Has it REALLY been a year???? cont.

We couldn't leave State College without a tour of Daddy's new campus. We took the boys over to Jonathan's building,

and he let them pick out his new office. They

thought it was the best thing since sliced bread! Penn State is a beautiful campus. It isn't as meticulously groomed as Harvard, but it has some pretty amazing buildings and cool monuments, not to mention one of the BIGGEST football stadiums in the country. They aren't kidding when they say "We Are, Penn State". And in my opinion they have the best Creamery EVER!! Most of you know the famous ice cream moguls "Ben and

Jerry", well they are a product of the wisdom and luscious goodness of the Penn State Creamery. And, if that wasn't enough to make us overly happy, the Easter Bunny found us in our hotel room. The boys were completely amazed at that fact, but we told them that we had an in with the furry fellow and had mentioned to him that we would be in State College for the Holiday. Good times! I love being a parent! We left State College with tummies full of creamy goodness, a contract on our new home, a new office to set up for Jonathan, sad thoughts of leaving our friends and family in Boston, but excitement for our new adventure in PA.

Once we made it back home, it was back to the grind stone for all of us, but

mostly for Jonathan as he finished and prepared to defend his Dissertation entitled (deep breath) "Everything for Everybody?" An Examination of Organizational Scope in the Health Care Industry. He finished up and then it was off to the printing press to be printed, stitched and bound. It turned out beautifully, there wasn't a dry eye in the house! :) On April 28th, 2010

Jonathan defended his dissertation. We were surprised at the amount of people that turned out for it. A typical defense will get about 10 t0 15 people, but we had double that. We attribute the extra bodies to the fact that Phil showed up in his fashionable Tweed jacket and everyone was there to get a sneak peek at the new "Spring Fashion Line". (Thanks for all of your support Phil! we are so happy you came.) Despite the

extra stress of the added bodies Jonathan defended exceptionally well! I was so proud of him, I even "flipped" the whole hour and a half! It will forever be recorded for posterities sake. A dissertation is like a child in many ways. When Jonathan defended it, it was like sending our child out into the world to fend for its self. A huge thank you to Rob Huckman, Nancy Kane and Clay Christensen for all of there support and advice over the years and for voting a thumbs up on Jonathan's Dissertation and signing their John Hancock's to make him a true Dr. We won't let you down!

May was just as busy as April. I finished up our kitchen and the rest of the renovations. (I know, I need to post

pictures, I am going to create a separate post for the Belmont house and the Bellefonte house). We celebrated Isaac's 8th Birthday, "Isaac Style". He loves the game of baseball, which is not surprising since it is one of Jonathan's favorite sports. We were able to score afternoon tickets to the Red Sox on a day that Isaac had early release from school. The baseball gods were smiling down on us that day! There really is nothing like watching a game in Fenway. I love that stadium. The smell of the freshly cut grass, the aroma of Fenway franks wafting through the stench of beer, the organ pounding out "Take me out to the ball

game, take me out to the crowd. Buy me some peanuts and cracker jacks, I don't care if I ever get back; so lets root, root, root for the home team, if they don't win its a shame. For its 1, 2, 3 strikes your out at the old ball game", eating peanuts and cracker jacks, Fenway franks and sticky cotton candy, watching the crazy inebriated fans try to walk down the cement stairs without falling flat on their faces. There really is nothing like it. Happy Birthday Buddy! We love you!