OBAMA!

OBAMA!

OBAMA!

OBAMA!

OBAMA!

OBAMA!

I'm so excited for this weekend!!! One of my bestest best friends in the world is getting married this weekend to an awesome woman! Yay Joe & Meghan!!! I'm reading the Intercessions, and I can't tell you how honored I am to be a part of their ceremony. Joe & I have a long history with some twists and turns, some ups and downs, and I'm so glad to say I can honestly still call him one of my dearest friends. Pete and I are heading up to my parents' tonight (the wedding is in MN) with the dog and the cat in the car ... and neither one in crates because we don't have one big enough for the dog and the cat HATES hers. Yoinks! I'm also excited for this weekend because my other bestest best friend and I are getting our nails done together before the wedding. She's cantoring (or something like that), and we decided to go get manicures. We haven't done that since Senior Prom! So excited!!!

On Sunday, we're leaving my parents' and heading over to Pete's parents'. We've barely spent any time with them this summer, so we're spending the week there. It's a good thing, too, because Pete's mom has decided to paint their entire downstairs with color (), so we've been recruited for that. She's got all her colors already - dark red, light gold, cream, and possibly a dark green? - and a crew of 4-5 people. They're actually starting with wallpaper tear-down and priming this week, I think. We're gonna have a blast ... even though Pete doesn't really like to paint!

I need to get more serious for a moment. If you could, I need you guys to pray for my mom and my little brother. Dave is moving to college at the end of next week (Aug. 23), and things are going to be really rough for both of them. As much as he would hate to admit it, Dave's kind of a homebody - he doesn't really like change. He and his *awesome* girlfrield are also going to different schools that are separated by 325.39 miles (according to mapquest). That's going to be really difficult for him, too, because he's a softie. He's the kind of guy that you really want your daughter to bring home because he's such a nice guy. He's worried that he won't be able to make Kandice feel better over the phone when she's having a bad day. Mom's going to be an empty-nester ... and she's not going to be a very good one. Our house has always been the house where ALL the kids hang out. Both my friends and Dave's friends have always called our mom Mom or 2nd Mom, and they've felt comfortable enough at our house to just walk in, grab some food, and either hang out with my parents or head down to the basement. (My friends tended to hang out. Dave's friends head to the basement where the XBox 360 is. ) My mom's always been really close to us, too - both of us. Being at home by herself in a quite house is going to be REALLY hard for her. She and Dave are both really going to need prayers. (BTW, Mom's name is Dianne ... don't know if all of you know that. )

Okay, now to a more fun topic. I have finally found a salon in Dubuque that can do a phenomenal job on my hair!!! And it's 3 blocks from UD! I've been driving past it for over a year now! Sheesh. Anyway, I went in yesterday to get a bit of a cut (I'm growing my hair out right now), and some killer highlights ... and that's exactly what I got from probably the best stylist I've ever had. (For those of you that live in Dubuque, I highly recommend calling Style Masters salon and asking for Keely Marie! ) I'm sure I'll get a ton of pics at the wedding this weekend that I can post later, so you'll see it then. I love it, though. And I'm soooooo relieved to finally have a good place to go!

Well, I guess that's about it for now. I'm at work for the last time today. My internship in Galena starts Aug. 24, and there's no way I can juggle an internship, my course load, my Wendt (scholarship) responsibilities, and a part-time job. I wish I could because I love working at the library, but I know my limitations. :bummer: Hopefully, I'll be able to come back to work during my senior year. I have a hunch they'll take me back if they have an opening. I suppose since I'm here and it's my last day, I should do some actual work. Oh ... one last, quick thing: I definitely suggest you read the book I'm currently reading. It's put out in conjunction with NPR, and it's really easy to read because it's a compilation of very short essays all branching out from the starter prhase: "This I believe." If you listen to NPR (like I do ), you may recognize some because they read them on the air as a weekly series earlier in the year. Anyway, they cover a multitude of beliefs and issues, and they're super interesting. Check it out! (See ... I was totally born to work in a library. )

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I thought I'd put up a pic of Dave and Kandice ... just 'cuz they're so dang cute!

I don't have a whole lot of time (10 minutes 'til I leave work), so I thought I'd give everyone (all 3 of you that read this ) a quick update ...............

Pete is no longer in Ohio. He left last Thurs. night at 8p, drove all through the night (with a couple stops for cat naps and gasoline), and got to his training site at about 11a Fri. morning. On Saturday morning, we both got calls from his parents telling us his grandpa had died, so Pete re-packed his car and left Ohio on Saturday night at 8:00. He stopped 3 times (no sleeping) and got home around 4:00 Sunday morning. He slept until about 8:30a, and by noon, we were headed up to his parents'. Pete's mom and I put picture boards together on Sunday night and Monday morning. Also on Sunday night, Pete's parents had a little bit of a birthday party for his brother, Michael. (His birthday was the previous Fri.) Basically, we were up until about 11p. The wake was Monday evening, and when it was over, we headed over to Pete's dad's cousin's house (yeah ... that's a lot of apostrophes) for some food and some visiting. We were there until about 10:15p. The funeral was Tuesday (Pete's mom's birthday) at 11a. Pete, his brother, and a few of his cousins were pallbearers. Let me tell you, as a wife, it's very hard to watch your husband carry his grandpa's casket down the steps, out of the church, and then help situate it at the gravesite. After the service (which was very nice), there was, of course, a luncheon in the basement, so we didn't get back to Pete's parents' house until about 1p. By 4:00, Pete and I were ready to head home. We took the bike which was pretty fun ... except for the fact that I completely forgot to put sunscreen on for the 3.5 hr. drive up, so my arms were really sunburned.

The Guard said Pete didn't have to go back to Ohio, so he gets to go on the mission trip to Rockford with us next week after all. He's pretty excited about that. We both are, actually. I haven't been on a mission trip in a few years. We don't know if Pete'll end up completing the training or not. He's supposed to, but they won't let him go if he's got less than 6 months left on his contract. Right now, he's got 10 months left (WAHOO!!!), and it took them 8 months just to get him into the spot in Ohio. We're hoping that if we can put it off long enough, he'll just be able to skip the whole thing.

Well, I guess anymore updating will have to wait. It's 5:00p, and I'm outta here, folks!!!

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