The Tech Shuttle

On the mornings that I go to work, I drop Frankie off at Heather's and take the MIT Tech Shuttle over to the other side of campus where my office is.

Riding the Tech Shuttle is usually what you would expect -- students wearing I Love Math t-shirts, discussing experiment results on the way to the lab; although sometimes you get a little more for your money.

For example, during finals week last May, two students got on (separately) who were in the same class and on their way to their final. It was apparently open book, and so they both brought large rolling suitcases full of books to take with them. I don't know how they thought they could possibly sift through that many books during the final for an elusive answer, but you have to love them for fulfilling our stereotypes of MIT undergrads.

This morning the bus was driven by a man in his mid-forties, and I distinctly heard him tell some students to "Chill Out" as they got off the bus and thanked him for their ride. It seemed like maybe he read an article from 10 years ago on how to relate to the college kids by speaking their lingo.

Nerd Pride, baby.

Travels

How many family members and friends can we visit in one trip? That was the question we set out to answer when we went down the SC last week.

We started out in Columbia:

Lunch with Uncle Matthew:

A swim with Gracie, Uncle Matthew's girlfriend:

Gammie and Grandad:


Then it was off to TN to visit extended family.

First a stop in NC to visit with my grandparents:

Great-grandpa and Nana:

Great Aunt Nancy's lanyard is wonderful for chewing on:


We made it to TN to visit with Great-Gammie:

Great Grandaddy:

Great Aunt Ginger:

And.. Great Uncle Michael (who isn't sure how he feels about being "Great Uncle", so we decided it meant just a really great uncle.)


Finally to the lake! We met up with some of our friends from college at a lakehouse in SC.

Sam and Frankie hang out on the "beach". Mostly red clay and rocks, but still fun to play in.

The only clear shot I got of Micah all week. He's a blur in the other photos.

Haley and Jessica make the squinty face on the boat:


Sam pushes Frankie in the Tot Rider II. Frankie loved the walker her Gammie got for her to use while she was down there.

A fun game of "el gato":

Gretchen, 8 months pregnant, getting on the jet ski

A tribute to a wonderful summer

We had a great summer full of walks, swings, backyard-pools, the beach. In honor of today being the first day back to school here in Massachusetts, here are a few of my favorite summer-time fun photos. Also in honor of the first day back to school, I paused for a moment earlier today to enjoy the silence on my street. That's right, the street urchins are back to school!

My big sitter

Frankie has mastered sitting as of about a week ago. It's been great fun! She can interact with the world in a much different way.

This one just cuz she's cute. She just woke up from a nap