Life on the Runn...

Ah, sweet, sweet summertime! After a whole lot of adulting on Saturday - furniture shopping and assembly - we woke up Sunday morning with the intention of enjoying the cooler temperatures and the ample sunshine; it was the perfect conditions for a Devil's Lake outing. There's a rule in our house that a day at The Lake doesn't count unless it includes a ride on the ferry, so take the ferry we did.  For being such a gorgeous morning, I was surprised at the relative emptiness of the parking lots and trails - and much like the unexpected conditions of the trails, the shifting weather was entirely unexpected.  It became cloudy and breezy, but better cool than sweltering - I had enough of that the previous week when I had to brave both the heat and intense humidity that left my hair looking something like a true natural disaster. After a few miles of hiking, via the West Bluff, we made our way home and to our dinner date with our cousins Mike, Christina, and little Tommy. ...

I do not think that it would have been possible to squeeze in more family time this past weekend, and I wouldn't have it any other way....well, unless we were all trekking through Europe together, then maybe. The family-packed weekend began with a Runnells family dinner followed by a trip to the Humboldt Park Beer Garden. While I am certainly lack in the 'beer drinking skills' department, I do my best to make up for it in the 'chat with everyone about everything' department, so our trip to the Beer Garden was not a wasted one.  It was filled with lots of catching up with not only my in-laws but extended family, too.  I got to hear about puppy parenthood, school years, and service work in Guatemala; and I got to reminisce about eating and drinking my way from Rome to Sorrento. On Saturday, after a quick trip to the gym, Brian and I headed to my parents' house for our second annual Unti Summer Gathering.  While we were missing a few of the crew, quite a ...

Somehow, another school year has come and gone.  And in those 180+ days that made up the now-finalized 2016-17 school year, I managed to keep my sanity intact and my passion for education and innovation alive - because keeping it the same ol' is boring.  And I believe I may have also managed to teach my students a thing or two.  There may be comma splices in their futures still, but I think, together, we learned enough about life and learning (I think...I hope...) to call this year a successful one! As I look back on what was a wonderful year and look ahead to the 2017-18 school year, a year that will bring more changes than any other before it, I am excited for all that will come my way!  And I do believe I finally feel like I know what the heck I'm doing. Education is hard work, and it's scary work sometimes; yet it's some of the most important work a person can do!  To think that I just wrapped up 10 years of teaching and learning is both unbelievable ...

Last weekend, I somehow managed to stay up well past my bedtime on more than one occasion.  Friday night's concert at the Pabst was occasion enough to see the other side of 11pm.  Being in the second row certainly helped, too.  It felt an awful lot like a private show -- if you ignored the weird cat-calling/painful howling that came from somewhere in the lower balcony -- and was amazing from start to finish. It seems that this has become the year of music in our household: between at-home concerts courtesy of Brian and mostly out-of-town trips to see the likes of Tedeschi Trucks Band,  Of Monsters and Men, John Mayer, and now David Gray, there has no shortage of good music in our lives, and Friday's show made me all the more excited for our summer trip to Red Rocks (we have tickets for two evenings with TTB thanks to an 'accidental' purchase, or so Brian says).  I was so inspired, in fact, that I attempted to play a few chords on the guitar - that lasted all o...

This past weekend we got to celebrate all the moms, among them one of my favorite people, my own mom, and not just because it was Mother's Day. On Saturday , we pulled off quite the fabulous surprise, which we had been planning for several months. To celebrate Mom's birthday, Elaine tricked her into heading to the Delafield Brewhaus, where friends and family waited - some of us quite anxiously - to spend some time celebrating the person who doesn't take nearly enough time to do that, celebrate how wonderful she is! I had become nearly...almost...maybe... certain that our cover was blow and the gig was up, but it was clear Mom had no idea!  Call me sentimental or sappy, but the big squeeze she shared with my brother, Dad, and me was the best part of the night.  As a family, we've seen our way through all sorts of things, good and bad, beautiful and painful. Along the way, Mom and Dad have instilled in us the belief that we are each other's biggest allies, str...

Since returning from our awesomely enjoyable trip to Europe, Brian and I have been keeping plenty busy stateside.  Our May, which seemed quiet and quite open filled up quickly, and now, I'm looking to June when I get to fill up all the days, not just the precious few that are work-free (yay, summer!). We started our time back home with a trip away from home and made our way to Vegas, where we got to spend some time with my not-so-secret crush, John Mayer.  By "spend time" I really mean that I got to stare dreamily at JM and Brian got to quietly admired his guitar playing skills while attempting to drown out my incessant commentary ("Isn't he so handsome?" and "He's so talented." and "You know that I'd leave for your JM, right?" and.....). It was a great show and I'm pretty certain it inspired Brian to finally deliver on his promise to learn to play his own guitar just like John Mayer plays his. We used the following w...

Our final Spring Break destination was Germany. We made our way there via Luxembourg, which was absolutely lovely - and definitely worth (a longer) return visit. Our drive to Cochem, Germany was reminiscent of the many, many trips we've made through the rolling Kentucky countryside - except we never found bourbon distilleries or massive climbing areas. In Luxembourg, we took in the sights high above town and also visited the Luxembourg American Cemetery and the German WWII Cemetery - like Normandy, both cemeteries were powerful sights.  It is impossible to immersed in history and avoid thinking about the vast sacrifices made in order to preserve the lives we get to lead as American citizens. I am very glad we made the stop and took some time to pay our respects.   high above town Luxembourg American Cemetery German Cemetery Cochem is an adorable little town, complete with tiny cobblestone streets, an ancient castle, and a gelato shop (also many Ital...