In the beginning...

In the beginning there were six Crains. Papa Crain (Bruce), Mama Crain (Kate) and four man cubs, (Sterling, Sebastian, Livingston and Chad - formally known as Courtland).  They all lived happily in Melbourne Beach Florida, even though Kate dreamed of moving west. Her dear friend Tree dreamed of the family moving Southwest to Texas, but that is another story.

As the engineering world in Melbourne became more in flux, Bruce thought it might be a good idea to look elsewhere for a more secure job. Kate was ecstatic... maybe, just maybe, we could move west. Bruce interviewed March 30, 2011 at Ball Aerospace in Boulder, Colorado, and looked like a shoe-in until they announced a hiring freeze the very next week. "At least we go to take three of the kids to Colorado for spring break" we thought, as we enjoyed snowy weather and skiing with Sterling, Livingston and Chad (Sebastian couldn't leave with his college schedule).

October rolled around and we had all but given up on our Colorado move. Then out of the blue Ball calls Bruce to come work! He takes off in November, eventually living in a townhouse with some great guys (hereafter referred to as "the dudes"), while Kate was in Florida trying to sell the house.

Sterling took a job in NYC with Lacoste Footwear after graduating with an advertising degree from Univ. of Florida. Sebastian was a sophomore at the Univ. of Central Florida and loved living in Melbourne Beach, commuting, working and surfing. Livingston's band, The Ellers, had broken up, but he had begun dating the lovely Darien (a senior, he a junior). Chad was in eight grade and had found that tennis is a great sport! Kate loved the kids' school, West Shore Jr/Sr High... certainly the best school anywhere... they really felt like family!

Chad's excitement about tennis was equally exciting to Kate, who found that even though she thought of herself as a racquetball player, tennis was pretty stinkin' fun! The team she joined, The South Beach Slammers, turned out to be a tight group of crazy women who played hard, ate much, drank a bit and truly looked out for one another. Kate also loved her wonderful Rivers Edge neighborhood ladies, and cherished her friendship with her "sister" Sheila and the best neighbor in the whole world, Barb. Yes, it would be hard to move, but knowing the kind of crazy friends they were leaving behind, they knew they would not be rid of them so quickly. Surely they would all come visit!

Ah, how life changes! Sterling decided NYC is not for him, quits his job, comes home with ideas of going back to school. He heads to Gainesville with the hopes of figuring out his next plan of academic attack. Kate goes back and forth to Colorado visiting Bruce who was only home for Christmas. Sebastian flies out in January to visit Boulder for first time, but he and Kate have to fly home early because Kate's grandmother, Moo Moo is dying. February 1st she passes, with loved ones by her side. A blessing. 


After one contract falling apart, a new buyer puts a contract on the house and off we go to find our new dream home in Nederland, Colorado. And we do! Days before we leave to drive west, Sterling decides to join us... SURPRISE! 

So now... the rest of the story!