Indulgence

I have to admit, I am a little bit paranoid about food poisoning, so I have deprived Abby of one of the great joys in life: licking batter off the spoon. Last week I decided to give in and let her go for it.

It seems she liked it.
"Mmmm, cha-loc-late!"
Sugar High
And, the crash.

Escaping the Heat?

A couple of weeks ago, Abby and I decided it wasn't hot enough in SL, so we went down to St. George to visit Nan.

Abby and Natalie try to cool off. Abby hadn't quite figured out the concept of holding the gun upright and squeezing the trigger. On the upside, Abby probably stayed cooler than Natalie.

Abby wanted to draw, so we gave her a bunch of crayons and markers. A few minutes later we looked up and discovered that Abby had become her own art project....

Lovely.

For me, the highlight of being there was helping my mom make three batches of her killer jam! I felt very domestic (even though my main role in the whole affair was to wipe the jar before putting the lid on).

Abby also had a great time trying to train Raven...she already has us trained, so she moved on to a more challenging subject.

Dad's Day!

I know I am the luckiest person in the world. I have a great dad, and the little girl who is the love of my life has a great dad. I am grateful for this day when we actually take a moment to recognize important men in our life for the many things they have done for us. Rich's unending patience with Abby constantly amazes me. I've been impressed as I have watched his evolution in thinking. Before we had Abby, he wanted be the "cool" dad when his daughter brought home a date. Now, he would like to send any little boy packing who even walks within 10 feet of her. His qualities don't stop at just patience and protectiveness. Rich is fun, loving, and he is wonderful at spending time with Abby. He even made up a song just for her, it's called the "This Daddy Song", and he sings it to her every night as he puts her to bed. Thanks, Rich! You are the best!

And, here is Abby's tribute to Rich on Father's Day...(she is much more entertaining than me)

Go Nats!

Rich recently returned from a conference in Washington, D.C. Being the sweet dad that he is, he brought back a Washington Nationals hat for Abby. Immediately upon putting it on she declared, "I'm hip!" But, by declaring herself as such, she is really saying that WE are hip since we control all that she wears. There you have it, a two-year-old thinks we are hip.

Best. Weekend. EVER!

This last weekend was Rich's graduation! Although he completed his degree last summer, he was too late to participate in the 2007 ceremony. So, we were fortunate enough to travel back to the home we loved for five years to do it this year. Charlottesville is an amazing place and it was so great to be back for a few days. We really miss it there.

The weekend was also a first for me. It was the first time I have spent a night (or four, in this case) away from Abby. It didn't seem to be all that traumatic for her. Thanks to Nana and a lot fun with her cousins, she barely noticed we were gone! We will begin with her adventures and move on to ours.

Abby's Weekend

Apparently the new, hip thing is city parks that have "water features" (or maybe it's not that new - I just hadn't heard of them until this year). What I mean by "water features" is just big areas where kids can play in fountains, and other water things - okay that was a lame description, but whatever. Anyhow, Abby was in heaven.

The Hansen cousins: Natalie, Drake, Abby and Katie. What a cute bunch!

Good Friends and Football

We truly do miss Charlottesville; it's a beautiful city. But one of the hardest parts of leaving was having to say goodbye to dear friends who were also our families during our time there. Needless to say, staying a night with the Dishmans was one of the highlights of the trip. We are so grateful for their generous hospitality. It felt as though we had never been apart at all.

They spoiled us with a delicious dinner...

...and entertained us with their Wii (Rich was a very intense competitor)!
Who could ask for more?

Another fun stop for me was the Chemical Engineering Department, where I worked for over three years. It was great to see the gals (Vickie - left and Margaret - right), and some of the professors again. They were a very nice bunch to work with!

The trip wouldn't have been complete for Rich or Steve without tossing the football back and forth. This picture is taken in one of our favorite gardens at UVa.

Both Rich and Steve had the nickname "Nelly" in high school, so it was only natural that they get a picture in front of Durty Nelly's. For those not from Charlottesville, Durty Nelly's is a popular sandwich joint hidden away in the back of a convenience store.

Graduation

Before the ceremonies (and a little rain!) began...

Although the entire weekend was really wonderful, and it's hard to say that one moment stood out more than another, it was a great experience to see Rich being hooded at his diploma ceremony. Unfortunately this picture doesn't quite do it justice, but you get the idea.

Graduation wouldn't be complete without a picture in front of Mr. Jefferson's Rotunda.

And, the hood.
The orange and blue satin area on the hood are the colors of UVa. The dark blue velvet on the outside of the satin represents that it's a PhD that has been earned.