Elves, Again!

What would Christmas be without JibJab?

Happy Birthday, Lily!

Happy Birthday to the funniest 2 year-old I know!

Home on the Range

I realize that I haven't posted a true update in quite some time. So, here is the overdue synopsis: In my post in June, I stated that the possibility of Rob getting another Engineering job in the Aviation industry in Wichita was rather small. Well, that is exactly what happened! While continuing his job search and living in Arizona/Utah, he was contacted by Airbus, North America. After phone interviewing and being flown back to Wichita, he was offered a job. Can you believe it? Back in Wichita, afterall. I think there must be some important reason we need to be here. Luckily, we had packed most of our stuff into storage here, waiting to know where we would be living. Obviously, Rob accepted the position and started back to work almost three weeks ago. I really feel soo blessed with the way things turned out. We didn't even miss a paycheck and we get his 11 week severance on top of that. Oh, and don't forget his 8 week PAID vacation this Summer. Wow! We really are lucky! The only downside is that we had to get back so soon, that we just moved back into an apartment. :< (But only for 3 months this time.) That is a small price to pay, considering what the alternative could have been. And wait, it gets better: he was offered more money and we pay *zero* for our health benefits. Yep, no premiums, deductibles, co-pays...nothing! (A raise in and of itself!) Whew! We must be doing something right. :0)

Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday

We knew we were going to be back in Kansas for Caleb's birthday, so we decided to have a celebration in Arizona for him before we left. Then on his actual birthday, we just had a party with our family. He had lots of fun on both days and loved all of the great gifts he got! Here are some pictures from both events:
Waiting for the yummy cake
The colorful inside

Racing the go-carts
Can't wait to party!
Hero for the Day
Can you guess the theme of the AZ party?

First Day of School

The kids started back at school on Monday. I can't believe I have two kids in school now! Every morning for two weeks Caleb had been asking if he was going to school that day. He was excited, to say the least. My days are going to be quite different with just the two little ones.

Our Summer Vacation 2009

Wow! We have come full circle. We hit every one of these states in this order, top to bottom. We had memorable times in each place, some good, some bad. More info to follow later....

Big Update

So, the day has finally come. Rob was laid off last Friday. We were expecting it, especially since the program he was a part of was cancelled last month. We just feel so blessed that we made it through the first three or four layoffs and were able to get baby Jack here on insurance. Since the job market here in Wichita is generally in the aviation industry and there are hundreds of Engineers that have been laid off at Cessna alone, we have decided to abandon our journey in Kansas. We have very mixed feelings and aren't burning any bridges here in Wichita, so who knows. In the meantime, we are heading back to Arizona to live with Rob's mom (bless her heart) while looking for another job. We are presently packing up and plan to be there by the end of the week. In other news, Jack is 4 weeks old and getting bigger by the minute. I can't believe how time flies. We have a fun few weeks planned, hitting two family reunions, one for each side of the family. I hope to keep updating on our Summer, but if I fail to, it is only because we are literally on the road until mid July. Hope all is well with our family and friends. As for the Parry family, we are just finding "Joy in the Journey".