When the cat is away...

...the mouse will play. Or, in this case, when I travel Heath goes to Grand Rapids. :-)

This particular get away to visit Lisa Cockrel in idyllic GR, Heath was joined by Lisa Anderson and Matt Allison (a friend from Notre Dame). Violet also tagged along and was treated to some quality off leash time as well as first-class romping with a new dog friend named Dixie.






I had the camera in Vegas, so these great pictures are courtesy of Lisa Anderson.

Y-Me Race to Empower

This year, Modern Hygienist sponsored a team of runners for the Y-Me Race to Empower 5K race for breast cancer. Our parent team was Hu-Friedy, one of our biggest advertisers.

Despite it being a very rainy Mother's Day morning, almost our entire team showed up (9 of 12) and braved the elements for breast cancer. I was very proud of them all.


The Hu-Friedy tent.


Me and Renee.


Evita and Shuron.


Christine, her daughter Maddie and her mother-in-law Julie.


The entire MH team.


The starting line.

Thais' Travels

You can lay the blame for blog silence on me. When I'm not home it just doesn't get done, and I was gone a lot in May.

I started off my travels in sunny Anaheim, where I was able to visit with Jenny as well as my wonderful in-laws: Jacque, Clyde and Mackensey.

From there, I was off to Vegas for my company's first live event: DPRWorld. It was a ton of work and I swear to you I didn't see the sun for three days straight, but bookending my time in the cavernous convention center was time spent poolside at the Mandalay Beach. It was the most tanning time I've had in over a year! For proof that I was actually working quite a bit and not gambling or partying my time away, you can go to dprworldlive.com...just promise not to make fun of me.


Amanda had a limo pick us up at the office. Sweet!


Christine, mad at me for taking this picture.


Mandalay Beach, complete with sand and waves.


Christine and I trying to look relaxed.


The "staff room" at the show.


Tom, our web wizard who made the e-show daily happen.


Chris Isaak performing just for our attendees. It was incredible!


Christine and I at the concert with matching lipstick. Who knew?


Christine, Karen and Renee doing I don't know what.


The spectacular show floor.

Once back from Vegas, I was soon in Minneapolis—not as sunny—for a meeting with Patterson, one of the biggest distributors in dental. These trips comprised the first part of my "introductory tour" as the new editor-in-chief for Dental Products Report.

All classed out

After 22 years of classes, tests and grades, Heath's days as a student are finally over. Woo hoo!!

Now, he can look forward to a summer of reading (220 books!), pre-dissertating, and then on to a lifetime of classes, tests and grades as a professor. :-)

Chicago - Nuclear's Heartland

With Exelon headquarters based in Chicago, we were fortunate to have my dad in town for almost a full week. We took him to Cafe Lula in Logan Square, then he took us to a soiree held at the Chicago History Museum—fancy!



On top of that, we got to enjoy a (rainy) White Sox game from the Exelon box. It was very cool.

Rebuilding Together

Last year, we participated in Rebuilding Together, helping to make a home on the South Side of Chicago warm, safe and dry. It was such a great experience that our church volunteered again this year, this time, working on the home of Rev. Henry and his wife, Ollie. The family was incredibly kind and helpful and, once again, it was a memorable day.






Since our camera wasn't properly charged, photos are courtesy of the Daigles.

Catching up...again!

As you may have noticed, we're a little behind on our posting. Now that I'm home from various work travels (related post to come), we can start catching up. We'll try to keep it in order as much as possible. Here goes...