Cat update!

Yes, my cats love me.




And here is my multi-cultural kitty family.

BAT!

So, the other week Jon and I were walking down one of the strip malls in Champaign, and much to our shock, we saw a bat!!!!

HOW AWESOME!

Here is where the bat was hanging out on the building.



And closer...





BATS ARE SO AWESOME!

Saying goodbye

As previously posted about on the blog, our friend Philipp from Germany came to visit for a few weeks. For those who do not know, he was originally in the US as an exchange student in high school, and we have all remained friends since, with a few international visits back and forth.

Philipp left to fly home today (Saturday), so last night we had a little get together at Ashley's mom's house. The evening was lots of fun, of course, with a grill, fried potatoes, and smores.

It is really hard to say goodbye to someone you love - especially if you know you will not see them for a long time.

Last night was also a bit hard, because Ashley's mom is probably going to be moving and selling her house. We have spent countless evenings at Ashley's house - playing board games, playing video games, drinking, eating, talking... etc etc. Doing all the wonderful things that make life wonderful. It is one of those places that you just cannot describe - I suppose the right word is home.
And, although a few friends were missing, it was a fitting goodbye.


So, last night was bitter sweet. I love where we've been, I love where we are, and I look forward to where we will all be.

I'll miss you Philipp, but we will be together again some day!
I'll miss you Ashley's house, but you will always be in my heart!



A part of you has grown in me. And so you see, it's you and me together forever and never apart, maybe in distance, but never in heart.

Here comes the bride!

Well, the wedding is over! It went so, so well! It was so great to see everyone look so beautiful. We had such a great time. There will be a longer update eventually, especially when we get the professional photos back.

But for now... thank you to everyone!

I love you, Jon!




(Thanks to my dear friend Amanda for the photo!)

Today's the day!

It's finally here, and we couldn't be more excited!

We hope to see you all there! Once again, here are the maps and directions, in case you need them.

German invasion

This weekend we hosted an international guest. I speak (well, actually type) , of course, of Philipp, our friend from Germany. Philipp has been a dear friend of ours ever since we met him in high school.

He was a foreign exchange student at the time at MacArthur HS and became friends with some MHS people I hung out with regularly. We got along well as fellow nerds often do, communicating through the international languages of binary and JavaScript. After he left to return to his homeland, we stayed in touch and he came to the U.S. to visit us again in the summer of 2004. Needless to say, we were surprised and delighted to find out that Philipp would be present at our wedding!

So after he flew into the States on Friday, he came to our house and we partied all weekend... and by partied, I mean played video games. But it was a lot of fun and we are definitely looking forward to everyone being there next weekend!

Speaking of which, holy crap the wedding is close! In a lot of ways, I feel like I'm ready for it; but I keep thinking there's so much left to do. I'm not sure there really is that much left to do, but it feels like it sometimes.