Quick update...

I have been receiving desperate emails from friends and family who are apparently suffering withdrawl symptoms from having no new posts on our blog. Here is a brief update of what the last 5 weeks have been like for us...

• June 17 (the day after my last post) Marc left for 12 days. During this time our beloved Canon camera that Marc's parents bought us when he finished medical school finally bit the dust. It might have been from being dropped 4 or 5 times on our trip to Canada last fall. Those who know me well know that I am not super chatty. That is why I put a lot of pictures in the blog...they are, after all, worth a thousand words.
• June 29 Marc returned and started a pattern of rigorous study in preparation for the boards which he had to take on July 9. But this meant that the kids and I mostly stayed around the house because all four kids and I going to any activity just makes for a grumpy mom. Still....no camera.
• July 7 Marc left for Chicago to take his boards.
• July 9 Marc took his boards. This kids and I drove to Chicago to meet him and we spent 2 days doing fun kid stuff in Chicago (new camera in hand...I will post pictures later). It was apparently really fun because Ella sobbed for at least 30 minutes (hysterically) prompting a stop on the side of the interstate and Marc saying 'We are not moving until you stop crying.' 20 more minutes of crying and we continued home to Toledo.
• July 12 Our plan had been to come home for a day, recoup a little and then drive up to the Hill Cumorah pageant and Niagra Falls for the weekend. But, I found that perhaps you need to reserve a hotel room a little sooner than the night before if you want to have a hotel room. And, my sneaky husband had been planning since sometime in May to send me to Phoenix for a spa weekend with my sister. So he handed me an itinerary and drove me to the airport that evening. I am, to put it mildly, a nervous flyer and was sure that the gentleman from Bangladesh who was sitting next to me and kept checking his watch was concerned about our late departure because he would be late flying the plane into the Sears Tower. But I survived, had a great relaxing weekend at a four star resort in AZ and loved spending time with my fam in AZ.
• July 16 After returning from Arizona the night before, we left for Cincinnati and another house hunting trip. Every time we go down there, I find a bigger, more expensive house that I love. This trip the house was 4500 square feet not including the basement. 5 bedrooms and 5 full baths. Wouldn't that be great...and don't I deserve it?
• We came home last night and Marc goes back to work tomorrow. I will be a better blogger. Hopefully life will be a little less crazy. Look for pictures of Chicago and Arizona and Cincinnati (Ella's 4th birthday) soon.