It was so nice to get here and have all of that finished.  I am very appreciative of all the hard work they did in the few days they spent in Boston. 
So since the unpacking was complete, Mom and I got to decorating.  After a few Target runs we had a rug, couch pillows, cleaning supplies, kitchen gadgets, etc.  We arranged the china cabinet, set out picture frames, organized our closet, the list goes on and on.  Let's just say that we worked nonstop and Mom will have to make another trip up here to actually see the city!  I had so much fun with her here!!  Pictures of our finished apartment will come later.  For now, here is a picture of our building.  Ours is the 2nd from the top.

John and I had a date night on Friday to celebrate our first weekend in Boston together.  We ate at Burton's Grill and it was delicious!  There are so many good places to eat here.  We spent Saturday running errands and were still trying to get settled.  Sunday night we met our friend Adam and went to the House of Blues to see The Script.  I only knew a couple of their songs but we had a great time.
 

Road Trip

Mom and I left Tupelo on Sunday, October 31.  We got up and packed the car Sunday morning and did some final cleaning around the house.  I must admit that I had a bit of a breakdown during this process.  I went from "oh we have plenty of room in my car" to majorly downsizing my wardrobe and other things I was planning to take because nothing else would fit.  It hit me that I was actually leaving.  Thankfully, my wonderful mother put up with me for the hour that I was in my bad mood and continued to pack and clean.  We packed my car to the roof and finally around 11:15 pulled out of the driveway headed to Boston.  While still in Tupelo, we stopped for gas and for food.  One last Shipley's donut before heading north.

We drove all day Sunday stopping only a few times for gas and food.  The scenery was beautiful with all the changing leaves and countryside.  We stopped for supper in Virginia at a Waffle House and met some interesting people.

We spent the night in Lexington, VA.  It was a beautiful city and we would have loved to spend time looking around there, but we still had a looong way to drive. 

As we were driving through Virginia, which was a very long state to drive through, we were trying to decide what we wanted for lunch.  If you know me or my mom, you know this was a very important conversation!  While most of our stops were quick so we could keep driving, we decided a little detour would be okay.  So, where did we stop?? At Hershey Chocolate World in Hershey, PA!

This was a great stop on our trip.  We ate lunch, walked around and of course bought some chocolate and other things at the gift shop.  We wanted to take a tour but it would have taken too long.  We thought about packaging our own Herhsey Kisses but the lady that worked there so politely told us "it was usually an activity for toddlers". 

As we were leaving Hershey, my dad called.  Mom and I were going on and on about our trip and dad asked "so is all the driving just miserable?".  I stopped for a second and realized that Mom and I had been driving for one and a half days straight only stopping a handful of times.  While on most occasions yes this would be miserable I answered Dad's question with a resounding NO!  I am so thankful that I was able to make the long drive with my mom.  We laughed, talked, sang, and had the best time!  I am also thankful that John got to make the long drive with his parents.

One last important stop on our trip was passing into Massachusetts.  If you look close in this picture, you can see me standing next to the "Welcome to Massachusetts" sign. 

Mom and I made it safely to our apartment around 8:00 on Monday night.  Now time to get unpacked and all settled in!

What a month

Where do I even begin? The past month has been so busy...note the absense of blog posts!  While John was starting work and getting settled in Boston, I was back in Tupelo finishing packing and getting things ready for my big move.  Let me just say that I am so blessed with the best family and the most amazing friends.  I have always known this but during the month of October while I was "single" I was so well taken care of!! A big thank you from the bottom of my heart to every single person who called, took me to dinner, let me spend the night, etc.  From my family, Meridian friends, college friends, Tupelo friends, the list goes on and on.... you are all wonderful and I love you! If I started naming names I would definitely leave someone out but I do have to say a huge thank you to the Rousseau family in Tupelo.  I practically lived with them this past month and they took me in like I was one of their own.  I will always love my second family!
Here are just a few pictures from some of the things I did in October.  My camera died at some point and my charger ended up in Boston with John!

Birthplace of Elvis

John's last day in Tupelo was Wednesday so I took the day off from school.  He didn't fly into Memphis until 1:30, so I spent the morning doing some last minute packing and moving boxes out to the garage.  Due to us having one vehicle now, I drove to Memphis to pick him up and bring him back to Tupelo.  There is one thing that I have wanted to do since we found out we were moving to Boston.  We have lived in Tupelo for over 3 years and have not visited Elvis' birthplace.  This being Tupelo's claim to fame... I told John I really wanted to go before we left.  So, we went straight there when we got back into town.  Here are some pictures from our visit:

Church Elvis and family attended

Statue of Elvis, age 13

Inside his home

Front porch of the Presley home

 We did not take the 1 hour tour which included the church, museum, and house.  Instead we walked around on our own and went through his house....this took about 15 minutes!  It was a gorgeous day and a great way to spend some time together on John's last afternoon in town.  
We left there and went to get the Uhaul.  What was supposed to be a quick trip turned into us being rerouted to Fulton and what was supposed to take about 20 minutes ended up taking over an hour.  We finally got the trailer home and situated.  We got Old Venice take out...John had one last John Wayne pizza before heading up north!  The rest of the night was spent making sure everything we needed was packed and ready to go.  Somehow our "take to Boston" pile has gotten bigger and bigger.  Hope everything fits.....

Saying Goodbye (Part One)

This past week was the beginning of our goodbyes.  Monday we went to Starkville to have dinner with John's family.  We also drove the Mustang down for them to take to Meridian.  We had a great dinner and enjoyed spending time with them.

Thursday was John's last soccer practice with his team.  He has been a part of the TFC 94 boys team since we moved to Tupelo in the summer of 2007.  We have so many good memories with this group.  We have been to tournaments, practices, dinners, parties, etc with this team and have loved every minute of it.  The parents quickly took me in as I sat with them on the sidelines and was still learning the game of soccer.  Below is a picture of the team in the first year (I couldn't find a recent one!).

Friday was John's last day at work.  Throughout the week he has gotten goodbye cards, gifts, and even a few lunches out with his co-workers.  He also went to dinner with his boss on Wednesday night.  North Mississippi Medical Center is a great hospital and John is so glad to have started his career here.

Saturday we went to the State game.  We got to visit with family and friends and see a win from the Bulldogs!

Now, John is in San Diego for a transplant conference.  First step of his new job!  He will be back on Wednesday and then his parents will be here Thursday morning to start the long drive up to Boston.  Can't believe moving day is almost here!

For Sale

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind.  John and I have shared our news with our family, friends, bosses, co-workers, and more.  My emotions have been on a roller coaster ride through it all.  It has been so much fun talking to everyone but it has also been hard.  When I sat down on the carpet at school with my class to tell them I was moving, there were tears all around.  When I called friends, there were screams of excitement.  I have to say though that everyone has been so supportive.  That is definitely an answer to prayers.

So, after all that talking, it was time to get packing.  John and I worked hard and got the majority of our stuff ready to take to Meridian over Labor Day weekend.  John rented a Uhaul truck and we packed it full with couches, end tables, china, holiday decorations, patio furniture.....the list goes on and on!  Needless to say going from a 3 bedroom house to a 1 bedroom apartment means lots of downsizing.  I must say it has been refreshing to pack up and clean out.  We are only taking what we need with us to Boston and it feels kinda good.  So we stored our stuff in the Kueven's office building (thanks!) and returned the furniture we have been using of my parents (another thanks!) and are now in a mostly empty house.

On the Tuesday after Labor Day, we sold John's car.  Another answer to prayers!  That was a big check off of our list.  Now, if we can get our house sold.  Someone came last week and we have another appointment this week. 

 Now, back to packing!

Here we go...

Well, I have been inspired by fellow friends and family members to start a blog.  I guess moving across the country is as good of reason as any to do this!  This blog will document the following month as we prepare to move and then our time in Boston.