Our new House in MD

When last we spoke (or whatever you want to call this web interaction) we had brought you with us from Provo, Utah to Sydney, Nebraska. Well, after waking up in Sydney we were anxious to leave. Not that we had anything against the place, we just had many miles to travel that day. Not much happened that day other than Jack's first times in Iowa and Illinois. We made it safely to my parents house in Naperville and enjoyed sleeping in a nonmotel bed.

What's more they sent us on our way the next day with an entire Chicago style, deep dish, stuffed spinach, pizza. This delicious sustenance helped maintain our good spirits through

Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and even Maryland. In fact, I ate the last piece in our new house in Maryland.

We live in this little town between Baltimore and DC. (Quite close to DC really, we're just outside

the beltway.) It doesn't seem to know what it wants to be though. Some DC radio stations come in better than Baltimore and vice versa. We only have antenna tv and some stations are Baltimore, some DC, and some are both. In fact we actually have 3 abc stations. Our home is a modest sized townhouse that was built in the early 40's. It is actually a huge blessing that we were able to buy. Our mortgage is so much cheaper than if we were renting. And since for now Hilary is just staying home we have to get by on Chris's small (hey, I do my best) stipend.

So, as requested, here are pictures of Jack in our new house. (Notice his sweatshirt, his great-

grandfather was a Stanford alumnist.)

We begin with the front patio. Lined by Hostas and other assorted vegetation, we notice the artistic crackwork wich serves to remind us that mother nature sometimes has her own ideas about concrete slabs. Here we see Jack in a relaxed "just chillin' on my patio" mood. He

especially likes that it is outside.

Moving inside the house, we see the dining/living room area as well as a view into the addition that added to the back by previous owners. We like to keep this area open and free because we don't have any furniture with which to fill it. Jack is seen here in a cordial "keepin' an eye on the carpet" attitude.Looking to the immediate left of the last picture we see the shoe rack and dryer area. This dryer is amazingly quiet. The first time we used I had no idea it was on for some time (i.e. when the buzzer went off signifying it was done). We also see Jack showing off his right turn driving hand signal.
The kitchen narrow, but thanks to Ikea the space is well used. Hilary has added a shelf for cookbooks and other assorted recipes, a spice jar shelf, and some hooks for hanging things on.

In addition, our washing machine (Hooray! We have a washing machine!) pretends to be additional counter space. Jack is seen in his usual helping around the kitchen activities. These include sorting the recycling and fluffing the floor mat.

We also keep our water heater in the kitchen. It's hiding behind the bamboo screen.

Moving up the stairs we get to the landing, from which one can get to Jack's room, our room, and the bathroom. Jack was excited to show you the upstairs, but then got tired of not wearing the hoody hood.

In the bathroom he's working on his newest yoga pose (the crippled caterpillar)

before he heads into his room. He was also quite excited to point out his closet. In our bedroom he's tackled a very tricky pillow.

Descending back to ground level, Jack has moved to the couch in order to take in some classical music and maybe a veggietale or two. Notice our elegant food storage shelving. It's convenient to have the food close to the couch, but the can opener is inconveniently stored in the kitchen.
Did I mention that the former owners left us their entertainment center? Well, let me do so now. Funnily enough, we can fit all of our entertainment apparatus in this one piece of furniture.
Looking back through the house we have the revers shot of the second picture in this post. With Einstein on the right and periodic tables on the left, you can tell that our home decor is pretty much as cool as it gets.
Last, and close to least, we have a small backyard-like area. It mostly is a place for us to keep tree roots. However, one can take out a blanket and a pillow and have quite a relaxing time reading under a tree. (Or perhaps consider learning to read) In any case, this is our house. We like it. Jack has his own room now, so he thinks he runs the place. And, in a lot of ways he does.