Nice Job, Henry!

Grandmother asked me to post some good news for her. Henry recently passed all of the testing and requirements to become a certified Volkswagen technician! Congratulations Henry!

Thank You Abby!

Good morning! I just wanted to say thanks to Abby for finally getting the Cousin Connection started. I'm so excited about this blog and can't wait to hear from everyone. I wish I could post some pictures with my first post, but they will have to wait. We don't quite have Internet at home yet, and tasks associated with unpacking and setting up our new house are taking priority over other things. But, over all the new house is great. Please come over and visit. Anytime. The last month was a little stressful and challenging, but it was all worth it. Ann and Brian were so wonderful to let us stay with them and we really appreciated it. They even drove us to the train everyday and picked us up and night, so we wouldn't have to contend with the unreliable Pace Bus. We felt like kids going off to school. It was cute.
Laura has temporarily settled into the front bedroom and is adjusting to living with me and Jeff. You can ask her how it's going. I hope we aren't annoying her too much. She's very easy to live with. Last night she made homemade macaroni and cheese, which was great. It was so nice to come home to dinner and not have to think about what to make. Thanks Laura!
Looking ahead I'm very excited about this fall/winter. There is so much to look forward to in the next few months. Jeff's parents are visiting soon and we have thanksgiving and cookie decorating coming up. Also - we are going to have to meet our new nephew, Rivers. I'm hoping Sarah will be able to bring him over to Grandmother and Grandfather's house to visit when we go in December to make cookies.
Has anyone seen Tom lately? Where is Tom? Tom - if you need a break from studying we are going to go watch the KU football game Saturday night. I think the game starts around 6:30 and we will be at a bar watching somewhere because we don't have tv yet. I think by that time I will be ready to get out of the house because Jeff and I are going to spend Saturday building a closet organizer. This will probably be the biggest construction project either of us has ever attempted and I'm a little nervous. Has anyone built a closet before? Does anyone have a stud finder?
As soon as I can I'll post a few pictures from our trip to the apple orchard/pumpkin patch last weekend. Next year we'll have to plan ahead a little bit and hopefully more people can go.

Molly & Jeff are proud new homeowners!

Molly and Jeff just bought a lovely 2 bedroom condo in Chicago's Lincoln Square neighborhood. After several weeks of patiently waiting for the construction to be completed, they were extremely relieved to finally move in. Congrats Molly & Jeff!

Cry me a "Rivers"

Sarah and David are happy to introduce the newest member to their family, Rivers Himmelhaver. He weighs 7 pounds 10 ounces and everyone is doing fine! Congrats to the Himmelhaver family!

Maggie Got a Job!

As the Global Programs Coordinator for the Office of International Programs Development at Northwestern University, our little Maggie is growing up. It is quite possibly the perfect job for her. For example, dressing like Rambo would not be acceptable in most workplaces but at Northwestern, it appears they find it endearing (well, at least when she wears Wildcat purple!). As you can see, she has been hard at work...