Better Late than Never

Sorry this is a day late but I am sure you have all heard by how that
Grandpa has pneumonia again.  He went into the hospital early early
on Monday morning.  Both his doctors were into day and say he is
doing better but will be there a couple more days!

Anyway wanted to send a few pictures of family dinner last week.

Ben and Darcie (the trainer) joined the family for a fun evening.

After supper fun outside.

Here are a few pics from the Kinast Reunion at Topeka on Saturday.

Greetings from the Mile High City!

Hi everyone!

So I have now been here for two weeks and 1 day.  Its been very good so far.  Mom, Grandma Johnston and Dad visited the week of my birthday and it was a delight to get so many wonderful gifts and remembrances from all of you for both my birthday and house warming.

Hard to believe that we are at the end of July.  Generally, Mom, Dad and I would be in full vacation mode somewhere around the globe.  But this year, its different.  This year, I'm out of school.  This year, I have a legitimate job/internship.  It would appear for the moment that no vacation is in the near future for me.  But that's a good thing in this case.  I've had a very relaxing two weeks getting my apartment ready, helping Clara adapt to her new surroundings, getting more familiar with the area I'm located in, reconnecting with friends (old and new), setting up doctor and therapy appointments (for both Clara and I) and preparing for the internship.

The internship is with the Curious Theatre Company.  I've included a picture of the front of the building at the conclusion of the blog.  I don't quite know the specifics of my day-to-day work with the company yet but what I can tell you is that I am the assistant to the associate artistic director.  That's pretty cool considering its the first job out of the barrel.  Wish me luck as I get used to my responsibilities and figure out what works on a day to day basis.

Well, I think I am off for an adventure in the mountains today.  We'll see what life brings though...always a surprise around the corner.

Love to all,

Charles

Fun in the Sun!

So I was trying to start a new post but the option never showed up at the top of the blog. It took me a while to realize that I was signed in as Hannah Tolleson and the authorized person to post is Hannah Shook.... I guess I'm getting used to having Tolleson as my last name :-).


James and I are doing well. We enjoyed a week of vacation together before James started his new job with the UT Office of Admissions. We drove to the Texas Coast and camped on the beach of Mustang Island. You can see our camp site in the picture below. The sunset and the moonrise were spectacular! There is also a picture of the seagull who decided we might be a good bet for a meal and a crab hole. Once the sun set, the crabs came out of their holes. The beach was covered in white/sandy colored crabs of all sizes. We would walk from the camp fire to our chairs or from the chairs to the tent and the crabs would all scurry to find a safer place. The next morning all of the crab holes had scratch marks around them like you can see in the third picture. Swimming in the warm water was refreshing and eating local seafood was delicious!

James has been working hard and has one more vacation before I start school again in August. We are flying to NYC this Saturday and will be staying with Mary and Kurtis! We're hoping to see a jazz performance, visit the 911 Memorial, check out Coney Island, take advantage of NYC's restaurant week, and of course spend as much time with Mary and Kurtis as possible!


We hope everyone is doing well and staying cool. Three days until the Olympics Opening Ceremony!


God's Blessings,
Hannah and James

Summer in the City

Last summer, you may recall that we were working together on a show. Having a blast with a great cast and enjoying the time that we got with one another! This summer, we have seen a bit less of one another, but I think that it is safe to say, we are still enjoying what we are up to. 

A quick working update:

Kurtis - - - Technical Director @ Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet Company

                  (he has signed a contract to work with these folks for another year!)

                  Deck Carpenter Swing @ Joyce Theatre

                  (this one is a recent development as he got along so well with the folks at this theatre)

Mary - - - Stitcher @ Radio City Music Hall w/Cirque Du Soleil's Zarkana

                 (this job is mostly full time, but will end in September when the show moves on)

                 Wardrobe Swing @ Jersey Boys

                  (this job is ongoing and fantastic as the people I work with are great!)

                 Also looking toward Dressing the Rockette Christmas Spectacular in November!!!!!

Visitors Galore!!!

Turns out, NYC is a very popular place to visit! This comes as no major surprise to us and we are always happy to have visitors. From the spring to the fall, we will have had Uncle Tim Shook, Caleb, Randy and Pam, Kurtis' brother Kevin, Hannah and James, Australian cousin Janice and perhaps a few others coming to visit. This makes us extremely happy as we love to share our couch and see people that we might otherwise not get much time with.

Current Projects and Visitors:

Currently, Kurtis' brother, Kevin is in the process of an almost four week stay with us. He is working with Kurtis during the week at Cedar Lake on various projects that needed an extra carpenter. This has been a very good stay. It's nice to see Kevin and get reacquainted. Plus, he's very laid back and likes to go exploring! This past week we went to 'Sleep No More', an interactive production of MacBeth which started out on the rooftop of a building down in Chelsea. (see pic)

Mary is having time to do a few things that she doesn't normally have time for. One is an expanded garden from last year. While it is not doing quite as well as one might hope for, it is still something fun to work in and the tomatoes and basil are growing like crazy, which is maybe the most important part of the garden! There has also been time to start taking yoga classes, which are an entirely relaxing workout. This will definitely be a continuous thing as it has been such a restorative process to have yoga a couple times a week. 

It should come as no surprise that we often miss Kansas and the people there, but we also love living in the city and being able to work successfully. Hope that all of you are enjoying the lovely thunderstorms, pools and openness of the midwest!!! Love to all!