Kreamers Go Marching Two by Two, Hurrah, Hurrah

Jonathan returned safe and sound from Chicago after four exciting days of road-tripping, sister-helping, Chicago-seeing, and a few other unnamed adventures. Despite only having two short days in Chicago, Jonathan and Nick managed to do a lot! They saw Wheaton's beautiful campus, and helped Jonathan's little sister Catherine move in. Then came an evening in Chicago, featuring delicious deep-dish pizza, Grant Park, and The Bean. The next day the fearless duo took in a Cubs game at Wrigley Field, and sampled scrumptious Polish Sausage. But most spectacular of all was the drive. 32 hours in all, from Philadelphia to Chicago and back again, with a pit stop in Pittsburgh. Four states, and nothing to change their view that Pennsylvania is the most beautiful.

The last two weeks proved to be busy! Jonathan recuperated from his road trip, got ready for school, and kicked off year two of grad school. He's taking Advanced Macroeconomics, Computational Economics, and Trade. Stefanie continued to plug away, learning lots of medical facts, drinking lots of coffee, and spending a (likely unhealthy) amount of time dreaming about summer vacation options. She moved from Unit One (General Pathology, Microbiology, and Pharmacology) into Unit Two (Musculoskeletal System, Skin, Connective Tissue, and Hematology).

This past weekend we had a little breather from all of the work, and headed up to Philly for some fun. Hurricane Earl (which Jonathan finds to be a whimpy name for a Hurricane) brought us nothing but perfect weather. We were sad, however, to have missed saying goodbye to Catherine (off to Wheaton) and Mary Robin (off to Turkey) the previous week!

Saturday we headed out to Wissahickon Valley to do some hiking. Here are some pictures from our time in the great outdoors:

Jonathan was quite the bush-whacker. Now if only he had had a machette.

Cooling off our feet in the river while eating lunch. Stefanie was tempted on multiple occasions to jump in. Only the idea of a wet train ride back to Philly held her back.

Jonathan is beaming at our perfect lunch spot. No mosquitos + sandwiches from Reading Terminal Market + great scenery (and company). What could be better?

Can't we do this all the time?

We found someone at the Valley Forge Inn to take a picture for us. Half way through our hike and we are still smiling.

Saturday was fun, but the weekend didn't end there. Sunday we headed off to our good ol' Alma Mater and did some work in Houston Hall. It almost felt like we were back in college- drinking coffee, eating food from Wawa, and totally engaged in work. Except those new freshmen looked so young! We, of course, never looked that young or lost. In the afternoon we walked out to City Church and got to see some friendly familiar faces.

Sunday evening held the traditional fantasy football draft. Jonathan, along with several friends from college, hung out eating pizza, catching up, and hand picking the best teams they possibly could. Great tradition! Great friends! Great time! Stefanie spent the time with her little sis, Olivia, eating dinner, decorating Liv's dorm room, getting to know her roommates, and watching 2 episodes of House (and feeling proud every time she knew something House talked about).

Monday brought us back to DC. Our study-filled bus ride landed us in the nation's capital a little more rested, a little more connected with friends/family, and feeling mostly ready to conquer the week ahead. Minutes after walking back in the door, the books were out, computers, on, coffee cups filled, and it was time to get back to work.

Already looking forward to the next 3-day weekend! (Columbus Day)