Farewell to Good Friends

This summer, we've bid farewell to a lot of our closest friends in Boulder. We have been so, so sad to lose them and have realized that since we've now been here for 3 years, we're getting "old" in the grad student scene.

It all began in March of this year when Jenny and Stefan Mathias moved back to Germany. Jenny and I worked together as Resident Managers and became such great friends, particularly as she neared the end of her pregnancy and gave birth to sweet little Paula. I have a thriving rhubarb, sage, oregano, and banana palm that are Jenny's lovingly nurtured plant children (she has a PhD in Biology and has a wicked green thumb). I love them and they remind me of her. Jenny is one of those people who is just so loving and filled with so much goodness and kindness, you just can't help but love her and want to be her lifelong friend. She also makes the most amazing hazelnut chocolate cake! Oh my goodness!

Side note: In February, Don had been approached by a researcher in Lausanne, Switzerland who wanted Don to come and work for him for 6-8 weeks. At that point, I had decided to go back to being a Resident Manager rather than planning all the huge (and sometimes very stressful) Family Housing events as the Program Coordinator. Once we heard about the opportunity to go to Switzerland, though, I immediately went crawling back to my boss and asked her if I could pretty please keep the Program Coordinator job (even though I really hated it last year) so Sam and I could go to Switzerland with Don. She very nicely allowed me to keep the job. The Program Coordinator position is far more stressful than being an RM (and pays the same) but is incredibly flexible. I could easily go to Switzerland and still plan all my events and get my rent paid for the entire year despite being out of the country for 2 months. September and October are a mercifully slow time for me (no events 'til Halloween) so it was the perfect time to go.

Back to Jenny... Since Jenny and Stefan were moving back to Germany, when I told her about the Switzerland opportunity, we got all excited about meeting up at Lake Garda in Italy for a week in early September. It was going to be a fabulous trip with mountain biking and gelato and the company of wonderful friends! I was so excited. Also, Don's sister April and her husband were going to Rome in October and we were planning on meeting up with them while they were there.

And then...the research opportunity fell through. The researcher Don was supposed to work for (one of the best in the world in Don's area of study) just never got back to him about getting a visa sorted, etc. Don's advisor called and emailed and called but got no response. Later, Don and his advisor learned that this man is notorious for his inability to follow through and get back to people.

So, we aren't going to Switzerland. We will go somewhere internationally, though, in the next year and half. Probably this upcoming January or February (another slow time in my job). An international rotation is a part of Don's fellowship and having the flexibility to go makes me feel (a little) better about having this more difficult job. I won't have a chance to go back to being a RM because all the RMs that live where we live are staying here longer than us and we don't want to move (and I don't want to give up my dishwasher. Really. It's worth $12,000 a year to me not to have to wash dishes by hand. I hate dishes that much and ours is the only group of apartments that you can use a dishwasher).

Anyway, so I'm bummed that I won't get to see Jenny, Stefan, and Paula this fall but I'm hoping we'll see  them in the winter instead. We still have no idea where we'll be going but we're up for anything!

I miss you, Jenny!

I don't know why I don't have any pictures of me and Jenny but here are Jenny and Stefan. They are such an awesome couple.

And here is Jenny with Smokey the Don at the Children's Festival last year.

Another of my best friends from Family Housing, Nicole Franke Phillips and her husband, Thomas, and two little boys, Lars and Yanik, also moved away this spring. They went back to Switzerland and are currently stuck there waiting for their visa so they can get to Washington, DC where Thomas has a job offer at NASA.

Nicole and I baked together and talked books and parenting. She taught me how to make Swiss Christmas cookies and was always someone I could count on for honest advice, unconditional love, and a wonderful hug. I miss her warmth and kindness and constant acceptance.

Here I am with Nicole at she and Thomas' going away party. The rest of the pictures are from the party and I love them because they show what an awesome community we live in. 

Katie, one of the coolest moms I know, pulling a bunch of the kiddos (3 of the blond girls are hers). 

This is Lars, Nicole's little guy. I miss that little face.

Brian, Laurie-Anne, and Marisa. I work with L-A and Marisa and they are both in our ward.

Sammy loving the balloon.

The beginning of much summer fun outside with friends for Sammy.

As I mentioned in my post about the Bolder Boulder, our great friends, Rick, Emily, and Adelaide Rampton moved to Flagstaff just recently, too. We miss camping with them, biking with them, and generally just having an awesome time together. Em and I had so many good times and Sam was in love with Adelaide. I know we'll see them again, soon, though. We love them so much and they aren't too far.

Here are Rick and Em on Em's birthday. I just liked this picture, even though Adelaide was missing so I put cute Adelaide below...

Maria and Nick Lindsey, another of our closest couple friends in our ward, moved the weekend of the Bolder Boulder, too. Maria and Nick were our first friends after moving here and we stayed closed all through their time here. I loved going to see Maria's recitals, performances, and operas (she's an opera singer and just finished her masters here at CU). I miss her amazing competitiveness when we played games. She makes the best cornbread in the world and she taught me how to play poker. Don and Nick (and Rick) would bike together often and the previous post is about the cross country bike ride Nick just completed to raise money for the Denver Women's Shelter. We had so much fun with the Lindseys and look forward to meeting up with them for more adventures in the future.

I love this picture of Maria and Nick. They are so much fun. 

Recently, another of my first and closest friends here, Natasha Nixon, also moved. She and her husband David and their kids, Brendan and Layla, just moved to Virginia. Tash and I became instant friends and she was always someone I could count on and laugh with. Since she was in school and we were both so busy, we'd schedule lunch dates and she'd come over here and we'd talk for hours while Sammy napped.  She is one of the most accepting, strong, and talented people I know and I miss her so much. She is going to be extremely successful in life and I hope to see her again soon.

Here I am with Tash at my birthday party. We were facing off for the final "ping pong ball in a tissue box" minute to win it game. It was an amazing battle.

I love you, Tash!

I've been so blessed to get to know so many amazing people living in Family Housing and in Boulder. I am so happy here and am excited to be here for another couple years!