Proud to be an American!

We spent the Fourth of July this year as usual...With our college friends Jon & Dawn and Kim & Kyle. Dawn's sister, Darla, and her husband, Jeff, also happened to be visiting so it was great to see them too. Because Dawnie and I have been best friends since 7th grade, I sorta feel like Darla is like a little sister to me too. It was fun to see her all grown up and married!


The weather was less than cooperative for an Independence Day celebration. It was cool and rainy. We had our picnic in the garage and then played Settlers of Catan, when we should've been at the pool.We sat in the parking lot of a grocery store to watch the fireworks from the trunk of our mini-van/suv. But in the end, all that matters is who you're with, so it was a fun day nonetheless.
Oh. and, I had some really really cute shoes to wear so that always helps.

Are We There Yet?

As I mentioned in my Father's Day post, Eden, Truman and I hitched a ride to Wisconsin with my friend, Jennifer, and her kids! We were having so much fun in the car, it seemed we were in Indiana before we even had a chance to think about Pennsylvania or Ohio! We have a way of making fun out of pumping gas and washing windows and even using the service plaza facilities! Jennifer's van has a sunroof, so at some point I was definitely hoping to get a tan. Then, just for fun, we opened all the windows and the sunroof at the same time and the kids loved it! They were screaming and the papers were flying everywhere it was REALLY crazy...we called it "the wind storm"! Then, Isaac, the youngest of Jennifer's kids, decided to add a little excitement to the trip by peeing his pants!!!??? Haha...thank goodness for Lysol Wipes! After he did it a second time, (!!!) we started calling him "Emporor Pee Pants". Thank you so much, Jennifer, for letting us join you in your luxury mini-van. We had such a great time with all of you!
I arrived in Wisconsin the evening of Father's Day. Brook, my little sister, picked me up in Milwaukee and we met Mom and Dad at Culver's (the best butterburgers and frozen custard in the country) for a late dinner! It was so great to see my dad on Father's Day and give him his gift in person! It's been years since I was able to do that! I was only there 3 full days but it was so great to spend even just a little time with my family. On Monday, we saw my older sister, Remick, and her kids and we all went and visited my grandparents. It was so good to see them again...it's hard for me to live so far away from family...I miss my grandparents and think of them so often. In November, my dad's parents will celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary! My mom's mom lives by herself in a cute little apartment. My grandpa passed away when we were living in Ukraine in 2004. His middle name was Truman. We miss him so much, but we know we will be reunited with him in Heaven.
Brook took the day off work on Tuesday, so Remick, Brook and I went out to lunch at Pedro's, our all-time-favorite Mexican restaurant. I always make sure to go to Pedro's anytime I'm in Wisconsin.
That night, I stayed up late playing Settlers of Catan with my parents.
Wednesday was my last day, I went and saw my Aunt Nancy and Uncle Curt at work at DeGolier Printing. It's always fun for me to visit there because I worked there all through high school and I have so many great memories. My cousin, Scott, owns the business now, so I got to see him too.
It was just an amazing three days, and a much-needed visit with family.
Love and miss you all,
B