"Life is what happens when your making other plans"

We are writing this to inform all of you of a major decision that was recently made by the two of us. Before we get into the decision let’s set the stage:

Two months ago Michael’s group got transferred at TI, shortly after the plans for the kind of work being done in Denmark changed. Originally Michael was sent here to Dallas to train as a High-Power designer for a year then take that knowledge to Denmark where he would help start a high-power design center. Due to the change in focus of the Copenhagen department this was no longer possible. They now will no longer be doing High-Power designs, they will instead focus on low-power digital specific designs. This presented a huge problem as Michael has become very good at high-power design, and his boss here in Dallas did not want to lose him. After much discussion between many people at TI it was decided our future was up to us. We could either go to Denmark and Michael could change his career path or we could stay and continue working on what he has been doing up till now. If this were it, it would have been a simple choice to leave but in order to make Dallas an attractive option (they learned how much we dislike it here) they made some concessions that appealed to both of us. They made it a special point to address Nichole’s concerns and dislikes as they realized that she was equally affected by the change. This presented us with the problem of having two very attractive options, both with many benefits and having to pick one knowing we would be sad to let the other go. At least we were in a win-win situation.

We spent about one and a half months talking and discussing our future with each other to figure out what would be best for us, not only now, but in both the near and far future. We both agreed that Dallas is not our top choice of cities to be living in at this moment. We also both agreed that we loved Denmark and really want to go back. It was obvious to us that we both would rather move back to Copenhagen than stay here, so it is very odd that we came to a very difficult and 100% sure agreement that staying in Dallas was our very best option. You read right, we are NOT moving back to Denmark. We will still be going to Denmark, but instead of being there for a couple years, we will only be there for about a month. This will give us the time to do the things we wanted to do when we got back and finish doing the things we didn’t get to do when we left. We will be traveling around a little during our prolonged stay and will be spending considerable amounts of time out of the city. Specifics are to be determined, however in about a month (June 11^th) we will be traveling to Tokyo, Japan for a week on business, which we are very much looking forward to.

We have had to think of ways to make our time here a bit easier as we need to make the best out of living here. We also have decided that our home here in Allen, which we absolutely love as it is gorgeous and perfect for us, is just too far away from everything we do on a day to day basis and so we will be moving sometime after August. The only 2 reasons we originally moved to this house, are now gone. 1. A backyard for Hendrix and 2. We wanted to live in a big house before we had to live in a closet in Denmark. Getting a new place will also help give us a fresh start here. We are not sure yet where we will be moving to but we have some ideas about what areas we like. One of the hardest things we will have to do is set our lives back up to stay as there was a lot we had done already to prepare ourselves and our whole lives for the move.

This has been a very difficult decision for us and both of our options had numerous pros and cons. While we are both very disappointed that we will not get to move back to Denmark, we are looking forward to future endeavors that we have planned and are optimistic that everything will work out better for us this way.

I am sure everyone will have many questions that we have not answered but we have done the best we can for now. Please don’t feel bad or sorry for us, as this was our decision and ours alone.

Thank you for all of your support while we were planning to move overseas and we know it was hard for some of you to be excited about us leaving again. We have some wonderful family and friends. We also know everyone will support our new decision and we thank you for that.

Easter!!!

I have been really bad at posting lately and realized I never said how our Easter was. I know this is 1000 years late, but I'm gonna tell about it anyways. We had a good day. It was nice and relaxing. We went to the gym in the morning, came home and laid outside and read and we made dinner together and ate outside because it was a georgous day!! Our neighborhood was bustling with little ones playing in their front yards and I'm sure a lot of them were looking for Easter eggs. We realized last year and kept hold of this thought, that right now its hard to do much of anything for Easter since 1. we aren't kids anymore and 2. we don't have kids of our own to play Easter bunny with. Oh well, really it was just like a normal weekend day..went to the gym, and spent some time outside and cooked and ate. Haha, but oh well, what can you do?? Here are some pictures from Easter.








Tonight is Jason's birthday so him and Mary and us are going to Midieval Times. I've never been without the band and neither has Michael. Should be a good time. I plan on taking plenty of pictures :)

8 Months

Geez, where has the time gone? I seriously can't believe that we have been here 8 months already. Its almost been a year since TI flew us here for our house hunting trip to figure out where the heck we wanted to live. Its funny because at the time we decided Plano was toooo far North for us, and come a few months later we are living in Allen which is even further North. How ironic.

I haven't had any big realizations throughout the past month on living here. But it has been nice that people are starting to become familiar. The girl at Starbucks doesn't even have to ask what I want anymore, the people at the deli I think get scared when they see me coming because I always get a lot of stuff from them, the lady at target as started asking if I am sure I don't want a target card with a smile instead of just, are you interested in a target card. She said one day, she will get me to get one. (in a very sweet funny way of course) All of our doctors we have seen a few times and really like all of them and of course the people we see the most are all the folks in the gym and the people that work there. So there it is, that is my realization for this month, people have started to become familiar finally!

P.S. I still don't like driving here, in fact I have realized when I am on the big highways, I'm actually scared and I also still don't like how big the DFW area is. TOOO BIG!

OMG its How Hot??

It got into the the 100's yesterday and has potential to do it again today...and its only April...BLAH! I think this is the start of a VERY VERY hot summer and a VERY expensive summer as well running the AC. Sure, I grew up in the deserts of El Paso where the highs in the summer were always well into the 100's and lived in Lubbock where the highs were very high as well, but I think the thing that will make this summer more miserable then those is one key factor.. humidity. This is what I have been dreading since we moved here. It will be a big change from the wonderful dry heat.... Hopefully we won't melt! :o)

Am I Michaels What?!?!?!

Today at work one of the guys Michael works said during a conversation with Michael, "You have a daughter right?" Obviously Michael said, "No." The guy said, "well I thought that was a picture of your daughter in your office... " "Michael said, no, thats my wife, shes actually 6 months older then me" At this point the guy got up and walked to Michaels office to look at the picture. He then asked Michael in shock how old he was, and Michael said 26. Seems like a funny situation. Actually this is the second time in a week or so that people have thought we had a big age difference between us and have been shocked when they find out that I am older than Michael and that we are both 26. Good stuff...

Pictures FINALLY!

YIPPEE!!!! Michael finally got my new computer hooked up to the server! It took longer then expected but the problem was something as simple as my computer and the server were running different versions of the software so wouldn't sync up! So I have spent the morning working on our website and now I have close to 400 new pictures up in 4 new photo galleries. I have stuff from Pam's visit, My mom and Sharon's visit, My Cousin and his fiance's visit, and Trees Wedding Weekend. I know a lot of you have kinda stopped going to the website and are just coming here now so that's why I am telling you on here that it is updated. There are some glitches and some broken links, but I am working on them. However, if you run across any please let me know. I can't check every link on that thing very efficiently. Now I suppose I should get on with my day, and stop playing with the website. ENJOY! www.mnp8.com

Hutto

We had a fun weekend in Hutto. The drive isn't too bad, just a few hours, but lots of cars the entire way. Our drive back was pretty awful with the amount of cars on the highway. blah, what can you do? We had a really great time though. It was nice as always to spend some time with Michaels dad, Rhonda and his step bro too. We didn't do much except relax and that is exactly what we wanted to do. Now that we know how close it is, hopefully we will make it back there a couple more times before we leave.

Speaking of leaving, Michaels meeting with his boss is tomorrow to talk all about it, and then Klaus has a meeting with their boss immediately after to discuss it as well. Hopefully tomorrow, we will know a lot of new information or at least be one step closer to knowing a bunch of stuff we are wanting to know. yippee!

Heading to Hutto

We are leaving out of here about 3:00ish to head down to Hutto. It is just North of Austin. Michaels dad was transfered down there in December so we thought it was about time we made a trip down there to see where they are living now. It will be a nice escape and it will be really nice to see them and hang out for the weekend. Yea!!

Michael has all sorts of stuff going on right now about Denmark. Its been going on all week long, but rather then get into it all everyday on here, I'm just waiting until we know EVERYTHING. Information keeps changing everyday. SO, hopefully by next Tuesday I can give everyone a lot of info about our move :o) And then I will get into all the nitty gritty stuff that has been going on this week. Michael has a meeting with one of his big bosses on Tuesday about it so thats why I say Tuesday.

Now I need to finish packing and load up the car and make sure everything around her is ready for us to leave! I am pickin up Michael from work and we are heading out from there.

Beautiful Spring Weather

We have had some really beautiful days here. Not too hot, not too cold and a little light breeze. I love spring time. I take that back. I love spring time after everything has bloomed. When things are starting to grow, my allergies knock me off my feet, but that has already happened so now I can enjoy it! Sunday after Sarah and Christine and the two doggies hit the road we pulled out a blanket put on our swimsuit, lathered up on sunscreen and read, ate fruit and drank lots of ice water. It was SOOO relaxing! We decided it would be cruel of us not to try to get some color on our skin this year so we aren't blinding everyone we pass with our pale white skin.

Monday my tai chi class moved class outside and it was fantastic. The energy outside was so perfect for tai chi.

Hopefully we will have lots of beautiful spring days. I fear the summer is going to be nothing short of horrible. I have a feeling it is going to CRAZY hot and very humid. I can do crazy hot, its not like I moved from up North or anything, but the humidity is going to kill me!! Lubbock is so nice and dry that the heat isn't that miserable. I guess time will tell what the summer brings.


Going back to our houseguests, here are some pictures of the doggies!! It was kind of nice to have some dogs back in the house. Though it did remind both of us how much we REALLY miss having a dog around here on a daily basis. We tried to steal Henry from Sarah, and she offered to consider to lend him to us for a week and we would have brought him back when we go to Austin this weekend. I thought her offering to consider the offer was quite sweet of her :) Of course, we wouldn't have done it because we would have gotten attached and then would have had to kidnap him. :o) We loved Chaplin also, but he is a mamma's boy and so it was hard to get to know the little dude! So here they are!

Michael and Henry

Sarah and Henry

Nichole and Henry

Chaplin
This little guy is crazy! He runs in circles around Sarah nonstop and can only turn left. Its the strangest funniest cutest thing.

The Wedding

Tree (nickname for Teresa) and Jasons wedding was SO MUCH FUN! She had asked Sarah and I with a few of the guys we went to high school with to come a little early to help set up. We got there three hours early and it seriously took us until about 30 minute before the ceremony started to get set up. We changed and got ready in about 20 minutes and rushed right out to the ceremony. It was at a place called, "Texas Discovery Gardens" The wedding was outside and it was lovely. It had been in the forecast that it was suppose to rain, but they lucked out and the time of the wedding the weather was perfect.




Since it was April Fools day, Trees mom made all these little bags with funny glasses inside them. There was a note on the bag that basically said at the end of the ceremony to put them on and so that when Tree and Jason turned around, we would all be wearing them, and we did and it was pretty funny. I'm sure it looked hysterical to them to see all of us in them. Here are Michael and myself in our silly glasses.



The reception was SO MUCH FUN. We all had a blast. Perhaps it was because the people we knew that were there, are all still good friends of ours so made it that much more fun. I was glad the reception lasted a long time. It started at about 6:30 (right after the ceremony and was in the same place, just inside) and lasted till 11:30. Here are some more pictures...

The El Paso Crew

Michael and Myself

Sarah, Christine and I blowing bubbles

Jenny, Me, Christine and Sarah

Sarah, Jeremy and me!


Jimmy Jeremy and Michael


Christine, Jeremy and Michael

Ok that's good for now, I have 150ish pictures from the weekend, but that's just a sample the wedding was over we were recruited to help clean up and when I say clean up, I mean clean up like everything. Of course thee were others who stayed and helped as well and we took down the place pretty quick, but it made us all EXHAUSTED. When we got back to our place, we pretty much all fell right to sleep.

I need to post a ton of pictures on our website, but we don't have computer access to it right now. Michael has a little work to do on it, but when we get access back to it, I have pictures from Pams visit here, my mom and her best friends visit, my cousin and his fiancee's visit and now, Tree and Jasons wedding.... I'll let you know when those are up though :)