Test 2

The family took a field trip to 'the Mount' today. Although, I must admit that I will likely be chastised for referring to Mount Aloysius College as 'the Mount' when Melissa reads this. Apparently, the higher-ups at the College prefer 'MAC' (as in, "Mack").

Anywho.......

After we stopped into Melissa's office to grab a few things she needed, we took a walk around campus.

Photos abound:








[the statue is of St. Aloysius Gonzaga -- for whom the College is named]



It was indeed cold (hence no photos of Fiona), but the sun made for some great natural lighting. Plus, field trips are fun!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

The kids got everything that they wanted from Santa.

Melissa and I got everything that we wanted from each other and other family members (I'm particularly partial to the subscription to The Atlantic magazine).

Now, the family is recovering from all of the family gatherings and travel to-and-from Huntingdon. Fiona is fighting a cold -- which Holden appears to also have caught.

Christmas Eve we all went to Bethel Presbyterian Church in Petersburg, Pennsylvania with Grammy, Noni, Little Grammy and Pappy. The kids were well behaved (much to my surprise).

Christmas morning Grammy, Noni, Little Grammy and Pappy all came to Hollidaysburg to have breakfast with us -- after which we opened presents. In the afternoon Popeye, Mamaw and uncle Sean all came over for Christmas dinner and presents.

On the 26th, we all went back to Huntingdon to Grammy & Noni's house for the Lang family get-together, at which Holden had a tremendous time playing with his (third) cousin Bella and her baby-brother Landyn. Landyn took quite a liking to Bert as well.

On the 27th, we all piled into the PT for one more trip to Huntingdon for a visit at Popeye and Mamaw's house. Aunt Naomi and cousin Eleanor (Popeye's sister and neice -- from Virginia) were in town and we all wanted to visit. Picture:



We also witnessed a surprise visit from Cliff Anders -- a high school friend whom Melissa and Bert haven't seen in several years.

While it has been an extremely busy few days, it has been exceedingly enjoyable for our entire family. We cherish each moment that we have with friends and loved ones -- and we are fortunate to have had many such moment in the past week.

This is what being a parent is all about -- particularly during the holiday season.

Before:



Approximately two hours later:



Thank you Grammy & Noni!

And, since it is now 12:22 a.m., Merry Christmas!

It's on in our household. In preparation, I've been showing the kids all of the old Christmas-y favorites. Here's one that Holden keeps asking for, over and over again:



I'll post more, as I'm begged to show them.

We were cleaning out Melissa's phone before she gave it back to Bucknell and found this video. It's from a year ago (or thereabouts), but I thought that it was definitely worth sharing...



Yeah. Totally worth it.

A photographic chronicling of the McBrayer family's attempt to acquire a Christmas tree -- also known as the 'Tree Trek'.

JB Tree Farm, Alexandria, Pennsylvania. 13 December, 2008.

[click each picture for an enlarged version]

Four kids. One house. Lasagne. Love My Goat wine.

We had a great dinner with our friends the Meadows last night. Hopefully, this will become a regular occurrence in Hollidaysburg.

...is working once again.

Since last Friday, we have had a really annoying buzzing sound when one would pick up the handset of the telephone. No calls could come in (the person on the other end would get a 'busy' signal). After unsuccessful attempts at some home-made fixing, we contacted the phone company and they sent a guy out today.

The Verizon Man said that there were multiple lines entering our house, and that one of them was 'grounded' (his words). To alleviate the problem, he simply disconnected the additional lines, leaving only the one that we need for phone and Internet.

Problem solved.

The Verizon Man also informed me that the preschool to which we will be sending Holden next month is a great school. He said that both of his kids went there, and he and his wife were more-than-pleased with the school and the teachers.

We trimmed our Christmas tree last night. It is always a special time for our family when we decorate.

Because of The Move, we are decorating later than usual this year. However, with the tree up and most of our boxes unpacked, our house is truly starting to feel like a home.

Now all we need is some SNOW!

We are setting up our Christmas tree tonight after Melissa gets home from work.

To say that I am excited would be an understatement... to say nothing of the kids.

I love this time of the year.

For the long form version, click here.

A pictorial account of everything from packing to unpacking. Enjoy.

[all images can be clicked as they are linked to a larger version]





... and these are photos of the new house:













... and this is a picture of our new neighbors' house:



It's good to be moved in -- that much is certain. :)

We've moved. We did it.

A photo-documentary will be forthcoming, but for now let me say that it was quite an ordeal. Special thanks go to both Popeye & Mamaw McBrayer (my parents) and Grammy & Noni Angelo (Lis' parents) for helping with the move -- and with the kids. I have no idea how we would have been able to pack up a 26-foot-truck with children running around... to say nothing of unloading said truck.

Yowza.

The schedule went something like this:

Wednesday, November 26th: A surprise, one-day-earlier-than-planned visit from Popeye & Mamaw. Also, a surprise call from the U-Haul guy to invite me to pick-up our truck one day early... at no extra charge. Everything was coming up BERT! Popeye and I drove to Shamokin Dam to pick up the truck while Holden was at school and Mamaw took Fiona for a walk. Awesome.

Later that evening, Grammy arrives to spend the night as well. All seven of us dine on delicious Chinese food. Yum. We were one fortune cookie short -- so I gave mine up.

Thursday, November 27th: Happy Thanksgiving! We were all up early. The kids ate breakfast and said their goodbyes to the Browns (our neighbors). Grammy packed Holden & Fiona into her car and left around 8:30 a.m. Then I grabbed the keys to the truck.

After parking it sideways across our street (making it so that nobody could pass the beheamoth), we all started carry boxes to the truck. Thus, the long process of loading began. Around 10 a.m., Noni (Melissa's dad) arrived with his pickup truck, and some real muscle, to help load. Shortly after Noni's arrival, my brother Sean showed-up to lend a hand as well.

Packing the truck continued well into the afternoon. Finally, circa 4:00 p.m. when there were only some odds'n'ends left in the house, Melissa and I dismissed our workers to head home. She and I then spent another three hours cleaning. Vaccuuming. Scrubbing. Sweeping. Etcetera-ing. The last thing to go on the truck was our mattress.

The Wife and I finally hit the road just after 6:30 p.m. Having had no food since lunchtime, we decided that stopping in Lamar, Pennsylvania would be a good way-point for dinner. Our plans for a Dairy Queen dinner/treat were dashed upon the realization that the store was empty due to the Thanksgiving Day holiday. Fortunately for us, the TA Truckstop was open, as was the diner housed within.

Weary from our day of truck-packing, Melissa and I dined on some scrumptious truck-stop food. Melissa had an open-faced roast beef sandwich and french fries -- both drizzled with gravy. I had biscuits and sausage gravy with two eggs (over-medium) and a side of white toast.

We both got milkshakes to go.

At long last, we arrived in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania around 10:00 p.m. The first thing off of the truck was our mattress, so that we had something on which we could sleep. Unfortunately, we had no bed linens, so we simply slept on the bare mattress.

Friday, November 28th: Black Friday! No shopping for us though (not that we would have wanted to). The morning started with a cup of coffee and some Sheetz food. Our closest Sheetz store is a mere six blocks away (Melissa counted). After breakfast, we opened up the truck and went to work. With the (much appreciated) help of Melissa's cousin Benjamin Lang and our friends David and Brooke Meadows, we had the truck empty by lunchtime. Simply amaza-zing.

Added bonus: Popeye hooked-up the new gas range and the washer and dryer while we unloaded the truck.

Also keep in mind that we did not have to worry about our children at any time. Thursday night they were with Melissa's parents and all day Friday and Saturday they were with my parents. Awesome.

All day Saturday we unpacked before heading to Huntingdon for Melissa's families' Thanksgiving dinner. We repeated the process on Sunday with my family. Every chance that we have, we are unpacking boxes and hanging pictures and shelves.

On Monday (yesterday), Melissa started her first day of work at her new job. Despite being a little bit overwhelmed, she seems to have enjoyed herself. I think that she is very eager to dive-in, but first she must go through all of the rig-a-ma-role that comes with a new job (signing health insurance forms, W-4, etc.).

So, that is the long-form version of The Move. As I mentioned earlier, I will be posting pictures soon (as soon as I can find the device that uploads pictures from my camera).

Until then.