Alive and Well in St. Louis

So we've been here in St. Louis for about 6 weeks, and this is the first time I've been on here. Oops...but, things are finally getting settled into a routine, and this really is the best way to keep everyone in the loop on what's going on here. I'll give you the abridged version of our last 6 weeks for now:

We drove up here on July 2-3 with my parents, and honestly, it wasn't really that bad of a drive. I was surprised! It's right around 11 hours. We had both of our cars, and the dogs...but they did great, and the trip really went by fast. Once we got here, our first order of business was finding a place to live...we found a 3/2.5 townhouse at the right price and in a great location. It takes Colby less than 10 minutes to get to/from work most days! So, once we had that figured out, we did a little exploring with mom and dad. We went into downtown for fireworks on the 4th, and then did the Anheuser Busch Brewery Tour...which actually happened to be about a week before they were bought by Inbev. So, I'm really glad we got to do that before the buy out happened! It is such a neat and impressive piece of St. Louis history...and I don't know if they'll keep the tours going for too much longer. And of course, we had lots of good meals...anyone that knows my dad, knows that food is always an important part of any trip. :) We had a great time with mom and dad, and can't WAIT for them to come back! This is only a small part of the brewery campus...it's huge!

About a week later, Colby's parents came up to help us get everything into the house and unpacked. They were such a HUGE help, and literally by the time they left, we had the house in livable condition...even had things hung on the walls! They were able to stay for almost a week, and that was such a blessing. We really got a lot accomplished in that time. We also got to go downtown with them to see the arch, which I had not seen up close an personal at all yet. We still haven't gone up in it yet, but hopefully we will soon. It is such a neat site driving into downtown and seeing it through the buildings!


Since then, we've just been going through day to day stuff. It's definitely been an adjustment working from home...but, I feel so fortunate to be able to...it's been great. Colby's job is going well and he really likes all the people he works with. In fact, last night, we drove into downtown to go to dinner with Dave and Katie, who he works with. It was a lot of fun...they are doing "Downtown Restaurant Week" through this weekend, and all of the 25 restaurants downtown have special menus...you get a 3 course meal for $25. They have a list of appetizers, entrees and desserts, and you get to pick one of each. It was a lot of fun, and great food!

We've also found a great church and have met some wonderful people there. They have all been so welcoming and friendly, and have really reached out to us. That has been the best thing for us here...being so far away from family and friends...it's nice to find a group of people to connect with. They've kept us busy with dinners, lunches, games, etc. It's been a lot of fun. In fact, we're going to dinner tonight with a couple from church. Funny sidenote: this couple is from Texas too...he (Phil) actually grew up in Odessa, of all places, went to school at LCU, and is a HUGE Texas Tech fan...small world!

Other things we've done in STL so far:

• Saw Miss Saigon at the Muny (huge outdoor amphitheater in Forrest Park, built in 1913 as the Municipal Opera) Really fun!!
• Went to a GREAT old Farmer's Market in Soulard (a south city neighborhood about two blocks from Busch Stadium) We will definitely be doing our produce shopping at a farmer's market while we're here! So much cheaper than the grocery store, so fresh, and so much variety! I think we'll try a different one next time...there are many to choose from here. The Soulard FM has a claim to fame though: it is the oldest FM west of the Mississippi! It has been around since 1779...I can't even comprehend that.

On another note (no pun intended), Erin came to town last weekend, and we drove to Kansas City for her to audition for American Idol...but that is a post all in itself...coming soon. We took this picture in the car at 4:30AM on the way to the arena...I've never looked so awake at 4am...but we were excited...the enthusiasm wore off around hour 13!

So...to sum it all up, we really like St. Louis so far. There is so much to do and see, we haven't even scratched the surface. We really want to take advantage of our time here, and see everything STL has to offer. There are definitely days when we are homesick, and think..."what are we doing here?" This week was hard, Lauren got a teaching job in Midland and had to go into work on Tuesday and tell them that was her last day there, and then pack that night and drive to Midland on Wednesday to look for an apartment. I wanted nothing more than to be there to help her. There are good days, and there are hard days...but, it will get easier. I think the first few months are always the toughest...at least that's what I've heard.

I've also heard that St. Louis is a great place for a vacation... so COME VISIT!! :)