The Triumphant Return...

Or at least, we like to think that it's triumphant. We've fallen a little behind in our blogging lately, for various reasons. But, with the coming school year, we've decided to once again take the initiative to keep you all duly informed on what we're doing. As long as we remember *puts a post-it note on her mirror*

That being said, this post is a desperate attempt to catch everyone up on the craziness that we call life!

Right now Todd and I are still in different parts of the country. He's spent the summer in New Mexico at an amazing internship while I've stayed in Pittsburgh. He flew out to see me for my 21st birthday, thereby making it extra special. We had a wonderful weekend with friends (many who came to Pittsburgh specifically for the party). This is a picture of us after a delicious Italian dinner -before the comedy club and the dance club we went to later that night.



After the clubs we went to breakfast and then caught a cab home as the sun came up. I think we were all asleep by 6am and slept till noon. The next night we had fun in the apartment with music, games, and many many jokes.

I've been working with the kids that I've been with for the past three years at the Cyert Center. This is their last summer at the Center and I've been blessed to share the past couple of years with them. The photo that you see is most of the class and it was taken in June. And while they look like angels...they're children :) Enough said.



It's a wonderful job despite the chaos. The cook at the Center, Brenda, makes breakfast, lunch, and afternoon snack. And staff eats free. Let me just say that it's delicious free food...All the teachers complain about gaining weight. Some items on our menu include (keep in mind this is all cooked by our chef. She's amazing): Breakfast burritos, pancakes, spinach pizza, alfredo (and shrimp for the teachers), orange chicken with noodles, bbq chicken, turkey (with mashed potatoes and corn - Thanksgiving in June?), banana bread, and other delectable treats. And quite often she makes something special for the teachers -brownies, strawberry shortcake with whip cream, rice crispy treats, cheesecake. I know, I know. The things I endure...

But! Along with the food there's the time spent with the kids. And while I could have had a desk job this summer, I'm so glad that I decided to work with the kids. We've gone on walks, done swimming lessons, read stories, played tag, run through sprinklers, and just had a whole lot of fun. I've been with this same group of kids for quite some time now. I'm going to miss them in the fall.

Moving on...

Todd and I will meet up in a little over a week and we're both super excited for it. I'll be flying from Pittsburgh to New Mexico and then we'll be driving from New Mexico to Sheridan. Please pray that the Oldsmobile makes it. Her name -her being the Oldsmobile- is Brown Sugar (Just in case you were wondering). I don't really know where the name comes from, but that's what the family calls it. Brown Sugar used to be my great-grandfather's car before his death. We're thankful that my dad let Todd borrow it for his internship. And we're hoping that it works well enough to bring out to Pittsburgh with us.

After a couple weeks home (complete with visiting family, dinners, fun in the sun, and relaxing), we'll be coming back to Pittsburgh for yet another year!

We've moved in to a new apartment. It's nice (brand new carpet!), though it will be a little smaller than we're used to. Especially with the new addition to our family...

Yes. Meet Shar. (pronounced like Shard, but without the 'd').



This is a picture of him as a kitten. He's grown quite a bit since then. He's adorable and loving, not to mention a little spoiled. We have a routine where I come home, he meows at the door, I pick him up and carry him on my shoulder as I put my stuff away. He's often found relaxing next to me or sleeping somewhere.

That's one side of Shar. The other side...Is psycho. I have claw marks all over and he loves to bite my toes. He has a little bell on his collar (put there so that I had warning when he was going to pounce on me). The bell jingles like crazy as he sprints from one end of the apartment to the other...12 times...before clawing his way up my chair (scratching my arms in the process) and biting my ponytail. Oh yes, we love Shar...

Well, I think that's a decent attempt to catch everyone up. I'm sure that we'll be posting more often *looks at the post-it on her mirror* Or at least, that's the plan.

And to those of you in Sheridan - We're looking forward to seeing you soon!