Summer Days are Slippin' Away...

My mom has this list that she has kept since I got married and moved away in 2007. Everytime we get to see each other, she rushes home to the list and writes down the date, so when we are lonely or missing each other we can say, "But we saw each other x-amount of times this year." It seems to help.

I have decided to review our time here in Pennsylvania in the same way. I have kept a list of every major thing we have done since moving here in February: ( Get ready, this is going to be a LONG one!)

In the last seven months, we:

-Moved cross- country to Pennsylvania, knowing no one


-Bought a new house


-Decorated and made our new house a home



-Had the "Garage Sale of the Century" ( made over $1300!!!)



-Survived one of the worst winters in thirty years(and the most snow we had ever seen!)





-Survived Pennsylvania's hottest summer since the 1800's (it felt like we were back in Texas!)


-Have been to DC a total of four times; once for Cherry Blossom Festival, once with Elizabeth, once with Chuck and Adrienne. (We have seen the Washington, Lincoln, and Jefferson Monumets, The White House and the Capitol, The Smithsonian Museum of Natural Science and the Air and Space Museum, the Holocaust Museum, and much, much more!)

Cherry Blossom Festival

White House





Washington Monument



Chuck and Adrienne at the Washington Monument


The Capitol




-Have been to Gettysburg twice; once with Chris and Jo2, and once with my mom.




-Have been to Hershey three times; once with Mom, once with Chuck and Adrienne, and once for Joe's birthday to see Toby Mac and Skillet at the Giant Center

Giant Center



Chocolate World

Hershey singing cows




-Have been to Hanover, PA with my mom and Heather to meet with some of Dave's family and see where he grew up


-Went to Seattle for a week with my momma to celebrate Dave's life on the one-year anniversary, July 13th. ( We also went over into Canada for one day... honorary "canucks")



Mt. Rainier at sunset

Dinner at the top of Space Needle

Pike's Place market



Met up with Michael and Emily, who just got engaged

Victoria,BC



-Went to Texas in May to see Chris and Natalie graduate and got to see family and friends that we hadn't seen in a very long time




3 generations of handsome "stein" men

Sweet girls I grew up babysitting as a teenager

Dinner with Nate and Katie at the Hula Hut in Austin

Sisters I cheered with in High School


-Went to Philadelphia with Elizabeth for the US vs. Turkey Soccer game before the World Cup send-off






-Went to Ocean City, Maryland with Paul and Christy, our friends from Missouri, for a week

Tex and his best friend Shatzi are very happy to play together again






-Took many hikes exploring the Appalachian Mountains and local parks




-Planted a garden and got a bumper-crop of tomatoes, among other things


( No, I did not make him dress up to match the cucumber!)

I guess this is just what southern women do!



-Got to go to NYC with sweet friends and see the city, and best of all, go to see WICKED on Broadway


Central park with friends

WICKED!!!


-Got free tickets to see "Joseph" at Sight and Sounds Theater in Lancaster, PA



Of course, I had to buy the joseph doll...

and the shirt! :)




-Made many, many new friends through the church we are in the process of joining. We have done countless lunch and dinner dates, been to the fair, helped with a wedding, helped a special needs group play a softball game, did a play in church, took our puppies on playdates... lots of fun!

andrew and stina get married

Girls meet for breakfast

At the fair


Tex tries to figure out how he feels about babies ;)

4th of july with sweet neighbors


Softball Day

Puppy playdate with Lauren and her puppy, Kira

(went to the doggy park and then took the pups to get ice cream!)


-Have had MANY visitors: Mom, Chuck and Adrienne, Elizabeth, Chris and Jo2, Paul and Christy, and Aunt jan and Uncle Dan will be coming Labor Day weekend

-And seen many beautiful sunsets




It's been a long year so far with lots of changes, but God is faithful and has provided every step of the way. We have made new friends, as well as having plenty of opportunities to see old friends and our families. I look back and it feels much longer than seven months! So thankful for our new home in a wonderful place full of exciting things to do and see. I remember being so scared when we moved here- scared of the unknown, and hoping so desparately that we would find our place here... and we have! When I get down and miss my family or am sad that we are so far away, I will look at this list and be thankful for a very full summer and a great beginning in our new chapter of life together as Texan"YANKEES!"