Catch Up! (No, not ketchup)

I'm just going to blame my blog absence on a crazy, fun, busy summer and spend a few paragraphs catching you all up on the highlights. I guess I have some major memory recalling to do since I haven't written a post since June! I don't think anything earth-shattering happened during June, so I'll just skip ahead to July. My parents came to visit us from New York for a week and a half! It was their first time on the West Coast. More specifically, it was their first time west of Illinois! It was about time, right?! We really enjoyed having them here. They were our first house guests! We all took a mini vacation and stayed at a beach house on Harstine Island on Puget Sound. It was really relaxing, and so much fun. I've never seen so many tiny crabs in my life! They were under every rock we overturned! Otto got to come with us, and he was so good! Apparently the key to good doggy behavior is car rides and vacationing. I told Hubby that we just need to go on perpetual vacations. It would probably end up being cheaper than replacing all of the items our bored, naughty pup destroys. We also took a day to explore Olympic National Park and to see the Pacific. Gorgeous.

On the way home, we made a pit stop at Pike Place Market in Seattle. 

 I flew back to New York with my parents for my wonderful friend's wedding! Gina was a stunning bride. :) It was a quick trip, but I was so thankful for the chance to reconnect with several wonderful friends. The hardest thing about living in Spokane is not being able to see family and old friends very often.

Photo by the lovely and talented Beka Watts.
http://www.bekawatts.com 

 I was also able to spend some much needed quality auntie time with my adorable niece, Nicole. A few of her favorite 17-month-old activities were playing with "wanyah," reading her "Melmo" book, and playing her Mickey Mouse Club House game on the iPad. Yeah, she's cute and smart. :)

Oh, and while I was playing in New York, my hott Hubby was moving all of our stuff to our new house! The best part about the new house: two of our awesome friends live downstairs. It's a pretty ideal scenario, I'd say! :)

This past week, Hubby and I both celebrated our 24th birthdays! We went to one of our favorite restaurants, and I got a wonderful facial for my birthday! I threw Russ a surprise BBQ and got him a fire pit for the backyard for his birthday! It was a good week.

I'm getting ready to do the student thing again as I start my first grad class online through the University of New England on Wednesday. I'm actually looking forward to it!

How was your summer? Are you ready for a new school year?