We ARE Alive.

Some of you have witnessed (visually) that we are alive.

Others, however, might be wondering "hey, is she alive? Did they get lost somewhere out there in the fields of Kansas?" And my response to that is "No! No silly! Matthew has Kansan genes, you can't get lost in a field when you've got the genes!"

And so, we made it to Utah. This comes a solid week and a half late because we actually arrived here (a day early might I add- talk about marathon driving, and by marathon I mean more than 2,000 miles in just 2.5 long days) on 4/13/08. We'll be departing on 4/29/08.

Instead of giving you a lengthy update with fabulous pictures of Matthew in his sexy dress blues, a few pictures of our last hurrahs in MD, and some precious moments from our second cross-country bound, I'm giving you a list of the essentials, and from there you can anticipate a lovely and extensive post once we obtain internet in KY.

1- WE HAVE A HOUSE! We have been assigned a house on Fort Campbell and are thrilled! We'll move in May 5th.

2- The drive from Utah to Fort Campbell, KY (we think) will take us 3 days (a much more leisurely pace than our previous sprint, mind you) and we anticipate arriving there on 5/2.

3- Our belongings are slowly but surely working their weighty way across the US. On Monday pretty much everything we own but a few pairs of clothes, a guitar, and some books were packaged, boxed, rolled, papered, and loaded by some friendly chaps, paid for by the ol' Mil. They are scheduled to arrive in KY on 5/5.

4- We are scheduled to check in and move in to our house on the fort on 5/5 as well- we will be thrilled if the timing of our stuff actually does coincide.

5- Matthew has been working. If you haven't seen us, or especially him, its because he's been working in order to avoid taking too much leave. It looks like he'll have a few days off now to enjoy Utah, make sure we have everything packed up, and then head out a week from today.

6- We got our wedding albums! Woo! Fun to relive some of those moments!

7- Kamie (my good friend from high school) had her baby! I got to visit her today and it was great to see her and meet her baby Madeline. Congrats Kamie and Nate!

8- I still have no idea what I'm doing- neither in life, here, or in the coming months. While there is a seeping feeling of dread regarding this plague of unknown, I also feel excited. Both a sense of trepidation and a sense of freedom seem to have taken root in me. I do feel a sense of longing to arrive in Kentucky and begin to belong somewhere for the first time in a while, to end SOME of the transition and quell this wave of change, at least. Even while those thoughts swirl, I am ultimately happy, and overall joyful.

9- Utah is just beautiful. It is growing, and I love the people. I love the air. I love the view, the sky, the sunset. I love the peaks, I love the valleys. Again, I love the people. I'm surprised to say it, but this might be where we end up.

10- "Ending up" might take longer than we thought :)

And so, a quick over view. We are happy. We are loving being married, loving the Army experience as we've had it so far, and enjoying this short break before life resumes. I'll keep you posted, but probably not for a few weeks- we're going to soak up the mountain air, family, and friends, then get back on the horse and see if we can't get the Civic to cross the 105,000 mile mark!

Hope YOU all are well. We'd love to hear from you, and if you're in Utah, we'd love to see you!