Though you may not believe it,

I really am alive.

We spent 8 hours in the car in two days. It was terrible and it was hot. No air conditioning, temps hovering around 90 degrees. Misery. Squeeze had a job interview in Large Town, SD. It went well; however, there are 3 other people vying for the position, so it is pins and needles for us. Our new home loan is dependent on providing proof of income and we have until the 22nd to do so. Yikes! Talk about a time crunch. There are a couple of other prospects, but this, by far, is the most tangible of all his potential job connections. We really hope he gets it.

Starbeans has had a verbal explosion. He is repeating everything we say now, whether a verb, adverb, noun, or adjective. He's adding the appropriate consonants to the end of words now, like, "buS" instead of "buh"; "yo-go-T" instead of "yo-go"; "caR" instead of "cah". We are very impressed. My favorite is "yo-go-t" because he often says, "yo-go-t-t-t" just for a little extra umph. He is also having lively fake phone conversations, this morning's being just under a minute and punctuated with a lot of pseudo-giggles, yeahs, and a grand finale of "BYE-BYE!!" Oh man, he is just so cute.

Meanwhile, we are prepping for our move. We gathered boxes out of cardboard dumpsters on Saturday night, listed 6-8 different things on Craigslist under the FREE section (4 things remain), and continue to add to the thrift store pile. Pretty much everything is packed, except the entirety of the kitchen, our bedroom, and most of Starbeans' toys. And the garage, ack. We have less than 2 weeks. It is going to be an arduous task, to say the least; but it will be done before we know it. Godspeed!