Robyn and Joel's Blog: Chronicling our Copenhagen Adventures

Yes, we're that interesting.


Thursday, May 31, 2007

We kissed Carbondale Goodbye!

After Joel's graduation we spent several days with Joel's aunt and uncle (and the rest of Joel's immediate family) in Batavia, Il. We had a lot of fun relaxing after the busy weekend. Batavia is a beautiful suburb of Chicago and we enjoyed going for walks and consuming several of the local delicacies (fried cheese!). The men went shooting for an afternoon while the women did a bit of shopping.

A bit more rested and relaxed, Joel and I spent the next week packing up our house. We sold most of our stuff at a garage sale (thanks for your help, Ronn!) and the rest went in storage. I completely underestimated how long it would take us to pack up and move -- there were so many little things to take care of! And, of course, there were several things that didn't go exactly as planned. But, we (finally) packed up our car, including Bodhi and Lola Mae, and headed for Austin. After a stop in a rather seedy part of Memphis to ship our books to Copenhagen, we arrived at my parents house in Austin at 2:30 the morning. Bodhi and Lola Mae will spend the next two years with my parents (and will be thoroughly spoiled I am sure!). They immediately made the house their own and have my parents at their beck and call.

We were only able to stay in Austin for a few short days before we headed to California to spend some time with Joel's family. I had to attend the International Communication Association Conference annual convention in San Francisco for several days, but we are now all in Carlsbad enjoying the cool but sunny weather. Joel's uncle Bill and Grandma will join us in Carlsbad for a few days. They should arrive tomorrow.

The next stop in our magical mystery tour is Florida to celebrate the 60th wedding anniversary of my grandparents, William and Virginia Little. 60 years together! Joel and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary yesterday -- I can hardly imagine 60 years together! That said, I hope I have 60 more years with Joel. Who knew marriage could be so fun!

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Joel Graduated!

Date: May 12, 2007
Place: Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana.

Joel and I traveled up to West Lafayette to meet Joel's parents and brother Travis and attend Joel's graduation. After a busy week trying to finish up our grades and pack our house, we arrived in Lafayette Friday night. Silas and Marsha (Joel's parents) told me I was boss for the day (Saturday) and I was responsible for making sure Joel was in place at the right time and we had good seats for the commencement exercises. Well, as most of you know, I never pass up the opportunity to be the boss... so I ran a pretty tight ship that day! The good news is that Joel was in place with plenty of time to spare and we were in line early enough to push our way to the PERFECT seats! For those of you unfamiliar with Purdue University commencement exercises, seating is open -- no assigned seating. So, everyone has to line up until they open the doors and then we push to get to our preferred seats. It reminded me of a rock concert! Anyway, the ceremony was wonderful -- the speeches meaningful and short, the choir and band inspiring and in-tune, and the graduates handsome (see enclosed picture) and orderly.

After a few hours of pictures around campus (the weather was beautiful-- sunny but not too hot!) we joined our long-time friends for a wonderful celebratory meal at our favorite steakhouse, Mountain Jacks.

It is hard to believe our time with Purdue is over -- we are both officially Drs.! We leave with much gratitude and excitement. Our years at Purdue were thrilling, stressful, challenging, and happy. We made life-long friends, discovered the depths of our own creative and mental abilities, and met each other. Not a bad six years! All Hail Purdue!

Too long since last post!

I can't believe its been over a month since my last post! So much has happened... Joel graduated... we moved... etc. I promise to update our blog (and include lots of pictures) over the next few days!

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