it's getting close!

As of today we move in 6 days. You wouldn't know it by looking at our house, as there is not one box, and virtually everything is still in it's place. Before we put the house up for sale we did clear out some things and take them to a storage unit, so as to make it look less cluttered and more appealing to a 'potential buyer' as our realtor suggested. Since the movers are packing our stuff, I haven't done anything more in the way of packing, which has been kind of nice. :)

As the move day inches closer and closer, we've moved into the mode of getting together one last time with friends before we leave. Strangely, I don't have a lot of set plans for the week yet, but know that the week will soon fill up with lunches and dinners and quick visits to say goodbye. Some friends of ours asked us this week what we're going to miss about Wichita, and all we could think of was the people. The first thing we noticed about Wichitans was their hospitality, and willingness to invite strangers into their homes and make us feel welcome. We are going to miss all the friends we've made here so much. We plan to come back for Thanksgiving, so we're looking forward to that.

Saturday was my birthday, so Friday night I got together with some girlfriends at a local mexican joint while JP went out to play poker. It was a fun time with the girls, enjoying strawberry margaritas, excellent food and music. JP lost at his poker game, but had fun anyway. Saturday we spent the day doing "whatever I wanted to do." This included going out for breakfast at 3 pm b/c I slept in till about 11:30 and leisurely got ready after a lengthy phone call from my parents to wish me a happy birthday. Then JP took me to get a pedicure, we rented a movie b/c we didn't have time to catch a movie at the theater, and then went to dinner at PF Chengs with our friends Amy & Cameron (pictured below). They have become some wonderful friends of ours and we crack up everytime we're together. We'll miss them!!! I went to grad school with Amy, and she became my supervision partner which is where our friendship began. She is a great friend! I know she'll have wonderful advice for me when I have kids b/c she's a mother of 4! The second picture shows me, Amy and my friend Chi-Chi, another girl I went to grad school with. She is such a special person and celebrated her first Mother's Day today! Her new daughter is just a month old!

Mother's Day was spent with The Hiltons (see previous post). We went for a picnic in the park downtown and then they came over to our house in the evening for dessert. We sat out on our deck as the sun set and enjoyed it one last time. We're going to miss our deck/backyard. JP worked so hard to get that yard back into shape. When we first moved in the grass was all brown and there was so much thatch that he raked up. We had so much landscaping work done to it and he's put a lot of time into it. Our house backs up to a creek as well, so we have woods in the back and the creek and it's just beautiful to watch the seasons change. However, I reconcile it by reminding myself that at the new house, in which the backyard faces west, we have an excellent view of the mountains! Colorado here we come!