Joey-Natalie-Slade-Naomi

After hours of driving separately, and after our tricksy van gave us some untimely troubles, we made it to our new home, Austin Texas. Then after 5 days of searching we found our perfect apartment. It is right on the river that runs through Austin and from our rooftop we have a stunning view of the city. Final touches happened after three days of shopping on craigslist. We were able to furnish our little apartment with everything we needed, and it all came together nicely.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...: Very cute place. I like it alot! Glad you guys made it safe. LOVE and MISS you both TONS!!; May 5, 2010 at 8:55 AM
The Allens said...: NAT!!! WOW!! That's seriously the best craigslist shopping I've seen. Everything looks brand new and so super cute. I'm so excited you guys have such an awesome place to live, did you get that dresser on craigslist too?; May 5, 2010 at 9:39 AM
Big Joe said...: Hey guys that is really looking great. Cant wait to come see it now. I think we are going to try and plan for the end of July. Natalie can really get a lot done when you are out of the way and out of town. LOL; May 5, 2010 at 10:47 AM
Megan said...: Natalie! I had no idea you moved! We clearly have a lot of catching up to do.

I am also very impressed with the craigslist shopping. Strong work!; May 5, 2010 at 11:50 AM
Nathan Hatch said...: Nice apt!; May 5, 2010 at 1:35 PM
Suzette Baird said...: HEY! I just checked out the blog cause I was missin you and wondering what was new and check out your sweet apt! I love it, you decorated it soooo cute! Man, Utah is sure lame these days, any plans on coming back for a visit?

Anyways I hope everything is going well for you and this belly of mine is gettin large and in charge!

love you!; June 9, 2010 at 2:08 PM

"Beautiful Like the Darkness Between Fireflies"

Every evening on Richmond's boulevard, our front yard, between the hours of 7:oopm & 8:30pm, the sidewalks are filled with the magical glow of fireflies. There are so many that it is almost as if walking in a fairy-tale. Joey and I try to go on a walk every night at this time and we just watch and enjoy the glow. It is fascinating. I feel like a child again. Last night we were sitting on the couch and Joey caught my eyes following a flying bug. Joey assured me it was just a moth, when suddenly it lit up and glowed! It was a firefly in our house! It must be good luck.

WHALES!

I love whales. Why? Christmas 2006 we woke up to sunshine and glassy water on the west side of Maui. I don't even remember opening presents that morning. We were out on the boat as a family and ready for a Christmas packed with tropical adventure. I was wakeboarding when I noticed that everyone on the boat had become disinterested in me and were anxiously looking to my left. They signaled that they were going to drop me. I thought I was left for the sharks and was less than calm until finally they turned to pick me up. It was a family of whales they had spotted. We watched as they sun bathed on the surface, a mother, a calf, and an escort. I think it was my dad who jumped in the water first. Then several of my siblings followed with their snorkles and soon the adrenaline was pumping as we were swimming with the whales! We were screaming and scared and so excited. I have never experienced anything more thrilling. The calf kept trying to swim closer to us, and he was easily bigger than a car! At one point the escort was about 30 feet under us and we starred him in the eye. You could see every detail. Breathless is the only word to describe it.