Nissan Rocks

So I'm using the internet at the car dealership where they're changing the oil in my car. Not such a bad set up, I guess.

Kelly and Lauren are coming today, and I'm really excited! I really enjoyed having Kelly here last summer, so I'm happy to have both of them. We always have a good time- the girls are hilarious and fun to be around. Kelly and I are hoping to finish the quilt we started last summer, and I'm going to teach Lauren to knit. She mentioned making a quilt, and I worried about the time frame, since we'll only have three days together. Plus, I wanted her to have a different talent. I guess that's left over from my days as Teresa's little sister. I really wanted horseback-riding lessons when Teresa was taking them, but I wasn't allowed. I think it helped my issues with Teresa not to ever compete against her at hobbies and things other than school. You can't help school, since everyone has to do it. At least out of school we had our own interests.

My favorite part of having the girls here? Kelly, at least, loves Mountain Frost Creamery and I think Lauren will too! Mmmm... Ice cream...

Three Years

Troy and I went out tonight to celebrate our third anniversary. Its so hard to believe! Sometimes it seems like just yesterday, sometimes it seems like forever. We had dinner at our favorite restaurant, Isabella's. We highly recommend it. The food is delicious, and they give you free stuff on anniversaries and birthdays. Mmmm... Italian food...

I started getting my new classroom set up today. What a mess. I packed stuff in the wierdest places, but its kinda like Christmas. I'm finding things I forgot I had! So its pitiful that I packed it away two months ago and forgot about it, but that's me. I'll be going back in to do more tomorrow, so hopefully it'll be done soon. Then I can just go in and enjoy it without any kids there. I really like school when there are no students there. Funny, huh?

Our Trip, Part 2

On Monday, we visited the Case knife factory. We got there around nine a.m., and our tour (just Troy and I!) was led by Mary. She's worked at the factory for over ten years. It was... amazing. We saw EVERYTHING. We talked to guys punching out blades, ladies smashing metal under huge smashing machines, guys in crazy shirts buffing out scratches. The whole process takes weeks if you followed a knife through the factory. It was just the coolest thing to see.

Afterwards, we had lunch with Shirley, the Case historian and a friend of Troy's. We went to Beefeaters, a local hotspot. It was neat- the restaurant was near our hotel and a building we'd seen earlier. It used to be the post office- the architecture was really neat. We read the sign and noticed that it was dedicated to a man with the last name of Boser (Shirley's last name). It turned out Shirley's daughter owned the building, and we got to take a tour! Only in a small town could this happen, I guess. The building had secret hallways and lookouts since Bradford used to be the biggest town in the country's richest county. Back when oil was big, there was tons of money going in and out of the post office. And we got the special tour!

We left Bradford around two-thirty yesterday and made it back just after midnight. It was a really neat trip! Pictures should be on Troy's website, somewhere, if you'd like to see them.

I picked Henry up this morning, and he was so glad to see me! Man, I missed him so much. Teresa, just so you know, if something happens to us, you'll be Henry's guardian. Whatever you need to sell to support him is okay with us- we'll give you all our worldly belongings to take care of him. He's so cute.

Our Trip

Well, we are on our way back home, and I'm posting using Troy's Blackberry. We drove to Richmond on Friday morning, and Troy had some meetings there until two. We dropped Henry off before we left at the kennel near his vet. We didn't hear from anyone so we assume he's okay. We frove from Richmond to Lancaster on Friday afternoon and got stuck in wicked traffic on the beltway. We've been playing a sticker version of the state liscense plate game, and we saw Hawaii while in the traffic. It was worth the wait. In Lancaster, we went to an awesome craft fair and saw the downtown area. I really enjoyed the Amish quilt museum. We've picked up some tiles and a new painting for our growing art collection- they make good souvenirs. On Sunday, we drove from Lancaster to Bradford. It took about five hours. We were amazed by the number of rural farming and manufacturing communities. Some of the polaces were quite depressing. I'm going to save Bradford and the Case factory for tomorrow. Hope everyone had a good weekend. I hope Henry remembers me tomorrow!