Before and After

My very most favoritest brother is back and I couldn't be more excited!! We took a picture right before he left last year and then another one just shy of one year later. The transformation is...breathtaking =)

Reunion time

The day after the Brits left, I ventured back to RoundTown with Josh & Linzy & Guildy for the 4th and my class reunion. It was so good to see old friends, classmates, and renew some acquaintances. In one way it felt like being in highschool all over again...except some people have less hair, more kids, and a few extra pounds.




Linz and I remain pillars together...

We all (minus Kristi) got together on the final morning and had a little shower for Linzy. Guildy was very attentive and active with Adelyn and Eliott.



We used to be The Five + Carolyn, but we've done some good work in the past few years to up the enrollment in the club.


Sometimes there is nothing quite like the laughs shared with old friends and the joys that come with living this life in connection with other beautiful souls - thank you, my friends!!

The Brits

Last summer I was introduced to the wonderful world of CouchSurfing.com. This is an online database of people around the world willing to host weary travelers. Searchable profiles allow surfers and hosts to "check out" potentials and arrange meetings and accomodations. Brian and I utilized this network a number of times during out European meanderings. My first encounter was with our host, Drew, and his terrific flatmates. We had a wonderful time with them all and had the chance to return the favor this summer.

Drew and his flatmate Jim arrived on Wednesday and stayed through Monday morning. One of our first outings took us up to Palisade Falls for a quick, long-shadow evening exposure to some of the natural wonders of the area. We ran into an interesting couple from Baltimore, one of which kept insisting that since Drew is from the north of England, he is either a "Yank" or Scottish. Neither of those terms are in anyway flattering to an Englishman from Sheffield nor complimentary to the general intelligence of the speaker.

Of course we had to make our way down to Yellowstone National Park. We took in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Lower Falls, the Norris Geyser Basin, and Old Faithful. The colors in the geysers and streams flowing from them are so amazing and never cease to fascinate me. The different colors, such as the ones in this photo, are cause by the particular bacteria that can survive at whatever temperature the water is. Just from the colors of this bit of stream, one can tell the general temperatures of the water. If I was smarter and perhaps less lazy, I would find some sort of "key" for the colors and tell you the approximate temperatures...but it's summer and I'm on vacation!


We also saw some wonderful wildlife that was all new for Drew and Jim. We saw a coyote, lots of buffalo, elk, and the rarest find, a full mullet in its natural environment. This is not a sighting to be scoffed at but rather revered for its authenticity and near museum quality degree of preservation of times long (and perhaps better) gone: the 80s.