We're in!

We did it! With the help of many hands we are now in our new house.






The West clan came in full force and with help from both families and friends we made it in one trip. Here are some photos- Clara was especially fond of the ramp and the boys all had a great time on the back deck. It sort of reminds me of a fort, so I imagine it would be pretty cool for a kid.


The cats came the next day and have been slowly adjusting. Today we introduced them to their new yard. It was actually a pretty amusing experience. I had read all about introducing your cat to its new territory, so following the expert advise I bought a cat harness and leash so I could walk them around the perimeter of the yard. This was all great in theory, but how do you get a cat to walk on a leash?

I got out the harness and wrapped it around Mardi who jsut laid there, she didn't fight so I was taking this as a good sign. It was really tight- she's kind of a stocky girl- and when I stood her up she sort of folded back down to the deck. I tried one more time and decided it was a hopeless cause. I decided to just go for it, so I opened the door and started walking around the yard. She followed like a dog, sniffing and rubbing her cheeks on all the corners she could find. She got really excited about the apple tree, I imagine she'll spend quite a bit of time up that tree. Ellie came out after her and was a little less obedient, but made the trek around the yard with me with little trouble. They spend the bulk of the morning wandering around the yard and exploring under the deck. Tonight they have been in and out and I think the only danger of them not finding their way back to the food dish is if someone falls in love with them and takes them home. I was really stressed about them getting lost, but they are just fine.

Ryan has oral arguments tomorrow, so he's busy preparing. This is the part of law that he is most excited about, so there's no nerves- just anticipation.

Work has been busy lately. We are in the final stretch for the year and are happy to see revenues posting well above '06. With most of the newspapers in the country reporting declining revenues, it's nice to see that we are still gaining. It's generally the last quarter of the year that makes the entire year worth while, we just have tendency to forget that and spend the first three quarters beating ourselves up. Hopefully the high from this part gets me through this crazy cycle again.

We look forward to having everyone over! It's so nice to be home!