Hello All,

We've had a wonderful summer and are looking forward to an even greater autumn. Here is a recap of our summer months' events (sorry for the long length, but we have a lot to share):

You can take the boy out of Iowa, but you can't take Iowa out of the boy. Donald: When Donald learned about our county's agricultural fair, he knew we had to go. He needed to see his pigs, goats, and good ol' beef. And did he see it! As soon as he got to see his first goats, he leaned over to me and said, "Thanks for coming, Erika. I needed this." It's funny. When we entered the pigs' area, a man jokingly told his family as they were leaving, "Now there's a good reason not to live in Iowa." Whereas when we walked in, Donald said, "Now that smell is the smell of money." Ah, he'd make his dad and grandfather proud.

Donald writing: Recently, the division of Lockheed that I work with started a peer recognition program. At one of our group meetings, my project manager was discussing how this new program works, and that Lockheed's first selection ever had been made by the committee. To my surprise, he announced that I was the first recipient of the award. I was completely caught off guard and never even knew that I was even nominated. Later I learned that one of the team leaders nominated me, and a Lockheed committee agreed that I was a good candidate. Then, a higher up made the final decision. Definitely a great surprise!

On Sunday, September 17, I spent some time with Mary Jean Keating while she was in DC escorting a group. I met her at the National Portrait Gallery where we saw portraits of many famous historical Americans. After the gallery we walked to Potbelly Sandwich Works, a sandwich shop that began in Chicago and is known for its unique menu and great prices. Though it was a short visit, it was really great to see Aunt Mary Jean.

As Erika explains below, she took a small sabbatical to Texas after quitting her teaching job. At first I thought it would be great for some alone-time then day 10 went by followed by days 11, 12, and 13. I realized that two weeks is a loooooooong time to be away from my wife. Though I respect her need to visit her family, I think next time maybe a few days shorter. I was so glad to see her return. However, while she was gone I got to spend some time with friends. I went out and saw a movie and went to a local Jazz festival with my friend Dwayne. I also went on a late night historical hike through Adams Morgan with Troy. Plus I was able to spend time with Aunt Mary Jean. Furthermore, since Erika does not like to watch movies (weird), I was able to watch all the movies that have been collecting on my list. If you have not seen the movie Crash, go rent it tonight. Anyways, although being a bachelor can be fun, I would definitely rather spend time with Erika.

I decided to go through water baptism classes that our church was offering. Though I was baptized as a baby by my parents, I thought it would be cool to go through a full immersion adult baptism. Plus, this would be a great step for my personal Christian development. Therefore on October 4th, I went to the local YMCA and got baptized with three others. It was a deeply spiritual event and afterwards the pastors prayed over me. It was a great occasion and I really felt renewed with a great sense of purpose afterwards. I look forward to my continued spiritual development.



You can take the girl out of Texas, but you can't take Texas out of the girl.Erika: What excited me about the agricultural fair was the possiblity of finding a JUMBO turkey leg. And did I find it! In fact, it was not only my lunch, but my dinner as well. Although I tried to finish it myself, Donald helped me in the end.

I had quite a bit of time on my hands not having a job. I volunteered to help with our church's annual picnic. This allowed me to meet young women from the church. Although I was not heading it, many people thought I was, including the pastors. I guess I give out that "controlling vibe." Well, the day of the picnic, I stepped it up when needing to take charge of certain events. The pastors hadn't seen this side of me and thus, asked me to head up a costume party at the end of October. I felt that I had to say yes because of the scripture says, "Enjoy serving the Lord, and He will give you what you want" (Psalm 37:4). The costume party's theme was "A Night in Hollywood: Be the Character." Donald and I were the dairy cow and the tornado from Twister, the movie. We won the award for "Most Original Costume". So, what do you all think?



With so much time on my hands, I went to Texas (THANKS PAM!). Besides, I needed some "me time" with all of my job frustrations. Plus, I felt that with whatever job I get next, I wouldn't have the traditional teacher vacation time. So, off to Texas I went! I enjoyed myself on South Padre Island at my father Manuel and Cris' condo. Ah, I spent SOOO much time in the WARM water. After playing in the Atlantic Ocean, you realize very quickly how warm the Gulf of Mexico is. I was in HEAVEN. Just floating alone in the water. I even went to a high school football game! After visiting South Texas, I flew to Fort Worth to see my mom and my dad. I helped both of them at work. I read to my mom's kindergarten class and spoke to teens about preparing for college at my dad's teen court night. All in all, I needed and got my "Texas Patch". I give it one more year before I'm due for another dose.

So, after three offers in one week, I decided to work for Aflac Insurance (yes, the duck commercials) as an employee benefits sales agent. What got me interested? Well, I know I am blessed with the ability to speak and persuade people so I figure, why not use it? Since I know Spanish, I can help educate Spanish speakers about great policies since many of them have dangerous jobs in construction and lawn care. In fact, when I went for my interview, my interviewer set me up for a test. He had me sit and socialize with his assistant (hoping I would speak well in Spanish with her). To his surprise...and mine...I passed! Keep me in your prayers that God's favor is still very much present.

Metiche: HA! Donald and Erika were wrong! I'm not fat! The vet said I'm just "a thick cat" and "big boned".









More Summer Highlights:
**We attended the annual summer outdoor film festival. Although we watched many movies, we watched our favorite movie, The Princess Bride, with our friends we've made through church. We all had a wonderful time sharing snacks, blankets, and laughs.



**Ana also came down for a weekend. We visited with the Thomas Family and Carl, where she met Malin for the first time. Malin met Ana's long hair in which she enjoyed tugging on. While Donald did some homework, Ana and I played Nintendo games after enjoying a six-layer slice of chocolate cake...and a 1/2 gallon of milk! We also took a day trip to Atlantic City, New Jersey. We heard that the historical Steel Pier will be shut down by the end of the year so we thought we'd go and see it before then. There we saw Allen Iverson, a NBA star, playing Black Jack.


**We went bouldering at the Virginian Great Falls with some friends. A few weeks later, we took our college friend, Jonathan, to the same spot also to boulder. Although he wore sandals, he was still able to keep up!




**We've made a lot of friends with people lately. We enjoy having them over to watch movies or play video games. Who said Christians don't have fun?!






**We went on a day trip to Delaware's State Beach this summer. On our way, we found our nearest Sonic, only 1 1/2 hours away! It was great visiting the beach, only the Atlantic Ocean is soooo cold!







**Today is not only Halloween, but our one year anniversary of owning our condo. Here is a picture I took on our anniversary. Our unit is the window right above the loggia and consists of the three windows to the left of that. If you look closely, you can see Metiche looking out the open window.