The Busy, Busy Summer Begins

Today can be seen as the day that marks the start to our very chaotic and hectic summer.  This is not necessarily a bad thing at all - we are both very excited for all of the trips and travel we have planned.  It will definitely keep us on our toes!  On some of the trips, we will also have an additional traveling partner.  As some of you know, my brother, Jef, is staying with us for the next three months. 

Here's a quick rundown of what's ahead:  Next week Dawn and I have a work conference to attend.  Jef may or may not join us for a night or two in Weiden.  Next Thursday, Dawn and I are cutting out a bit early, meeting Jef south of Regensburg, and then heading to the Munich airport to board a flight for Amsterdam where we'll be spending the holiday weekend.  Upon our return from Holland, Dawn and I head back to work while Jef does whatever Jef wants to do.  At the end of the week, we hop back in the car and head for southern Austria and the Brenner Pass.  The next day sees us driving to Cinque Terre, Italy.  We'll be spending six relaxing days in this beautiful area, hiking, biking, swimming and simply taking in this unique coastal area of Tuscany and the Italian Riviera.  On the drive back to Germany, we'll be stopping in Garmisch to spend two nights camping with friends who will be meeting us there.

In August, Dawn and I will be heading to Chicago for another work conference.  After Chicago, it's off to Minnesota, Dawn's home state.  We will be having a belated stateside wedding reception here.  About 100 of Dawn's family members will be in attendance.  Me? Only two.  It should be a great time, though, and I'm looking forward to checking out Dawn's home and meeting more of her family.

Anyway, the summer is going to be a busy one!  Once September rolls around, we do have some other plans including seeing a concert at Neuschwanstein Castle and also attending Oktoberfest in Munich.  Then, things get interesting.  I have no idea what's going to happen with my job right now and probably won't until early September.

Time for me to take it easy.  Sleep did not come easy last night and the 2.5 hours I did sleep was not nearly enough!  Have a great weekend!

Dawn and Osu cuddling on the couch

For a dog, Osu finds some very interesting positions to sit in.  This evening, he found leaning back against Dawn to be the most comfortable position and stayed this way for at least twenty minutes.  Sometimes he sits certain ways that look painfully uncomfortable, but it just doesn't seem to bother him.  He's our little yoga dog.

PS - Is anyone reading this blog anymore???

A fine weekend in Germany (and finally some sun!)

A quick post here to share a few photos. I haven't gone through the photos from the BBQ we had at the house yesterday, but did go through the ones I took today so I could post the below photos. Basically, with it being so nice out again today, we decided to find a nice spot where we could take Osu swimming. We finally found a spot along the Schwarze Laaber near our house. Not only was it a good spot to throw sticks for Osu to retrieve in the water, but there was also a log spanning the width of the creek. Dawn couldn't resist testing her gymnastic prowess on the downed log, and surprisingly, Osu followed her. After successfully making it across the creek on the log, Dawn needed some room to turn around but Osu just wouldn't give her any space. So, since Osu was already wet, she gently shoved him off the log and in to the water. Later, Dawn decided to go back out on the log but Osu wanted nothing to do with it this time. However, after a couple of minutes of prodding, he finally did approach the log, eventually running out on to it to get to Dawn. Alas, in one of the funniest things I've seen this dog do, he slipped off of the log falling in to the water on his side. I didn't get any pictures as I was laughing too hard at his misfortune!