Louisville, Indy

We're back! It seems like we were gone forever on our double-dip interview weekend last week. Thursday and Friday, Dave had his first official interview at the Urology of Indiana practice in Indianapolis. We stayed with our friends from residency- Ron and Andrea Suh. I didn't have any meetings to go to since it was only the 1st interview, so Avery and I had tons of fun playing with Andrea and their 2 kids, Vivian (3.5) and Beckett (9 months). Vivian holds a special place in my heart since I got to be Andrea's mommy-assistant to Viv before they left Ann Arbor. I can't believe she's a full grown little girl now, not the baby I knew. Beckett is just one week younger than Avery so it's awesome to have kids so close in age. Avery thought Vivian was the best thing since sliced bread, and Avery and Beckett got along great for 9 month olds. They crawled around each other and shared toys wonderfully.

We played outside for a while... here's a pic of the 3 kiddies:
Avery really enjoyed the novelty of Beckett's toys. She looks very intrigued here, ha ha:
It was hot that day so Andrea pulled out the water table- so fun! Avery and I are now in the market for a water table... if summer ever gets here in AA.
Dave really liked the Indianapolis group so now we're waiting to hear about a 2nd interview. It's a big group, very well established, and as Andrea calls it "a well-oiled machine." Indiana is a very $-friendly state for doctors, and the city was very nice. Downtown was quaint with a big city feel and I found lots of great shopping in my tour of the suburbs. We're both interested to hear which area of town they see Dave fitting into- I need to know so I can narrow down the parameters on my new obsession, internet real estate searches =)

Since we were already 4 hours closer to Louisville, we drove on and did the 2nd interview there on Sat/Sun/Mon. Luckily Mom, Dad, and Katie came up to help with babysitting duties. (Thanks yall!) We went to dinner with some of the partners, explored the city, met with a realtor for a housing tour, and I had lunch with one of the wives for a insiders look. It was really nice! I didn't know much about Louisville before, but it really has a lot going for it. Everything seemed to be a pretty close drive from everything else in the city, which is something we're looking for. It had a real small town feel, but with all the amenities of a big city. The best part was the real estate- it wasn't cheap, but the homes (in the area where we would probably end up) all had so much character. The tree lined streets were gorgeous, and the houses were up to 100 years old with traditional architecture and unique details. We could definitely see ourselves living here, being in close proximity to work, shopping, restaurants, etc, in a downtown atmosphere, but in an adorable historic neighborhood. Dave also liked the practice (Allied Urology) and we really liked all of the people we met. Just as I suspected, this trip did not make the job search decision any easier!

Avery had lots of fun playing with Mom, Dad, and Katie, and I presume they got a kick out of her as well. She really showed off her crawling/pulling up techniques and I loved the twinkle in her eye when she looked at them, as if she was saying "I know you're watching my every move, aren't you impressed with me, this is great!" Avery was extremely well behaved, even letting them take her on a shopping expedition as long as she had her juice and Granddaddy to push her and chat with her at every stop. It was a huge help having them come along on the trip. It let me actually concentrate on the task at hand, instead of having to keep 9/10 of an eye on my daughter. She's at the stage where it's her mission in life to either see how dangerous of a position she can get herself into or how big of a mess she can make. It's hard to do anything but watch, rescue, and pick up after her =) Here are some pics of Avery and her new best friends: