Wow, I have some thanking to do. So, you might as well just sit down and take a load off. And if you are in Ithaca or Missoula grab a cold drink while you are at it.

As most of you know we departed Ithaca on June 21, 2007. Our send off was fun, light hearted, and supportive. Our well wishers included, Ellen, Kathleen, Chris, Linnie, Charles, Lisa, and Charlie and all the littles that belong to them. There was a lot of hugging, kissing and laughing (especially about the way our car was packed, or maybe it was more along lines of the way our kids and dog were packed). There was just enough room for shallow breathing. I cried just a bit when I hugged each of my girlfriends. But when I hugged Kathleen with a tear in my eye and a quiver to my voice she stopped me quickly and said “there is no reason to cry, this is happy and you are on a big adventure, we all wish we could go with you.” Thank you for that, Kathleen! Paul and I do live our lives, in search of our dreams. We try to live with fun, adventure, and a reason to celebrate every day.

For Kathleen, my neighbor and friend, to have said what she said that day, made me, and continues to make me feel loved and more than anything else, understood. All of our friends who stood there on the tree lawn that afternoon and waved to us as we drove away know who we are and if they fully don’t understand everything we do, I know they try. This is a big deal for me because when I look back at my life I realize that not many people have truly understood me.

While I hopefully still have your attention I do need to thank all of you. However, I really need to thank you for your generous time, food and great company.

The O’Connor/Anderson Family; I thank you for girl night, 3 or 4 dinners at your place with my big brood (the a/c and kiddie pool were the added touches) and your laundry facility.

The Wieselquist/Hamilton Family; I thank you for girl night, two days of packing the moving truck, pizza, home baked cookies, and magna doodles for the kids.

The Sanfilippo/Izzo Family; I thank you for keeping me juiced up with Gimme “Kaffe Klatches”, baby sitting, packing the moving truck and the van, dinners, making the kids tote bags filled with activity books, and the espresso chocolate.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU form the bottom of my heart!!!!!

And by the way, what is up with all the double last names? Give this mother of four a freakin’ break…That is a lot of writing for a not so fast typist. I think you should re-evaluate the last name thing! That’s just me thinking out loud ;o)

Anyway… Over-and-Out, Adkins/Deutsch