The Olsen's have been busy this past month! Here's a quick rundown of what we've been up to this summer -->
I taught a summer class, Managing Integrated Strategic Communication (a mouthful, I know...), which ran M-F, 6/7 - 7/1. It was a great experience - seven students, so everyone was pretty participatory and enthusiastic. We had lots of good discussions, and I think it was a success, including a few fieldtrips around town to different agencies. I also required the students to do two "observations" at local businesses, and to accomplish this I gave them Fridays off...I think all of us enjoyed that stipulation. :)
The weekend of June 11th was originally scheduled as the Joplin Half Marathon (we decided on Joplin because of its proximity to Tablerock Lake - we were going to run and then head to the lake). The race was obviously cancelled due to the horrible tragedy that occurred in southwest Missouri, so we ended up spending the weekend at home in Manhattan. We used the time to hang out with friends in town and do some yardwork.
That week I headed to Kansas City one night for my good friend Tracy Strother's (Dr. Strother) Surprise Going-Away Party. She's doing her pediatric residency in Sioux Falls, South Dakota (you can read more about it
here). It was a great excuse to come into town and to see good friends. We BBQ'd in Prairie Village at the girls' house (Schuler, Sus and Lisa) and stayed up late having a wonderful time.
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| Kansas City gals (Mizzou girls) - Sus, me, Lisa, Kayla, Liz, Michelle; Leah, Tracy, Schuler and Katie |
The next two weekends were spent in Manhattan, mostly doing yardwork, going out with friends in the evenings, myself going to the pool and Craig playing golf. He and his brother, Brian, played in Manhattan Country Club's Member-Guest Tournament, so we were able to spend some time with Jen, Brian and their boys (Luke, Brock & Zack). The tournament hosted a few festivities for the spouses as well, so it was a great opportunity to hang out with our friends.
We headed to the Lake of the Ozarks for the 4th of July. A good friend of mine from college, Katy Warnecke, and her fiance, were headed to her parents place on the lake and invited us to join. They brought a few girlfriends from St. Louis who I've been friends with through Katy since college, so it was a great group. We went for a few boat rides, "coved-out," and hung out on the dock most of the weekend.
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Toasting Katy & Mike's engagement on the dock
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Katy's Boston Terriers...Lucy & Bella...I was obsessed. This was a rare moment captured - they are pretty energetic girls!
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We came back from the Ozarks so excited because we found out Craig's sister, Sarah, and her boyfriend got engaged!!! We're so happy for them, and lucky us - Sarah was traveling through Manhattan last Wednesday for a girls weekend in KC , so we were able to see her and do a little celebrating (along with my mother-in-law's birthday). It was perfect, and Sarah and I were able to spend an afternoon talking wedding as she dives into the planning experience. We can't wait!
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| The four of us in Cabo last summer...Jeremy, Sarah, K & C |
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| Sunset snapshot at Tablerock, using Instagram app on my iPhone |
I spent this last weekend at Tablerock while Craig went to Kansas City for a couple of Royals games with his buddies.
We're hanging low this week and looking forward to a weekend at home this coming weekend, before things get busy around here. I'm headed to Maryland next week (7/21), then to Niagara Falls with my mom and aunts to visit my great aunts, then back home (7/26).
THEN...we're off to HAWAII!!! We cannot wait. We're headed to Kauai July 30th - Aug. 6th for an early anniversary trip (scheduled before school starts), as our wedding gift from my mom and Doug. If you've been there and have any suggestions, let us know!
We hope all of you are enjoying your summer as much as we are!
