New York, New York

We met the Sprague Parents in New York City! It was Richard's 50th Birthday Trip and they really spoiled us. Get ready for some pictures.

Our first Subway trip



The Parents



Lady Liberty in the distance



We planned on seeing some crazy things in New York, but we weren't expecting this. There was a wild turkey in the middle of Battery Park. So weird!



Downtown wrapped in Fog



On the ferry to the Statue of Liberty



There she is. The history here is overwhelming.







Wall Street. I don't think she realizes where she's standing.



The view from our hotel room.



We ate dinner at Sardi's. This is a celebrity frequented restaurant right next to Broadway and Times Square. The food was amazing.



Times Square



For Taylor's first Broadway, we went to see Chicago.



DJ Shooter, a close friend of the Sprague Family, is a senior at Yale University. He is also a stud football player there. We took a train from Grand Central Station to New Haven, CT to go visit him.







The Yale Bulldogs remained undeafeted in there division as they beat the Penn Quakers 17-14 in Overtime. DJ is #80.



Taylor and DJ



Chad and Hailey flew into New Haven to spend the weekend with DJ. It was a mini family reunion!





One last train trip, a limo ride, and a plane flight brought us back home. I can't believe how much we did in two short days. It was just enough to make us want to go back. We had such a great time and we are so grateful that we have parents that let us join in their fun. Thanks Mom and Dad Sprague.

Parents

"It's not what you leave to your children, it's what you leave in your children."
-Unknown
Thanks Mom and Dad Lorenzen

Beautiful Fall

The One You've All Been Waiting For!

On Saturday, the parents Lorenzen came in for a quick visit as they head to the battlefields of Gettysburg. It was so refreshing to have them here and we can't wait for them to come back next weekend on their way home. But as most people do when company is coming, we cleaned the apartment to make it presentable. After looking at our beautifully clean home, we decided it would be a good time to show it to everyone else. It's nothing special, not professional, just a quick glance, but Here's home:

Edit video online at onetruemedia.com

To be honest, that doesn't do the place justice. You'll just have to come visit us for the full effect. Not bad for a still picture camera though. By the way, the music you heard is our incredibly talented brother-in-law Andrew Landers. ALP is his link to the right.

Tuesday's Recap of Friday and Saturday

This past Friday night was RD fun night. Once a month, the RDs and their significant others get together for some...fun. We decided to make it a Pittsburgh night. We went to a restaurant called Primanti Brothers. Primanti Br. was established in Pitt and has a very blue collar feel to it. The is only one large menu on the back wall and all they serve is monstrous sandwiches. The Pittsburgh part of these sandwiches is that they all come with coleslaw and fries.....on the sandwich. Suprisingly tasty, but not something you would eat every day. Joanna had to come late from work and unfortunately missed her blue collar meal. We met up with her at the bottom of one of the infamous inclines. The Duquesne Incline has been a part of Pitt for quite some time (that's my very broad description because I really have no idea, but it's been here for a while). It takes you on a relatively short ride up the side of "Mt." Washington. At the top, there were some great views of the city and it was pretty nice just hang out. We obviously ended the night with Starbucks. The next evening, Joanna and I headed back to Pitt for the Blue Man Group. We went with the class that I am "teaching". Throw in some Cheesecake Factory for dessert and we had to sleep in Sunday (I know what you're thinking, we go to church on Thursday's ok). Well, here's some pictures.
Primanti Borthers RDs having Fun! Marti and Jenn diggin in City Shot 1. The bright lights to the left is where the Steelers play. City Shot 2. At the top of the Duquesne Incline Jo and I in the rail cart A shaky shot of the incline from above. More RDs (and significant others) having FUN! Travis and Jenn at Starbucks The Blue Man Group

A Beautiful Drive and Dinner with the Guys

The weather has been impeckable here as of late, so Tyler (one of my RAs) and I spent some time at the driving range. When we got back, we joined the men of Pearce. Every Tuesday a huge group of them meet in the lounge and march over to the cafeteria for "Family Dinner".

Saturday's Short Adventure

Just another day, but a good one. We got some laundry done early, put new sheets on the bed, and headed out for the afternoon. We had some Chipotle thanks to Jon and Kari. We went couch shopping, but no purchase was made. We spotted a Chili's on our excursion (It's the small things in life that make our day). We went for a little hike at a place called Buttermilk Falls and now we're back home. We're going to go hang out with some friends this evening and we'll probably sleep in tomorrow. Here's some pictures! The trail at Buttermilk Falls Taylor almost died here. He set up the camera on the other side of the creek, put the timer on, and attempted to get to me before it went off. While going from rock to rock, he hit a slippery part, slid into the splits, and we nearly lost him down stream:). It's not a wall hanger, but it gives us a good laugh. The Leaves are starting to change

Because of Me

In order to pay for my hereditary Starbucks addiction, Taylor picked up an extra job writing parking tickets an hour a day. Taylor stands firm as students run out to give him a hard time. He learned quickly to write tickets once the football players are in practice. So Taylor is not always everyone's favorite person, but I am happy!

Weekend Away

We escaped Pearce this weekend and headed south towards Pittsburgh. We are easy to please, all we wanted was a TV with cable. We did leave our hotel room to explore the city. We also happened onto some local favorites. We found a warehouse called Construction Junction. There we spent an hour searching through old treasure...old doors, windows, etc. Everything from church pews to toilets. We could see Jessica and Nate running a store like it someday. For dinner, we went to Church Brew Works. An old church converted to a restaurant/brewery, a good reminder that it is not a building that makes a church. We go back to normal life (whatever that is) on Tuesday. But it has been refreshing to have a weekend away from the kids :).

Laundry Day

Here's a bit of our lives for those who want to see it. 4 washers and dryers and 104 people....it can be a trick to find the right time to get laundry done. After we get it done, we have to try and fit it all in that closet. It's the only one we have, but we have one.

We have a couple of dressers, but if we told you that we wouldn't sound as pathetic:)

Here's to You

Granted others have it worse. We know that. We know that we are incredibly incredibly blessed...and we're grateful for that. All that to say, we miss our friends. We miss being known and knowing others. Not just a name and a face but the type of friendships where hearts are involved. We're searching for that here. We are hopeful it will come, but it's hard to wait. To leave it in God's hands, not knowing when or even where it will come from...well we're human and we struggle with that sometimes. We know others who are dealing with the same thing; being in a new place, a new part of life and realizing there is no one there (or maybe just one) who knows what your thinking or how you're feeling without even asking. Maybe it's a longing that is God given; a longing for true community. We don't know. But we're trying to be patient, waiting expectantly for that God connection. The ones we have, the ones we miss; God orchestrated them. He's always faithful. He knows our hearts. For that ultimate friendship we are blessed.
Disclaimer: We are still enjoying it here. The people are great and we know this is where we are supposed to be. Just sharing our hearts a bit.

Heaven

Those who have tasted the mouth watering goodness that is Chipotle understand the title. Being from Yuma, Az., Taylor has had a hard time in PA missing his mexican food. Today we found a Chipotle. We left incredibly happy and Joanna got to buy lots of new clothes (For work of course). We're gonna be ok here in Pennsylvania.

Saturday Night Lights

This past Saturday was the first day of college football across the nation and we were there. The Geneva Golden Tornados (Don't Ask) hosted the Teal Tomcats. It was cold and wet and we had a great time! The Tornados didn't as they lost 7-0, but it's always a good time to go to a football game.
We're the Black and Gold
I bet you never had this at your football game. Apparently the number one ranked baton twirler (#3 in the world) is a student at Geneva. She even had an entourage of assistants. We're so proud!

This is Joanna with four of the Women RDs. (Top) Kristin, Rachel (Bottom) Jo, Sarah, Marti

Birth Control

Here's the deal...We have THE cutest nieces and nephews ever! That's it.