Our 1st trip to Memphis

*So happy to be able to write this post, Ava is JET LAGGED and sleeping for her 2nd straight hour*

We left Wednesday morning bright and EARLY. Ava slept great that night, I on the other hand was way excited and scared we would miss our 3:30 am alarm so I was up ALOT! We got to the airport without any problems, got on our first flight. Ava did great, landing was hard on her ears though. We had a layover in Minneapolis so I tried to pump(*note to self, either get DIRECT flights, or make the layover over an hour). We had to RUN to our flight and we were the last ones on, but I pumped and was comfy :)  The second flight (TINY) was okay, just crammed.  Ava and I both took a nap on the flight. It was so nice to have my moms help. I do not know how I will ever travel with alone with an infant.

We arrived around 3 in the afternoon, got my moms rental car and ventured off to downtown Memphis to meet Justin. We got a tour of Justins new work, his office, and met a wonderful group of people. His jobs seems fantastic. I loved seeing the look on Justin and Ava's faces when they first saw each other  what a great moment.

After that Justin drove us around town, went to my moms hotel and spent some quality time together. Justin, Ava and I then went to his hotel where he has been staying. I am so glad he found somewhere fast, reasonably priced, safe, and close to work. BUT I feel so bad he is there. It is not where I would want to be and for that much money I would rather him be in an apartment. This is what triggered a spark in me to get going on the search for our apartment. I want him to have somewhere to go home and relax. This place he is at is not the nicest, but then again its cheap and its convenient for the time being. Justin has been a trooper :)

The next day Justin had to work and so did my mom. So we went to Starbucks (THANK GOD, they have starbucks) and I dropped Justin off at work. I decided that Ava and I would drive around, get lost, and start looking for places. Since I had NO idea where I was I decided to look close by. I went to a place called MUD ISLAND. It is about 5 minutes from his campus right across a bridge, and literally on an Island. As soon as I got there I noticed a cute little up scale community. Full of color, and life. This was a lot different to what I had seen downtown. Downtown is nothing like Seattle. No huge sky scrapers, no real shopping,but a lot of history and culture.  I drove the entire Island and decided to go in to some places. As soon as I got out of the car HUGE thunderstorm and down pouring rain came through. I looked at 3 places and had to call it quits. Ava and I went and picked up Justin, got lunch, ate in his office and then drove around town together. That night we decided Mud Island was our best option.

I will admit 100% I am not excited about living in a new place, with no friends, no family, no familiar places. But I am 150% supportive of Justin and his new job. I know this move is going to be short term (up to a year) because this area (though I have only been around for a few days) is not where Justin and I want to start a home. I am though excited for this adventure and this next chapter in our life. It will be a great way for Justin, Ava and I to concentrate on us, our future, and our goals in life.  I am excited to learn about a different area, see the different culture and explore unfamiliar places.  I also am excited because I know by taking this step it will be one step closer to our future, our home, and our life together.

We have decided that I will be leaving my job (very sad) beginning of April, at that point Justin will be coming out, we will pack a moving truck and we will hit the road for Memphis Tennessee. I am excited to be able to be home with Ava for awhile, though money will be VERY TIGHT, we will learn to live on a budget. I was shocked that rent, gas, and pretty much everything else is VERY equal to the costs out here. Our rent is 400 dollars less but we were renting a huge house. Houses of course are cheaper because of the area, but because we are renting in a newer, nice area we are paying the price. BUT ITS WELL WORTH IT! There is a pool and I can picture Ava and I hanging out there a lot.

The rest of the week we spent quality time together. Justins parents drove down and got to hang out with Ava. We went to frozen yogurt (Best fro-yo place I have ever been to), BBQ dinner, played games, explored Memphis, took a lot of pictures, and went to an incredible zoo.

Here is our apartment!





We signed our lease and Justin moves in next week :)

Here is our week in Pictures: