Necklace twinsies!

My friend Camille and I came to work today sporting very similar necklaces:

This is where you can find me!

The new pantry opened up at work while I was in Florida! "Pantry" is what we call our breakroom, and it is pretty impressive.

That moment when you realize . . .

. . . you and your dad have the same hairstyle:

Looking for the fountain of youth

Jenny and I went to DeLeon Springs today. We didn't find the fountain of youth, but we did find an enormous spider, a gigantic tree, and pancakes.

Can you guess where I'm going?

Who are the foxes in your neighborhood?

I was walking this morning just a couple blocks away from our house when I was startled to come across this fellow:



That picture is zoomed in quite a bit. This gives a better idea of actual distance:

A very peppy welcome

One of the reasons Annabelle went back to school a week early was to be with the pep band when they played at freshman drop-off. Here she is, rocking her sousaphone:

Happy birthday and goodbye!

We got Annabelle moved into her room on the Music Interest Floor today (her actual birthday) and left her to decorate on her own while we drove home:

Surprise!

Annabelle thought we were going out tonight with our (grown-up) friends here in Rochester. Little did she know that Sam, Christian, and Jamie would also be joining us:



I think it's funny that they wound up dressing in UR colors.

Happy (early) birthday, Annabelle!

Whether she's turning 2 or 20, Annabelle enjoys her cake to the fullest extent possible:

Decorating the man cave

Fred spent the evening creating the "I love me" walls in the man cave. Looking good!

Party like it's 1812

Tonight we went into the city with Christian and his parents to listen to the US Army Band perform the 1812 Overture at the base of the Washington Monument. It was a great show! This video clip will give you a little taste of the rocket section.

We wound up running into JAG friends of ours at the concert:



They are both Rochester grads, and their son will be a freshman there in a few days. Small world all the way around!

Like father, like daughter

Look at Fred and Annabelle, rocking their letters:

Summer is almost over

It's about time for Annabelle and Christian to head back to Rochester. Christian's parents will be arriving tomorrow to visit for a few days and then take him home before school starts. Tonight we went to Mike's American Grill for one last big dinner out.

First day on active duty

Mike has successfully moved to San Antonio and is beginning work today on Ft. Sam Houston! He will be administrative support until his DPT program begins in 2016. I love that he still makes sure I get first-day pics!

A post about Ginger

Ginger approves of the yard at the new house:





Here she is putting the "kiss" in Kiss and Ride:



And some days walking the dog looks like this:

Like riding a unicorn

I'm becoming a bit of a transit nerd since I started commuting regularly by metro. Today I FINALLY got to ride on one of the new 7000-series trains!

Kurdish mission reception

One of Fred's friends from his War College seminar invited us to go to a reception tonight at the Kurdish Mission. The house and the food were both amazing, and it was great to see Liz again:



It was so HOT though, and I made a terrible mistake in wearing my hair down. A woman standing nearby overheard me complaining and generously offered me a tiny clip from her own hair. It was just big enough to get my locks off my neck:



Headed home on the metro, hot and tired but happy:

Weekend in Syracuse

Annabelle and Christian set out this weekend for an adventure in Syracuse:





They met up with friends from school:



And Annabelle got to see her old friend Maya and FINALLY see Maya perform in a play:

Presidential?

The Internet is ablaze with images of cats wearing toupees a la Donald Trump. Annabelle and I couldn't resist Trumping Harvey:



I would vote for him!