Goodbye Nascar, Bojangles, and dear friends - Hello.....

Can you guess where the Sammis family has ended up?! Using our pictures as a guide, if you guessed San Francisco, California you are WAY off and you obviously failed U.S. history but if by chance you guessed Washington D.C.- you would be correct. Well, partially! We have actually moved to northern Virginia in an area called Lake Ridge that is about 20 miles south of D.C. We moved last month and we have been pleasantly surprised by the convenience of living in such a great spot! Bry gets to come home for lunch periodically since he only works 5 miles away. Church is less than 2 miles away- which is great because the ladies have a workout class 3 times a week which I (and the kids!) thoroughly enjoy. The library, outlet malls, IKEA, and tons of restaurants are all within 10 minutes of us and best of all there is the best grocery store known to man called Wegman's here. I have always loved food with a passion (as my dear brothers liked to point out when they picked the nickname Fatalie for me at a young age =) ) however, even those without a food passion would be impressed with this glorious store. I can't describe it in words but it has everything-- but is completely affordable- you just have to visit me to get the experience- so with that said - consider this your formal invitation all!

Seriously though, the move has been less painful than expected with the kids surviving just fine- Carson had his first birthday up here and Elise just turned 3 at the beginning of last month. I have had so much fun spending so much time with them- Carson is running around like a maniac (he started walking at 9 months - so he is beyond fast by now). He especially loves to pull Elise's hair, try to get into any toilet he can, and eat lots of dirt - typical boy... He also can climb like an orangutang so that is fun for me! Elise is smart as can be (of course I think that being her mother) but she likes to memorize things- she knows the pledge and the first 2 articles of faith- (which are basically short sentences about what we as LDS Christians believe in) and knows almost every Disney song by heart thanks to Uncle Kevin and Aunt Sarah and Aunt Rachel who have all added to her compilation of music! She is a funny little kid with a tender little soul.

If you're wondering why we have moved up here- it is because my dear husband got promoted to Purchasing Manager at Carmax. He is pretty much amazing at his job (and yes I am biased but it is true of course!) and still loves cars and Carmax with a large part of his soul. I am thankful for him and his hard work- we are lucky lucky people.

I am doing really well- since I last posted I have run a marathon and qualified for Boston- however my IT band has been plaguing me every since so I have been cross training and unpacking as exercise if that even counts?! I am excited to find new friends up here but I do genuinely miss my friends and family back in the south. I am very blessed though and I know that Heavenly Father loves me no matter where I go. Hopefully I will be better at updating our blog now that I have no friends nor family near =) haha I won't make too many promises but we'll see!!!