Where are the DeGroots?: July 2008

The latest excitement in our lives came in the form of a trip to Minnesota. C.J.'s parents first drove from CA to St. Louis and spent 4 days with us here. We went to Ted Drewes for ice cream, took the Anheiser Busch Brewery tour, and had a good time hanging out! After that, C.J. and his parents drove to Iowa to visit family on the DeGroot side, and then up to Minnesota to have a family reunion with C.J.'s mom's side of the family and celebrate his grandpa's 80th birthday. Keri flew up on Thursday night and the whole family minus 3 cousins (making about 40 people!) got together in Prinsburg (pop. 450) for some good small-town fun. We saw a kiddy tractor pull and a parade where each street makes its own float--good times.

We're now back to work again. Keri has good days and bad days at work, and is still exhausted by it at times, but is pushing through. C.J. is really looking forward to ending his time at his job, but just found out that his mentor for his PhD is leaving WashU for a dean position at another school. That's put a damper on his excitement about going back to school, and we are waiting to hear what that means for C.J. (he definitely will still be able to go, but was really excited about working with that professor, so it's a bummer). Enjoy the pictures below!