Summer 2009

Time for a summer update. We recently went on our annual trip to Martha's Vineyard. While we were there we went to watch the sunset as Ben and Nate had yet to see one there. It was a great night. While we were there Andy said the words "Grandma" and "Grandpa" for the first time. It was very exciting for my parents. We also took Andy to the Flying Horses for his first ride. The Flying Horses is the oldest function carosel in the United States. I loved going as a young girl so I was very excited to finally take Andy. Andy loved the beach; we practically had to drag him out of the water every day.

There is some not so great news this summer when it comes to Nathan's grandpa Speed. He isn't doing so well these days and we fear he may pass soon. We are taking a trip out to MO in a few weeks to visit Speed plus meet our new nephew, Jonas, and visit Hayley and her new finance Tom.

My family is doing well. My parents are still building there new home in MA. They now have walls and ceilings and are getting even more exciting as it is getting closer to being finished. Here are a few photos of our vacation this year.

EastOver 2009

This past weekend the Grossmans, Matthews and Leopards all celebrated EastOver (Easter and Passover) in DC at the Matthews' home. We all had a great time and loved watching Andy and his friend Bruce Thompson (son of Mindy Palmquist) during their first Easter Egg Hunt.

Trip to Gatlinburg

This past weekend I met up with the girls for a weekend in Gatlinburg, TN. Despite the rain, we had a great time. On Friday we went out for dinner and walked up and down the stripe for a little while then went back to the cabin and spent several hours in the hot tube. Saturday we spent all day shopping, and loved every minute of it. We found a great grilll for lunch and we killed three funnel cakes between the seven of us...YUM. I bought...a few things... :-) When we ran out of steam we headed back to the cabin, got into our comfy clothes and relaxed a while. Eventually we got back into the hot tube :-) We definitely made a dent in the booze business over those 2 and a hlaf days and it was fun doing it. I had such a great time and am already brainstorming ideas for our next trip.

It is semi-official. I have been recommended by the department of Higher Education to the Graduate School to admit me to the doctoral of education program at Penn State. My life as I know it is over...study, study, study!

THON

Penn State has once again blown everyone away at the IFC/Panhel Dance Marathon. The students blew away last year's total and raised $7.5 million to go towards childhood cancer research and treatment. WE ARE...PENN STATE!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZS2znImpA78

New Baby...New Car

Its been a big week for the Leopards. On Monday Nate and I bought a new Chevy Malibu. Nathan's Civic was 11 years old, had no heat, and a broken windshield. He deserved a new, adult car. It's blue and has that new car smell.

Then yesterday, we got a new nephew! Nate's older brother Matt's wife, Katie, had their baby boy. His name is Jonas Cameron Leopard. He actually came pretty early; due date was March 17th. He's a little over 5 lbs and will be in the hospital for a few weeks but he has been breathing on his own the whole time and is doing well. We can't wait to see him in person.

2009 Happy New Year

So it is the "Jenuary" and a new year. Nate and I spent time with both families for the holidays. Our first time at my parents new home in Massachusetts was really nice. We had a very white Christmas. Andy was not very into the snow, sad. Hopefully next year he'll play with his Aunt Jenny.

I have one semester under my belt in my new job and I have officially begun graduate classes again. I am currently a non-degree student and have applied to the doctoral program in Higher Education at Penn State. Here's hoping! I have been wanting to do this for over a year now and its finally here. Not too excited about homework though :-)

Here are a couple pictures from this year's holiday season...