Phew!  Where to start?  This summer has been a whirlwind - I can't believe it's nearly over!

We sold the house about 3 weeks after we listed to a nice family from Arizona.  Jeremy & I thought it was pretty funny because we bought the house from a family that moved to Arizona.  Weird.

We spent our anniversary moving and cleaning with a last barbeque at the place.  I was kind of sad leaving the place that we'd invested so much time and money in.  But we're definitely looking forward to building the new home.

We found a small house to rent near downtown.  It's not the greatest, but it will do.  Plus, since it is lacking in comfort and amenities, maybe it will motivate us that much more to get moving on the new house.  I really miss the old house, the square footage for all our stuff, the central air conditioning, the quiet of the country - and especially the dishwasher.  Now we are living out of a storage space - with a lot of our stuff difficult to access.  But there is a benefit to living downtown:  we can walk to work when we want - saves a lot of gas for the vehicle.

We've taken a couple short trips - to Missoula & Spokane to visit family.  We were also able to see Jason & Kelli, who were back on a brief hiatus from Afghanistan.  We spent our time with them - well - mostly eating!  Jason has lost a lot of weight while in Afghanistan, so everyone was hoping to fatten him up during his stay stateside so he doesn't completely waste away in the 6 months they have left over there.  We also were able to take in one of their talks about what it is they are doing over there.  It was interesting to see how they have dedicated their lives to this cause and how much it impacts the people over there.  We also got to try on a burqua (I am beyond thankful that I do not have to wear one of those things around!) and were given a couple traditional scarves people wear over there.

Jeremy & I also went to Chicago for a wedding in August.  It was someplace that I have been through a few times, but never had the opportunity to experience the city at all.  We had fun taking in the sights, eating at Giordano's (probably the best pizza I've ever eaten - yes, I will say it, better than Pizzaria Rogina's in Boston.  My mouth is watering just thinking about it!), and the best part of course - reconnecting with Jeremy's family.  We were able to see a couple museums, the aquarium, and the pier.  And Jeremy's uncle and aunt gave us a fantastic tour of the city, with a history lesson, and a great Greek dinner.  What a way to end the trip!  I really didn't want to leave, but unfortunately am lacking vacation time at work.

So we are now back at the daily grind and the smell of fall fills the air.  Football has started and we're looking forward to catching some games up in Bozeman!