4,3,2,1...

(Editor's Note:  This was written two days ago and is just now published due to Tim's lack of technological prowess...:)

Four days.  That is how long we have to get ourselves packed, get the rest of our stuff put away, and see the last of our family and friends that we haven't yet been able to meet up with yet.  And yet the whole thing still feels like it is totally the right direction and the right thing to be doing.

Our adventures as of late have taken us to Osceola, WI, Marathon, WI, Mankato, MN and Madison, WI with a few stops in River Falls in between.  We first had to say goodbye to our good friend Laura as she got ready to leave for a big vacation out west.  It was such a fun evening with her and her family, including all of the farm animals.
Family time was a priority in Marathon, spending good time and laughs with Tim's cousins, aunts and uncles and his grandma one more time.  Christine even made some friends with the holstein calfs at Twin-B-Dairy :)  We are wishing everyone over there lots of rain and a break from the hot temperatures.

Laura, Christine, and Tim

Christine and her new friend:)

Highlights of our time in Mankato included a Moondogs game (last one of the season for us!!), some swimming, catching the new Batman movie, and spending time just hanging out with family (and puppy) there.  On Saturday we hit the road early to go to the free yoga class at the Mall of America Lululemon store.  Afterwards we met up with Jess and Joe and saw their beautiful new home before coming back for a great dinner party they hosted later that night.  

Jim, our tour guide extraordinaire!

On Sunday, we went south to Madison to spend some time with Jim and Tom.  Stop one was the Wollersheim Winery in Prairie du Sac, where Jim is a tour guide (and quite an exceptional one too!)  Then we enjoyed a nice dinner at the Essen House in Madison before hanging out the rest of the night. On Monday morning we met up with Jim again and went to the Henry Vilas Zoo in Madison.  We even got to ride the Choo-Choo!!:)

Dinner at the Essen Haus.

Tim and Christine at Wollersheim Winery.

And now we are packing and prepping.  We still have a day of friend hang out time and one more trip to Mankato to say one more round of goodbyes.  Throughout the whole preparation process, both Christine and I have felt so lucky to have such wonderful and supportive family and friends.  You guys all rock!!!

Up next, Hong Kong!

2 Weeks to Go!

We take off for Hong Kong two weeks from tomorrow.  We have been cleaning our apartment and tomorrow morning we hand in the keys and officially live "in transit" between our parent's houses.  It has been a good few weeks since I last posted.  We finished up at IMC and were able to catch a few friends on the way back to Wisconsin.

(Faculty Night @ IMC & Celebrating Canada Day in Brandon)

The first week that we were back from camp (last week) we hung out mostly with Tim's family.  There were several relatives who were in town from various places on the East Coast.  It was good to see all of them again and be able to spend some time together.  We also hopped over to the Twin Cities to see The Rocket Summer in concert (and get to meet Bryce Avary afterwards!), and were able to meet up and hang out with friends from all over too.

(Meeting Bryce Avary @ The Rocket Summer Concert on the 4th of July)

On Sunday we went to Mankato and were able to celebrate Fathers Day with my family (we took a rain check due to camp).  We went to the Moondogs game and it was a great game to go to.  The Moondogs were behind by 4 after the 1st inning but were able to come back in the 6th and won 12-7 :) Monday-Wednesday this week Tim and I went camping with my sister Meredith for our birthdays (just like we used to).  It was a wonderfully relaxing time at Kamp Dels.  :)

We received the orientation schedule from the school and it still seems like we will be well taken care of when we get over there.  The first few items on the agenda are the bank, getting cell phones and then Ikea :)  We also found out that our apartment number is 705.  We will have a 1 bedroom apartment on the top floor of the school and from the pictures it looks like it could be in an Ikea store!  There is also a futon for when visitors come ;)  We will post the full address once we know what it is.

The next two weeks are filled with spending time with family and friends and some of the last minute details.  It still feels like the right decision :)

Until next time!


Christine