Summer in September

Hello to all out there!

So summer is finally showing up. We have had a few days that were warmer than the others this summer (still relatively cool compared to the folks that have 100+ temps!) It's made for a nice few days lately, even though the days are getting shorter.

This year, Jeff decided to do a garden, and so far it's been successful! We have already harvested tomatoes and zucchini, and he has also planted herbs and cucumbers that haven't really ripened. He also planted peppers that just don't get hot enough to his liking, and originally we only had one corn plant grow. After talking to someone from our church, he decided to try soaking the corn before planting, and sure enough, we now have 100+ plants!! All of this is being grown in our FRONT yard, for fear that the dogs would take them out in the back. On the plus side, our zucchini plant has become a beautiful shrub in our front path!

We also celebrated Jeff's birthday last weekend. Since he wasn't feeling that great (more on that later), we decided to keep it simple and just celebrate together. On Friday, we both took the day off and decided to drive to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Jen's sister had given us passes for the year, so we thought we would go. They recently have been trying to rehabilitate a Great White shark, so we went to see that. Even though we have been numerous times, this was probably the first time either one of us went and there wasn't any construction or closed off portions of the aquarium! It was really pretty and we took plenty of pictures.

The following Monday was Jeff's actual birthday, so we decided to go to San Francisco for the afternoon. We started out eating at a burger joint in the Ferry Building, which is on the water, and do some shopping in the food market. Because of the holiday, a few shops were closed but we had fun anyway. We also went to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Although we were only there for a little bit, we did get to try out the famous Mondrian cake and saw some very interesting exhibits.

The bad news is Jeff has been pretty sick lately. A few weeks ago he had to leave work because he had gotten sick. Although we suspected it was from milk we had purchased (the only thing Jeff had that Jen didn't) the doctor said no, it wasn't likely. The next week Jeff had more of the same milk and again got very sick. His stomach unfortunately hasn't been the same, and we spent part of Jeff's birthday in urgent care because it was really upset. All seems to be pretty good now, but we are both being really careful about what we eat.

School is again continuing for us both. Jen began a new class with the teacher she started with in her Master's program, and Jeff began the fall semester with four new courses. Despite sickness, we have been fortunate to keep up with our homework. Work has been great for Jeff, but Jen is wrapping up a study and working on two new ones at the same time! So this month is pretty packed, and we are looking at a trip next month for a much-needed break!

Right now we're uploading the photos from Jeff's birthday but hopefully we can get them posted ASAP. Hope all is well for you all!

In Brief

Hello, all!

We would say that the summer is starting to wind down, but around here it hasn't seem to hit yet! We've had pretty calm weather, with very few really warm days. This mild weather has been very enjoyable, but makes getting back to the everyday grind difficult.

Both of us have been continuing to work hard. Jeff is about to register for his fall classes. It looks like he should be done with the undergrad work by next year, if he can keep up with the work load. Jen is down to one class, and so far has 2 As in her program. She will be picking up another class toward the end of the month, and then there is just one more until Christmas break. Break this year starts at the beginning of December, then goes through mid-January. Then Stanford has their usual two-week closure, so this year, maybe we will actually do something! The last few years, one of us has been sick or, in Jen's case, still recouping from the car accident, so our holidays have been local and very understated.

Although there aren't any trips planned for a while, we're still dreaming of some. Jeff really wants to go to Seattle, or back to New York, possibly for our anniversary, so we are saving up for that. And next month is Jeff's birthday. We haven't quite gotten that figured out, since it lands on Labor Day, we haven't decided if we'll go out the day of, the weekend of, or some other day. But we will be sure to keep you posted!

Time for July!

Hello, everyone!

After a ton of blog updates before in the last month, July is seemingly quiet in comparison. But, we are managing to keep busy and have some adventures to boot!

----------

In Jen's Family, the 4th of July is second only to Christmas in the hierarchy of family holidays. A small part of that is because Jen's oldest sister, Myra, was born on the 5th and the family usually gets together on the 4th instead. The real, main reason, however, is because Newark, where we live, is one of a few cities in California that still hasn't outlawed fireworks. The sales benefit different booster clubs, and there is just too much money to be made by blowing up your hometown, so every year the family meets at Jen's parents house to light off fireworks.. This year, the dogs made things interesting. Myra's dog, Mason, is not a fan of the loud popping (long story with his personal history) and our dog, Fox, was actually scared this year, so we put the three dogs inside of our RAV 4 so that they we're close enough to see us and know it's okay, without hearing too many loud noises. And, before anyone else asks, Christopher did fine. For some reason, he has always loved fireworks!!!

----------

The weekend after the 4th, Jen went to a conference put on by the National Urea Cycle Disorder Foundation. UCD is a disorder in which the body has a difficulty time eliminating ammonia from the body. It's a relatively rare disorder, but right now it is actually one of Jen's big research projects. Because of how rare it is, there is only one conference every year for it, and this year it was in Denver, CO. Jeff again went along, and so did our niece, Rachel, who wanted to look at Colorado State University in Ft. Collins, an hour north of Denver and where Jen got her first degree. So we went back home to Ft. Collins while we were there and toured the campus and drove around the city. Jen put it this way: it was like going home and finding someone changed the locks. It was familiar, but a lot had changed in the city and the school, which is expected after having been away over five years, but there were a few homey things, like visiting our old apartment.

The hotel we stayed at in Denver was pretty nice as well. It has a rooftop pool that we hung out at, and while Jen was in her conference, Jeff and Rachel got to do some shopping. It was the shortest of the three trips, but still plenty of fun!

----------

That brings us to this weekend, another busy one for us. We already saw the last Harry Potter in a double-feature with the previous one, and today we went to the AIDS Walk in San Francisco. Jeff had volunteered a few times but didn't get to actually walk some of them, so we went out to Golden Gate Park and enjoyed the day. Although we got a late start, we still had fun listening to the music and enjoying the park and the people. In fact, Jen even got a t-shirt and a keychain from the Pixar Walk Team. The keychain is of the rubber ball that is part of their logo, and her shirt is in honor of Cars 2, with Lightning McQueen driving a red track made out to look like an AIDS ribbon. Between our trips, conferences and walks, we have amassed quite a collection of shirts!!

Well, that is it for now. We haven't uploaded any pictures yet, but they should be posted in one of our albums next to this blog. Hope all is well with our family and friends and we will see you all soon!!