We Are Thankful ...

1. ... for a puppy that likes to sleep in the car ... seriously, Paisley was out the entire 12-hour drive to/from Wisconsin for Thanksgiving. Amen!






2. ... that after we move back to Minneapolis we will NEVER drive through the horrendous state of Iowa again! Here's the parking lot on Highway 35 with the freezing rain during our drive up on Wednesday... adding 2 hours to our already long drive. Never fails, Iowa has miserable weather whenever we drive through.






3. ... for a puppy that tells us when she needs to go potty during car rides. Here I am running around with her on a tiny patch of grass we pulled over to during the freezing Iowa rain. Good times.
   








4. ... that my mother-in-law made Special K bars (with Chocolate for me, without Chocolate for Kyle.) I know, it's a non-General Mills cereal, but believe me, if you tried one of these things, you would understand.







5. ... that my father-in-law actually got a weekend off work at the Police Department to celebrate Thanksgiving with us! Here's Kyle and Mark ... and cousins Nate and Spencer (our little ring bearer, holding up black olives as his eyes!) -- We'd also like to make a shout out to our cousin Nate for landing a job after he graduates! Another logistics professional in the family. Congrats!
   
   



6. ... that Aunt Jodi and Uncle Patrick brought two beautiful girls into the world this year so that my husband can get more practice with babies. :)

7. ... that Hallie and Ciana had cute baby headbands that we could use to dress up Paisley. Adorable, right?!

8. ... that Kyle has adorable grandparents that have adopted me, and that Grandpa Joe is feeling better these days. I love having grandparents again!

9. ... that Uncle Bill and Chris drove over to meet Paisley (they didn't mind seeing us either!)

10. ... that I was in Minneapolis for my friend, Lora's, annual Thanksgiving feast this year. (how about this list, Lora!)

Long story short, we have a lot to be thankful for! (If you didn't make the list, it's only because we didn't have a coordinating picture from this year's Thanksgiving holiday, but we still love you! And, I purposely left out pictures of Paisley's Auntie Em, at her request.) We had a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving in Wisconsin this year and look forward to future holidays with Kyle's side of the family that don't include 10+ hour road trips. ;)

Baby Announcement

Meet Paisley!

***

Born September 15, 2010 in Joplin, Missouri

Lovingly welcomed into Petersen Family on November 10, 2010 in Bella Vista, Arkansas

Soon to be a Northerner (shhh...don't mention the S word!)

Notice the tag ... already a Packers fan. :)

Homeward Bound

It is official. The Petersen's are moving back to Minneapolis!

***

Just last week, my promotion was announced ... I will be the new Logistics Manager for our Research and Development facilities in Minneapolis. Our ticket home.

In some ways, I can't believe we have lived in Arkansas for 2 years already ... in other ways, it feels like we've been trying to get back to Minneapolis forever. It is with mixed emotions that we will soon close this chapter of our lives and settle back into life in the frozen tundra.


5 Things We Will Miss Most About Living in Arkansas:

1. Our beautiful (and cheap) house that has everything we need and more.


2. The complete absence of traffic


3. Friday nights at our favorite little pizzeria, Gusano's


4. The delicious BBQ


5. The great friends we have made ... although, many of them should be following us to Minneapolis eventually

5 Things We Will NOT Miss About Living In Arkansas:

1. Having to do ALL of our grocery shopping at Walmart


2. The corny local commercials that play repeatedly on every channel


3. The constant work travel that has kept us apart for so many days ... weeks ... months ...


4. The 100 degree humid summers that seem to last forever


5. The ginormous spiders, slimy snakes and other scary creatures that call the South home

We have thoroughly enjoyed our time in Arkansas and are thankful that we made the leap 2 years ago. We'd like to think we took full advantage of this experience - exploring a new part of the country, meeting new people, trying new foods - and thank everyone who made our time here so meaningful.

In terms of timing, I will be back in Minneapolis for a week in November for training and house-hunting. My new gig starts December 1st, with a week back in Arkansas to wrap things up and celebrate my big 3-0. Kyle (and the new pup) will hang back in Arkansas into January ... hopefully giving us enough time to find a new house and move directly from one house to the next, avoiding temporary living and storing all of our things. Let's also hope that Kyle has enough time to house break the new pup before she meets the Minnesota winters.

It's good to (almost) be home. :)