Chesapeake Bay

today we ventured over to Havre De Grace, Maryland
with jeremy's parents to see the cute little town on the bay.


while we were there we went to the decoy museum and learned tons about fake ducks (i totally want one, a neon one). we also went to the maritime museum, some little stores, and ate delicious food and homemade ice cream. i had a scoop of black raspberry - a huge scoop.

for the week

we arrived in baltimore last night to spend some
quality time with jeremy's parents. it should be a fun week for sure!

some cities between boston and baltimore.

and his summer begins

1st year of Dental School: DONE!
he's excited! and i'm so proud!

weird

last night.

it was 9:13 pm. i was waiting at the subway station.
i had just gotten out of class and i was heading
home. i was exhausted wishing i was already in bed.
i was not too thrilled that i had class again in the morning.

the subway pulled up to the station and as it
slowed to a stop i saw "it," sitting with a group of
people on the second car.

a man wearing a unicorn head.

it was hilarious.
i couldn't help but smile the whole way home.

at the lakehouse

warning: picture overload

yesterday we spent some quality time at our friend aimee's parents' lakehouse in new hampshire (still with me?) to celebrate her birthday. i think the experience made my summer! no joke. i loved every minute! the delicious food, the beautiful lake, the warm water, the delicious sun. and less than two hours away!! when can i go back!?

we kayaked all over the pretty lake. kayaking is my new favorite, although my arms are screaming at me today. my biceps are the biggest they have ever been. i'm sure of it.

we also did some serious tubing, which was way more fun and way less painful than i remember. thanks to our friend dane for documenting the experience. these pictures crack me up - i love them!







and don't miss the video!
i think i screamed the whole time... my apologies.


halfway through the day i decided i was born to sit on a boat. yes, sir. i have been day dreaming of a cabin on a lake ever since.



before the late afternoon rain rolled in, jeremy got up water skiing for the first time. he's a CHAMP! and soooo brave. i was too intimidated to even try.


while it rained we enjoyed the thunder and lightening show, played games, and ate delicious grub - steak and burgers, homemade ice cream, kettle corn, chocolate dipped strawberries, and a three tiered birthday cake. wow! what a day?! aimee... glad you were born. you know just how to party! thanks for letting us in on the fun.

recruiting

remember this post?

well, i have been checking the website to see if the dates are up for next year's ragnar
and they haven't been... so last night i sent my good friend steve, the race director,
another email. this was our conversation:

Steve-

I know I emailed you months ago, but I was curious, have
the dates for the 2013 Cape Cod Ragnar been nailed down yet?

Thanks!
Katie

his reply came at 1:30 in the morning (that man is dedicated to his job!).

Katie,

We just finished up getting things ready to go for next
year and will be launching early next week. The dates are
May 3rd and 4th.

Hope this helps,
Steve

i was too excited to contain myself. so i sent this off to him all quick like around 6:30 this morning:

Steve!

HOLY SMOKES!!

That is the best news! Thank you so much! I can run the
Ragnar and walk for Graduation the next weekend!
I can't wait! I will start rounding up my team TODAY.
So HAPPY!

Katie

so Boston friends (or anyone wanting to visit Boston next May)... the race is on!
who's in?! it's going to be AWESOME!! we need 12 people total and if we have
almost a year to train...we can do anything!

poolside

today was the first day of summer!

hooray!

and it was a summery day indeed. it was way hot around these parts. it got up to 96 degrees today! - the hottest day we have had so far. i got home from class around 1 and headed straight to the pool. i was in my swimming suit within minutes of walking through the door. i was exhausted from an emotionally draining racism class as well as navigating through the roasting, and sometimes smelly, public transportation system.

so the pool was just what i needed. i laid in the sun and slid into the cool, refreshing water each time i felt like the afternoon's heat was taking over my skin. it was just what the first day of summer should be. i ignored the papers i still need to write and the articles i still need to read and i just existed and only existed... for three whole hours. it was glorious. and i have the pink nose and cheeks to show for it.

i also enjoyed some of that left over grasshopper pie... it's a holiday after all.

grasshoppers

last night's dessert: Grasshopper Pie!

this was a favorite of mine when i was little and jeremy loves mint
chocolate chip ice cream, so i thought we would try it. it was as good as i remembered
and WAY rich. i would recommend a small piece (and not adding extra sugar and
mixing in extra crushed cookies... oops!).

here's the recipe:

Grasshopper Pie
Oreo pie crust
1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp. peppermint flavoring
green food coloring
1 jar marshmallow creme
2 c. whipping cream, whipped
crushed Oreos for topping

Mix milk, peppermint, food coloring, and marshmallow creme together.
Add whipped cream to mixture and pour into pan. Put crumbs on top. Freeze.
And then lick the bowl. TASTY!

he's not a dad

but we still celebrate father's day.

i sent him on a scavenger hunt to find his gifts (which included glazed
muffins for breakfast, a grill, marinating steak, bag of charcoal, a lighter, and lighter cubes).

then we went to church, took naps, watched a movie,
enjoyed breakheart, and finally...we grilled up the steak for dinner!

and it was the best steak of my life. seriously!
grilling is my new favorite. i can't wait for more cookouts this summer.
 want to enjoy the best steak of your life? buy flank steak, stick it in a bag with a cup of some type of italian-ish dressing and a packet of meat marinade. marinate it over night or for a couple of days. grill it up! and EAT. i love my meat seasoned a lot & this is how my parents always make it, so it is heaven for me. hope you like it! anyways... happy father's day, babe! you will be the best dad someday... far away. thanks for being a wonderful husband. you are just great! and the cutest boy EVER!

hey daddy!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

you and me, march 1990

did you know that i miss you a whole bunch?
good thing i get to see you in just 33 days! i can't wait for the fun we will have.
thanks for being such a wonderful friend and an awesome father. you are always so kind
and loving to others. you are also hilarious. thanks for teaching me that i could
accomplish anything i set my mind, too. i am so lucky. i love you, daddy!

xoxo, your favorite daughter

scooter love

i stumbled upon this beauty this morning...

from here

and my heart hurt just a little. i thought back to my scooter days. they were dreamy fun.
i would strap on my hot pink helmet, jump on my silver scooter, and ride around the town.
it was the very best. the grocery shopping was a little difficult, but it was so worth it to cruise
around on that thing with the wind in my face, the cute little horn.... i loved it.
then i got married and my parents repossessed it. although it was my brilliant idea to take
a scooter to college rather than a car... they purchased it, so i guess it was only appropriate.
the little brothers' didn't want to miss out on the scootering fun (that thing's a chick magnet for those boys).
at least whenever we go visit, i still get to hop on it and take it for a spin.
i just love to ride that scooter.

still every time i see a scooter my heart just swoons. i either take a picture of it and send
it to jeremy or point it out to him and tell him i want one soooooo bad. so today i decided...
no more wishful thinking. i am going to buy a scooter someday.
my very own that no one can repossess. it will be some gorgeous bright color (of course)
and i will just scooter around all over the place. it is going to happen... and i can't wait!
when i saw the scooter picture (above) my first thought was, "i have to have that!".... but i think
i will start saving for the real thing instead. that's way more fun.
plus, i don't think i can live without one.

another cute family

more over here

dozing

i was just hanging out on the subway today and suddenly i realized i was at north station. ahhhhhh! i was supposed to get off at haymarket, one stop before north station and i completely missed it. who knows what i was doing?! (probably thinking/sleeping/people watching/day dreaming - but most likely dozing off because out of the last 24 hours i had been in the city for 18 of them.) i obviously wasn't paying attention to where i was because i totally forgot to get off the subway. i was already cutting it close to catch the bus home and now i was really pushing it. i had seven minutes before the bus was scheduled to leave, so i ran over to the other side of the tracks to take the subway back to haymarket. i sat on a bench and counted down the minutes before my bus left and kept telling myself i could probably still make it if the subway came right NOW until my time ran out and i was still sitting on the bench... at the wrong station... not on the bus homeward bound. another bus wouldn't come for a whole hour! luckily jeremy got done with classes early and was just hanging out at home. i called up the cute boy, told him i was a space face, and asked if he would be so kind as to pick me up from the subway. he laughed and agreed, so i hopped on the other side of the tracks again and headed north until i reached the station where jeremy was meeting me. although i love it, sometimes this city just wears me out.

over the weekend

dinner with the girls
capture the flag in the rain
late night thunderstorms
sardines (the game, not the fish)
waffle breakfast
running and lifting at the gym
lounging at the pool
hitting at the driving range
frozen yogurt
bonfire in the woods
s’mores and campfire cones
game 7 - poor boston
fire alarm 3 times in the middle of the night
8 sunbeams in one room
and sunday naps, walks, and movies

notice how no homework was involved… oops!

june

i just love june.

i think i could stay in this month my whole life.
something about the time between spring and summer just gets me.
maybe it's because the sun finally came out this week.
maybe it's because life seems to move a little slower and there are far less deadlines.
maybe it's the promise of upcoming trips to see our families.
maybe it's because we haven't been hit with the heat of the summer yet.
maybe it's because i feel like i still have a whole summer ahead of me.

i don't really know what it is... but this month is rather delightful.

chopped and frozen

last week we made some CANDY BAR ICE CREAM.
i looooove homemade ice cream. we just made some vanilla and
chopped up some candy to make it a little more exciting.

candy bar ice cream
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 butterfingers, chopped
1.5 twix, chopped

we mixed it all together and added the candy when it was almost done.
we just used skim milk because that's what we had and jeremy ate half of one twix
before we got around to making the ice cream, otherwise we would have
used 2 of those candy bars, too.

the stuff was delicious!
and you can dump a mixture of all sorts of goodies into it...
cookies, snickers, m&ms, strawberries, gummy bears,
peanut butter chips, andes mints, pretzels, toffee bits, marshmallows.
the possibilities are ENDLESS!