Christmas 2011

This is the debut of our new christmas tree. It is quite an upgrade over our old 4ft tree (pictures of that tree are on this blog from 2 0r 3 christmases ago). We now have reached the point in our lives where he have a grown up tree. Now, the only thing missing is some presents below the tree!

The final act of a grad school student

Knowing that we would be living on one income last year, I decided to take out loans to pay for grad school. I never had intentions of paying interest on the loans, so the plan included saving up to pay off the loan before the grace period ended. I got a job earlier than I thought I would, but it was at that time that Keith started school, too. So, we were still on one income. Both of us worked this summer, and the bank account started moving in the positive direction again.

The grace period on my loan ends this coming week, so I called to pay off the loan a few days ago. I realized today that my final act as a graduate student was not writing a paper, receiving a degree in the mail, or getting a job. Paying off the loan is the last thing I had left to do to finally close the books on graduate school. With some planning, I am glad to say that we figured out how to do that without paying interest.

Congratulations are in order

It's official! Jay earned an Associate degree in Physical Therapy Assisting.

Without a doubt, Jay's program was more rigorous than my master's degree. Several times, I called him to hear his stories so I could feel better about my own micro-crises.

Jay has always been smarter than me, and getting into this field is only proof that he still is smarter than me!

Jay, we are proud of you!

It's almost time for school again

Jennifer just got home from teaching GHP for a month this summer. It's the best summer out of the four that she's had down there.

Keith is very close to wrapping up his summer semester with grad school, and he's figured out that school in the summer is just not right! His grades have been excellent, but he's looking forward to shorter class meetings and more time to get assignments done.

Jennifer finally got her paperwork saying she's a fully certified teacher (with all of the dollars that come with it!). Since the paperwork came through in early May, the last few days of last school year are paid at the higher rate. In eight years of teaching, this is the highest annual salary she's seen. That's what the master's degree was all about, right?!

Keith has been working in landscape a few days each week this summer, and he'll continue with it until his internship starts this fall. He likes staying busy when he can't get away from home to travel.

Once the semester starts, Keith will be taking three classes this fall. This is the hump semester--he'll be more than halfway through his program once this semester is done.

So, in short, we're busy but making progress toward our new life together. We're looking forward to some short getaways this fall, but there's nothing major on the calendar yet until we know what our school schedules look like.

Keith is done with his semester now, too!

He just submitted his last assignment! I'm so proud of my husband for his good work this first semester of grad school. He brought his hard-working attitude with him, and it shows!

I'm done

I submitted my last assignment for my masters degree last night.

Now I can get on with my spring break!

Keith's new dish

We were at Panera Bread a couple of weeks ago, and Jennifer saw a picture of a cheesesteak sandwich that was new on the menu. A few days later, Keith was inspired to buy the ingredients for his own rendition of a philly cheesesteak sandwich. It was such a success that we did it again the next week. We had to show you our over-sized but delicious sandwiches!

Washington Park - Two Years Later

We took our own pictures at Washington Park today. One of us set up the shot while the other served as a target. Then, we learned how to make our camera take pictures on time delay, and we got these. We had a great time remembering all of our guests at the park in 2009.

Happy Anniversary to us!

We're happy to be celebrating two years of marriage today! We went to dinner tonight, but we've been talking about our anniversary for a few days now. We're hoping to visit Washington Park tomorrow if the weather cooperates.

Is it right that two years moves us from newlyweds to an "old married couple"?! We sure have enjoyed our first two years!

Landscape improvement project

On Thursday Keith decided to tackle a wild section of our yard. This little trail is overgrown and muddy when it rains so he decided to make it look it a little more inviting. It took most of the day to get as far as the gate. When the weather improves he will finish the small section in the backyard side of the fence.

Before.

After.