tying up July

I just couldn't let the month out without one last update. I realize it's been about a week and half, and we have been BUSY. So much has been seen and done but alas! I took almost no pictures. You'll just have to take my word for it.

Sean's birthday was on Tuesday so we drove up I-75 for a weekend of good old fashioned fun with his family. World class cook and mother to Sean, Heidi, made this incredible birthday spread complete with prime rib AND beef tenderloin. And it was topped with asparagus, hollandaise, and crab. And we got to eat it the next day for lunch again in the form of philly steak sandwiches. Yowza. Sean also got this incredible set of tools from his family which we have already used a few times around the house, and they came in his Dad's vintage toolbox from 1982, a gift Sean felt very proud to receive.

The last day we were there we went to Cedar Pointe with the whole fam. The last time I was at the park the Magnum was the tallest coaster in the world and I was too afraid to ride it. Much has changed since then. The Millennium Force is about twice as tall as the Magnum, a fact I was unaware of until Sean and I were strapped in, committed, and being ratcheted up to a 300 ft drop. It was a lot of fun riding coasters again, though, and I think my award for favorite ride has to go to the Maverick, even though I felt a little freaked out about it after Sean's brothers informed me the initial drop is 95 degrees, meaning it's more intense than just a straight drop; it actually curves inward. The ride was full of twists and Sean's hair was blown straight back, a la Doc Brown stepping out of the DeLorean. And it wore us out! It made me realize that we are indeed growing older. When I was little I didn't worry about becoming dehydrated or motion sick or my feet hurting, and when I woke up the day after a family excursion to Kings Island, I had energy yet to spare. Not so these days. It seemed like it took us a day of recovery afterwards to get back our usual energy. We were beat, but quite satisfied.

For his birthday I had found Sean one of those old time German hats at an antique store in Iowa City a few months back. Just to keep on theme, we had a nice deutsches Frühstuck to go with it, complete with würst and brötchen and beer.

On Tuesday night we had a pseudo surprise party for Sean, meaning he knew there was a reason his buddies were taking him out for a beer at 5:30 in the afternoon, but he wasn't sure why. It was a lot of fun. All our Oxford friends came out and we grilled brats and drank beer and even the Quays showed up as an added bonus all the way from Colorado! It was so good to see Shannon and Brian again. They stayed with us that night and we got to hang out with them all the next day, but it still wasn't enough time to get our fill. Some people your heart just misses when they're not with you.

Since then things have settled down a bit, except that we've been to 2 going away parties in as many days, and have another yet tonight. It's that time in Oxford when the leases are up and the people are moving on. We're losing some good ones this time, including Hannah, Lara, and Leah. Though this is hard, I think I'm starting to become more accustomed to it. Better at letting people go. Another year in Oxford awaits Sean and I, and who knows what it will bring.