Maya Turns 6

On Saturday we celebrated Maya's birthday with a big party at Bouncin' Off the Walls. She had a pretty large turn-out. It seemed like there kids running in all directions for two straight hours. I think there were about 35-40 people there. The kids had a blast has always. And of course our family was not going to let the kids have all the fun. I was surprised that only a couple of the other parents joined in. How could they let their inner child die like that! We need to open one of these in the DC area. I think we could make a killing! Here are the rest of the pictures.

Catch-Up

Sorry to my 3 or 4 blog readers. I have had some pretty large gaps between posts lately. Most of my time has been spent dealing with wedding plans. I think we are in pretty good shape but there have been lots of frustrating moments. Paper for the invitations was ordered and received but we don't have enough. I spent many hours laying out the invitations and announcements to have them printed. It took three trips to the printer (and another 3 hours at the printer showing the Graphic Artist how to correct the format of the document!) before we had everything printed. Then, on the last insert, Jill noticed that we had the wrong version! We had just made some clarifications and apparently they did not get saved. It is not a huge deal and we may let it slide, but it is just was one more frustration to add to the list. The engagement pictures were sent off to be printed but I think we are missing some and will need to print more. The ribbon for the announcements was ordered and still has not come. Jill finally contacted someone (email only-no phone) and they told her it was back-ordered. Nice of the them to let us know! Hopefully it will arrive this week or else we will have to buy more ribbon. The honeymoon has been finalized and purchased. Plane tickets - we have been holding off on this one in hopes that by some miracle we would not need to buy plane tickets to fly to our own wedding. That dream died yesterday when we finally bit the bullet and bought the tickets. Luckily we involved the travel agent that Jill's dad works with. She was able to be vigilant for a few days and got us a great price. We are flying from Baltimore to SLC, then SLC to Miami, then Miami back to Baltimore. I was also able to use a $200 Delta travel voucher which was about to expire. The guest lists for the three parties has been finalized. Yes, 3 parties! The Baltimore friends wanted to throw something which has basically turned in to an Open House. Then there is the Family Dinner the night before our wedding that my parents are hosting. And or course the small Reception Dinner after our wedding. The announcement list has been finalized Labels and return labels have been created Jill's dress arrived in SLC and is now being shipped to Philly in order to get it fitted. The reception dinner I think is finalized. The relaxed attitude is great to a point. It has not been too encouraging that we have not seen a complete summary (not to mention an actual contract) from them on what we think we agreed to. Job prospects are very few and far between. But I do have a phone interview today and a face to face next week. So that is good news. We have started researching apartment/housing options somewhere between Baltimore and Herndon in order to split the commute. We have officially registered. I had a lot more fun at Crate and Barrel then at Bed, Bath and Beyond. The process of consolidating our stuff has begun. More so for Jill than myself. Center pieces and flowers have been finalized (I think). So, that's the recap. Lots more to do and Jill is stressing because I am gone for the next two weeks. Tomorrow is Maya's birthday party so I will be in Utah. I return on Saturday and fly out to San Jose on Sunday for training until the following Saturday. Less than two months left!

Baby Steiler

I thought I would post a few pictures of our friends' new baby. Isn't Evander just a cutey! Here are a couple more pictures.

Bouncin' Off the Walls

Oops, I put together this post a while back but forgot to publish it. So, the Burks celebrated the day after Christmas at Bouncin' Off the Walls. We all had a blast letting the kid inside each of us out to play for a couple of hours. I actually don't remember if Festivus was not officially over or if the Head of the Household was just not satisfied with the results. What ever the real reason, the Feats of Strength continued - left-handed this time. You can find the rest of the pictures here.

Salt Lake City Christmas Lights

I know you're probably ready to move on from the holidays, as am I, but I just wanted to post a few more pictures. Enjoy, or don't, your choice! Here are the rest of the pictures.