SVU Graduation

We drove down to Buena Vista, Virginia to see the graduates walk.

Elizabeth (Jessica's sister)

Her husband, Tyler.

Ricky. Or Frederick William Messmann as they called him.

I love President Smith

Jessica. Or 4 as I call her.

I am so proud of Jessica. Not only did she graduate at age 20, she somehow got Ricky on stage with her. And that is an accomplishment. I saw his study habits before he was married.

Rick looking at Jessica coming down

The choir sang "Shenandoah"

In the audience

The fam: me, Julie, Rick, Jess, Amanda, Wendy

The Messmanns

Loving on Elanor, Elizabeth and Tyler's little baby

Tyler, Rick, Jessica, Elisabeth, Elanor

It was fun showing John around my campus and seeing some of my school friends. We saw Tricia and Kyle the night before and then I met up with my BOFF Summer!

We went back to Rick and Jessica's apartment for them to open presents.

My aunts gave Ricky a Lincecum jersey from the world series and we picked up some dress clothes for Jessica to use on upcoming interviews and whatnot.

After lunch at Don Tequila's we went up the Blue Ridge Parkway to the lookout. Me with my brother and sister.

John, naturally, wanted to go exploring.

Being in Buena Vista brought back so many happy memories and it was fun sharing them with John.

Now we just need to convince Ricky and Jessica to move to California!

Monticello

One of the places I didn't see before I left school was Thomas Jefferson's home, so my aunts took us on our way down to SVU.

John envied the garden.

The lookout is amazing. Monticello is the last mountain before the Atlantic Ocean, and the land looks like waves from far away.

John and Amanda mimicking the twisty tree.

My excitement was building as we started our house tour!

On the way out we stopped at Jefferson's grave.

He really was an amazing man.

The walk back to the car was delightful.

Wendy, Julie, me and Amanda.

Annapolis

After a few days in Pennsylvania, we drove back to Maryland. We hadn't had our fill of dogs yet, so we stopped at Cathy's to play with their five puppies. John and I loved Kirby. He snuggled and didn't shed.

Ellen showed us around downtown Annapolis, where she works for the state. This is the governor's house.

A picture with my hair's nemesis, Humidity.

Wendy, Julie, me and John on the docks.

The water in Annapolis looks so clean and refreshing.

Back at Julie's house, her girls started warming up to us.

Maddie didn't mind company, but it took lots of treats for John to convince Gracie.

We picked Amanda up from the Thurgood Marshall Baltimore Washington International airport. Cracks me up it's such a mouthful. Then we dolled up Soph with a bow.

John made alfredo pasta with the extra crab from Easter. It was a hit. Although it's hard to go wrong when heavy cream is involved.

My aunt lives around the corner from a Chesapeake Bay harbor.

We walked down to show John around.

We could see ourselves living there.

It's too bad Maryland is so far from California.

Easter in York

My Aunt Julie flew us back to visit for Easter and SVU graduation. For Easter we had crab cakes and John grilled steak filets to perfection. Such an improvement over last year's dinner.

The rest of the week John put himself right to work. It was nice to mow actual lawn instead of just weeds.

He swapped out this dim kitchen light

so now they can do brain surgery.

Grandma and I both celebrated our birthdays while we were visiting. This explosive cake nearly cost Julie her eyebrows.

Sophie helping me take a picture in my new Easter dress.

Here's a much better shot of her. She prefers to be on her own feet.

This is pretty much what the rest of us do at my grandparents' house. Sit around. John and I both finished the books we brought and caught up on our MASH and Leave it to Beaver reruns.

My sister loves dogs. All of them.

Playing with Roxy was heaven for her, even with all the licking.

It was a nice, relaxing trip. We talked, slept, and ate to our hearts' content.