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I think Maddux is feeling a little sad today.

We've had an incredibly busy past couple weeks filled with amazing family and friends and now that summer is officially winding down and we're back to our quiet life, I think he's a little lonely.

If I explained EVERYTHING that has been happening lately, we would be here forever, but basically, this has been a summer of reunions.

I kicked it off with a quick visit to my old college town on my way to a good friend's wedding.  I got to go to my favorite Mexican restaurant and was lucky enough to get to meet up with my best friend and my roomie through all four years of college and her boyfriend, who is a really great guy.

The chip is the real star of this photo.

Although this visit was much quicker than I would have liked, it was great to see them.  It's nice to know that lots of time can go in between visits, but it feels like nothing has changed when we are together.  I was surprised to see how much my school has changed in the few years since I have been gone!  The building I spent the majority of my time in was completely gone!  I might have to make a longer trip soon so I can really explore. 

I finished off the trip by celebrating Jack and Lindsay's wedding with a lot of good friends.  The happy couple's wedding was gorgeous, and I think everybody had a great time dancing the night away.  I was actually a little sore the next day!  My dancing shoes definitely need to make it out more often ;-)

A reception is not complete without a steering wheel.

When I got back from the wedding, Maddux and I rushed off to Pittsburgh to celebrate my dad's birthday.  What better way to celebrate than with a Pirate's win and a Church beer?  I managed to get a couple of workouts in while at my parents' house.  On Tuesday, we went to a park with our pups for a picnic and my dad and I played frisbee with my sister's dog, Barley.  We also decided to practice our Olympic gymnast skills by using a tree as a vault and balance beam.  I'm sure fellow park goers were very impressed with our skills.  

See ya in Rio, Olympics!

After our intense frisbee game, I did my elliptical interval workout, except I only lasted for 30 minutes.  The intensity of my parents' elliptical is crazy tough!  I think I grossed my family out with how incredibly sweaty I was after that short of a workout.  Wednesday night, I ran 3 miles on the hills in the neighborhood.  I was surprised at how good I felt.  The hills didn't seem as bad as they sometimes can.

On Thursday my sister and I said goodbye to my parents and she came back with me to help me out a little before I have to get back to work.  We were lucky enough to get to see our brother's wonderful girlfriend and her sister, a good friend from high school and his son, and my cousin and her new husband!  In between all the eating and festivities I managed to squeeze a run in (I did 30 minutes with some intervals thrown in), but I really just focused on enjoying time with my company and soaking up the last few days of summer.  I figured spending time with people I don't get to see too often was more important than sticking exactly to my training plan.  I made up my intervals today and after a .25 mile warm up did 8 half mile repeats with three minutes of walking in between each.  At first, they felt really tough, but after about 5 of them I finally managed to get into a groove and was able to push myself.  Funny how I can feel a lot stronger at the end that I can at the beginning.  I covered 4.25 miles in 35:58.  Not too shabby :-)

I'm off the rest of the day to finish my book so I can start a new one! I just bought the book Gone Girl (No joke, I was #672 on my library's waiting list for it!!) and can't wait to lie by the pool the next couple days with it!