success

Well, our night away was a SUCCESS! We had a really nice time and the kids did so well with the Broadbents. The report we got back was that they ate a ton of spaghetti and went to bed around 8pm. The house was cleaned up nicely - the kids had to have made a big huge mess if they had spaghetti for dinner - and there were no traces. It was awesome!

My drive to Sedona was uneventful - just pretty. Arizona is actually green from all the rain it has been receiving. I got to the resort in about an hour and a half and Aaron came out to meet me. Our suite was very nice and comfortable. We went to a reception before the banquet and Aaron introduced me to his mentor, and other city professionals and managers he has met thus far. Everyone was very impressive.

During the banquet, Aaron received his award. He was introduced by Marty Vanacour, the former city manager of Glendale and Aaron's favorite professor/boss. Aaron got up received a plaque and gave the best speech. I was just blown away by how well he did. He made a few little jokes that made everyone laugh and then gave his very sincere thanks to the association and to his ASU colleages and then thanked me for encouraging him and putting up with this move across the country and with this career change. We had an outstanding meal and on our way out met even more VIP's and big shot urban professionals who wanted to offer congratulations.

We had a wonderful night away and are feeling so blessed. Aaron is really doing so well in school and in making contacts. We really feel that we made the right decision in coming to Arizona and are starting over in a field that just seems so right for him. I did learn that we may a have a difficult road ahead - there will be many days and evenings where Aaron will be gone. I heard mulitple times that I need to enjoy having him home so much now because once he starts work, I won't see him much.