Indiana Chronicles Chapter 6: The Exodus

Well... the time finally came.  They say that all good things must come to an end, and our time in Indiana was definitely a good thing.  Tim got some awesome opportunities and we were able to see and do a ton.    Leaving there was a bit of a bitter sweet.  But leave we did.  In fact, we loaded up the car and drove straight through... yup... 

Time of departure: noon on Friday 

Time of arrival in Idaho Falls: 2:00 Saturday afternoon.  

26 hours on the road only stopping for gas. And of those 26 hours I drove a total of 6... poor Tim, I guess he's better at the late night long drive thing.  But we made it and are happily back in Idaho!  YAY for mountains again!

So, this was our pre-Indiana odometer picture taken in July...

and here it is post-Indiana and just in time for Christmas.

Not a bad adventure Borups, not bad at all!

Indiana Chronicles Chapter 5: One Proud Wife

Yesterday Tim participated in an undergraduate research conference here at IUPUI and got his first experience presenting some of the stuff he's been working on.  He wasn't so into my "let's photo document this monumental experience" idea (though I did manage to snap one epic shot).  But regardless of the lack of photos I can proudly say that he did awesome!  I can't even pronounce half the words in the title of his research, but he was a born natural and totally professional.  This was the first of a few of these things he's actually got lined up over the next few months so, should be fun to see some more!  Maybe he'll agree to more pictures in the future... or maybe he'll stop inviting me

Indiana Chronicles Chapter 4: More Culture and Some Birthday

It's birthday time at our house!  Baby B is now officially 12 weeks along, and Tim is now officially 24 years along!  This calls for a celebration!  I don't know why, but 24 seems like kind of a big deal.... and it makes sense I guess, this should be a big year.  Lots of exciting to look forward to!  And I know 12 weeks is a big deal.  So to celebrate we decided to bundle up the family (that is me, Tim, Baby B, and Flat Stanley) and go see a few new things for a day out on the town.

First stop, the Indianapolis Museum of Art

I wore the scarf on purpose, I thought it made for a more artsy savvy look. 

Yes, this is an original van Gogh, aren't you all impressed?

And this is some kind of modern depiction of... well that's up to you to decide.  If you stand with your head tilted I think it makes more sense.  I thought the balloons were appropriate for the occasion though. That is, until I got in trouble for using flash photography.  Oops

Second stop, downtown Indianapolis

And this is about where my camera battery died, so typical.  I did manage to snap a few shots of the war monument though.  It was such a nice day, perfect for a downtown walk.

Stop number 3 was a nice leisurely and romantic stroll along the canal and by the capital building. 

 

Of course, by that point Baby B was ready to eat again and was past due for a nap (or maybe that was just me... hard to say), so we may need to take that walk again another time.

We really had a good time though.  The fall weather was so nice and the fall leaves were SO pretty (not a highlighted feature in the above picture given that my camera was dead and it was pulled from the internet instead)!  And it was nice to get out for the day and spend some fun time together.  Not a bad birthday I would say. 

Indy Livin'

Well we have now officially been Indianians for two months (and four days to be exact) and life here is still rolling right along!  Though our picture taking and blogging activity for the last couple of weeks doesn't really show it, we are indeed still having a good time, still seeing lots of good stuff, and still learning a ton!  In fact, we have some new additions to our Indy Education archive ready to make their debut:

4. Milk product prices seem higher than normal and ground beef is even worse
5. Tap water and drinking fountains are not the way to go
6. Hospital conference room floors do not make for a good night's sleep
7. Freeways should be avoided at 9:00 am, noon, 5:00 pm and apparently 2:00 pm on Wednesdays

Tim is keeping nice and busy in and out of the operating room and finishing up some almost-publish-ready research projects.  I am exploring the life of an advanced intensive care unit nurse while working on some course work for my next nursing degree (if I weren't some kind of student I'm not sure I would know what to do).

We have developed a recent fascination with NOVA documentaries.  We stream them through Hulu and have watched several in the last two days.  We now know everything there is to know (or at least what NOVA knows) about Making Stuff: Smarter, Making Stuff: Smaller, Making Stuff: Stronger, and Becoming Human.  Tim became hooked first, and I initially made fun of his obsession, but between you and me I think I could get into this stuff.  It's pretty neat.

Needless to say we don't find a lot of time to be bored.  Which is good I suppose, but sure wears me out.  In fact, I think I might take a nap.

Two months down, two more to go...

Are You Ready for some Football?!

Living near an impressively large football stadium during NFL preseason time definitely has its pluses, of which we took advantage of in the form of Colts vs. Green Bay tickets! "Get ready to feel the thunder"... amen (never mind that the Colts lost 23-21 in the last 3 sec... sad day).

Let me go ahead and give some quick stats on this place: 8.1 million square feet, seats over 63,000, over 160 concession stands, fully retractable roof, $720 million in building costs, 14 escalators, 10 elevators, and 1,400 toilet fixtures... we're talking serious game time!

Sorry Dianna, this is as close as we could get to Peyton Manning...

and yes, this is a poster. Poor fellow was MIA due to PUP status, which (as I learned from Tyler) means "Physically Unable to Perform". That definitely sounds better than the "Person Unable to Play" that Tim and I had come up with... we may just use it anyway.

The Fair is a Veritable Smorgasbord!

Yesterday Tim and I celebrated the year of the soy bean at the Indiana state fair! It was a lot of fun. I fell in love with almost every baby animal and Tim decided we really need some goats...

And Flat Stanley had his first outing! He is so cute and had such a good day! What a fun little companion.

We stopped to see a lumberjack show, which I was skeptical of at first, but it was actually really kind of cool. And it renewed Tim's motivation to be more of a manly man...

Doesn't he look good? Tim on the tractor I mean

And the best part of the day: Introducing Reggie, the world's largest bore. This sucker was massive, 1,305 pounds... so gross!!

Indy Education

We're settling into the easterner way of life and becoming more learned in its ways every day. Who would have thought this adventure would be so educational! I've collected a few priceless tidbits already that I believe everyone should know:

1. Glasses fog horribly and thin hair does nothing in humidity
2. 'Hoosiers' is not pronounced "who-c-airs"

3. Lola knows all and should never be questioned

Tim is practically becoming an expert on liver transplant surgery. Last Saturday morning Dr. Mangus had us both in to see one... most romantic date ever! I had been in the operating room before of course, but never for a transplant. It was pretty neat! And Tim was able to follow right along and explain things, I was impressed.

And the educational experiences don't stop there! We also discovered that baking while watching the Cosby show is a really bad combination, as made manifest by a pitiful batch of charcoal cinnamon rolls...

But never to worry, the loss was nothing a quick trip to Cinnabon couldn't remedy. Bon appetit!

We went to the Indianapolis Zoo, and would you believe I forgot the camera?! Serious slap on the wrists, I wish I had had it. It was a neat zoo. It was surprisingly big and unfortunately hot, but again, highly educational. We learned that 1. hungry penguins will do anything for the lime light, 2. polar bears aren't too interested in performing, 3. walruses don't even show up for the show, 4. baby monkeys dig in dirt, 5. elephants find humor in spraying water at innocent passersby, and 6. if tigers weren't behind glass, they would eat everything! Tim pet a shark, I chickened out. I did however try my hand at speaking Ostrich... it didn't seem impressed. Better luck next time

Indiana Chronicles Chapter 3: Becoming Cultured

This last weekend we went over to the Indianapolis Speedway. Little did we know a race was actually going on, and about the time we got there a couple thousand people were spilling out. So we didn't get to see a whole lot. But we did see a few cars make some laps, and luckily we got to see all the race fans in all their glory.... quite a crowd, 'nuff said

Later that evening we went to an Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra concert, obviously not Tim's choice! But they sounded awesome and the outdoor amphitheater show was really fun. Quite a different crowd there than the one we saw earlier at the speedway though... from cigarettes to fine wine, nothing like an Indiana culture crash course!

The timing worked out quite nicely, a trip across the country and the start of a new adventure all just in time for our anniversary! Two years ago today we sealed the deal and since then have been happier than ever! Happy Anniversary Tim, love you!

The Indiana Chronicles Chapter 2: The Driving

Saturday July 23, 0800 hours, bright eyed and ready to hit the road!

Pre-Indiana odometer....

(I don't know why I ever try to travel with contacts! Though the fate of this pair was regrettable, my glasses fogging every time I stepped out into the humidity was priceless!)

Usually I am a horrible car companion, but miraculously I stayed awake! Hence the totally unnecessary pictures of Tim... he loves that!

Disclaimer: These pictures are in no way meant to flatter our travel hair nor our sticky humidity faces, though the combination does make for a fabulous look...

Winter Quarters

Fort Madison

And Nauvoo

3 days, some 1600 miles, 2 time zones, and lots of corn fields... pretty good times!

Shout out to the ever faithful Lola, she's fabulous!