Brightwood Lights

April gave us a chance to take a test-run on the upcoming summer travel season. We’re certainly looking forward to it, but in that staring-up-a-cliff-that-you’re-excited-to-climb sort of way.

Nancy got her practice by running (running!) the Boston Marathon in April. It was a long-time dream – kind of the granddaddy of marathons – so it was great for her to (1) qualify and (2) get to run it. Our good friend Carolyn from Northwestern is finishing dental school in Boston, so they got to spend the long weekend together. Reinhard also came to run the race with Nancy (what is it with these Ketsches?).

Caleb and Simona took the race weekend as an opportunity to slip back to Iowa for a weekend to see Grandpa, Grandma, Uncles Seth and Wyatt, Great Grandpa Brenneman, and Great Grandpa and Grandma Neil. Simona traveled like an angel (sleeping mostly) and Caleb fulfilled his role as the “Simona Delivery Service” =). It was a great chance to see the family and get some fresh Iowa air.

So that little weekend was a preview for our upcoming adventures. At the end of May, we’re traveling to Germany and Sweden for two-and-a-half weeks. We’ll spend one week of that exploring Sweden and the rest of the time in Germany with family.

After we get back from Europe, we have another trip to Iowa and a whole slew of weddings coming up this summer. And those are just the trips that we would need to fly to. Throw in a trip to the beach, maybe a couple to see some Grandparents, hanging out with Karen (who will be in DC for the summer!), and visiting a friend or two on the East coast, all before Labor Day, and we’re starting to get a little vertigo starting up the cliff … in a good way =).

PS – Oh! And April also gave us a chance to see our friends the Sacketts who were back in town (from Wichita) for almost a week. Sam had some work to get done in DC, so Sarah and Eliana came along. Eliana and Simona were nearly inseparable … not that we would have expected anything else.

PPS – New pictures are up, as always =).

Yes, we know- the picture update is LONG overdue.  Had we somehow forgotten that fact, we would have been duly reminded by the fact that it just took us about two hours to upload them all.  That’s how many there were.  Actually, almost every single picture on the “Photos” page was changed.

Before you view them, here’s a brief description of what you’ll find:

Instead of labeling the three sets by month, as we usually do, we have split them into “June & July,” “Minnesota,” and “Maine Trip.”  The June & July set includes Simona’s first birthday, a few pictures from our first weekend away from her (when we went to a wedding in NY), and assorted summer fun in DC.

The Minnesota set includes pictures from our trip to Longville, Minnesota, where Caleb’s extended family vacations every year.  This is the first time we’ve joined them in several years.

Finally, the Maine Trip set includes pictures from our New England adventure, including two different weddings (in MA and RI), outdoor fun (boating, canoeing, and hiking), and time with family and friends (and some good lobster!).

Thanks for your patience, and be warned- viewing will take quite some time.  Enjoy!

August 7 was an emotional day for our household.  In addition to being the third anniversary of our good friends Brett and Kangaruth, we also said goodbyes to two in our lives.

The first was mostly a celebration, actually.  Our friend Sally, whom we’ve known since our days at Northwestern, left DC today to move to San Francisco.  Though we will miss her, we know that she has been looking forward to this move for QUITE some time now.  And, on the bright side, we now have yet another reason to visit the City on the Bay at some point.

The second goodbye was more difficult, as we lost our cat Cowboy today.  Cowboy was diagnosed with diabetes in the spring of 2006 but had done quite well.  However, during our recent trip to Minnesota (I’ll post more about that later), she took a turn for the worst.  She hadn’t eaten in days, and she refused to eat after our return.  She quickly lost strength, and we decided it was her time to go.  Putting her down was quite difficult as we were very fond of her, but Simona did give her two kisses while we waited at the vet’s office.  (She’s never done that before!) 

This was a new sort of “first” for me. As a child, you are allowed the emotional reaction of wanting your pet to live forever, which is why it seemed perfectly normal to me to grow up with a three-legged dog.  As the parent, however, you are forced to acknowledge that prolonging your pet’s life through extensive medical treatment is not a good use of your resources (time or money).  Administering insulin for a year and a half was as far as we could go.  Though Cowboy may have lived longer with more tests, an adjusted insulin dosage, and the attention required to nurse her back to health, we knew what we had to do. Sigh.  Of all the “grown-up” milestones (buying a house, getting married, having a baby, etc.) I’ve reached, this made me feel the most like an adult.

Over the past few years, many of you have implored me to “contact my congressman/senator” about a bill near and dear to your heart.  That may have been a humanitarian crisis, a business issue, or some other noble cause.  Whether or not I agree with your bill is moot, because as a resident of “the District,” I have no Senator or Congressman to contact.  None.  Instead, I can lobby in unique ways like donning full body paint and running laps around the Capitol, which may not be a form of expression available to you.  So it’s fair, right?  We both have a “voice” in Congress, don’t we?

Umm, not exactly.  Though we don’t usually use this blog as a political forum, it’s our turn to ask YOU to do what we cannot do for ourselves.  Contact that congressman/senator you assume all Americans have and remind them that your friends here in DC lack the “representation” that is generally assumed in a “representative democracy.”  If you are so inclined or would like more information on the issue, click here.

Thanks for indulging me.  Now, if you’re still with me, you can go to the photos page and click on the various “tags” at the bottom to see updated pictures.  Specifically, click on “house” to see updates of the windows, “Simona” to see her latest adventures, or “June” to see what we’ve been up to this month.

Well here we are – and August has positively flown by. It’s been a busy month with visits from Uncle Seth & Wyatt and Simona’s first trip to the Peach state (which means more pictures are up …). Ultimate season is starting up and Nancy is starting up grad school classes tomorrow (which has meant a LOT of reading time for her =).

If you do have time while summer is still with us, drop us a line, say hi, and let us know how life is in your corner of the world. Wishing peace.