Kate's in the States

While Justin has been enjoying swimming with poop, I have been in the States, spending time with family and friends. I arrived in Maryland on June 26th and won't fly back to Germany until July 22nd. One would think a month home would be more than enough time; let me tell you, it's not.

Similarly to when I came home over Christmas, I have a packed schedule. I did some complex calculations (involving counting on my fingers while brushing my teeth) and I realized that the most consecutive nights I am going spend in any one place is five. And those five nights aren't even here at my parents' house, but instead are in Georgia, where I'm heading for work. So, here is a quick rundown of what I've done in the past week.

A few days after arriving in Maryland I flew up to Pittsburgh to see Liz. We visited all of our usual haunts (Target, DSW, Marshalls, DSW, TJ Maxx, DSW, and Ross), ate brownies, played with Lucy (shown below), watched bad movies, and talked a lot. I am really glad I was able to go visit Liz and catch up. It is great to see Liz, Lucy, and their home (which looks very nice).

I am also glad I got to see this squirrel mural in Liz's neighborhood, Lawrenceville. We had a good Italian lunch right across the street from the mural, and I think we were both a bit distracted by the menacing looks from the pink squirels.

After flying back to Maryland, I had a one night "layover" at my parents' house, and then headed down to Barbara and Bill's. I always have a great time at their house and this trip was no exception. We didn't do anything too exciting (save a trip to the vet with the neighbor's dog), just ate, talked, shopped, played cards, and harassed Justin on speakerphone. It was a nice relaxing trip and I am glad I will get to see Barbara and Bill again before I leave. Here's a picture of them looking very patriotic on Fourth of July morning.

I left Barbara and Bill's to return to my parents' house to spend the Fourth with them and Edward. We took a family trip out to the Discgolf course, where we determined that I defy the rules of Physics. Backhands are supposed to curve left, but mine curve right, and forehands should curve right, but mine curve left. Regardless, we had a great time playing.

**Please note my parents' patriotic garb for the Fourth of July. Mom is carrying a French toile bag and wearing a shirt from Bratislava, Slovakia. Dad is wearing an Aruba hat and a shirt depicting a German dog. We had a good giggle over that.**

In other exciting news, I bought a new camera (used to take these pictures) and I like it. Hopefully Justin will too.

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and are having a great summer.