Happy Birthday Grandma Bobbie!!!

Grandma, we wish you a very happy and healthy birthday. We hope that you have a great day. We love you very much!!!!!!

Photoblog: Camp Whittleson

Matt p.s. new post below

Kim gets her white coat!

It was  a very special weekend in St. Louis watching Kim get her prestigious white coat! It was a somber yet celebratory ceremony where the Dean of St. Louis Medical School addressed the students and welcomed them to St. Louis and encouraged them on their upcoming journey to becoming a doctor.  The only disappointment was that Shel was not there as he could have participated in the ceremony by putting her coat on. He'll get a second chance at graduation and the coat will be longer.  Ironically, the dean was preaching about how becoming a doctor gives you a chance to help other people, and Shel missed it because he was helping kids in Ecuador. All in all it was a proud moment in our lives!

Love, Julie

ATL -> STL

I plan on writing a much more extensive and descriptive post when more starts happening, but for now I just wanted to announce that I now live in St. Louis!

Two fridays ago my dad and I drove up and he spent the weekend here helping me get settled. For the last week I have been by myself, which allowed me to get my room all set up and run some errands that needed to be done before everything gets crazy. 

Here are a few pictures of my room! 

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2576313&id=4901793&l=5398447145

BJ is coming to visit me tomorrow thru Thursday, although I'm not supposed to write about that until he has proven his visit to be successful :) Then my roommate (Bethany) moves in on Thursday, and everything will finally get settled. 

On Sunday I have a White Coat Ceremony, which is when I officially become a medical student. My mom is coming to attend that ceremony. Then I have a week of orientation and I begin classes on Aug. 10....anatomy lab, here I come!

I am so glad that I get to see everybody so soon after I start my new life so I have a chance to talk to everybody about it! 

Hope all is well!

Love,

Kim

the blog

I've been thinking there's not much action on the blog anymore. Since around January everybody pretty much stopped. So what I'd like is for everybody to start making posts again about family categories.




From,
Jakey

Lincenbergs Get New Addition!

This past Sunday, Lizzy flew through the sky and landed at the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (aka ATLANTA!!) Right now, we are stuck in the house on a rainy day so we thought we would say hey! Although, we've only had a couple days together, they have been funfilled and action-packed. including swimming, playing games, watching movies, and eating A LOT. Jamie just walked in and she says hey to everyone! More details will come when I (Lizzy) reutrn to Chicago, but for now, we are going to get back to our activities. We just wanted to update everyone about the trip. Can't wait to see everyone at Jeni and Rob's wedding in August. Until then, the Lincenbergs send their love, and I (Lizzy) will see everyone soon!
Love,
Paige & Lizzy

Downtown at the Sox Game and Navy Pier

Over the past week, I've been in downtown Chicago a couple times, taking in baseball games, fireworks, and fireworks at baseball games (they have fireworks at U.S. Cellular Field where the White Sox play).

Attending the Cubs-Sox affair were myself, Dad, Jake, and my friend Brian. We left just early enough to miss the White Sox win the game, and we beat out most of the traffic after the game, so that was a win-win scenario.

On July 3rd, I was downtown with some friends, hanging out at my friend Michael Kryger's apartment/patio. We had some bbq before walking through the streets of the city and enjoying the Indepedence day festivities at Navy Pier. (And we couldn't help having a little fun before the fireworks, too.)

Matt

Bobbie Takes a Bite of Big Apple

Hello!
Greetings from NYC. After reading BJ's fabulous (as always) message, I felt as though I needed to respond with a blog posting of my own, so I can fill you in about this weekend and to express my gratitude to everyone back home for making it happen.

As you may or may not know, I had a shower here in New York City on Sunday, given by Wilma. We had more people on our turf this weekend then ever before with Mom, Dad, Jess, Grandma and Aunt Laurie... all accounted for. Not to mention, family members of Rob's from North Carolina had also flown in for the occasion. We actually had our first NYC family party here on Saturday night when we decided to bring in desserts after dinner (that was the best we could do - this is me we're talking about). Would have loved to have Mike E. for the ice cream :) All in all, we did a lot of EATING. Back to the shower. It was really nice and I loved having the Chicago Slew's (sorry BJ, I stole it) meet some of the Sirota's and some of my friends for the first time. The guys, including Dad, also bonded over a steak lunch while us girls were having our tea and finger sandwiches.

But I'm burying the lead. While the shower was wonderful (just like the one in Chicago was), the true highlight of the weekend did not happen until last night when I insisted that we take Grandma to Times Square. Earlier in the day, Grandma would "ooh and ahh" over a double decker bus, the architecture on the Upper East Side, or even just marvel at how many streets looked just like Michigan Avenue. She also was THRILLED to be on the subway and said "this is just like six flags". But again I bury the lead. When we got to Times Square, my mom describes it best, "she was like a little girl at a candy store", I've never seen her face light up like this. I wasn't sure what was the more amazing sight...Times Square or Grandma's reaction.

It really made me happy to see her so excited and I wanted to try to capture this for the rest of you. I owe so many of you my gratitude, including Grandpa and especially BJ, for your help, so everyone could make the trip. We all had a great time and now I just have to get the rest of you out here. :)

The wedding is approaching fast now! We can't wait. Much love, Jeni and Rob

B's baaaaaaaaaack

Dear esteemed members of the SLEW clan,

Greetings to all. BJ here, with an incredibly overdue post to the fam blog. As we near the mid-point of June, there is much to report...

First off, my spring academic quarter just concluded at Northwestern last Wednesday. It was a stressful term with a lot of schoolwork in my 3 classes, but I think my grades will turn out alright. I have now completed 9 of the 15 required courses in the master's degree program in higher education administration. I have a weeklong break before I return to school for the six-week summer session. I will take two more courses for sure, and am still mulling over the possibility of an internship at Northwestern. I am meeting with my program advisor next week to discuss some options for internships and jobs. I expect to return to full-time work in the fall, even though I will not earn the master's degree until June, 2010. If anybody has any questions about this, feel free to ask.

Second, I wanted to let you know that I broke up with Krista a couple of days ago. Although I liked her very much (and still do), she was far more invested in the relationship than I was. I recognized that I had been pushing myself away from the relationship for quite some time. It simply wasn't fair to either of us to keep the relationship going. Krista was understandably saddened, but acknowledged that all the points I was expressing were true. Unlike my past relationships, I very much hope Krista and I can remain close friends. She's in the same master's program at Northwestern as I am, so I'll still be seeing her in future classes. I now view this summer as an opportunity to stay focused on my academics, yet also make sure that I continue to meet new people and get involved in some fun, social endeavors.

On a lighter note, this is a weekend for our family to celebrate! Jeni's second bridal shower is hours away. In fact, I am writing this post from the G's house. I am Grandpa's roommate while Grandma and my Mom are out in New York City helping to represent the Slaw side of the family. Don't worry about Grandpa and I, we are going to have a great time. The Ettlesons are going to have dinner with us the next couple of nights so we will be in great company.

Okay, it's time for me to entertain Grandpa. Hugs and kisses for all, and let the countdown for the Slaw-Melstein wedding begin!

Love,
BJ

Daniel receives 4 awards, Lizzy gets nominated!

I wanted to let everyone know that Daniel received 4 awards last week at Stevenson's Senior Award night. He got an award in English, Chemistry, Math, and Spanish. This was very exciting! We are incredibly proud. I know that he will continue his stellar academic career at U of I.

Lizzy is one of 10 nominees for Daniel Wright's most prestigious student of the year awards. It is a big honor to be nominated. The winner will be announced at graduation. In any case, she is already a winner in my book! There will be no stopping her at Stevenson!!

Just wanted to share! Jeri

time for another change

The last time I really wrote an update was in January when I moved to Augusta.

Well, the time has come when I am leaving Augusta!

Tomorrow is my last day working at Logan's Roadhouse and then I will be on the road to Atlanta for Jamie's graduation weekend and the rest of the summer!

I plan on taking a couple of classes at the community college, maybe getting a part-time job (Georgia Plastic Surgery will usually hire me back ;)  just kidding) and spending time with my family and friends before I move again.

I am officially going to attend Saint Louis University School of Medicine!

I am so, so excited and I can't wait to finally be doing what I have been waiting for for all this time. I will be moving to St. Louis sometime in mid-late July and my white coat ceremony (when I officially become a med student) is August 2. 

I can't wait to be able to talk about my first couple of weeks in med school when I see you all at Jeni and Rob's wedding!

Speaking of which, I will see a bunch of you next weekend at the shower!

So...that's my life!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JENI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Taking a page from Jake's book. Looks like its up to a sib to post the "happy birthday" message! As Jen's one and only sib by blood, excluding inlaws (sorry Darren), here it is!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Although I'm sad this is yet another birthday we won't be able to spend with you, I know Rob will make it a special one. And its not like we're not going to see you in like 3 weeks!

I love you,

Jess

Happy Birthday Matt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HapppppppppppppppppppppppppYyyyyyyyyyy
yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyybbbbbbbbbbbbiiiiiiiiiiiiirrrrrrrrrrrrttttthhhhhhdddddayyyyyyy Jakey

I Got Myself a Job!!!!!

Family,

Its been a while, but I thought I'd share my excitement with you. I just accepted a job offer as an Underwriting Examiner with Allstate Insurance. For those of you who didn't know, I have been working on a career in insurance for the last year or so. My layoff at Smurfit in February was just the jump start I needed to really agressively pursue it and now it has paid off. I will keep you all posted on how it goes, but I really do have high hopes that this is going to be a great opportunity for me. Stay tuned.... Love, Jess

Israel!

Hey eveyone. Thanks again for yalls thoughtful birthday wishes. Tomorrow I am leaving for Israel for the first time with the entire eighth grade at my school! We tour the entire state within two weeks. I return home on May 15. I am extremely excited and I will definitely post pictures on the blog when I return! Love, Paige

Happy Birthday Paige!

Happy birthday to you!
Happy birthday to you!
You look like a monkey!
And you smell like one too!

Happy Birthday, Paige!

Matt

You're still into monkeys, right?

Wordle.net

Above are these really neat images of the words used in the titles of the posts on the Blog. The larger the word, the more often it is used (obviously, we use the blog a lot for birthday wishes). My roommate Scott introduced me to the website (wordle.net), and I thought theses images it created from our blog were really neat.

And here's a tip: click on the picture for a closer view so you can read most of the words!

Also, happy 200th post!

Matt

Congratulations Sara and Eric!

What an amazing day!

What an amazing couple!

What an amazing ceremony and party!

What an amazing demonstration of love!

What an amazing display of creativity in this post!

Anyways...for those who would like to see it again, here is the montage from the rehearsal dinner:

Matt

Happy 60th Grandma and Grandpa!

Happy 60th anniversary Grandma and Grandpa!

Hope you guys had a great day, and here's to what is going to be a very special year for the family!

Love,

Matt

Stop motion fun!

Cousin Hale and I made this video, which I think is pretty fun to watch.

Matt