Year 2, Week 10: Eastern PA

Well, hello! Happy Sunday! It has been a great week for the lil Landis fam, pretty uneventful leading up to our fun weekend away.

Monday I was off, so I got to enjoy home for the first time in a little bit. Jonathan worked and we went to visit the Landis fam in the evening. Jonathan's Uncle Cliff was in from California for a visit so we went over for pizza, made some ice cream and enjoyed some time with family. It was a lot of fun! Tuesday I worked, so Jonathan mowed the grass, ate some dinner and went to play basketball with Kyle at one of the churches near us.

Fish dinner!

Wednesday I was off, but I popped into the pharmacy in the morning to catch up with Amy. Jonathan worked all day and I did my toe nails, read and took a nice, long nap in the afternoon...I fell asleep reading my book, a tell tale sign that I was overly exhausted. Once Jonathan was done with work we went over to Mom and Dad's to eat the fish they caught last Saturday...it was so good! We stayed and chatted for a few hours. I hadn't hung out with them for awhile, so it was nice to catch up.

Thursday I worked while Jonathan relaxed for the evening leading up to a lot of driving on Friday. When I got home I finished packing and we got everything ready for the next morning.

Forever wedding date!

Friday we hopped in the car at 8:30 and headed to the Lancaster area of PA. It was a 6ish hour drive, probably a little longer since we stopped for lunch and took at least one bathroom break. We checked into our hotel and I got ready in the lobby while Jonathan waited in line. We rolled into the wedding just in time...almost missed it, but no worries. Emily, my maid of honor, was getting married. We had a great time, it was absolutely beautiful and completely worth the trip. It was also our second Friday wedding in a row, which was super interesting to me!

Saturday morning we slept in, had breakfast at the hotel and then went to downtown Lancaster to explore. There were some cute shops, but not as much as we really wanted, so we went to Lititz as well, it was everything we wanted. Our shopping was pretty fruitful! We got a pretty good start on our Christmas shopping...never too early to get started! After we were all shopped out, we headed to Gettysburg for the night, checked into our hotel and went to get some Italian food.

This morning was an early morning! We got up, packed up, ate up and headed to the Gettysburg visitor center. It was so awesome. We watched the video, saw the cyclorama, walked the museum, went to the gift shop and walked the history hike. SUCH a great experience. Four hours was not enough time and we are already planning on going back. There is so much more to see! It was really humbling to walk where people fought and died for the unity of our nation. The park ranger who lead our walk was very knowledgeable and taught us a lot as we walked. We are both super interested in learning more.

It was a long trip home, but we are glad to be back. 5.5 hours in the car with bathroom and lunch stops makes for a long trip. We got pizza and are enjoying some football this evening to re-adjust. It is going to be quite a work week for both of us, so it was nice to get away for a few days. 

Work has been going well. It is obviously an adjustment for everyone, but I am learning a lot and am feeling pretty good about where we are at. No one is perfect, but I am trying my best and am trying to be pretty patient. Continue to pray for me to steward this leadership position well, with humility and grace. Pray also for my employees as they are adjusting as well. Jonathan is going to be starting his first project as point person, which is super exciting for him! Pray for patience, clarity and clear communication as he prepares for this new endeavor! We are also jumping into our new community here in Minerva as youth group helpers and as small group members. It is so exciting to get involved and we are really praying for deep friendships to come from both of these opportunities. 

It is such an exciting time with lots of changes and lots of new things. Slightly overwhelming, but an awesome opportunity for growth! We are excited about everything coming and are excited to share it with all of you! Thank you for loving us through it and for keeping up with us. We love you all!

Love,

Alli and Jonathan

Corn-crib gazebo! Super cute!

Lunch at a super cute little diner in Lancaster

Lancaster selfie

Gettysburg selfie

Gettysburg battlefield

Year 2, Week 9: Starting Something New

We are working on getting better at posting on time, so here we are, only one day late! A definite improvement from the most recent months. This week was full of work for both of us and not full of a lot of time together.

Brian, Amy and I

Monday I was in Minerva for Brian's last day, which was crazy hectic and full of people who were very emotional and was a bit overwhelming for me. Jonathan was in Celina for work, so I went and spent the night at Mom and Dad's, which worked out well because they were having game night, so I got to see everyone. Jonathan spent the night with Graham, they went to Anthony's for dinner and played games in the evening. 

Tuesday was my first day as chief pharmacist and involved a lot of paperwork and different tasks for me to do since it was my first day. I still have a few more things to get done, but it was a pretty good day so I accomplished more than anticipated!  Jonathan worked in Celina and came home when he was done. He picked me flowers for when I got home and Mom sent me a bouquet at work! They made my days with the flowers and boosted my confidence on a day when it was not very high.

Wednesday morning I headed to Independence for the bi-annual Drug Mart pharmacist meeting. It was a really neat experience and I enjoyed seeing a lot of the pharmacists I have worked with as a grad intern as well as all of the higher-up people who are constantly working to improve our company and pharmacies. Lots of exciting things going on and I look forward to the next few years. I got shots on my way home, then came home to make Dickerhoof specials for dinner. Mom and Dad stopped by to see my flowers and hear about my first day. We tried to have some lemon in our water with our first ripe lemon...but it wasn't as pretty on the inside as it was on the outside. We are still figuring out the particulars of lemon harvesting.

Thursday was another day of work for me and Jonathan got to spend the evening doing some things around the house. He sanded the table, got a hair cut and scheduled some doctor's appointments. 

Austin, Rodney (groom), Jonathan, Gibson and Gabe (Austin, Gibson and Gabe are triplets - Jonathan spent a lot of time at their house growing up...they are hysterical.)

Friday I finally had a day off for real! I did go to work in the morning to get a few things done since the day before was crazy, but it was nice to get the pharmacy cleaned up for them in the morning. After that I went to see Mom at work, dropped off a movie and picked up a new one. When I got home I started to work on laundry and also worked on my first schedule. It was a little bit more difficult than I anticipated, but I did my best and I am hoping it works out okay. Jonathan finished work a little early and we went to Rodney and Kyra's wedding. Rodney is a guy Jonathan grew up with and we visited the two of them when we were in Chicago. It was such an honor to be there and we enjoyed spending time with some of Jonathan's friends. They are a blast and we did a lot of laughing. The wedding was gorgeous! It was in a greenhouse and was just absolutely perfect.

An exciting moment for everyone involved for sure...

Dad, Jared, Duane and Jonathan with their catch!

I worked the weekend, so I was there 9-6 Saturday and Sunday. Saturday Jonathan went fishing with Dad, Kyle, Duane and Jared. He said it was a neat experience, but he didn't fare so well on the raging seas of Lake Erie. 

Everyone made it home safe and they caught 15 fish, so we are excited to give those a try on Wednesday! Jonathan ordered us some pizza and I picked it up on my way home. We ate pizza and watched Olympus Has Fallen for a nice, relaxing date night in. I had picked up a movie...but we ended up just watching one we owned. Thank goodness it was from the library! No money wasted! Yesterday Jonathan went to church, then went on a short road trip with Dad to pick up a treadmill and surprised me with it when I came home! He also cleaned the house for me while I was gone...I definitely have the most amazing husband ever. After work I met Jonathan at the church building for our first week helping with youth group! It was a fun time investing in the kids...but definitely not a dress-wearing event (note to self). Jonathan did not wear a dress, so he got to fully participate in the fun and craziness of the games, then we both got to enjoy the discussion with the senior high kids.

Jonathan catching a chocolate syrup-covered donut on
a skewer...pretty impressive!

This week is looking pretty normal (at least, our new normal) so we are excited for a bit of a reprieve! Hope you guys have an awesome week! Love you!

- Alli and Jonathan

Year 2, Week 8: A Brief Check-in

Since our last check-in was so recent I will give you a quick update! This week I was working in Akron a lot, so I was 45 minutes away and I worked Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. None of these shifts were 13 hours, so I had a lot of time at home to clean, cook, relax and get some things done. We did some financial managing and got our family back to normal after a lot of craziness.

Our drive was black-topped, so that was annoying because we couldn't drive on it for a day, but after that it was fine. it honesty doesn't look that different. We washed cars this week, had a little fire in the backyard (because it's very fallish here) and Jonathan mowed.

Saturday we picked up a movie from the library, went to the Arrowhead to pick apples, visited the Nature Center for a walk then went grocery shopping and came home to make spaghetti for dinner. After we ate we went to Grinder's for dessert, then came home, did some enneagram research to figure out our numbers and then started the movie "The Guardian". This movie is about the Coast Guard and was recommended at the airshow - I would second this recommendation. It was a well-done movie and gives a glimpse into what the Coast Guard does. Intense, but well worth it. This evening we ate tacos for dinner and finished watching the movie when I got back from work and Jonathan got back from watching the Browns game at his parents' house.

Tuesday I start in Minerva and Jonathan will be traveling this week - so those are our prayer requests! Stay tuned to hear how it all goes!

Love you all!

Alli and Jonathan (Photos below!)

Photos from biking on Monday!

Year 2, Weeks 6 and 7: All Kinds of Excitement

Boy, has it been awhile! So sorry to have left you in the dark so long, but we have just been working a lot and, on our off time, having a lot of fun! So two weeks ago (the week of August 19th) there was a lot of preserving to be done. Jonathan helped picked corn and got peaches, then I froze corn and canned peaches (with a little bit of help with Mom since I thought I ruined one batch - false alarm).

The weekend was a TON of fun. Friday we spent some high quality time at Verizon getting our own phone plan (trying to be real adults now) and getting a new phone for me. Decisions are pretty challenging, so the new phone deal was difficult to decide on and, as always, switching things over aren't as easy as you might want them to be. I had been in Carrollton or putting food up, so we went to Que Pasa for dinner - the Mexican restaurant in Minerva. Jonathan had never been there and I hadn't been there for awhile, so it was a fun time to spend together and to eat good food. Also, if you ask for sour cream they bring it to you in a tortilla chip bowl...which was pretty much the most exciting part of the day. Including getting a new phone.

Saturday we went to the Great Trail festival with my parents. It is basically a craft show with lots of people who do unique things. They have people who make beeswax candles, people selling maple syrup (of course, not impressive for a Landis, but we humor them), people making rugs, selling things made from alpaca wool, a lady who paints BEAUTIFULLY, cards, signs, wooden toys, pelts, hand-made benches, awesome wreaths and, most importantly, delicious food. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed time together appreciating the skills of other people in our community.

Sunday was another highlight. We finally got to go to church together again, then afterwards, we went boating. The Prusia's have a boat and invited us and the Bandy family to go out for the day. It was a great time meeting the Bandy's and spending quality time with members of our church family. We tubed, relaxed and wake-boarded. Correction, Jonathan wake boarded, I tried, but it was all in good fun. On the way home we stopped and grabbed dinner, then came home, ate, watched a show and collapsed in exhaustion.

Last week I worked a lot and Jonathan did too. On Tuesday, my day off, we got to play some games, chat and watch a show. Unfortunately, one of the goats, Abe, died on Tuesday. He hasn't been doing well, so it wasn't a surprise, but it is still sad and I'm sure it is difficult for our landlord - she loves her goats. 

Jonathan went out to Celina to work on Wednesday and Thursday while I worked. It worked out well because he got to go see Dillon on his birthday! They got ice cream, hung out and got to catch up while he was there. He also got to see some of our friends from out in Wapak while he was there as they were dining at the same restaurant. I was quite jealous, but it started a good chat about when we would get together with them next. 

Airshow time!

Friday I worked all day in Carrollton, but Jonathan got to go over to my parents' house to help dad build a wall in their yard. It has been quite the summer project and Jonathan was pretty excited to help with a little bit of landscaping - they did a great job too! It was a crazy weekend again. I got home from work at 10:30 and then got up at 5:30 in order to get ready for the Cleveland National Airshow. Drugmart sponsored it so I got tickets to go and we got up there in good time. It was such an incredible time seeing all the planes in action, watching people to tricks and hearing all the amazing statistics about the different planes. We both really enjoyed it and hope to be able to go back next year if possible. (Pictures are included below.)

Sunday was one of the Haas family tradition days - Stark County fair square dance. We spent the day at the fair, walking around and seeing all the animals, checking out the art hall and all the displays there, chatting with friends, catching up and hoping it wouldn't rain. It did rain, and it really rained, but we still got to dance and enjoy the day with family and friends.

Monday was another family day! Jonathan's parents came over to go bike riding. We went to the Lisbon trail, biked 14-15 miles, stopped for KDB ice cream on our way back and had steaks and potatoes when we got home. It was a great time hanging out with them, catching up, enjoying a beautiful day outside and eating good food. In the evening, we went over to the Haas farm for game night with Grandpa and the framily. It was a fantastic holiday weekend and we are so grateful for everyone we got to spend it with. 

This week has been pretty uneventful so far, not a lot going on, but getting ready for the big switch as I start my official position as Minerva DDM's chief pharmacist. Lots of adjusting to do, but excited to have a set schedule that is predictable and consistent. We are also excited that I won't have to drive as much either!

I hope everyone else has been enjoying these last few summery weekends like we have been! Have a great week - love you all!

Love,

Alli and Jonathan

**Airshow photos:

The Air Force Thunderbirds

C5 Super galaxy