Saturday, June 30, 2007

Building a Deck

We drove up to Minneapolis MN this weekend to visit my my sisters and their families. My parents also came up to Minneapolis so our whole family was together for a fun weekend. Harry, Sophie, and Rita have a new brother George and Jon and I got to meet him for the first time this weekend. He is so cute! The project of the weekend was helping to build a deck for Julie and Joe. Harry jumped right in and was a big help to Grampie, Jon, and Joe. After the deck was finished we got to attend Ali's birthday party and then we had a big family bbq at Jen's house.
We got a cute picture of Jon and Rita , which was special because Jon is Rita's godfather and we haven't taken a picture with just the two of them since Rita was a baby. We also took a family picture after church with everyone together.

Friday, June 15, 2007

Dr. Meendering

Jon and I went back to Eugene this weekend for my PhD graduation.
I was nervous as I was asked to be graduate student speaker for our department and there were over 700 people there. My speech went well and I can officially say that I am Dr. Meendering! My parents even made the trip out to Eugene for the big day which really meant a lot to me. I feel so lucky to have such amazing supportive parents. After graduation we went to Stephanie and Davids for a BBQ and then out for drinks to celebrate.


More than anything on this trip, Jon and I realized just how much we LOVE eugene and miss all of our friends there. There were like our family for the last 5 years and it is hard to be away from all of them. We love you guys! Luckily, Grant, Nicole, Tom, and Donna will be driving from Oregon to Omaha at the end of july to visit. Brett will come up from Kansas and we are all planning to spend a few days in Omaha and then head to Kansas City for the weekend. We can't wait!

Sunday, June 03, 2007

Tour de Cure

Jon and I decided to do the Tour de Cure this year to raise money for the American Diabetes Association. We rode 50 miles on our bikes and were lucky to have many family and friends support our ride. Together we raised almost 800 dollars for a wonderful cause. Thanks to everyone who donated to support our ride and the National Diabetes Association.

The bike ride was difficult, but fun. Who knew there were hills in Nebraska? After the ride, all of the riders met at local vineyard for dinner and entertainment. We will post more pictures from the day when we get them off our camera!