Not so still life.

Just one month and 4 days away from a 2 day long kick-off flight to Auckland, NZ.  No visa necessary for neither Craig or myself to enter is a kind relief from the long list of visa's we have yet to attain.  Australia, which comes next on the loose itinerary does however require a little visa action to enter.  Nothing grueling or painful with only an online application, and a nominal fee in comparison to some of the more lofty laws of countries I'll keep you posted on when we cross their bridges.  I'm not by any small means complaining about paying to enter any of these countries in fact I'm just happy to be able to visit them at all and all at once! 

The calm before the proverbial storm has been anything but calm instead it's been rather packed with fun and adventure still.  Since being back from our trip out west we've had some down time to relax, some exciting times of good news, and plenty of family enjoyment and celebration!  One of the highlights was a week-end of bachelorette party excitement, an elegant bridal shower tea party and an over all fabulous weekend with my still new family in Pittsburgh, PA. 

Southern Indiana this last weekend was a host to an annual car show as a fundraiser for Pulmonary Fibrosis put on by Craig's cousin and her husbands family.  They gather the very large and extended family in a small town called Holland, though highly populated with Germans the name somehow seems fitting with the windmill land marking the park where the event was held.  We were amongst the army of volunteers wearing bright orange shirts with lungs and some sentimental words once spoken by the late Douglas Partenheimer on the front.  "Crusin' toward a cure for PF....because breathing matters 2011" with a picture of a purple classic smeared the back.  If your interested check out the Cause.

  Douglas Partenheimer, who died only a few short years ago loved cars and anything to do with them.  He and his son Kory, my cousin-in-law's husband, spent many hours together working on their 1970 Chevy C-10 and bright yellow '04 Pontiac GTO (if I recall correctly), which both stood out amongst the 40 plus classic beauties in the show. This event was clearly not just to raise money for PFF but to commemorate the full and happy life he shared with his family and friends in this close community.  It's inspiring to see that causes like this are supported so strongly even in a less than perfect economy in this part of the world.  

 The wonderful part about instant new family that comes with having in-laws is getting to know them.  You and the spouse may have an unspoken love and who knows, maybe even some mysterious mutual understanding, where as with the families, one gets to know each other tid bits at a time.  That's how it's worked for us with our unconventional ways of marrying even before the families had met.  Who ever said it had to look a specific way?  So this summer has been so perfect for both of us to spend some valuable time with valuable people in our lives, and I at least have managed to have a wonderful time doing it!!