Photos of our journey out

It's been 3 weeks and 3 days since we unloaded Bridget the Budget truck and we are 99% settled in.  I say 99% only because we still have some excess stuff that we need to have picked up or something.  Just more purging of superfluous material possessions.

This was a busy weekend, but fun!  Friday we went to Ethiopian food in the east village at Awash with some of Megan's colleagues. It was delicious, a new adventure that we both savored!  Saturday we took the train upstate to go hiking, again with the OpenX crew.  What a fun and exhausting hike!  Sunday we bopped around separately, I went to Smorgasburg with Matt and his boys who are visiting, and Megan went to church and lunch with her girlfriend Erica.   

We have so much to catch up on, it feels like we're perpetually behind, but I thought you might want to see some of the photos we took on our way here.  It was a crazy adventure, for sure!  I updated the blogs that we wrote on the road with photos of the day's journey.

Day 1 - June 30th - Departure - CA, AZ

Day 2 - July 1st - AZ, NM, TX

Day 3 - July 2nd - Megan's 30th birthday! - TX, OK, AR, TN

Day 4 - July 3rd - TN, VA

Day 5 - July 4th - Arrival - VA, WV, MD, PA, NJ, NY

I really enjoyed the look back on our journey out here, I hope you do as well!

Kelly & Megan on the NJT train to Sloatsburg

30 years goes so fast...

I remember just like it was yesterday.

My baby sister was on her way, Mom and Dad had to go to the hospital and Grandma P was going to stay with me.  I was so excited!  A little sister!

The next morning, Grandma P took me to the hospital to visit my parents and sister.  I distinctly remember walking (toddling) down the hall, and visiting my mom in her room.  I also remember something about getting apple juice.  Funny, apple juice is still Megan's favorite to this day, and she drank some this morning at breakfast.

I was only 2 years and 10 months old when Megan was born, but I knew from the start that I wanted to be best friends and I just couldn't wait until she could talk and play!

We had our moments of arguing and harassing each other as teenagers, that was pretty standard.  But what has never changed is the fact that I would do anything for this girl.  We could tell many stories about crazy situations we put ourselves in, mistakes we made, and drama that we went through thanks to the recklessness of youth.  Through it all, we endured - stronger, closer, better friends, and the closest confidants.

I was excited to turn 30, and in true Kelly fashion I celebrated it as much as I could, with as many people as possible, for as long as anyone would listen to the "It's my birthday!" spiel.  Megan turned 30 in the dark hours of the morning, on a trip away from everything she's ever known - heading to a place full of hope and energy and a future that is mostly unknown, with just me and my cat Rufus by her side.

Meg often tells me how strong I am, how I just make things work, how calm I am in a stressful situation, etc.  But hopefully this 30 year mark will let Megan see her own strength, power, and true beauty.  Because today I still see the innocent, happy, joyful spirit of the baby sister I always wanted, but I also see a magnificent woman who is finally stepping into her own truth and being the person she has worked so hard to become.

Although sometimes it's nice to look back and see just how dang cute we were as little girls...

Kelly and Megan, Christmas 1983