What it's the last day of July!!??

Where oh where did summer go? Oh, it is probably still very much around for some of you but for Jeff and I, it's pretty much over. *sigh* Looking back, I realize how full our summer was. We tried some new things and made some great memories.
Some things that may have not featured on our blog:
Jeff worked many camps this summer but he also got work with a lot of great coaches and kids. He also completed his last class towards obtaining his MS in Education at SIUE. Yeah! I'm so proud of him and all of his hard work, late nights, and many papers that he completed to get here. I'm also proud of his achieving his goal of competing in a triathlon this summer. He has been working really hard, training for most of the year and dropping A LOT of weight (you may not recognize his new, lean physique). He and Jesse competed in the Lake in the Hills mini-tri on July 19th. They both finished really well and I think they are both now addicted to tris. Stay tuned for a post from Jeff and maybe a picture or two on their experience.
Jeff and I also got to be a part of several of Justin and Anna's pre-wedding events like Justin's bachelor party and Anna's shower. They were great memories where we got to relax and spend time with family. We are really looking forward to the wedding at the end of next month!
This summer has also been filled with long walks with Mickey. Jeff always says that summer is his favorite time in Greenville because the streets are always empty (for the most part) and its nice to walk in the evenings.
Last weekend, Jeff planned a "date" for us. He had been wanting to go see the Lee and Grant exhibit at the MO History Museum in Forest Park. It is a traveling exhibit that was only in STL for certain period of time. We both enjoyed the museum, the Lindbergh room was especially interesting. We then headed to a favorite little grocery store that some of you may also frequent, Trader Joes, before heading to The Hill for a little Italian cuisine. We went to a place called Favazza's and after a length wait (50-60 min) we were finally seated. Boy, it was good though! It was a great last hurrah before Jeff began football again. So, alas, I am a widow yet again...or at least for the next several months.

Mickey's little friend...or not.

On Sunday, I let Mickey out on her line for a little sunshine and exercise. Since we don't have a fenced in back yard we put up this zip line thing that keeps her in the yard but lets her move around a lot more than a stake in the ground. Well, she had only been out maybe for 30 minutes when she started barking. I figured it was one of two things; she wanted to come in or there was a cat out there teasing her. When I went out to check on her I saw something in the side of the yard. It was a raccoon! What surprised me most was that it was out in broad daylight. They usually only come out at night. After I took a few pics, I decided to chase it off since I didn't want Mickey mixing with the likes of a raccoon. :-) It didn't seem too scared of me so I had to up the ante a little and beat a big stick against the ground while I was walking towards it. I guess that did the trick because it turned and slowly walked away, so I guess I'm not too intimidating.

BBQ, 5K, and KY Lake

We had quite the jam-packed weekend over "The 4th". After dropping Mickey off at my parents' house Jeff and I headed to Carbondale for a brief stop at a bike shop on the strip. A couple of weeks ago, Jeff had found a bike that he really liked while we were out bike shopping. The only problem was that they didn't have it in his size. So, I knew that this place in C'dale had that same brand so we decided to go and check out what they had in stock. Lucky us, they had the exact same bike and size that we were looking for. Jeff took it for a test spin and was greatly impressed with its smooth ride. So, long story short, we left with a brand new bike. The poor guy had been riding my bike for the past couple of months in order to train for his upcoming tri.

We then went south to Paducah, KY where we met my sister and brother-in-law for dinner at Whaler's Catch. Jeff and I hung out down by the river while we waited for them to arrive. We were quite amused by the many elderly couples parked on the riverfront watching people through their binoculars.

On Friday, we hung out at the house for a while and then went into Murray for their annual Freedom Fest. It was our plan to have some genuine southern BBQ while we were down there. After walking through the Fest we all decided to each choose a different BBQ vendor to sample. We would choose a BBQ dish and split it between the 4 (well actually 5, counting the babe) of us. Jeff got the pulled pork/rib dinner, Monica got BBQ nachoes, J.B. got pulled pork sandwiches and I ordered a whole slab of ribs. We were a little let down by the vendor Jeff chose, they seemed to be all glitz and glamor and lacking in the BBQ department.

Monica's nachoes were quite unique and had a good flavor.

I loved the pulled pork sandwich. It was so moist! And the ribs were amazing! They were falling off the bone and mmmmm so good. I think that the group agreed that they were the winners. In fact, Jeff thought that they were so good he had to get his pic taken with them. :-)

On Saturday, we got up at the crack of dawn and headed into Murray for the Fest's annual 5K race. J.B. and Jeff were all set to race. They both did really good and finished 3rd and 2nd in their age/gender group. Jeff ended up finishing 34th overall out of 124 racers. He averaged around a 7min 30sec mile.

After the race we had b'fast, went to the store, and then headed out to the lake. Monica's boss, Tony, has a boat and lakehouse at KY Lake. We ended up going out a couple of times with the guys trying the wake boarding and Jeff having a little open swim time. It was a great weekend!

Shower Time!

Justin and Anna's wedding is fast approaching! We had their shower last month on June 28. It was great. My MIL had booked a great spot that Anna's mom had picked out. It was in the waterfall room at Keywester in Naperville. It turned out to be a beautiful day to boot! Anna and Justin got lots of great stuff for their new place.
Jeff worked a Bear's camp in Bolingbrook that entire week so I took time off and Mickey and I went up with him the Sunday before the shower. It was great to relax and visit with family. When he wasn't at camp, Jeff was working on his final class assignments or training for his mini-tri while I did some work for GC and tied up some loose ends for the shower.

The beautiful bride with one of the shower games.

Shower favors that my MIL and I came up with.