Digging out from Snowpocalypse 2010

Daddy and Daughter enjoy Snowpocalypse 2010!

For those of you that have been watching the news, Snowpocalypse 2010 is here! After working from home due to the impending blizzard this past Friday and having church canceled today, we've been marooned at home for three straight days. This weekend we have been pelted with 30 (yes, 30!) inches of snow here at ECT Headquarters. Adam's fancy new workpants and snow jacket came just in time and all three had quite the snow-shoveling experience. This time around, Karen and Sarah got to be here to witness it and we were all snowed in together. Karen even got to shovel some snow this time. (Adam's note: what a tough girl!) What a workout! We all took a walk in the winter wonderland this morning and what a sight for a California girl! Karen notes that finally she sees why people enjoy white winters.

Walking in a winter wonderland isn't so much fun when you have to shovel it

But perhaps our most exciting news is that Sarah is walking! Really walking this time, all by herself. We'll set her up on her own, and then she'll wobble from side to side before cautiously taking little baby steps towards Mom and Dad. And due to the miracles of high-speed internet, Grandma and Grandpa Hill got to actually see Sarah taking some of her first steps. Wouldn't it be cool if both sets of her grandparents could access the wonders of Skype? Hooray for Sarah and the Internet!

In other exciting news, Karen's brother Brett got his mission call this past week to the St. Petersburg, Russia mission. We're excited for him and know he'll be a great missionary. And I'm excited to start planning on Russian Vacation 2012! Who's with me?!?


Finally, in ECT Decorating news, Karen has finished another round of fabulous window treatments, and the newly stained wood curtain rods and slate blue and sheer curtains are now gracing our bedroom. (Karen's note: At least it's going to be fabulous after some fresh paint and pictures on the wall.) Adam is looking forward to knocking out another round of curtains before another round of curtains knocks him out.

A Restful Retreat: Behold - the curtains!

New Year Update

Happy New Year from the East Coast Tracys! The holidays have come and gone here at ECT HQ, and we're now celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Adam's note: Federal holiday whoohoo!) by updating our blog.

We thoroughly enjoyed our first Christmas here in our new home in Virginia, and Sarah especially liked the sparkly bows and the Christmas lights. Maybe next year she'll even figure out how to unwrap her gifts. Santa was extra nice to us this year, as we have been extra good. Karen got brand new piano sheet music from her favorite husband, and Adam got barbeque tools for his shiny new grill. (Adam also got chores to do, though those weren't from Santa) Now he can't wait until summer to grill up some barbeque!

"...but I need your help Daddy!"

In other news, our little explorer is up and about walking all over the house, albeit with Daddy's help. She is also eating solid foods now, and currently reports mushed carrots being a slight favorite over mushed broccoli. She's a veggie lover just like her mama!

With Christmas cheer all packed away in boxes, Karen has been feverishly working around the house to fill the void with warm and welcoming home decor. Once again, family pictures are up on the wall, and slowly but surely our little townhouse is starting to feel like home. And continuing the good times, Karen made a yummy hazelnut chocolate cake this past week. Trust me when I tell you that this picture barely got taken.

In a bit of late Christmas, Adam fulfilled a lifelong (though unknown) dream of his by acquiring some sturdy work overalls. After digging us out of the December snow last month in blue jeans, Adam is very excited to put his new workin' clothes to the test. He will periodically put on his new work clothes and walk around house, looking for 'man work' to do. (Karen's note: I've got the tool set all ready!) Karen reports it being endearing in a curious sort of way.

Happy 2010 everyone!

Bonus Family Picture: Our little girl has wrapped herself right around our fingers!

Christmas time is here!

"Daddy, stop moving that darn jingle bell!"

Christmas time is here! Now that Karen and Sarah are back from their wedding adventure in Utah we're swinging into full Christmas mode here at ECT HQ. Because of a MASSIVE snowstorm we had over the weekend that shut down D.C. airports on Saturday, my girls didn't get in until past midnight Monday morning instead of Saturday night. (Karen's note: Thanks Scott and Emily for hosting all of us and driving Sarah and me to the airport TWICE!) I even got the day off work yesterday and enjoyed a family day at home. It snowed unabatedly Saturday and piled up over two feet of snow. Two feet! I know because I watched it come down all day all by myself while my girls were away, with only my barbecue grill and online Settlers of Catan to keep me company. *sigh*

The view from our back door.

In other news, Karen and Sarah report having an absolutely fantastic time in Utah for Darren's wedding seeing all the new cousins, enjoying friends and family and of course being there for Darren and Tia. Here is a picture of the Hill (and Tracy!) girls lunching it up and at the Temple. Karen reports that Tia is a wonderful sister-in-law and she's so happy for Darren for finding such a gem.


Lastly, we're getting excited seeing presents appear under the tree. almost as if by magic. We're staying put in D.C. this Christmas, but we are already looking forward to future holidays surrounded by cousins, siblings, aunts, uncles, and everyone else. Merry Christmas to all!

Bonus Sarah picture: "A-ha Daddy, I got it!"

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Sarah is (almost) walking!

Well, maybe she's a little far from that, but that hasn't stopped our intrepid little girl from trying! That's the big news here from East Coast Tracy HQ. Our little girl is getting so big! She's standing on her own for several seconds at a time now. Now we just have to work on smiling for those pictures!



In other news, Thanksgiving has come and gone. We had a lovely dinner with a neat family in our ward, and then snuggled the rest of the night. Now we're getting ready for Christmas, and recently broke out the holiday decorations. We almost got a tree last Saturday, but we got surprised by a huge snowstorm. (As a side note, white Christmases are highly overrated, especially when it means scraping snow and ice from your car to get to church in the morning.) Here's our Christmas mantle! Christmas preparations are so much more fun with little Sarah shrieking with delight at every sparkling light and shiny ornament. Update 12/16/2009. We got our tree! We decorated it and set it up and it looks so nice! And of course, Sarah loves the sparkly lights!


Coming up in December we're getting excited for Darren's wedding. We're so happy for him and his bride-to-be Tia. Karen heads out to Utah today with Sarah, but Adam is stuck working around the clock for Old Man Department of Labor. (Adam's note: I load 16 tons... every day.) All that working actually wore him out so much he came down with the flu this week and had to take some time off for some extra sleep and spoonfuls of Nyquil.

Other than that things are just going swimmingly at ECT HQ. Merry Christmas to you all!

Bonus Sarah picture: This sweater and hood makes her look like a Teletubby.

I like to fix stuff

So everybody that knows me knows that I'm not the handiest guy in the world. I'm more of a division and specialization of labor type of guy: that is, I will continue to crank out workforce policy analysis and let the expert plumber guy fix the leak in our pipes. It's not that I wouldn't like to fix the leak in the pipes myself, it's just that the leak in the pipes would likely cascade into a deluge in the pipes if I were to intervene.

I like to fix stuff

That said, I was really proud of myself for fixing our shower the other day. I took out the water regulator that limits the water flow in the showerhead, so now we can revel in our high-blast water-wasting shower! Hooray for me! Take that tree-huggers! Also, I thought I would put out there for East Coast Tracy fans a little picture of stuff I've fixed lately. (I'm including "assembled" and "put some screws in" as being synonomous with "fixed" here. I know it's a generous claim, but hey, it's my blog). Stuff I've fixed lately include my bike, Karen's jogging stroller, this big bookcase thing, our new BBQ grill, and my habit of constantly complaining about Saturday morning chores. (Karen's note: He's down to complaining about Saturday morning chores only frequently now. He's coming along!)

In other ECT news, Sarah is chomping away at solid foods and is loving it, as shown here. She reports her favorites being mushed rice cereal and mushed peas. Mmmm... And Karen reports success hosting a baby shower for a friend in the ward last weekend and discovering we have a nice floorplan for parties. She is headed out to Utah in December for brother Daren's wedding and is super-excited to be there for the big day. (Adam's note: I am already stockpiling the canned chili. *sigh*)

All in all another another action-packed few weeks for the East Coast Tracys!

Bonus Sarah picture: Daddy and daughter after the baby shower

Rachel gets married!

To conclude East Coast Tracy Summer Vacation 2009 we swung by Nauvoo, Illinois by way of Harrisonville, Missouri to attend my sister Rachel's wedding. Hooray for Rachel and Scott, the new Champion family! Check out my famous sister and brother-in-law here!

http://www.ldschurchnews.com/articles/58074/A-prophets-visit.html

It was fun to see everybody again and to be present at the Nauvoo temple for the sealing. Welcome to the family Scott!

After the wedding, we got to spend a few days with my sister Becky and her husband Doug, my younger brothers Jacob (who just got back off his mission to Albania), and Joseph, and my parents back in Harrisonville. It was pretty chilly for Missouri after our fun in the Croatian sun. And of course, little Sarah was loved up as much as a little baby could be by Grandma Tracy. (Sarah's note: Read me another story Grandma!)

Balkans and back again!

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The Tracy/Hill Clan on the Adriatic coast in Croatia

From a long but fun trip the East Coast Tracy's are back home. We spent the last three weeks traipsing around Turkey, Greece, Slovenia, and Croatia - and we all lived to tell the tale! So without further ado, here are the greatest-hits from ECT Summer Vacation 2009.

Are we there yet Daddy?

Sarah was such a doll our entire trip! She conked right out on the plane when she was supposed to, and played contentedly with her toys on each and every flight we were on. What spoiled parents Karen and I are so far! Plus, she was definitely the star everywhere we stopped. From getting blessed (Masha'allah!) by every adult in Turkey to never touching the ground at the Grandparents house in Slovenia, you're looking at one little girl that's gotten a lot of love!

Istanbul was our first destination. We settled into a quaint little guesthouse about two blocks from the Blue Mosque, the Hagia Sophia, and Topkapi Palace in the Sultanahmet district. We spent four days wandering around the city and marveling at the wonders of the city. I really enjoyed touring the above sites and reading about the history of the region, as the Roman Empire split into the Byzantines Empire, which was then overrun by the Ottomans and Turks, and from the Christian to Muslim transition that was evident everywhere we looked. And we got to sample some yummy kebabs and Turkish food. Mmmmm...

Our next stop was in Athens, Greece. We spent about five days in Greece at a studio apartment less than a block and a half (!) from the Acropolis. It was such a great location we could stroll home for naps (often), sleep in (always) without missing anything, and cook dinner together with native ingredients from the local supermarket (Karen's note: that should probably read 'eat together' instead of 'cook together' :). Besides saving some dough it was tons of fun to sample all the different kinds of feta cheese to choose from. Mmmm... feta...

East Coast Tracy's invade the Acropolis!

Aside from the Greek olives and cheese, I loved being back in Athens. I was very surprised to see all the excavation and restoration work that had been done since I was last in Greece in 2006. It was nice to take a leisurely pace this time too. Highlights of Greece were of course the Parthenon, but also less well known sites like the Temple of Zeus, seen here at left with our intrepid little explorer Sarah, and the Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion.


Lastly, we stopped by Grandma and Grandpa Hill's home in Ljubljana, Slovenia. They took some time off from their duties as the Slovenia/Croatia mission president to host and tour around the region with us. We got to tour all over Slovenia and Croatia and down the Adriatic coast on the Istrian peninsula. It was fun to see President and Sister Hill in action too, and Karen and I got to speak in the Croatia Zone Conference. Talk about bringing back the old missionary days!

Karen in Croatia

And even though Slovenia itself was such a beautiful and pristine place, and Croatia just bursting with Medieval and Roman-era towns and history, the best part about the trip was spending time with family and just enjoying each others' company. We miss you already! Hooray for vacation!

Bonus Sarah picture: Out little munchkin at the Roman Amphitheatre in Pula, Croatia

And we're off!

Heading out on vacation tomorrow morning. Turkey, Greece, Slovenia, and Croatia here we come!

Baldies

These past few weeks Adam, Sarah and I have been settling into our new house, new ward, and new commuting schedule. Not very exciting huh? Well, life at ECT Headquarters is never dull!

The most exciting news is that I shaved Adam's head. Not all the way tho ugh; Adam reports being too chicken for that. I buzzed him down almost as far as the clippers would go and he is loving it. (Adam's note: It makes me feel like I'm constantly flying with the wind through my hair. Everyone should do it at least once.) And all the ladies in the ward keep saying how much Sarah looks exactly like Adam. In fact, a completely random woman at the grocery store remarked how Sarah must take after her daddy. (Adam's note: that's my girl!)

Adam in a longer-haired time... about a month ago.

And this week Adam finally realized a long-held dream by purchasing leather couches. He is ridiculously pleased with them, and for the fact that the day after we had them delivered his long-time nemesis - the micro-fiber couches that made him so hot every time he sat on them - found their way via Craigslist to a new home. Hooray!

And adding to all this excitement, we've now turned our attention towards our upcoming trip to Turkey, Greece, and the Balkans to see Karen's parents. It's come up like a bolt out of the blue even though it's been on our calendar for about a year. We can't wait to get started on that trip and see the family!

Meanwhile, Sarah continues to get fatter, put things into her mouth, and learn stuff. She even rolled over this afternoon! Hooray for our smarty-pants baby!

Bonus Sarah picture: My girl loves her some K.C. Masterpiece!

And... we're back!

To all our ECT fans out there: I've been lazy, but due to popular demand (and just like Michael Jordan's first comeback to the NBA)... "I'm back." (Karen's note: Huh?)

Camp Metzger on Burden Lake

Life has been a whirlwind for us here in sunny Washington, D.C. these past few weeks. We've moved into our new townhouse changing wards, zip codes, states, and even sides of armed conflict if the year was 1861. We're now official Southerners! Our good friends Wade and Kelli Eyerly welcomed us to Virginia with flowers and our very own edition of Southern Living, while our new neighbors brought over wine and cookies. Our next act will be to rebel against the Union! (Or at the very least against high taxes and cost of living.) Okay, maybe not, but maybe one day little Sarah will become a southern belle and live in our ancestral home of Four Square. Stay tuned!

So, our new house. We're excited to have finally finished all the paperwork, signed our names to the deed, and moved in. For all those who are looking at buying a new place or have recently dived into the market (HOORAY for Brian and Callie!!!) you'll know what I'm talking about concerning getting all that paperwork out of the way. Our new place is a 3 bedroom, 2 and 1/2 bath townhouse in a suburb of DC in Virginia called Burke, and we couldn't be more thrilled with where we've landed. Burke is a forested, small-towny, commutable oasis in Northern Virginia. Karen (and by extension, Adam... I guess. *sigh*) can walk to Wal-Mart, grocery stores, parks, lakes, walking trails, play places, and ward neighbors all literally just outside our door. We could go on and on about it, but to sum it up we're tickled pink about the whole thing. Here are some pics of our new place, mostly unpacked:

Also, since our last post lo these many weeks ago, we had my parents here to visit DC with my youngest brother Joseph. They arrived the day after we moved into our new home so they were able to stay in an actual bedroom instead of in the corner of the dining room of our old apartment (Mom and Dad Hill and Brett, Eric, Brian and Callie, we now have room for you guys to visit again!). They got to tour DC for the week and help us unpack and settle into our new place.

Warning: Don't get between Grandma Tracy and her grand-cubs

East Coast Tracys at Fort Ticonderoga

THEN.... on Thursday of our move-in week we drove up to Albany, NY for the Metzger Family Reunion. We spent about five days with all my mom's side of the family in upstate New York. We hung out at the Metzger Camp on Burden Lake, took a side trip up to Fort Ticonderoga on Lake Champlain, and generally had a great time catching up with family, meeting cousins Jensen and Maya, and seeing everybody again. Four generations of Metzger and Tracy ladies!

And this upcoming weekend Karen's brother Eric is stopping by to visit for a few days. So here's the open invitation to you all you guys; we've got space now to host you now, so come on down! You still may have to settle for an air mattress for a while, however.

How's Sarah handling all this excitement you might ask? Well, she has recently discovered her hands, and that they can put things into her mouth. She is very excited about this new development, and shows us by sucking her fists and anything else she can grab a hold of. She remains delightfully chubby, and so her Daddy continues to call her his little sausage link. And Karen reports many a happy day with Sarah while Daddy slogs away at the Department of Labor coal mine loading sixteen tons a day for the company store.

Overall we're thrilled with life here on the East Coast and thankful for all the blessings the Lord has shown us.

Bonus Pics: Quite a while ago we absconded with our little Sarah to Rehobeth Beach in Delaware.
What a couple of beach babes!