Two months

Subject: update from helen

Last Friday marked our two month anniversary and also the end of the first marking period at school. For the most part it feels like we have been here for years. I am not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing but I cannot believe all that has happened in only two shorts months.
L and O continue to make me proud and I wish I could be as strong as they are. O ran for student council and he wrote a great speech and created really funny and original posters. It was 100% kid effort and if it was based on his speech and credentials, he would have won but alas we all know that school elections are more of a popularity contest than anything else. But it was still great to see him excited about something and if nothing else I think it helped him come out of his shell a little since people would come up to him to say they liked his posters.
L really enjoys her independence. She often rides to and from school on her bicycle and stays after for various reasons.... anything from a new direction fan club to a worm club (yes- collecting worms for a worm farm.)
It is really hard to be this far apart from Justin. We are all happy and excited that he gave his two week notice. He accepted an offer for a job in Boulder and will begin there on 10/29. It will be really good to have the Robbins family together again.
One of the best things about being here is all of the time I get to spend with L and O. It really is just the three of us for now and we spend a lot of time enjoying the simple things like swimming, cooking, and exploring our new town.
Here are a few surprises about moving 1700 miles away:

As much as I thought technology would keep the sting away, there is no substitute for a real hug and I miss all our friends and relatives. I try to focus on how fast time goes and that we will be visiting before we know it but on a bad day it is a scary feeling.

So far life is not less stressful at all. For example last week O was home sick with a 103 fever, L got stranded at school with a flat tire and I am still working long hours. I REALLY REALLY hope things settle down but I am starting to think life is simply stressful and there is no escaping that. But even still I am happy to be living here and exploring new places and people.

Longmont had their first snow two weeks ago -according to the paper it was the earliest snow since 2000. I hope that means a snow-filled winter. Since we live in an apartment I do not need to worry about shoveling and O and L got this great passport to ski- 3 free lift tickets at 20 different resorts. So hopefully by the end of winter L and O will be actual skiers.

Well that's about all to say for now. Hopefully my next update will have the words SOLD in it!