Where is everybody?

Hey everyone! What's up? Nobody has said anything for awhile. I keep waiting for something interesting to happen so I can write about it, but I figured there's no sense in waiting for something earth-shattering to happen.

We have checked in around 950 new international students! That's a record for us. It's weird the way it's just sort of over, after all the hard work, but at least everything went smoothly (after the first day, anyway, which was a mess - though not my fault).

Anyway, I went to Grandma's family reunion with mom and Phil on Sunday. It was nice to see everyone who I hadn't seen in a long time. I enjoyed the drive there and back, and seeing the house where my great-parents lived and some other points of interest. It was also fun listening to Phil, Uncle Gordon, and some guy named Rick telling jokes.

Did everyone see the pictures of the reunion that Vicky sent? I thought that was really nice!

I'll be going to see Joe this weekend. Not sure what we'll be up to, but it's just nice to be together.

Oh yeah, I'm also going to take a class this semester - Primate Behavior! I'm nervous, but excited! Every time I think I'm done with academia, it creeps back into my system...

Spontaneous Road Trip?

I thought I would throw this out there.

Next week, my work family is going to the beach in Delaware. Originally, I was going to go, but last night Laurel (the mom) offered to give me the week off. So....

If anyone wants to come visit next week, I'll have the house to myself. I know that this is probably impossible because it's too soon, but I thought I would give it a try.

Here's a picture of the house to intice you-
no? okay - here's a picture of me to intice you- (taken by Ben)
okay - i did my best :)

Happy Birthday, Mom!

I want to wish Mom a very happy birthday! I hope it's been a great one. Love you, Mom!

Sarah, as everyone else has said - this is a great idea! I'm glad I finally got in. I don't know how I missed the invitation the first time around.

I just got back from an unexpected trip to Chicago! One of my cousins (on my dad's side) was having a party at her house in Elgin, so my dad called a couple nights ago and asked if I wanted to go. I hadn't seen most of my relatives for 5 years, so it was great to see everyone. While we were there, my dad, Eric, and I also went to the Plantarium and to the King Tut exhibit at the Field Museum - that was really cool!

At work, I am currently in the throws of orientation. Tomorrow and Tuesday in particular will likely resmble utter chaos despite all my planning. The reason being that we will probably get around 250 students checking in tomorrow and maybe 350 on Tuesday. It's always hard to tell, but we are expecting up to 1000 new international students this fall! It's exciting, but very stressful and exhausting.

Well, I'll leave it at that for my first post. I need to relax for the little time I have left before I need to go to bed!

Hello chilcotes!

I'll be getting an official BLOG on our new website. But this will be a fun way to stay connected with everyone!

Welcome!

Hi everybody! I'm sure some of you know about this blogsite. I thought it might be smart and email-efficient to make a page just for our family, which includes Phil and Paul's families. That way, if there's a new cute picture, or a funny webpage you want somebody to see, you can just post it. You can also post news, upcoming events, birthday/anniversary reminders, or maybe just a random thought you have. Enjoy!
-Sarah :)