June Happenings

We have been super busy this month! Here's what's been going on in our corner of the suburbs. :)
We started two jobs this month. We are tutoring writing at the University in the mornings, and again in the afternoons and evenings (and some weekends). I am taking a class in Public Health, which is taking more time than I anticipated. I am also prepping my class for next month, which is coming up far sooner than I am ready for. Our schedules are pretty packed. When we can, we try to spend time with people we are crazy about.
For example, early in the month we had dinner with some friends, who we have not seen in a year and a half. J.J. and their dog got along beautifully. They were playing for hours! They introduced us to some amazing Indian food.
Next, Jonathan's sister Lydia came for a visit. It was a quick one, but it was so nice to see her on her way to the next adventure. She is off to help advocate for children and we hope she will teach us some cool sustainability tricks when she gets back from an urban farm.
Also in that first week was my little sister's birthday. I cannot believe that she is 17! She was only 9 years old when Jonathan and I started dating. Where has the time gone? She finished her school year with amazing grades. We haven't gotten to officially celebrate yet, but I enjoyed taking her out to the stables where she is volunteering.
Ricky came for a visit the following weekend. It was so nice. We showed him around campus, had dinner and ice cream, and the next day introduced him to some of our friends at a festival downtown. It was a blast. He is also off on his dancing adventures for the summer.
We've been able to spend some time with friends who are leaving town. We helped one of them move last week - she's off to Philadelphia, and will only be coming back to defend her thesis late next semester. :( We were so bummed to see her leave! Our other friend has also left for most of the summer and part of the Fall. What am I going to do without my girls here? The department sure will feel empty without them...

I'm sure there are other things to report, but it's gone by in a whirlwind. We've been enjoying the beautiful weather, some time at home, and preparing for other big things coming up later this summer and fall.

Cicadaville

Our town should be renamed Cicadaville this summer. They have been out in force! We returned from Kentucky after Memorial Day to an ear-shattering cacophony in our neighborhood. It's been very interesting. A local ice cream parlor even made cicada ice cream - it sold out in 5 hours! I really don't mind cicadas, but they can be pretty obnoxious. I realized one was in my purse one afternoon when I heard it screaming. I have also had at least two dive-bomb into my hair - at which point I shrieked loudly and did a funky dance to get them out. You start to get used to the hum of all the cicadas, though. This sounds funny, but I will kind of miss them. They are starting to die, and the periods of silence in the morning and evening seem odd. I guess we'll see them again in 2024!

A Trip to Kentucky

This past Memorial Day weekend, we drove to Kentucky to visit my uncle, cousin, and her family. (For future reference, I call my cousin's daughter my niece because Kaylen and I are three weeks apart and grew up like sisters.) We had a very good time. My uncle has been ill lately and we thought the three day weekend was a great opportunity to go for a visit. Aside from the 12 hours of driving (Memorial Day traffic is a bear), it was a really great trip. This is us with my uncle. From left to right: Alex, me, Kaylen. Our second day there, we went to the Farmer's Market and the park. I really enjoyed playing with Alex. I pushed her on the swing and watched her go down the slide. J.J. was not such a good boy at the park. He found the one, singular mud puddle in the entire park and managed to coat himself in mud from head to paw. What a mess! Poor Jonathan had to clean him off to get him in the car, then spray him down with the hose when we got home. Ugh! Retrievers. I must say, one of my favorite things in the world is being an aunt. My little niece is crazy about me! She is also crazy about Jonathan. She insisted on being with me everywhere I went, wanted to sleep with us, and cried after we left. I hate being so far away from her. She is about the sweetest little girl ever. She is all hugs and kisses. We had a birthday party cookout on Sunday. We grilled burgers, veggies, had macaroni and cheese, and two kinds of birthday cake. We celebrated my uncle's and Alex's birthdays early, since we won't be there to celebrate the actual days. Jonathan made some really cool sidewalk chalk art while waiting on the grill. I love this one of the two of them stuffing cake. :) The birthday girl and her presents. We got her a ton of books, since that is her favorite thing. She is a fantastic little reader. They also have a 4 week-old kitten, who was crazy about Jonathan. He was always napping on Jonathan's lap. J.J. was not such a big fan of the kitten. The first day we were there, it hissed at J.J. and he was scared after that. It was SO funny to see a nearly 90 pound dog run from a tiny kitten. Here he is watching the kitten eat his food, too terrified to stop him. After 3 days, we finally got J.J. to tolerate sitting near the kitten, although he still had reservations.
We had a lot of fun putting on a Star Wars Wii tournament one night, which I kicked butt at, by the way. Jeff (Kaylen's husband) was pretty impressed with my beginner's luck. :) We had a great trip overall. Miss you guys already!