Tag- You're it!

I was recently tagged by more than one friend to do this picture post, so I figured I would give in and jump on the bandwagon (even though Pete is totally going to make fun of me for this).

The idea is to take pictures around your house as is-- no cleaning or fixing things before hand. (Luckily, Caleb took a long nap today and I was in a cleaning mood, so things were relatively put together before I decided to do this).

1. The Laundry Room











Our "Laundry Room" is in the basement. We share the space with the people who live above us (who are really nice by the way). Yes, those are tennis balls on my dryer. They are for when I have to wash the Boppy. Don't ask me, it's on the label.

2. Favorite Room
Caleb's Room! Without a doubt. Mostly because of the elephants, but also because it's a safe place. Is that cheesy? Oh well. It's the truth.

3. The Kitchen Sink
Does anyone know how to get the stains out of the kitchen sink? They drive me crazy! And that soap always falls over and leaks onto the counter-- leaving me a rather gross mess of dish soap. Eww.

4. What My Child is Doing Now:

Caleb is eating blueberries in his "I can't choke on Food" bag. Pete calls it his "chew bag" but I think that sounds gross. Don't get me wrong-- the bag is gross in and of itself, but "chew bag?" Ugh. But he thinks it is fabulous and so far he is enjoying the blueberries much more than I thought he would. (By the way, thanks Ellen-- these were the blueberries you guys gave us. Where did you go to pick those? We need to go ourselves!!)

5. The Toilet (Seriously?!?)
So our bathroom has one of those toilet paper roll holders that is tiled into the wall-- but the actual rod has been missing since we moved in. Since it was built into the wall, we couldn't find a rod that fit it (OK, I couldn't find a rod, Pete didn't care). So our toilet paper sits on top of the toilet and I am self conscious about it. Thus the unnecessary explanation.


6. My Closet
My half of the closet-- I didn't think it was fair to Pete to show his side. And the fact that the shoe box is crooked in this picture is driving me crazy. But I didn't fix it, because I am following the rules. And yes, Lauren, I still organize my closet in ROY G BIV. Some habits I just can't shake.

7. The Refrigerator

Good thing we just went grocery shopping! Pretty typical stuff here folks. My favorite thing? The picture Marley drew for us! She even wrote our names. She's pretty dang talented.

8. Dirtiest Room


Right now it's the living room since we are in the middle of packing.



9. Self Portrait
I'm aware that this is not a self portrait, but Pete is at work and even if he were at home, he would not take a picture of me to support blogging, so I found the most ridiculous picture of me that I could find and I think that should count. What say ye? (And yes, Pete and I match in this picture. It happens.)

10. My favorite shoes. I'm not even going to attempt this one. I have so many favorite shoes. Not even funny. If hard pressed, I would probably say my crocs, but even then I would have to choose between my blue and pink ones. It's a hard life.

11. Dream vacation. A completely unscheduled European backpacking tour. With a stop at Jane Austen's home. But no other plans. It would be so much fun to just jump on a train and end up anywhere.

OK... Phew. That was rough.

So that I can get to see some of my long lost friends and family and their homes, I tag Brent and Aubrey, Tracy and Hanna, Aaron and Jenny, and Lauren and Marcus (but Marcus has to be the one to blog, because he likes it so much) .

Whirlwind

So a few weeks ago my parents experienced a real "live" tornado. When my mom called me to tell me about the storm she said that they were alright but there was some serious damage. I went down to visit for Katie's graduation a few days later and as I was driving to their place there wasn't much damage at all. "She totally over reacted" I thought. There were a few trees down here and there, but nothing more than you would get from a bad thunderstorm. However, as I turned down the driveway, I saw a war zone. Apparently, the tornado had a beef to pick with my family, as it targeted them almost exclusively. Here are some pictures we took:


Unfortunately, the trees fell on my Dad's beloved '76 MG-B. It was a sad day for all of us. So far, he thinks most of the damage was done to the windshield, but time will tell.

Fortunately, nobody was hurt in the storm. The young men in my parent's ward came to help and play with chain saws, so they are starting to get things cleared up a bit.

Happy Father's Day!

I'm not always the best at expressing how I feel with words, but I wanted to wish all of the father figures in my life a very happy Father's Day. To name a few:

Dad- He doesn't baby me like Mommy does. He knows I'm a big boy.
Grandpa Knickerbocker- He makes a really funny pig noise. And some day he's going to give me some of that Diet Pepsi stuff.
Grandpere Farr- His voice makes me feel calm and sleepy.
Great-grandpa Knickerbocker- He let me ride with him all the way to Washington D.C.
Great-papa Farr- I like when he holds me with his big hands, it makes me feel secure.
Great-grandpa Ford and Great-grandpa Reddy- I got to hang out with these guys before I was born, and they are wonderful, no wonder Mom and Dad miss them so much!
"Grandpa" Meyer- I haven't spent much time with him, but Mommy talks about him all the time. She loves him lots so I know he must be pretty fantastic.

I know that there are a lot more fathers out there who do a lot of great things, but it is way past my bedtime.

--Caleb

Done the first year

WORDS FROM PETER:

It seems like ages ago I was sitting in orientation wondering what medical school was going to be like. From Gross Anatomy (appropriately named) through the cellular basis of medicine and finishing up with heart, kidneys, and lungs.
I am excited to have a summer off where I am not always worried about the next test hanging over my head. I am working at the KOP Apple store this summer where I hope to make more money then I end up spending on new toys:)

Travelfest 2008

Last week was a bit of a whirlwind. As you can see from my previous posts, both of my sisters graduated. As Pete was preparing for his finals, I was lucky enough to be able to attend both of the ceremonies. I went out to Pittsburgh a few days before Shayla's graduation so that I could watch Dean (my nephew who is about 6 weeks younger than Caleb) while she and Sean were in Erie, PA doing some pre-graduation things with her class. I am proud to say that although Norm the dog at formula, a dirty diaper and who knows what else, both babies and the dog survived the ordeal. Her graduation went well and I can't say how proud I am of her for making it. She really did a great job.

Mom, Shayla, Dad, Sean and Dean at Shayla's Graduation

I got to visit with some friends from high school while I was in Pittsburgh. Katrina, Caleb, Karen and Beth

From Pittsburgh, I went to visit my other "sister", one of my best friends, Lauren. She and her husband are working in Virginia Beach for the summer and I thought I would take advantage of her relative closeness. (They live in Utah). Lauren and I have been friends since her parents dropped her at my doorstep while they went house hunting some ten years ago. The past decade has been filled with memories of Lauren-- in high school, we were practically the same person. We had the same friends, took the same classes, went to the same ward, worked at the same place, even had a habit of dating best friends (and yeah, we even dated the same guy... sad.)

Caleb wasn't too sure about the sand. Or the water.

Caleb had his first encounter with the ocean. He wasn't too sure about it and was definitely not a fan of the oppressive heat (neither was I though). Lauren and I also went to see Rembrandt's Etchings at the Chrystler Museum in Norfolk. They were incredible! It was great to see her husband Marcus as well. He's a great guy and I love them together. It's great knowing that someone you know so well (seriously, I can tell you about her mother's toilet bowl brush I know her so well) is being taken care of. Corny, I know.

From Lauren's Caleb and I flew to Baltimore to attend Katie's graduation. The flight went well, however, sadly, my luggage had a bit of a rough time and ended up being pretty damaged. Southwest Airlines was great though, they gave me new luggage and the lady who helped me was so nice, I couldn't be upset. Strange as it was, Katie's high school had their ceremony on a Friday morning at 9:00. Weird. The ceremony was nice (and HOT!!) and relatively short. We went to lunch at a fabulous Mexican Restaurant to celebrate and then Pete (after finishing his last test) came down to Maryland to meet us.

Katie and my dad at her graduation. His little baby is growing up!

All in all, the week comprised of family, three flights (they made me take off Caleb's shoes to go through security. Seriously...), two graduations, one three hour drive, a shopping spree, the beach and a best friend. Not too bad if I do say so myself.

Congrats High School Grad!

This weekend we had another graduation. (Apparently it's that time of the year). Katie graduated from Boonesboro High School. She was in the top 5% of her class and was offered academic scholarships at 4 colleges, the Washington County Teachers Association Scholarship and the Nora Roberts Scholarship. There were about 250 people in her graduating class and they were awarded almost 7 million dollars in scholarship funds. Apparently the only thing to do in Boonesboro is study.

Congrats Katie!! All your hard work is paying off.
P.S.
For her graduation present, my family got her a beautiful camera. We haven't seen her face since.

Congrats Dr. Grad!

It's official! Shayla is officially a doctor now. After all the blood sweat and tears of undergrad and medical school, Shayla graduated on June 1. We are so proud of her and Pete is excited that there really is an end to this whole thing. Shayla starts her residency at The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in Emergency Medicine. She is one of the only D.O.'s ever accepted into the program. Way to go!

I love having people to brag about. Makes my life much more interesting.