Maybe it's not Spring quite yet ...

I just cannot get the hang of this Michigan weather! I was all excited, thinking Springtime was here...... OOPS, I was WRONG. Today the high was 48, and we are expected to get temps in the low 30s tonight - it's even calling for sleet! What in the world!?!?!

Hopefully the weather warms up soon. I'm not sure how much more of this our "southern selves" can take! :-)

Jason met John McCain!

Earlier this week Jason attended a Marine recruiter training at a hotel in Toledo,Ohio. It just so happened that Senator John McCain was staying in the same hotel as his group! He took about thirty minutes out of his time to speak to Jason and his co-workers. According to Jason, McCain was very down to earth and pretty funny as well. He learned McCain's own son is currently an active duty Marine serving as an Enlisted Infantryman in California. Jason thought it was amazing that a U.S. Senator's son would serve the American public in such a way ... that says a lot for the McCain's son and his family. Jason and I agree that we would be proud to see Senator McCain become the next President of the United States!

It's finally SPRING! (I think.....)

Hi everyone!

Just wanted to give the latest weather report .... I believe spring is FINALLY here! Early mornings and evenings are still a bit chilly (usually in the 40s) but during the day we are hitting temperatures in the 70s! I cannot explain how happy I am to not see snow everyday - the water is no longer frozen, the boats are riding by and people are out for walks on the beach. The locals have informed me that we are not out of the woods yet ..... apparently a cold front sometimes comes through again before the end of May. Keep your fingers crossed that the freezing temps are behind us, at least for a few months! :-)

Miss you all - now's the time to come and visit!!! :-)

Bayfest in Sarnia, Ontario July 6-13

Hi everyone! Thought I would let you know about a fun event this summer in case anyone wanted to make a visit. This event will not only allow you to visit Jason and me, but also to see Canada! :-)

Sarnia (in Ontario, Canada) hosts a Bayfest every year.... it is a week long celebration with several musical performances. There are some really good acts this year, here is the schedule:

Sunday July 6th Bon Jovi $79.99

Wednesday July 9th Fergie $29.99

Thursday July 10th Motley Crue $39.99

Friday July 11th The Black Crowes $25.99

Saturday July 12th Rascal Flatts & Taylor Swift $59.99

Sunday July 13th Emerson Drive, Big & Rich and Cowboy Troy $37.99

A few notes:

- Country Pass is $85.99 for all of the concerts on Saturday and Sunday

- Rock Pass is $155.99 (includes Bon Jovi, Fergie, Motley Crue & The Black Crowes)

- You can buy an all access pass for $174.99 that gets you into all of the concerts (this price is only good until April 30th, then it will go up)

- You will need a passport to get into Canada

- The website is http://www.sarniabayfest.com/

We'd love to have some people visit us for this event .... let me know if you are interested.

Trip to NC & VA April 10-13

My "Michigan friend" Alison and I just got back from a long weekend in NC & VA. We had a great time .... here is a recap and a few pictures.

On Thursday Apr 10th, we landed in Raleigh around noon. First, we met up with my brother Jacob and sister-in-law Ashley for lunch. We went back to their townhome so I could visit with my "nieces and nephew." Next, we headed to North Raleigh to visit Kim & Maddy. Maddy has grown SO much since I last saw her in December! Finally, we had dinner with Kim and Carrie at McGregor Draft House, and then drove to Danville. We stayed at Martha, Roger and Anne Rylee's new house (thanks again for letting us be your houseguests!)

Friday started with the biggest pancakes ever - Roger took us to a nearby restaurant and Alison had her first sweet tea! The rest of the day was "family day." My Mom rounded up the troops (I have a rather large family) and we had a nice fish fry at my parents' house. The weather was gorgeous so we sat outside all day, caught up with my family and enjoyed some tasty food. Friday night we had pizza with Martha, then hung out at her place.

Saturday was a busy day - we started with lunch w/ my brother, Bryce @ Hams - I love their fried chips! Next, we attended Steph's baby shower - here is a pic from the shower:

MP, Stacy P, Steph, Prul & me

Saturday night we met several friends at San Marco's for dinner. Amy, Jim and Marissa were in from Charlotte, Prul came down from Richmond, Mayhan from Burlington and Lesley from Durham. D-ville was represented by Martha, Steph, Stacy, MP and Gena. Here is a picture of the dinner attendees (minus Amy, Jim & Gena, who was taking the pic!)

L to R: Mayhan, Prul, Stacy, Keely, Alison, Martha, Marissa, Steph, Lesley

Our flight left out of RDU around 4:30pm, so we did not have much time on Sunday. We did manage to squeeze in lunch with my parents, Popey and cousin Kristin at Rockola. Then we made the drive back to NC and flew back to Michigan.

It was a great time, the weather was wonderful and I cannot wait to see my family and friends again soon. Thanks again to everyone who spent time with us - LOVE YOU ALL!!!!

5 classes down .... 9 to go!

I just finished my Management Information Systems class, boy - was that course a lot of work. Thanks to my Cisco friends for all of their help, especially Susan, Patrick & Fred. (by the way, "we" got an A in the class!!!)

My next class is Human Resources Management - I was hoping this class would provide a bit of a break, but so far it looks like it will keep me just as busy as the rest. I'll be relying on my "HR friends" for so help with this one ..... I guess everyone didn't know that they would be going to school with me, huh? :-)

I have exactly a year left of school - if all goes as planned I'll be on track to graduate in May/June 2009!