Polar vortex in the sun

Our first visitors of the year have come and gone. We had a blast with the Cooks! 

The "polar vortex" pushed a little cold air down to southern Florida and it was in the 60's for a few of the days they were here. In true Minnesotan fashion we were still at the beach. 

When they visited last year, AJ had just been moved to AA so he didn't get to see them. Maddie loved having her Uncle AJ here to play in the water with her.

Maddie's signature move, putting her finger in your ear

We love having family and friends visit us during the season. We miss them already!

Florida or bust

We are settled into our new temporary home!

The 28 hour drive was long, but much more bearable because we were able to be together in one car. I am still a master at back of the car tetris-like packing. Every little spot in our SUV was used to its full potential. We listened to every playlist we have on Spotify (more than once), the duet playlist being my personal favorite. 

We were so happy when we saw the sign for Fort Myers, and even happier when we were greeted with this backyard sunset...

Christmas Cheer

Merry -a few days late- Christmas! 

Our Christmas festivities lasted all week long! We have been soaking in every moment because we are going to miss all of these people soon. We are lucky both sides of our family live in Minnesota, so we were able to spend time with everyone.

With the Pettersens we had a "3 day extravaganza" and instead of doing presents, surprise activities were planned for each day. The theme was Dream. Play. Serve. Each day we did things that represented one of those words. 

Our hearts and bellies are full and we are ready for the adventures 2014 will bring!

Thankful

It feels like I wrote a post about October, blinked, and it became December! 

As usual, the off season is flying by. I have an excuse for the blog-cation I took. I've been spending my nights working at the hospital and my days sleeping with black out shades and a noise machine.

When we first came home, I had been working at corporations/offices giving flu shots. It was only a couple days each week, so I was hoping and praying for something more to come up. Just when I decided I was going to work as a nanny, my agency called me with a 4 week RN job at a hospital, ending December 9th. It couldn't be better timing! I will be done just in time to spend lots of time with our family and friends before we leave for the season. When I chose my major (pre-AJ) I couldn't have imagined it would be such a perfect fit for this lifestyle. I am so thankful for a job that allows me to travel with my husband.

AJ and I will be leaving the snow behind, driving the 27+ hours to Florida on January 1st. Since AJ had wrist surgery, he has been doing range of motion exercises only, which he can do on his own. After Christmas he will be able to start doing actual baseball stuff. So he will be doing all of that at the Twins facility in Fort Myers. Perfect timing for us because I am going back to the same hospital I worked at last year for a 4 month contract job that begins January 7th!

We are currently unpacking and repacking our lives into "coming with us for the season" and "stay home" boxes. I think we're going to do a little better this year. When we were packing to come home at the end of the season we were laughing at the amount of unnecessary things we had. This year we are on a strict list. Sooo we can never have more than 4 people over at once because we're only bringing 4 plates. *Don't worry Pettersen clan, our FL house is fully furnished ;)

October

October is one of my favorite months. I am all about the cliché fall things in October-taking pictures of the changing trees, pumpkin flavored everything, and the list goes on. After being in Florida for the first half of the year, I realize how much I love experiencing changing seasons.

October also just happens to be our wedding anniversary and our little Willa’s birthday. The year flew by, but at the same time it feels like we’ve been married longer than one year. Probably because we have lived in at least 5 different places since then. Who lives in 5 different places in ONE year?! We must be crazy.

We knew we wanted a puppy and when we found out she was born on our wedding day it was a done deal. I remember getting an e-mail with her picture while we were on our honeymoon and we were in love! I mean, how cute is this hampster looking puppy?

And this year, our best friends added another reason to love October-Grayson Goris was born! We couldn’t be more thrilled for Kenzie & Grant. He is a lucky little boy, his parents are pretty awesome.

  

Land of 10,000 Lakes

We have been back in Minnesota for a few weeks and it's been so much fun seeing all of our friends and family that we miss all season!

We are living with my sister and brother in law in Minneapolis for the fall. They are finishing their basement this week and then we will be in our own little haven down there! We love seeing our niece's smiling face every day. 

She learned "AJ" "Em" and "Willa" within days of us moving in. 

AJ had wrist surgery last week so I got to be his personal nurse/pain pill dispenser for a few days.

That being said, we are currently almost finished with season 1 of Parenthood and I felt so lazy that I took up running. Anyone who knows me has their jaw on the ground. My husband was equally as shocked. 

We'll see how long it lasts...

Off Season

The 2013 baseball season has come to an end!

We made the decision that I was going to travel with AJ this season and it has been such a fun ride so far. Of course there were moments when it wasn’t all fun. But I am so glad I could be there for the nights when AJ had a rough game, and for the nights when he made a play to win the game. 

There are days when I am sad that we aren’t doing “normal” married life things like buying a house and living in the same state for more than 6 months at a time. But we have adjusted to our “normal.” Our version of normal is just a little different than most! We are lucky to have made good friends who are living the same crazy life.

I want to say thank you to our family for being so supportive this year. 

This road would be a lot harder without your love and support. You guys are awesome.

I am so proud of my husband. He continues to amaze me every day.

 

Happy off season y’all!