2010 - its gonna be a good one

Well, 2010 has already started off really well. The second week of January brought great news; Nathan was offerd a development position for the central PA office of the American Cancer Society. Everything worked out and he accepted the position just a few days later. Nathan couldn't be more excited about this opportunity; not to mention how excited I am for what this will do for his happiness :-) He starts on Febrauary 8th.

Also, Nathan and I just got back from a Eastern Caribbean cruise on Holland America Cruise Line with my entire family. My parents were invited to teach for a professional development program for pediatrians so brought all of us along. It was AMAZING! We went to Grand Turk, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, and Half Moon Cay. The ship was beautiful and the ports of call were fantastic. I loved all the staff we met on the ship and I miss them! :-) If anyone is tettering on whether or not to take a cruise...DO IT!! I can't thank my parents for such an amazing experience.

So based on the one month of 2010 I have good feelings for this year.

Fall 2009

The Ohio State Penn State football game has come and gone (OSU wins!), Nathan has become a Vice President, my sister is pregnant, and the holidays are rapidly approaching. I went to Wittenberg's homecoming this year and had a great time with my girls. Homecoming 2010 is officially up and running and school sucks up all free time (which isn't a lot). Happy Valley has seen snow already and the temps are back up in the high 50s. Life is never boring!

Summer 2009

The school year has started and summer is over. This summer wasn't too crazy. We took the regular trip to Martha's Vineyard and we had amazing weather. We took a trip out to Missouri to visit Nate's ailing grandfather (please keep him in your prayers) and to meet our nephew, Jonas. We had a great time. I am now officially and doctoral student and am taking a class on Administration in Higher Education this semester. Nate just got a promotion to Vice President of his company. It brings more stress but also some great new experience for him. We look forward to another nice fall in Happy Valley.

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!