February 2022

 Hello everyone!

I posted December and January photos but am not sure that the blog posts were emailed everywhere they were supposed to go.  While December was fun because of family time, December and January were two of the worst months for me at work.  Many 14-hour days, weekends and holidays.  I went past burned out and almost ceased to function well.  And then when it was at its worst, my Mom passed away.  It has been an emotional start to the new year, but I still want to share our joys through this blog, even if much of what I'll share in February is just dog photos :)

David and I went to Chicago for my birthday.  I bought the tickets to the "Smartless" podcast live show months ago.  The event happened to be on my birthday, so I was excited for a short getaway with David.  Given that Mama's service was a few days prior, I was not sure we would make it, but we did.  And it was a nice break from all the stress and sadness.

For those not familiar with "Smartless", it's hosted by tv and movie actors Will Arnett, Sean Hayes, and Jason Bateman.

Their guests for the Chicago live show were Andy Richter (from the Conan O'Brien show) and Jeff Tweady from Wilco.

Speaking of my birthday, Shelly and family got me these adorable pajama bottoms with Bailey's and Remy's faces on them!  I love them!

John and Ginger had us over for a night with an Italian chef on Zoom.  We made chicken parmesan and it was amazing!

Violet hosted ladies from our Wine Club for Galentine's Day at Upland Brewery.  It was a really fun afternoon with friends.

Speaking of Violet, we saw the Broadway Show "Come From Away" in Louisville last month.  It's outstanding.  If you haven't seen it yet, I hope it comes your way soon.

And a few dog photos to finish out our month.  

Looking forward to spring which hasn't reached us yet in Indiana.  Thankful to all of you who have been so kind during this really hard time for our family.  

October 2018

It's November already!  Unbelievable.  We had a fun October!

I had to make a quick trip to Appleworks to get some apples, pumpkin bread, and other treats.  Such a gorgeous day!

David and I went with Brennan to Pittsburgh for a college visit.  I don't know that we've ever gone on a trip without Thomas!  We had some time for sightseeing along with our college tours and visiting with Rissa who is in her freshman year and doing great.

At the Andy Warhol museum.

At Ft. Pitt

The Cathedral of Learning at the University of Pittsburgh

Dinner with Rissa at the Hofbrauhaus - delicious!

University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon are beautiful campuses

Overlooking Pittsburgh

 

Thomas and Neil came home for a couple of hours to attend Ethnic Expo.  I took them to vote for their first time!!  And they got to see the little boys who were along for the ride.

David and Brennan took a quick trip to visit The University of Chicago for a college tour.  They really enjoyed the campus.

I took a quick work trip to Nashville.  My colleague and I had dinner downtown at Woolworth on 5th which was the location of peaceful sit-ins at the lunch counter upstairs in 1960.  Now renovated and the food is amazing.

While we were there for a bunch of meetings, we also get to attend the annual Kiddie Parade for over 300 children.  The employees go ALL OUT to make it special, handing out candy, taking photos, etc.  Every department picks a theme.

Our area was construction and it was awesome because the little ones loved it.  We had two wrecking balls. 

Speaking of Halloween, David and I went as Amy and Sheldon for the Gecklers annual costumer party.

And we celebrated David's BIG birthday!  It was great to have Thomas home for the weekend to celebrate.

They got David a gourmet sweets platter from Brennan's favorite candy shop.

After our celebration at home we went to Zwanzigz's for his party.

1968 Babies

We had our annual fire pit book club at April and Todd's where we discussed "The Forgotten Garden" by Kate Morton.  It was an awesome night.

Remy graduated from Puppy Kindergarten!

And David and I have hit some state parks lately with the little boys.  It's been a lot of fun and the weather has been gorgeous!  Anderson Falls and Clifty Falls State Park in October.

Brennan's hand bell choir played for us in church.  It was such a beautiful song to close out the service.

And after a run Brennan made caramel apples, from scratch!  They were delicious, just ask David!

Happy Thanksgiving!