The Banks Family: Connecticut bound

So here is my official post that our family is moving to Connecticut! Well, Glen is actually already there. He is now a Senior Principal Investigator in the Rare Diseases Division at Bristol-Meyers Squibb. I'm so proud of him for landing this awesome job where he can continue to make a difference in the research and development of treatments for muscular dystrophy. It's a big step for Glen to move from academia to industry, so we're so thankful for the opportunity, and BMS is also very excited to have such an expert in the field join their team. The girls and I will join him after Christmas, once we can arrange everything here in Seattle for our departure. We are so sad to move away from our family & friends, but are also excited for a new adventure and the opportunity to have a better income to cost-of-living ratio than we've had here in Seattle. That's the complicated way of saying that we're excited to move from a 1-bedroom condo to a house with a yard and even possibly a pet. I already promised the girls (and myself) a cat.

Whew, that's big news, but so many other things have happened since my last post. First of all, Glen & Claudia went to Australia for a couple weeks at the end of September/early October to visit family. Claudia's most talked about part was stopping in Hawaii for one day on the way over. She's definitely half-Australian, because no other American kid would talk endlessly about Hawaii for one day when they get to go to Australia for two weeks! She had an amazing time and was in super-silly mode the whole time (from what I hear) and got to do lots of fun stuff with her Nana and Daddy. Sorry I don't have any photos, but they're on a computer in Connecticut right now.

As for our day-to-day stuff, I'm honestly kind of struggling right now. It's a lot to be on my own with the girls on top of a full-time job that's quite intense. I am so thankful to my family for coming to my rescue on several occasions, logistically and emotionally. And on the other end, Glen is a bit lonely by himself and also working pretty intense hours trying to get up to speed with his new job. On top of all of that, my Auntie Pam (my only aunt, who lives locally) was diagnosed with stage 3 ovarian carcinoma recently, so my family is all coming together (again, logistically and emotionally) trying to help with her needs. I think it's hard for my whole extended family to balance everything right now, but overall, I think we are doing a good job, but it's not easy that's for sure.

On a lighter note, I will post some cute photos of the girls from Halloween. We were all black kitties. We spent the day with the Beltrans & Mackinnons. My girls were super into trick or treating this year. Teagan just loved running from house to house, but Claudia was in it for the candy. We also carved pumpkins with Grandma. And, our "baby" Teagan turned 2 on October 14th. We had a small party at our house with a "frog" theme, so I will include photos of those too.

My little monkey at the park.