Kirstin - Carolina Girl by Address and Employment! Yes! Follow Her Blog!

On our way back from the Outer Banks, we had a chance to stop and visit Kirstin in her new townhouse in Greenville, North Carolina.  She is about 2 1/2 hours from the Outer Banks so it was nice to get to stop and see her as she had just moved in two days prior.

For those who do not know, Kirstin has moved to North Carolina with her cousin Samantha, and Samantha's college roommate, Emily.  (Emily is arriving today!)  Samantha and Emily both have their Master's Degree in Occupational Therapy and got jobs at the hospital in Greenville.  All are very excited to be in North Carolina.  Kirstin has been to the Outer Banks once with our family but has been to South Carolina endless times.  I think the draw to North Carolina was that one of their favorite shows, "One Tree Hill", was focused on and taped in North Carolina so why not move there?  Besides, this is the time in her life to do it and we encouraged it!  When they first moved out, Kirstin did not have a job.  But.....and this is a good but....

Last Monday she set out to visit and contact all elementary schools in the area and outside the city limits.  I was in a grad class all week and received a text from her to call her back as soon as possible.  This was about 3:30 in the afternoon.  So after my class, I called her and she shared the great news that she is going to be a 4th grade teacher!!!! Yeah!!!!!  She called them, they asked her to come in and interview, and they offered her the job all in one day (hope she knows that is not normal but it worked for her!)

So we are excited and happy that she is adjusting well and loving Greenville. They have ventured to various activities/festivals, met some friends who live below them (they live in a townhouse and some guys live below them), and are enjoying a LOT of time by the pool.

Like her stepmom, she has started her own blog to keep people up to date on her life ventures.  You can get to it at http://keriank.blogspot.com.    Follow her and see what crazy situations she gets into in Greenville.

Yeah Miss Kerian!!! :)

Dad-Daughter Time Traveling



Wayne and Kirstin on boat around Harbor in Baltimore

 Wayne ventured to Alexandria, VA, last Wednesday to spend some time with Kirstin and move her to New York.  He went a few days early to spend some time with her as well as see Darby and Deanne.....he saw plenty of Darby and they had a little "too much" fun together.  Just kidding.  It was great for them to spend some time with Darby and Deanne and the girls before heading to New York.  He had the pleasure of going to school with Kirstin on morning, meeting her students, and watching her with the kids.  He called me and said he was almost crying from being so proud when he was watching her! I am sure she is a natural!  They spent some time with the family Kirstin stayed with before having one last night at Darby and Deannes' and leaving Saturday morning for Baltimore. 



Kirstin doing oyster shooter in Baltimore

They decided to take a trip to Baltimore to take advantage of being out east as well as Wayne wanted to go back to where we spent some time with Ken when Ken lived there.  When Sara, Wayne and I went to Baltimore to see Ken, he made everyone do Oyster Shooters so Sara and I felt it was only right that Kirstin do them as well.  Next time you see her you will have to ask her how that experience went.....she did it and I know Ken was smiling!!!!  They took a boat ride around the Harbor in Baltimore and had a nice dinner that evening.  In between there, Wayne was so pumped that ISU beat Texas in football they stopped at "Hooters" for a celebration drink.  I think Wayne liked the scenery there as much as the victory drink.  :)


Wayne celebrating after ISU beat Texas....

 And now, they are at my uncle/aunt, Dennis and Connies' outside New York City in Rye.  Kirstin is beyond excited!  She has already been on a walk with the dog (that looks like our dog, Norah) and is loving the location!  Thank you so much Dennis and Connie!!!!  We couldn't be more grateful that you are giving her this experience........Wayne called tonight and told me that when the family was doing prayer before dinner tonight, my uncle Dennis made a comment to his 3 boys (who are the ages of Elyse and Alex) something like, "And we are so excited to have the boys welcome their new sister."  It almost made me cry!!!!  She drove by her school and is pumped to be with 2nd graders as well as spend some time with James, William, and Joseph.  I know she will have many ventures there with the Deutmeyer family.....(I am kind of jealous...I admit!!! :)

They are Getting Older Right in Front of My Eyes

We had a great weekend (besides Wayne's big golf win) as the first of Kirstin's high schools friends got married. Hard to believe that her friends and classmates are old enough now to walking down the aisle and saying "I do" with boys! I can remember most of their "first dates", girly sleepovers, and graduations.......again, time goes so fast. Kirstin looked beautiful and we are so proud of her! Amidst her tears after the bride's father read a poem he wrote for his daughter, which was both funny and emotional, Kirstin came "marching" towards her father and stated, "That's it, when I get married let's just face it that I am going to cry a lot and Dad, you are going to make a speech! I don't care if it is a poem like his, but you better have something to say......and I am just going to keep crying!" It was so cute! Wayne's only response was, "Well, alright then." and smiled.

It was a beautiful wedding as Courtney married her sweetheart Tim. The dresses were colorful and fun to go with the great summer day! You can see in one picture Kirstin is being "carried" in for the wedding party entrance....fun? Yes! Everyone had a wonderful time way into the late hours of the evening, including Alex who was a "dancing machine". Elyse left early to go to a friend's house for the evening but the rest of us had a spectacular night! It is so much fun to hang out with Kirstin's friends and just have a good time with them as they are so adults now! And oh.....the memories we created that night!!!!! You would never have guessed that I taught some of them years ago....(sshhhhhh! don't let that get out....I really am not THAT old!)

So, congratulations to Courtney and Tim! It was a beautiful day!

Happy Belated Birthday Elyse and Kirstin's Ventures

My baby girl turned 14 last weekend. Hard to believe how fast time flies by with the kids. Not only did she turn 14, but we had our first meeting for her high school registration last week as well. We were walking in to the high school and it was like everything just hit me. . . .Elyse is going to be in high school!!!! I am going to miss seeing her face every day in school (and I think she will miss not being able to ask me for money sometimes in the middle of the day). Very excited for this new venture in her life. She has been spending time doing her "4 year plan" for classes. Now this week - driver's test for permit!!!! AHHHH!

Anyway, we had a great birthday weekend for her. Alex's AAU team had their last tourney last weekend so we took 4 of Elyse's friends along down to Cedar Falls last Friday night to stay in a hotel with some of the other families of Alex's team. The girls had their own suite and had a great time. Spent the evening swimming, chatting, and eating. We woke up and took Alex to his tourney while the girls slept in, or tried to. The girls joined us later to watch Alex's last game. We then headed to Cedar Falls to the UNI women's basketball game, which they won. Being the UNI men's team was playing in St. Louis, the crowd was very small at the women's game so we had pick of seats. Alex and Spencer decided to move in right behind the UNI women's team. . . .it was cute and they were smiling. We then went to eat on the Hill at Beck's and met Kirstin for the evening. This was a great wrap up for Elyse's bday as she thinks Becks has the greatest burgers ever. Wayne and I were expecting a quiet ride home, thinking everyone would be a little tired, but not so much. 4 teenage girls and 2 boys in a car do not equal quietness. Love it! It was fun though and I posted pictures.

I think the funniest part of the weekend was when Elyse and her friends were at Alex's last basketball game. Elyse's great uncles, Dean and Jim, walked over to where Elyse and her friends were sitting, without her knowing, and sat right between her and her friends and tried to embarrass her. It was cute and funny. I took pictures, but I was too far away and they were too dark to post. Her friends told me afterwards they had no idea who these two men were asking them to move over and it kind of freaked them out at first. Then then thought it was funny. They also couldn't believe one of Elyse's GREAT uncles, Dean, was the same age as Wayne, Elyse's DAD. and the other one, Jim, looked too young to be a great uncle also. (compliments to you Jim, from the girls). Thanks for the laughs Dean and Jim!

Alex's team ended their AAU season at the Waverly tourney. They did not play real strong the first two games but turned it around the last game and won by a lot. Alex did fine the first two games but then did very well the last game. Thanks to Ken, G'ma Janet, Jim, JoAnne, and Dean for cheering him on. It was fun to have lots of family there. We also got to watch my cousin, Blake's, 6th grade AAU team play as well. Great day of basketball!

Now comes baseball, track and softball for Elyse. Alex's AAU baseball team starts practice this weekend, and Elyse has already started batting practice with a former baseball coach. She started last week and was in a little pain the day after so it is good she is starting batting practice now. Softball is not her favorite sport, but she decided to go out to keep active through the summer, which we were glad to hear. I was in a meeting yesterday with the high school softball and basketball coach, and someone asked me if my family was going to North/South Carolina like we have the past 7 years. I looked at him, smiled, and said, "Not in June as my daughter decided she better go out for softball." He just smiled and said, "That's right. Good answer. Blame me for it. I have tough skin." I guess there is a week in July she doesn't have softball or basketball camp before volleyball starts in August. Maybe we will get a vacation in sometime. Life is changing for the Kerians.

Last but not least, I had to make a post about Kirstin. We are so proud of everything she has done and even more proud of the "ventures" she is taking in life. Today she left for Cancun for Spring Break. That venture is for fun, not one I am specifically talking about here, hoping she makes good choices but it's her senior year so she deserves it. The day she returns she is driving down to Texas to do her level III teaching experience. She will be in a 5th grade room for a week. Her roommates decided to take advantage of the opportunity as well, and we have been encouraging Kirstin to broaden her horizons while she can, so there she goes. I think she will be very tired just getting back from Spring Break, but she is very excited. She also just received confirmation that she will be doing part of her student teaching in New York outside New York City in a 2nd grade room. She is WAY excited about that!!!!! Thanks to Dennis and Connie for your help and "adopting" her for 8 weeks this fall. We can't thank you enough. Looks like we might be traveling to New York City for Thanksgiving????!!!!!! Might be just Kim and Wayne though. . . .Elyse will probably have basketball. Poor Elyse! :)

Have a great week and enjoy the sunshine. . .we have fog but at least the snow is melting!

Too Cute Kirstin and Graham!

This is too cute to pass up and I have to post it! Elyse took it with Kirstin's cell phone last Saturday when the kids were outside with Graham playing. How precious!