Catching my breath...

Hey gang, thanks for hanging in there even when I haven't been a very good host these past weeks, even *gasp* months!! Let me spend a short entry catching you up on the last part of Mike and I's summer and I'll spend some more time on each if and when I can. The second weekend in August we traveled back up to Duluth with sister Heather to make pretty flowers for and attend the wedding of Karin Janson of the incredible Janson family. The Jansons, Sue, Loren, Marja, Karin, and Elsa, were our roommates early last summer after we sold our house and before we left the country. Karin was and is beautiful, and we got to stay with and see great friends, Kim, Sarah, Mike, and Steve Knuth, Kayla, Derek, and Conner Whitaker, Roxy Kurtz, Amanda Lufholm, Alex Primozich and so many others. And let's face it, I just love weddings, I love the gorgeous people, I love to play with pretty flowers, and it's so great to see happy people in love!

So the wedding was Friday night. After the reception, we drove back to St. Paul, stayed the night, got up early the next morning and headed to Iowa for an open house for my cousin Zach and his now wife (they were married in PA the following weekend, but we couldn't make it), and spend the day and evening with lots of my mom's side of the family. They are all so much fun, so easy to be around, and we love Ariel, our new cousin-in-law. After they were married, Ariel and Zach headed back to Okinawa where they are stationed in the Marines.

For our 5th anniversary (five years, can you believe it?!?), Mike and I went out for sushi and sashimi (sp?) as this great little Japanese restaurant right across from Nicolette Island in Minneapolis. We both figured out that we enjoy that so much more than we ever thought we would; kinda fun to still be finding out new things about each other! Here we are after a very large dinner and some sake (yummy) overlooking the Mississippi River across from downtown.

Somewhere in and amongst all of this, we worked and slept, and spent some time together, though not a whole lot. Funny how you always think there's more time during summer vacation, but it always slips by so sneaky-like, even as adults!

The third weekend in August, we took a few extra days and made our way south and west to the Great Salt Lake and Salt Lake City, Utah where we stayed with our friends Amy and Jim Patrick. Amy lived with Mike and I shortly before she got married, and we almost made her freak out that lovely bridal morning, showing up with her flowers as she was supposed to be walking down the aisle! Fortunately, she is not high-strung (hee hee), she was not a bridezilla, remained ever so cool, calm, and collected, and even forgave me before we got there! In Utah we hiked, ate yummy food, maybe got a little tipsy at a not-shady bar just down the road, played a new card game favorite called 500, gave delicious backrubs (at least Amy and I did for each other), loved on their sweet chocolate lab named Duke, and just enjoyed sweet friendship. Our husbands even get along quite well, always a bonus! And if you've never been to Salt Lake, give it a try, it's gorgeous all the time and the hospitality, at least at the Patrick's, is better! Here's Amy and Duke sharing the wonders of the "green tumor" aka the tennis ball, aka a lab's best friend!

While we were at the Patrick's, we had to say goodbye to my sister Heather as she was departing for South Korea that Monday for a year of teaching English. I couldn't be more proud of her, and a bit envious I must admit, for taking this giant leap into the unknown. More to come on that a little later in another blog, and in the meantime, check out her blog at the top of our list on the right...

And we ended the summer in Madison, WI where we met up with my parents and Kate and Finn. James as gone to Portland, OR where they are in the process of moving to, and Kate and Finn will join him early next week after flying to Texas to see my grandparents. I will really miss being able to see so much of my family in one trip. We are now spread quite thin across the globe, Mom and Dad in Indy, Mike and I in MN, Kate, James and Finn in OR, Mandy and Scott in Hawaii, and Heather in South Korea. Boo. Here's Grumpa Tom Tom and Finn in the pool at the hotel; Finn loves baths, but the pool kinda freaks him out.

But a smashing success to a typically McGrail summer in the traveling sense. I'm so lucky I married a man willing to drive, and even more importantly, to roadtrip! Although with so many busy days and weeks, long hours at work and school, long drives are some of our best times together, talking, listening, laughing, just being. And now back to the grind...