Columbus Revisited

With Clint still out of work, we have a lot of time on our hands. We decided to go visit our friends in Columbus. I think I should stop calling them friends. They are more like family.

I knew Owen liked trains, but now it is clear that he LOVES them. Well, I know what SOMEONE is getting from Santa Claus this year!

Cristie making Owey giggle.

Owey hard at work on the Kimmins' computer.

Ah, is this what it would look like if we had a girl next. Ah, swoon.

Funny girl.

Abbie on the grass.

Abbie and Owey

Clint, Andrew and Owey. Scott, Clint and Andrew all went golfing on Wednesday. They had a great time, but it was probably 1,000 degrees out and they all came back with sunburn.

Owey liked to show the girls how good he is at closing doors.

Adam on the slide. The entire time we were there, Adam only called Owen "Baby Owey." It was pretty much adorable.

Allie taking Owen down the slide.

Owen kept taking Abbie's stroller, so she had to run away with it :)

More train-playing.
Being in Columbus did something to me this trip, and I don't mean make me nauseous when Owen started throwing up in the middle of the night due to strawberry overload during the day. Of course I am from Columbus, spent the majority of my childhood there. I don't know if it's desperation talking, but Clint's job search in the Ohio Valley is getting ridiculously depressing. He has applied to so many jobs, soo sooooo many jobs, and hasn't gotten any interviews. I don't know what the problem is.

On the way home from Columbus, Clint and I started talking about what it would be like to live there. I'm familiar with it already, we have FAMILY there who would make the transition so much easier in so many ways, a booming job market for Clint, so many more housing possibilities...

I have an excellent job that I have no plans of leaving. If we lived in Columbus, I could come back to Wheeling on a Friday afternoon, work my weekend, stay at my mom's and go back to Columbus Monday morning. I could take Owen with me two weekends a month, and leave him in Columbus with Clint two weekends a month. That way, Clint wouldn't be overwhelmed with Owen for three days straight, and my mom would still get to see Owen frequently. I'm really happy with my work schedule, and I think that my commuting for the weekends wouldn't be that difficult. If Clint can get a decent-paying job in Columbus, I think we should try to make it work.

First things first, we have not put the house on the market yet because we figured our next step would be buying a house in this area. If we MAY move out of the area, that won't work. So, either way, we need to sell this house so we can keep our options open. We need to be able to be in a position to move rather quickly (3 months or less) and we may not be able to do that while owning this house. So, a realtor is coming to our apartment on Tuesday.

We have explored so many options. I don't know what the right one is. It's really hard to figure it out. The idea of moving to an area where Clint can find decent work, being close to people we know and love, and being within easy travel distance to our family... seems like a good idea. We shall see.

And - HUGE congratulations to Mrs. Laura Jackson Roberts and family on the birth of new baby Benjamin Michael!!!!