Update on life in NC

Well, we are finally feeling settled in NC. We are very happy with our new apartment. Our pool feels like we're at a resort & we are appreciating the extra space in our apartment. Not to mention we have a washer & dryer inside our unit. One thing that is bothering me though is that they don't have recycling for the community. There are a few recycle buckets in the common areas, but not out by the trash cans. Being from CA I cannot throw my recycling into the trash, so I have found a local dump that recycles & will be driving to drop off our recycling every week or two. It is a bit of a pain, but I feel like I'm helping to save the planet. :)

As far as work, I have reached out to a couple of ballet schools. I taught a ballet class for the advanced level at the Raleigh School of Ballet. The dancers were beautiful & I would love to be a part of their faculty. The owner knows Ms.Magda, my fabulous ballet teacher & coach in FL, and remembered me from when I danced at the Regional Dance America (SERBA) as a teenager. I will be teaching some Saturday advanced level classes & adult ballet classes. There may also be some summer teaching opportunities.
I will also be teaching this summer at North Carolina Dance Institute. I'll be a guest teacher for a few ballet classes during their summer program.

Things are going well & we feel so blessed to be here. Dave's level III CFA exam in on June 5th. Please pray that it goes well.

I'm now off to the pool to get some sun. Come visit us whenever you can. We have a new pull-out couch that is comfy & we love having guests. We'll be having a small house (apt) warming party on June 12th. If you're in or near the area, stop on by.

Best, Courtney

Moving Day

After a week at Tracy's lovely home, we moved into our new apartment.

The ReloCube arrived & we learned that we indeed overstuffed it, causing it to be over the 2500 lb weight limit.


Dave's 2nd cousin, Jeff, was a huge help with the unloading process.

The guys did the heavy lifting, while I (Court) took photos. :)

Some of our furniture didn't fare the 3,000 mile journey very well.

With a little furniture stain, we think that we can get our stuff looking nice again.

It only took about an hour to empty the cube.

The task of emptying the boxes and organizing our stuff proved to be the real challenge.

Dave HATED putting our complicated bed together.

After nearly an hour of bed assembly, Dave said, "we should just chop it up as firewood".
He managed to finish, but this bed is likely not going to our next home.

It has been an exhausting couple of days, but our apartment is coming together. We still need to get some living room furniture. Once we do, I'll post some pictures of our new place.

Our New Address

We have a new address:

1210 Winding Arbor Trail
Apt. 107
Raleigh, NC 27606

Our complex is The Villas at Centerview:
http://www.thevillasatcenterview-apts.com/thevillasatcenterviewNC/Index.aspx

Last Leg of Our Journey

We drove 9.5 hours from Union, KY to Cary, NC.

It was a beautiful drive. The forecast called for rain, but we had warm sunny weather for the entire drive.

The fog was creeping over the mountains.

After 10 days on the road, we finally reached North Carolina.

About 1.5 hours later we were in Raleigh, NC. :)

The sunset was beautiful. It was a great end to our cross-country journey.

The cross-country drive was a success! We made it safely & our marriage is still intact. :) Thanks again to all our friends and family for your encouragement & support. And sincere thanks to Dave's cousin, Tracy, for giving us a place to live.
We'll keep you posted on the job hunt & our new address.

Our Visit with the Clarksons

We have had a great time visiting the Clarkson family in Union, KY. We're disappointed that we have to get back on the road so soon.

We visited Cincinnati. This is overlooking the Ohio River.

There was a deer watching us. Kinda creepy! :)

Dave taught the boys how to play poker.

The trip to KY ended too soon & of course we forgot to get a group photo. We definitely plan to come visit again soon. They are a great family!

Today we are driving 9 hours to North Carolina. It will be our longest day of driving yet, but we are excited to finally reach our new home state.

Stay tuned...

We're in KY

Here are some pictures of the drive from IL to KY.

We passed the town that Pete grew up.
We approached our first thunderstorm of the trip.

We entered Kentucky. The scenery became more lush... no more miles of empty corn fields.

We crossed the Ohio River.

We thought this was funny. Florence is the town next to Union, KY where the Clarkson family lives.

Only one more day of driving before we reach NC!
Stay tuned...

On The Road Again

After 3 relaxing nights in Ames, IA we were back on the road. The drive through Iowa and Illinois was flat and boring. The winds were intense & it was difficult to keep the car driving straight along the road.

We drove by Sarah & Pete's college.

We crossed the Mississippi River.

Five hours later we arrive in DeKalb, IL to watch James play baseball with CMU (Central Michigan University).

CMU fans! Go Teas!

The wind wouldn't let up... which explains the bad hair. :)

Dad grew out a goatee & Dave grew a creepy mustache.

Did I mention that the winds were intense?!

This morning we are headed to Union, KY to visit with the Clarksons (Court's Aunt, Uncle, & Cousins).
Stay tuned...