Where did May (and the first week in June) go?

I know I haven't blogged in more than a month, and I'm sorry if the five or so of you who actually read my blog have missed my random ramblings. I haven't been motivated or inspired to write about anything.

So here's a brief update. I finished teaching at the beginning of May, and while I usually teach during the summer, I'm not this year. The additional salary would be very nice, but teaching every day for an hour and a half is time consuming, and I have a dissertation to write.

My brother Jason and sister-in-law Kristen visited us at the end of May. It was great to see them. They had been to Nashville and Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg on their last child-free vacation for a while and stopped at our house on the way home. Kristen is due in mid-September with their first child, a boy they plan to name Judson. It's a name Kristen found when reading about Adoniram Judson, Jr., a missionary from the United States who was the first Protestant sent to preach in Burma in the 1800s. His work led to the formation of the first Baptist association in America. For some reason, they decided to go with his last name and not his first. :) I doubt he'd ever find Adoniram on a key chain.

We made an overnight trip to Asheville, North Carolina for the wedding of my graduate school colleague Angela. It was intimate and beautiful. I didn't take a lot of photos, but here's one of the yummy cake. The bride was beautiful. Congrats Angela and Greg!

We also had a great drive through the mountains in North Carolina and Tennessee. On the way back, we stopped and ate lunch at the Pancake Pantry in Gatlinburg. It was the Sunday before Memorial Day, so it was very crowded, but we managed to find a parking spot and enjoy the delicious Dutch Diplomat and French Royale sandwiches.

It's been hotter than usual in East Tennessee, and we've already experienced some highs in the 90s. I'm hoping for a cool down very soon. Sammie and Cash still want to go outside on the back porch even in the heat. Sammie enjoys a cool drink of water when she comes in, and my latest trick is putting ice cubes in the water container. They like to "chase" them with their paws and seem confused when they melt so quickly.

Cash is still a bit on the crazy side, but we love him. He loves to lay on his back, with all four paws in the air and demand to be petted and loved. He'll stay in this position for a while until one of his humans comes along and caters to him.

It's hard to believe it's been a year since Dolly left us. We miss her and think about her often, but we know she's in a better place, and Sammie and Cash do a great job of loving us.