We're specifically going to see my parents, since my mom has been asking all summer. We will be seeing Amy's parents, too, but they are spending part of the time we'll be around in Kentucky on vacation. We'll be in Muncie tonight through Wednesday morning, then Westfield on Wednesday night, coming back to Akron on Thursday.

It's going to be quite a production because we're taking all three of the dogs. That means we have to break down a cage and take necessary supplies, etc. It also means we're going to have to deal with five hours in the car with three dogs, which isn't always fun.

I am looking forward to seeing my parents and hanging out in their new house. It is a big improvement from their old place, and I expect that being in their home will now be less stressful since there is more living space, a guest room and a swimming pool. It will be close to having a few days in a hotel, which is somehow always reinvigorating.

Plus, add that to the fact that Tim and his "tenant" friends moved out to an apartment, and I think things will be far less stressful.

And I have to admit, I do miss my parents. When we lived in Muncie, we always saw them at least once a week and usually more. We've been in Ohio a year and have seen them a handful of times since we moved. And frankly, that sucks. Beyond that, with my mom being sick, I just feel like I need to see her. Call it a mortality-based wake-up call.

We'll be back to Akron on Thursday. Amy goes back to work on Friday, and I have a meeting with the department on Saturday. Then school starts that next Monday, and it's back to the grind.

The best news there is that we will have survived the summer, which at times has been in doubt. It's really a relief.

In other news, I did end up switching my e-mail address to Gmail. It's now killsuburbia (at) gmail (dot) com. It's nice that my traditional username was available, and I also hooked things up so that my andy (at) theshears (dot) com also goes to Gmail. I had no idea how much more advanced email had gotten. I am a stick in the mud sometimes.

On Amy and my website, I redid the photo album with a gallery component. It's much better now in terms of organization and presentation, but I haven't updated the captions so they all still say "Temporary" something. I'll be working on this in the next few weeks.

I'm ready for school to start, at least mentally. I have a lot of work to do to make it there, but in my head, I'm definitely ready to go back.

That's all for now. I have a ton of work to do this morning to get us ready to go.