Beach Trip 2

Just before Labor Day, we made our second trip to Ocean City, MD. This time we went with my family instead of my wife's. Once again, we had a fun and relaxing vacation. We were a much larger group this time, as our friends Ben and Michelle (and extended families) came along too. At the beginning of the week we numbered, by my count, 17 people in three condos! That group included two babies, two moms, two dads, two grandfathers, three grandmothers, a great-grandfather, two great-grandmothers, an aunt, and a couple of friends. Despite sounding like a three-ring circus, we all had a great time together. Jack absolutely loved the beach again this time and became quite skilled at sandcastle destruction. The hardest part, as always, was coming home.

We're In The Place!

Just a quick update to say it looks like everything is now official with our plans to move to New Market next spring. We signed a contract with the builder this past Sunday and will be giving them a deposit this weekend. If everything goes smoothly, we'll be moving next April or May, just after the new baby arrives. I'll post more details soon. Obviously the bulk of my free time has been consumed with many house-related decisions lately, but now that it's a go, we are thrilled beyond words!

A Busy End to Summer

Despite the unwelcome bout of late-season humidity we've experienced this week, summer is about to officially give way to fall in a few short days. This has been a busy time for us, as reflected in my lack of new posts in almost a month. This will be a quick update on our recent adventures, most of which I hope to talk about in greater detail in subsequent posts.

First, we spent a second week in Ocean City at the end of August. A great time was had by all, and we were, as always, sad to have to come back home. The trip was relaxing and the weather, despite forecasts to the contrary, was wonderful.

Second, things are progressing nicely with the new baby as my lovely wife enters the second trimester of pregnancy. Everything is pretty routine at this point. Another eight or so weeks and we should be able to learn the sex. It is no secret that I wanted a boy first, and we got lucky there, so this time I'm not as opinionated. However, another boy would be easier financially speaking, since we already have all the boy clothes and other boy stuff, which wouldn't be an issue except that...

We are officially house hunting. Actually, I wouldn't call it "hunting," because we have already found our dream home. The big issue now is figuring out if we can afford it. We found a new development in historic New Market, Maryland, and it has pretty much everything we are looking for in a home. It is definitely above the price range we were looking at, but this is exactly what we want. The consensus I have gotten from talking to friends and family is that we should go for it, even if it is a stretch. So, we're continuing to work with our real estate agent and mortgage broker to see if we can make it happen. If we can, it looks like the house would be ready for us sometime around June of next year. Expect future posts to focus on this saga, as we are so excited (and nervous) that we can barely sleep at night!