Life's a voyage that's homeward bound....(Herman Melville)

And that pertains to our lives 100%! We LOVE, and are very grateful for all of our travelling, and the opportunities we have had to see so many amazing places, but home is always in the back of our minds! Nothing, and I mean nothing, is like being home....for countless reasons. These simple words explain it well,"...absence makes the heart grow fonder..." I couldn't say it better.

One thing that I truly am grateful for is our families. I cannot even begin to explain how amazing they all are. Our families are our lives, and being away for 4 months seems like a year. The kids grow so fast. Our parents are our biggest fans, and they always support us and help out 110%, whenever the need be. Mike and Candi took care of our yard, and we are SO grateful to them for that. I know it is hard work, and it can be very tedious at times! Thanks guys! We have had people ask, "What keeps you in Salina?"....ummm...need I say more? If you had the great family and friends that we do, you would chose to stay too!

Last Tuesday, the 19th, I started school again at Snow. At first I was a little apprehensive, and very nervous, but after our lab on Tuesday and our ":get to know you:" activity, I am now very excited for this semester. So far, the studying has paid off, and I am putting in about 4 hours a day to Anatomy. That I need. School does not come easy to me like me dear husband who gets straight A's without the slightest bit of sweat n' tears...how would it be? Anyway, we have formed study groups and the girls that I study with are so fun! We have some odd ways of studying and remembering things, but hey, it works for us!!!

My first day back home, I flew in about 12:30 pm, and my mom, Judy and I went to lunch for some much anticipated Cafe Rio, heaven on Earth (next to El Mexi), and the mall for some school shopping. Oh boy do I love to shop...it's a major adrenaline rush for me...We got home about 10:00 that night, and made a quick stop at Kayla and Brady's to say hi. It was nice to come home, and even better, Heather and Brylee were still living at our house. I got to wake up to my little Brylee Lou for about 4 days before they had to head back to Logan for school. I think they should just consider being permanent residents...but that's just me!;)

Here are a few pictures of my first week home: (courtesy of My Ma!)

Playing in the front yard

Precious Moments

Kayla and Brylee

El Mexi with the fam

My brother Jace and I

Heather and Brylee at Grandma Mille's after dinner

Hadlee, Cody, and Wyatt having a sleepover at Grandmas

I had 3 nieces and nephews start kindergarten this year! Wyatt, Hadlee, and Breken:) Hadlee is in my mom's class, and it is so cute, every two seconds she says, "I love you grandma!" The other 2 are at Salina Elementary. I need to get some pictures...They are all so excited to be in school!

Our last days....

I have been taking FULL advantage of my last days in Maryland!!! I have 1 full week left, and then I will be flying home. I am so excited to see my family and friends, but I do worry about Dustin being lonely while I am gone before he comes home a couple weeks later! I hate having to leave, but school unfortunately doesn't work around "our" schedule.

What we have been up to:

Columbia Mall

On Thursday, Tiff and I decided to go back to the mall for some shopping and more Bubble Tea... It was a fast trip, but very much worth while!!!





Georgetown

The next day, we went back to Georgetown for the last time to get some famous Georgetown cupcakes...Boy are they delish!




Sushi Night

Saturday night, after the guys got home, a bunch of us went out for sushi at Hanami. It has the BEST sushi, and luckily it's close to our apartment and it stays open late enough! This is one of the many places I am going to miss:(





Chinnigan and I having a match before dinner! ha ha...How she does that, I will never know!






Sandy Beach

This Sunday we had an office BBQ at Sandy Point Beach. I think it is probably the last time we will all be together as one big group before people slowly start heading home:( The guys caught some more jellyfish, crab, and Zach attempted to catch another seagull but...it didn't work out this time! Darn...I had my camera set on video and everything:(

I had to get another picture of the amazing Bay Bridge! I can't get enough!



Dustin Barbequing some hamburgers and hot dogs:)













Zach, Beamer & Dust












Playin' some ball





Dustin and Beamer





Tiff, me, and Court





Beautiful Sunset!










Love you all!!!

Amelia Earhart

My Aunt Marg read my blog about Amelia Earhart, and she sent me an e-mail with two pictures of the look-out where Earhart and Noonan were last seen before disappearing. She took these pictures when she went to Hawaii this summer! They are gorgeous, she is one of the BEST photographers I have ever met! Thanks Aunt Marg! Love ya!





ps. I posted our beach trip...its 3 posts down...

Growing up so fast!

I had to hurry and post this cute picture of my niece Brylee! She is growing up so fast, I can't even believe it. I have only seen her once!... (tear)... And I can't wait to get back home and play with her before they head back to Logan!

Look at her cute smile, and gorgeous blue eyes! I just love her!

A Happy Return

I have been following closely on the news surrounding the imprisonment of our two American journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee who were arrested for crossing the N. Korean border without permission nearly five months ago. My heart went out to them and their families, and I was immediately fascinated with their story. I cannot even begin to imagine what was going through their minds day to day wondering what was going to happen to them, and when they would be sent to labor camp.

Thanks to Pres. Clinton, the journalists returned home yesterday to their loved ones! Of all that has been said and done about our former President, I think we can all agree that he has proven himself in a way that we can all appreciate, and admire!

I watched the video of the reporters exiting their plane and seeing their families for the first time... It was VERY heart-wrenching, and I am SO glad they are home and safe!

Another ineresting story...

I have been to the Air and Space museum twice since coming to D.C, and I have become extremely interested in Amelia Earhart. I always new that she was the first women/2nd person to fly solo across the Atlantic, but I recently found on Yahoo News this article that intrigued me. It said that Amelia Earhart, and a man named Fred Noonan tried to fly around the world in 1937 when suddenly the two disappeared, and the remains of them both have never been discovered. But TIGHAR (the International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery) had found castaway remains on the island of on Nikumaroro Island (formally known as Gardner Island) near Hawaii, and they suspect that Earhart and Noonan's plane may have crashed there. Because their is poor vegitation the two had died. They have put forth $500,000 toward an expedition in hopes of recovering her DNA. I can't wait to hear what they find out, and I will keep you posted!!! Along with the article was a clip from a new movie "Amelia" starring Hilary Swank and Richard Gere. It comes out October 23rd, and I am SO excited! Better write that one on the calander...

(you can watch the clip online at AmeliaEarhart.com)

Blog Book

Hey Everyone! Sorry it has taken me so long to post this...Quite a few of you have asked where I got my book printed. The website is blog2print.sharedbook.com! Enjoy!

The Randomness and Joys of Summer...

Summer is nearly coming to an end, and as I sit here with Dt.Coke in hand, on my couch, I can't help but realize how much I am going to miss the carefree life we live here in Maryland! Although, I do work, it is hardly anything compared to this past year of working 3 jobs! I was so busy all of the time that I could never relax and enjoy life! Welp, now...Here on this blog...I am promising that although it is going to be another chaotic year when we get home, I am going to try to be a little more relaxed and STOP stressing about so much. You all know that I am a MAJOR stresser, and it is so dumb! Half of the time it is over things that I can not help or change! So...in a few months I will let you know how well I do...ha ha. Wish me luck..again!

On to the weekend...

First and foremost, Tiff and I indulged in some sushi, shopping and bubble tea on Friday. We both had the day off so we thought we would take advantage of it! I tried some different sushi rolls, and I LOVED them! I wasn't supposed to shop, but somehow I ended up with a pair of earrings, and a necklace and a CUTE headband...not too much:) And the bubble tea was great, of course! The first time I tried it was in St. G this past year, and I noticed the Columbia Mall had a place that sold it so we HAD to indulge! Mmmm

Then on Sunday, we all went out for some seafood at a great resturaunt, Cantler's, in Annapolis. I LOVE seafood. This was....your average, right on a dock seafood kind of place. It was great, but the smell bothered me a little, I won't lie!

The Group

My kids meal....

And...Dustin' s King Crab Legs!!! Mmmmm

Muah

After lunch we went to Sandy Point beach. I had a great time laying out visiting with the girls, and Dustin had fun with the guys roping in seagulls, catching crab, and playing in the water!

Here is a video of the beach, and the beautiful view of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.

The Guys



They Girls

This was a dead jellyfish that Zach found...Yuck!


And...a live one that Steve found. Did I swim? Of course not! SCARY!

Dustin and his girlfriend Stevana! ha ha


Zach roped in a seagull! So funny!

Well...til next time....chow!