Keep Smiling: Our Last Month in Erie

May was incredibly busy, but so wonderful. Just about every weekend was filled with an event or party. Many friends came to visit one last time before we moved, and we spent a lot of time with family, too.

May began with a visit to Grove City College for its annual Parents' Weekend celebration. This year my sister was featured on the town billboard as you approached the college campus! She's beautiful.

Every four years, returning Spring Queens are invited back to the campus to celebration in the college's tradition of May Queen and the May Pageant.

2012 Spring Queen and King with past queens

Of course, no trip to Grove City would be complete without stopping at the outlets. My good friend (and freshman roommate) Joanna came up from Pittsburgh with her fiance to say goodbye to Dan and I before we moved. It was great catching up with them.

The next day my other good friend (and senior roommate) Cassandra also met us at the outlets.

As soon as we got back from Parents' Weekend, we went over to our friends' Bill and Christie's house to celebrate their son Jackson's 2nd birthday. It was a beautiful day for a construction-themed party. The dirt cupcakes were delicious!

A few weeks later, my good friend from grad school came to visit. Sydney patiently waiting to go for a walk as we waited for Jen to arrive for the weekend. The weather was beautiful for Jen's visit. We started with a walk up to the train tracks and later headed down to Presque Isle.

The weather is always cooler down by the lake, yet we always seemed to forget that. We anticipated laying out in the sun with our sweet backpack chairs, but it was a bit too windy. Made for a fun picture, anyways...

I'm already miss her a lot.

In the middle of May, my parents came out to pick up Kate from Grove City. Dan and I encouraged them to drive out a day early so they could spend some extra time with us in Erie. We had my mom's Mother's Day gift and my parents' anniversary gift waiting for them. On May 16, my parents celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary!

Mom had early birthday gifts for me, too. We headed to 1201 (our all-time favorite restaurant in Erie) to celebrate.

The next day, Jon came to town and my parents drove down to pick up Kate and Matt at the end of their semester. It was nice having family in town for a few days, even though I had to work during the week.

Jon took the following two pictures. He has some serious photo talent and we're so excited for him as he pursues photography this year at Hallmark Photography School in Boston.

Mom and Kate stayed in town a little longer. But no matter how long the visit, Sydney is always sad when people leave. She sat patiently for a few pictures and showed off some of her tricks before they left.

Towards the end of May, we also fit in one last trip to the Erie Zoo with our good friends Josh and Tanya. We spent several afternoons/evening at Presque Isle with our friends. And we took many trips to Wegmans. (Best grocery store. Ever.) We will definitely miss Erie.