I'm a Slacker, I know

I realize that I have not been writing as much I had in the past. (Nick has been reminding me that I haven't been writing...thanks for the reminders love!) The truth is that I really don't have anything "exciting" to blog about and I have been just the right amount of busy. =)

The weather has been miserable for the last week and I don't want to write about how much I hate it on a daily basis. We had about 5 inches of rain in the past two days, and although it didn't rain today, it has been gloomy all day. I need the sun to come back!

There are about 5 weeks left of my semester and I was considering taking my second anatomy class over the summer to try and move my nursing school schedule up a bit, but I found out yesterday that it's not an option. In the fall I will finally officially begin the nursing sequence. My first two classes will teach us how to take vital signs and conduct patient assessments. I am eager to step foot in a hospital as a nursing student! Nick is busy with research and classes, and we are both looking forward to summer. Nick will still be researching full-time, but he won't have homework and we can actually spend time together when we get home!

We are trying to plan a few trips for the summer- to see my family in Colorado, and to California to see the rest of our families and our friends! I can't wait!

I haven't taken any photos due to the rain and overall dismal weather, but I am a sucker for old photos of mine. This weekend is Easter, and I always go to Colorado to be with my family for that weekend. it didn't work out this year, but here are some pictures from the last few Easters: (it completely amazes me how much Erin and Ryan change each year.)

2006

2007

2009

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today is my Mom's "28th" Birthday (as my brother tells people anyway...haha). I wish I could be there to take her out to dinner and tell her how much I love her, but at least we have the ability to talk daily on the phone. I hope Erin and Ryan are treating her extra-special!

Last week I took the dogs on a run/walk around the reservoir and Gillie managed to get away from me. Trouble and I chased her for about 400 meters because I was laughing too hard to run quickly. She had a huge dog-grin on her face and she was so happy to be free temporarily. She has never been able to run off-leash, and she took advantage of the opportunity. I'm lucky she wasn't near the street or it could have been a bad scenario. 

The entire week (last week) was filled GORGEOUS days, so I rode Nick's bicycle to and from work. It feels great to be in the sun and I know that we are bound to get more rain in the coming weeks, so I tried to spend as much time outside as possible. We went for constant walks around the reservoir and soaked up the sunlight. 

Last weekend we went out with two people from MIT on sort of a "double-date" and it was nice to get out of the apartment. We saw a movie and then went to a great ice cream place in the Back Bay. The weather made it an even better evening, and I didn't even have to wear a coat!

Now fast-forward to this week: it has been rainy, windy and now it is cold. We even got a little snow this morning, mixed in with the rain. My weekend will consist of writing two papers which I have severely procrastinated on, but the weather doesn't look like I will be missing anything outside. I really thought winter was over. Spring had me believing it was here to stay...

Sunshine at Last

My flight back to Boston on Sunday was nerve-wracking, as I almost didn't get a seat. The night before, the flights to Boston had been cancelled due to high winds. Everyone from that flight was moved to the one I was scheduled for, and they had also over-sold the tickets. There were three people who didn't show up and I got the last spot on the plane. LUCKY! (Otherwise, I would have left San Francisco at 10pm that night and not gotten to Boston until 10am the next morning).

The weather was dismal once I flew in, and the landing was rough. The rain didn't stop until late last night and finally today the sun appeared!  I was so sad to be back in the rain and lack of sunshine, so I am thrilled to see the sun! It feels wonderful outside and I feel like I should go for a run to celebrate the disappearance of the rain. I haven't gone running outside in months! 

I realized last week that California is the only place that truly feels like home. I love visiting my parents in Colorado, and Boston is a great city, but neither feels like home. I have so much nostalgia for the state and going back reminded me why. The first weekend I was in the beautiful Sierra-Nevadas and the next weekend I was in Monterey enjoying the smell of the ocean. Nick and I constantly talk about where we want to end up once he's done with grad school, and we both feel the need to go back "home." We really aren't sure where in California, but we feel fairly confident that no matter where in the state we are, we will be happy. 

Nick and I are both about half way through our semesters. Nick loves his two classes this semester, and although he has been up past midnight almost each night with homework, he insists he is happy reading and doing his homework because of how much he enjoys the material. It is a relief to hear how happy he is at MIT, because it would be even more difficult to be this far from friends and family if I knew Nick was unhappy. He has a great advisor and has become good friends with the other guys in his lab. He had a quiz last week and found out that he got the highest score...no surprise there! 

I am hoping this sunny weather will stick around for a while so I can begin to resume my photography. I will probably search for some more families looking for free photos in order to gain some more experience. My portfolio is slowly growing and I hope I can begin to gain confidence in my abilities to take great photos as I get more experienced.  

Here are some more photos from my trip to California: 

Simply the Best

My trip to California exceeded all expectations. I really can't express how nice it was to see everyone and spend time catching up with my friends and family. I needed that week to re-charge and it was amazing. 

Sheri picked me up at the airport Friday and we headed got ready to head to the cabin. I picked my friends up in Turlock and we picked up exactly where we left off. We laughed hysterically the entire way up to the cabin and sang along to all of our favorite music. (It sounds cheesy, but that's really how it went! haha) Sheri spent the first night with us at the cabin and we stayed up half the night playing games and having long conversations.  My aunt is one-of-a-kind and she is one of my best friends, and being able to spend time with she and my friends at the same time was great.

We built a snowman, had lunch at a great pizza place in Strawberry and cooked an Italian feast the second day we were there.  Here are some of my favorite pictures from the cabin:

I spent the week meeting up with friends and family, some of which I hadn't seen in years. I took some pictures of my cousin, Rachel, who is graduating from high school in a few months. She was a great sport and put up with me attempting different techniques and settings with my camera. I hadn't spent one-on-one time with her since I can remember, so it was great to catch up with her. (I hope she likes the pics!) Her eyes are stunning and here is proof:

 I finally met Ren and Brittney's little boy and he is adorable. I wish I had taken pictures of him because he is too cute for words!  I can't even go into details about all the other people I saw because it would just be boring to read, but it really was a perfect week. My trip ended with a day-trip to Monterey and we couldn't have asked for better weather. It was a great way to end the best week I have had in a long time!