Hangs head in shame...It's been two months.

Have you missed me? It's been a long summer. How does the quote go? "Life is what happens while your busy making other plans." I had really planned on being a better "blogger", but I got caught up in summer school, going to Europe, and trying to stay healthy. I'm back. As "back" as one can be that is. I start my last semester of classes in two weeks and really need to find a new job, but my recent excursion to Europe is much more exciting than that. Let's talk about that instead.

I went to Austria, Germany, and Switzerland with these people:

and

plus 32 other people.

We rode on this:

(If it looks like the bus is broken down on the side of the autobahn, that's because it is or it did. However you phrase it, we sat on the side of the Austrian interstate for two hours basking (or was it baking) in the sun.

We saw this:

(Castle on the Danube River)

and this:

It was an amazing experience made even better by

1. The Amsterdam airport personnel thought that my grandmother looked like their queen. Here is my grandmother on the left and Queen Beatrix on the right.

2. and meeting wonderful new friends and playing with my new camera.

3. My grandmother said things like:

" I am about to strangle your grandfather. He cannot, for the life of him, fasten my bra.(She dislocated her shoulder in the amsterdam airport -post Queen scenario and had to wear a sling the whole trip). I told him it was just a simply hook and eye. MEN! They are just generally better at taking off bras than putting them on."

AHHHHHH..... I can't believe she said that. Actually I can, but my ears are still burning. :)

In closing, I should add that we ate weinerschnitzel out the wazoo, drank Shandy(lemonade beer), watched the Passion Play, climbed a mountain, sang songs to the sound of music, and traversed many a country meadow. More (fingers crossed this time) posts to come!

I'm on a roll...

...Two blog posts in one day.

This is because I was just thinking about all of the other places that I like to visit on the web and I thought I would share a few of them here. I enjoy them all the time. I check frequently to see if they have been updated, I hope people don't check here as frequently. Oh boy, talk about pressure!

Ryan Marshall has a great blog about family life in Florida and photography (He does great work, I love both of his maternity series' and the snapshots into his personal & professional work life)

Visit him here at www.pacingthepanicroom.blogspot.com

Lisa Leonard is a wonderful woman, who I think I first learned of on celebritybabyblog. She makes beautiful original jewelry. I ordered a charm necklace a year ago that I just love. Her blog is so creative and inspiring, as is the tidbits she posts on her personal life.

Visit her here at www.lisaleonardonline.com for her store and blog.

Brittany is a mom of 6, count 'em 6 beautiful children, who chronicles family life in a beautifully artistic manner. I just recently started following her and love it everytime she posts a blog. She and I seem to have such similar ideals in life, family, religion. I wish I was able to meet her in real life! Visit her at www.4littlemenandgirlytwins.com

Next post, fingers crossed, will hopefully be soon and I will post some friends blogs that I follow!

slow blogging progress

(this picture goes with what I did this weekend!)

We know how well my blogging is going... OOPS!

The summer has just kicked off and I don't get to enjoy it.

Well I guess I do, because I will be indoors in the air conditioning

instead of outside in the 95+ degree heat.

Why?

Summer School! 4 classes. This will supposedly help me to

graduate finally. I say supposedly because we've hit a minor

road block in the timeline because it seems the school is

not offering the classes I need to take in the fall. =(

No worries, I think that God is just testing to see if I

really want this degree or not. Well let me state, I started my college

career in 2002 and have off and on continued it for the next 8 years.

I want this degree.

I would have quit a long time ago if I didn't really want it.

I think Chris Farley and David Spade had a discussion in the movie,

"Tommy Boy" that I feel is very appropriate here.

Tommy(Farley): Did you hear I finally graduated?

Richard Hayden(Spade): Yeah, and just a shade under a decade too. All right.

Tommy(Farley): You know a lot of people go to college for seven years.

Richard Hayden(Spade): I know, they're called doctors.

Well, I wish I was graduating with a medical degree, but I will just

be thankful to graduate with a Bachelor's at this point. I know the

reasons that I have not been able to graduate sooner have been

to a certain degree out of my control, but that does not change

the feeling that I wish I had graduated sooner! haha!

On to better topics, I went to a birthday party this weekend that

celebrated sweet Addison Mae's 1st Birthday. It was a fun

celebration. What a sweet baby girl. I got to enjoy her and her family.

Mommy (Nicole) and Addison, the birthday girl.
Daddy (Jeremy) having too much fun on the water toy!

Karli- 5 .the big sister, who was ready for the water!

Sweet Haley - age 4
Sweet Lyla Jo - 2 months (this is a miracle baby!)

I was in baby heaven!

Officially uncreeping by "writing" a blog...

Ok, I'm going to start blogging. This should be interesting. It will more than likely be filled with pictures that I have taken because I cannot think of anything really interesting to say. We'll see how it goes. I'm going to write my first blog later tonight, I just wanted post a hello first.

So, HELLO and here goes nothing!