The 4th

What better excuse to indulge in my pyromaniac tendencies than to burn stuff on the 4th. We had some friends over for a BBQ with the 'rents, and had some fun lighting off some weak fireworks. But then we ventured up closer to the local high school to watch the big ones go off. Good times...which reminds me...we purchased some fireworks and wanted to play a little prank on our friend Mike and Anna. They are good sports so I didn't think they'd mind, sooo, we set off some loud-crackin fireworks in front of their house, basically at their front door. After they finish Mike walks out with his gun (true Indiana) with a big grin on his face. We all got a good laugh, but it wasn't over yet. After we had gone up to see the high schools fireworks, Mike and Anna stayed behind to "get some stuff ready for vacation." Oh really, well, when i returned Cheryl's car and my parents van was missing. To be honest, i thought the worst, then it hits us...those little punks took our cars. We followed clues spread throughout the house of where to find our cars, eventually we found them. Driving back and forth down our street to return one car and get the next, we notice that Mike and Anna's house is dark, but the blinds are open...I can just feel them laughing at us. Finally we retrieve my parents van and drive past their house one more time to find the lights on with them waving and smiling at us as we go by...evil geniuses. they got us good, but their time will come!

How does it look?

Well, the first year of medical school has come to an end...aaaahhhh. It's like drinking a cold beverage on a hot day. It was a good year, Cheryl and I expanded the family with some dogs, traveled to Honduras and met a lot of people along the way. Typically, when a block ends I come home after my last final and just kind of look around and think..."well now what?" I feel a little lost when I don't have to think about studying or an exam (quiz to some) or any other pressure that comes along with school. This "end" was a little different. First, as I've said, this block signified the end of first year, when I start up again in august I will officially be an MSII. The other interesting thing about this block was I had some company at home. My mom and dad arrived shortly before my finals were over and did a little house work for us. I say "little" with a smirk on my face because I can't believe how much they got done in such a short period of time. Cheryl and I have been joking with them that they would be painting, we weren't really sure if it would happen or not. I believe it was the day after they arrived that we went to the HD, picked out our paint, and they were at work. Even after we purchased the paint I wasn't sure when it would start, but "you know mom," she gets too excited to see the end product of a project, so she was off to work. Within a few short hours (while i was studying) our wall and bathroom had one coat. Early the next day, they were done, and the next day, our entire kitchen was finished before I left for my afternoon exam. They did an awesome job, we love how the colors ended up looking; my parents like it too, I'm pretty sure they are taking the suede paint home with them to use it. Cheryl and I are so fortunate to have such great families, here are some photos:

Our suede accent wall, this is the only wall in our living room that we painted, it really looks nice; mom did a great job with the suede technique. The "Jersey Shore" bathroom. We had some pictures from the shore and thought it would be fun to have a room that reminded us of our vacations from previous years. I actually did do a little painting in this room (smallest one).

I liked the color we picked for the kitchen, but was still unsure of how it would turn out. After I walked downstairs for a break my apprehension was gone. I think it looks great, Cheryl loved it too. One big concern was how it would blend with the accent living room wall, check it out...