catching up

Good day. I've been on vacation for a while, but before I get into all of that (and it may not really be "all of that" since I didn't take notes along the way of what I wanted to blog about), here are a few pre-vacation events.

The week after we were in Pittsburg, we took off a day and a half and went to Manhattan, Topeka, and Lawrence. Brian spent some time doing cicada research at both K-State and KU, and I spent some time hanging out in the university towns drinking coffee, reading, and walking around. It was great. It was surprising how just a short break felt like a big break when one has not had a vacation in a while. When I was in Lawrence, I met up with a high school pal for lunch and a driving tour. It was fun to catch up with her after being out of contact for a number of years. Dave and Shelley hosted us in Topeka, and it was fun to hang out with them, finally visit them before they moved from Topeka, and be entertained by the antics of their cat.

The weekend after that, we were back in Manhattan and Topeka, this time for graduation ceremonies. Brian's cousin-in-law Jen graduated from K-State and had a lovely reception at a camp afterward. After a yummy Indian dinner, we headed to Washburn for Dave's graduation from law school. This was a first non-undergrad ceremony I had been to, so that was interesting. Here's a pic; I'm sure you can tell several cameras were trying to get the shot at the same time.







Washburn Law hosted a sandwich/cheeses/fruits/wines/beers reception following the ceremony, and that was awesome. After the long day it had been, I went immediately for two glasses of wine and downed them like Kool-Aid. Yep, classy.

The next week, I had the opportunity to catch up with another high school friend. I had not been in any contact with him since h.s. graduation, so I enjoyed catching up with him too. Ah, the wonders of Facebook. Unfortunately I failed to get my camera out for either of these reunions.