Who says you can't have a luau in the snow?

A couple weekends ago, a friend of ours hosted a Murder Mystery Luau. It was so much fun! We were all mailed characters to dress up as, and were given scripts to follow to help us determine who we thought was the murderer.

It had snowed a couple of inches the night before, we thought it was a wonderful break from the winter cold to whip out our bathing suits and sandals.

We had a yummy hawaiian-themed meal to go along with the evening.

Mike did a great job playing a So-Cal surfer dude.. especially considering that at the time he hadn't traveled further west than Michigan. We will forgive him that his surfer accent slowly morphed into a distinct Southern accent. After all, he only had a couple of episodes of Saved by the Bell to model his California character after.

Michelle and I.
Mike and Michelle have been our neighbors since we first moved to Durham. Mike and Matt actually interviewed together last year, so we were so excited when we got a text from Mike that we were in the same apartment complex as they were. They helped us unload our moving van, we introduced them to Settler's, and the rest, as they say, is history. :)

The guys.

The girls.

And what better punishment for the murderer than silly string?

Needless to say, it was a night filled with lots of laughter.

The newest Ithurburn...

I am proud to introduce you to the newest member of our little family...

Linus!

Matt has always said that as soon as we can, he wants a hunting dog. Well, let's just say that Linus won't exactly grow up to be the intimidating predator Matt had always dreamed of, but he fits perfectly in our equally tiny apartment. Someday Matt. :)

And the night we got Linus, we had a pretty big snow storm, well for North Carolina anyways. We ended up with about 8 inches in Durham, but you would have thought the world was ending. Everything was closed, including schools.. for the entire week. And the weathermen did little to calm everyone's nerves. We loved it, even though our friends from Michigan thought it that everyone had lost their minds! It looked like Y2K all over again, empty grocery store shelves, desolate roads, basically little short of mayhem.
As excited as we were about the weather, Linus wasn't so thrilled to begin his potty training adventure in it. He was a trooper though!And then... a visit from mom! Linus was so excited to meet his Nana. We had a rainy weekend when she came, and barely made it in from the storm, but we were thrilled to have a couple of hours to spend with her!And of course we never pass up an opportunity for Five Guys!! Love you mom! We will be thinking about all the laughter we shared as we wait anxiously for your next visit!

It's been a while...

Hello strangers! I suppose a Merry Christmas and Happy New Years are in order since it has been that long since I have last written. Let’s see. We have spent January getting back into the swing of things just like everyone else. Back to school and work after the holidays, but strange as it sounds, the schedule always is a bit of a relief. Matt has new classes this semester and is preparing for his first clinical internship in April. It will last a month and fortunately will be at Durham Regional Hospital, which is only a few blocks away from our house. We were so relieved that he was able to get that site, and he is really looking forward to some hands on experience.

We have fallen in love with basketball all over again and have been thrilled to attend several basketball games this month. I am proud to say that no one can call us fair-weather fans! So far we have stood outside in below freezing temperatures and rain for hours to get in, but without a doubt the minute we get into Cameron (and our bodies thaw out) all the excitement sets in and it was all worth the wait. Basketball here is so much more than a game. Still weeks away from the Duke v. UNC game, the lines are definitely being drawn. I have been asked on more than one occasion when checking out at the grocery store “whose side I am on.” Even the four-year old I nanny for has rid her closet (and crayon box) of anything Duke Blue. Heaven forbid she learn to read that the sweatshirt I wear on a weekly basis says DUKE. We will keep that our little secret. :)

So there's just a brief update on life so far in 2010. I promise to post more in the coming weeks!

Also, for any of you interested, I wanted to post a couple links for our church out here, The Summit. Coincidentally, after establishing that The Summit was a great fit for us, we discovered that several of Matt’s classmates also attend, which is wonderful. We so look forward to hearing what Pastor JD has to say every week, his words are always convicting and from the heart, and most importantly it is evident that his focus is on speaking the word of God, and not of anyone else.

http://jdgreear.typepad.com

www.summitrdu.com

Finally, in an attempt to familiarize everyone back home with our new home... I leave you with this picture of Downtown. :)

A trip to our nation's capitol.

Matt had this week off of school, so we decided that we wanted to take advantage of his rare freedom and take a day trip to Washington D.C. We have become quite adventurous since our trek across country. We sprung out of bed and were out of the house long before the sun was up, drove for 4 hours, found what I am sure was the ONLY free parking spot in the entire district, jumped on the metro like we were born in the city, and hit up every tourist attraction our capitol has to offer. It was one of the best days I have ever spent with my best friend. Here is a glimpse of our journey.

We only live about an hour from Virginia, and the entire drive was absolutely beautiful.

I squeeled when I saw this bus! It was definitely heading for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade!

Our first stop after we got off the Blue Line (spoken like a true native) :) was Arlington National Cemetery.

The entire cemetery is so somber and respectful. Standing at JFK's grave was really heartbreaking.

The perfect fall day.

We walked up to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at exactly 11:55 purely on accident... just in time for the changing of the guards!

Back to the metro! We were without a doubt the only people riding with smiles from ear to ear. We are such tourists.

We were SO excited for the museums! Matt and I both really love history.. and the WWII exhibit in the American History Museum was our favorite.

All the propaganda was really interesting...

Coupon clipping in it's original form. This is for you Sarah!

Can you imagine holding this in your hands?

Matt's reporting for his civic duty.

Just call me Rosie the Riveter!

This is a little intense right??

I had this poster on my bedroom wall for years. It's one of my favorite photographs ever.

Matt in 'Nam.

This is where Matt's mission to steal the Declaration of Independence began...

Planning his escape route.. he would make Nicolaus Cage proud!

Matt didn't get to the Declaration of Independence in time.. this man snagged it first!

We can't help but be tourists and take the awkward solo pictures. We did leave the fanny packs at home though.

Not to be confused with the "Aaron Space Museum." Yup, I thought that's what it was called. I assumed it was named after some astronaut named Aaron. Oops.

Matt's other dream occupation.

The Holocaust museum was my favorite part of the trip. It was absolutely heartbreaking. They don't allow pictures, so all I snagged was this one, but the musuem is designed like a concentration camp. It was amazing and so eye-opening. The exhibit had literally hundreds of people in it at a time, but you didn't hear a word, everyone was silent. There really are no words to describe, it was devastating.

By the end of the day, we had two last stops to make, the Lincoln memorial and the White House. We were really tired but pushed through. We were less than thrilled when we got the the most famous house in our country only to see this. A big. White. Tent. Wow. Absolutely no view whatsoever. Go figure. The funny thing was there was a man standing there videotaping it. I just wanted to ask him what exactly he was planning on seeing!

President Lincoln himself!!

These are hands down the yummiest burgers and fries we have had since we have been out east. I will admit, they gave In-n-Out a run for their money. SO good.

So, 8 hours of driving, 4 musuems, 3 monuments, -1 White House, and several blisters later, we crashed in bed. It was a very busy day, but easily one we will look back on for years to come.

We are having the time of our lives. :)

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!