Monday, June 25, 2007
My Best Friend...
Here we are... already in love
Junior Prom ~ May 20, 2000
Two years ago we committed our lives to one another... always and forever...
Our Wedding Day ~ June 25, 2005
Happy Anniversary, my love
Thursday, June 21, 2007
When did this happen?
My heart hurts.
It feels like part of me has been taken away from the rest of me.
I guess that's the best way for me to explain it. One of my two best friends, Erin, is moving to Arizona in less than a week. Erin and I have been friends since we were juniors in high school. One of my earliest memories of our friendship is sitting in US History class. It was then that I started dating my future husband, and I would hurry in each day to tell Erin how the relationship was going. I was so ecstatic I could barely sit in my chair the night after the first time he called me, and Erin was there to be ecstatic with me. We survived the last two years of high school with the rest of our circle of friends. Countless nights of laser tag, glow bowling, and movies at Hannah's house take me back to when everyone was within 10 minutes of each other.
Our freshman year of college Jason and I decided to introduce Erin to one of the guys Jason went to school with at Rose Hulman. We took Eric to Erin's dorm room to meet her, and although there wasn't immediate fireworks, eventually they fell in love. During our sophomore year at ISU, Erin and I roomed together. Wow. It's absolutely amazing how I could get NOTHING accomplished while studying in the room with Erin, but should I chose to move to the common area down the hall, I'm done in 5 minutes flat. So many memories from that year. Erin celebrated with me when I got my bid from Delta Gamma. Bribed me with ice cream to take cough syrup when I was sick. Let me cry on her shoulder when Jason wanted to "slow things down a bit." And it never failed... EVERY night when I got home from work at 11 exhausted from my full day, there was Erin to ask how was work. When Erin went to Spain for a semester our junior year Jason asked me to marry him. I kept it a secret from her until I arrived at the airport with Eric and her mom to pick her up. I wanted to tell her in person, and ask her to be in the wedding.
We shared history notes and friends in high school. We shared instant oatmeal and our wardrobes in college. We shared each other's wedding days.
Last night we shared tears and hugs and half of our desserts.
Suddenly we've become adults whether we want to or not.
When did this happen? How do we make it stop?
It feels like part of me has been taken away from the rest of me.
I guess that's the best way for me to explain it. One of my two best friends, Erin, is moving to Arizona in less than a week. Erin and I have been friends since we were juniors in high school. One of my earliest memories of our friendship is sitting in US History class. It was then that I started dating my future husband, and I would hurry in each day to tell Erin how the relationship was going. I was so ecstatic I could barely sit in my chair the night after the first time he called me, and Erin was there to be ecstatic with me. We survived the last two years of high school with the rest of our circle of friends. Countless nights of laser tag, glow bowling, and movies at Hannah's house take me back to when everyone was within 10 minutes of each other.
Our freshman year of college Jason and I decided to introduce Erin to one of the guys Jason went to school with at Rose Hulman. We took Eric to Erin's dorm room to meet her, and although there wasn't immediate fireworks, eventually they fell in love. During our sophomore year at ISU, Erin and I roomed together. Wow. It's absolutely amazing how I could get NOTHING accomplished while studying in the room with Erin, but should I chose to move to the common area down the hall, I'm done in 5 minutes flat. So many memories from that year. Erin celebrated with me when I got my bid from Delta Gamma. Bribed me with ice cream to take cough syrup when I was sick. Let me cry on her shoulder when Jason wanted to "slow things down a bit." And it never failed... EVERY night when I got home from work at 11 exhausted from my full day, there was Erin to ask how was work. When Erin went to Spain for a semester our junior year Jason asked me to marry him. I kept it a secret from her until I arrived at the airport with Eric and her mom to pick her up. I wanted to tell her in person, and ask her to be in the wedding.
We shared history notes and friends in high school. We shared instant oatmeal and our wardrobes in college. We shared each other's wedding days.
Last night we shared tears and hugs and half of our desserts.
Suddenly we've become adults whether we want to or not.
When did this happen? How do we make it stop?
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Kid Music
Wednesday night I have the bright idea that it would be fun for Callie (my niece) , Caleb and Caitlyn (my cousins) to stay the night here in Lafayette and go to the small water park here. Don't get me wrong... it was a blast! But it's kind of a culture shock to go from no kids to three... especially for Jason!
I drove down to Terre Haute (1 hour 45 minute drive) Thursday afternoon to pick them up. I knew I was in trouble when Callie, she's 4 by the way, asks "How long til we're there Aunt Stephanie?" I had driven about three blocks. It was then that I realized I should have taken Cathy's advice and brought along "kid music" to listen to on the drive. I would be a rich women if I had a quarter for every time I heard "Are we almost there?"
I fixed a kid-friendly meal of hot dogs, mac and cheese, and tater tots once we got home. It was then that I learned how picky of an eater Caleb (he's 6) is. His dinner consisted of a hot dog (with the ends cut off), macaroni noodles without the cheese, and a piece of string cheese. After dinner Jason and I took them to the park, then to get ice cream. Finally we stopped by Cathy's house to get some movies to watch, or more accurately, fall asleep to.
When got home and settled in and learned the DVD player didn't work in the living room where we were sleeping. Do you know how many cartoons are on at 11pm? Not very many!!!! It was tough for them to fall asleep. Finally they did about midnight. Caleb, me, and Callie (in that order) slept on the fold out couch. Callie and Caleb each had about a foot of the bed on either side of them. Which meant they were sleeping VERY close to me.
Callie woke up at 7am wanting breakfast so I fixed 3 bowls of cereal. Then she wanted to know if it was time to go. It was difficult to explain to a 4 year old that we couldn't leave because they weren't open yet. "But why?" she kept asking.
Here is a picture of them at the water park enjoying juice boxes and Cheetos!
After the water park, we headed home to change, then to McDonald's for lunch. Once we were finished, we headed back to Terre Haute, and this time I was armed with kid music! Within 20 minutes they were all sound asleep.
I drove down to Terre Haute (1 hour 45 minute drive) Thursday afternoon to pick them up. I knew I was in trouble when Callie, she's 4 by the way, asks "How long til we're there Aunt Stephanie?" I had driven about three blocks. It was then that I realized I should have taken Cathy's advice and brought along "kid music" to listen to on the drive. I would be a rich women if I had a quarter for every time I heard "Are we almost there?"
I fixed a kid-friendly meal of hot dogs, mac and cheese, and tater tots once we got home. It was then that I learned how picky of an eater Caleb (he's 6) is. His dinner consisted of a hot dog (with the ends cut off), macaroni noodles without the cheese, and a piece of string cheese. After dinner Jason and I took them to the park, then to get ice cream. Finally we stopped by Cathy's house to get some movies to watch, or more accurately, fall asleep to.
When got home and settled in and learned the DVD player didn't work in the living room where we were sleeping. Do you know how many cartoons are on at 11pm? Not very many!!!! It was tough for them to fall asleep. Finally they did about midnight. Caleb, me, and Callie (in that order) slept on the fold out couch. Callie and Caleb each had about a foot of the bed on either side of them. Which meant they were sleeping VERY close to me.
Callie woke up at 7am wanting breakfast so I fixed 3 bowls of cereal. Then she wanted to know if it was time to go. It was difficult to explain to a 4 year old that we couldn't leave because they weren't open yet. "But why?" she kept asking.
Here is a picture of them at the water park enjoying juice boxes and Cheetos!
After the water park, we headed home to change, then to McDonald's for lunch. Once we were finished, we headed back to Terre Haute, and this time I was armed with kid music! Within 20 minutes they were all sound asleep.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
"I have no idea where we are..."
Not exactly the words you want to hear while in the middle of Rocky Mountain National Park! Jason and I visited his relatives in Colorado, (more about that later!) and while we were there I did a climb with Jason's Uncle Jim. We started our adventure last Saturday morning about 10:30. Like I said, we were in Rocky Mountain National Park in an area called Wild Basin. As we came to the ranger station, Jim asked the person working what would be a good, challenging climb for me, and he suggested climbing to Sandbeach Lake. So we set out for a 4.5 mile climb (that's ONE way, folks!).
Sometimes the trail looked like this
But most of the time, the trail looked like this
Some places were pretty steep, some were flat, and some had snow! For the first part of the climb we were practically walking along the side of a cliff. We crossed a couple of "rivers," they were actually more like creeks. There were a couple instances where had to veer from the trail because of either run-off or snow in the way. Finally, about 1:15 we made it to the top. We only spent about 20-25 minutes up there. Long enough to eat the small lunch Jason's mom and aunt had so caringly packed for us and to rest our legs.
Here I am at the top! (10,800 ft) It was such an incredible feeling to accomplish this!
Sometimes the trail looked like this
But most of the time, the trail looked like this
Some places were pretty steep, some were flat, and some had snow! For the first part of the climb we were practically walking along the side of a cliff. We crossed a couple of "rivers," they were actually more like creeks. There were a couple instances where had to veer from the trail because of either run-off or snow in the way. Finally, about 1:15 we made it to the top. We only spent about 20-25 minutes up there. Long enough to eat the small lunch Jason's mom and aunt had so caringly packed for us and to rest our legs.
Here I am at the top! (10,800 ft) It was such an incredible feeling to accomplish this!
The treck back down was tougher than I had expected it to be, though it was obviously easier than going up! We made it to the bottom in about an hour and a half. I ran straight for the glorified porta potties since we forgot to pack toilet paper, then we headed back for home.
As for the rest of our vacation, we mostly just visited with Jason's family. It was so great to see everyone! They make me feel like I've always been part of that family. We attempted to go to Trail Ridge Road (the highest, continous road in the US), but it was closed because of snow :( We wandered downtown a little bit and saw Coors Field where the Colorado Rockies play. It was a relaxing vacation, with the exception of Saturday of course.
Monday, June 4, 2007
Summer!!
Friday at 3:00pm marked the beginning of summer vacation! While I LOVE my job and all, it's always nice to have a break. Anyone who thinks teaching is an 8:00-3:30 job obviously doesn't know any teachers personally. Summer is comp time for all the 60 hour weeks put in during the year. This summer is especially wonderful for two reasons. Number one, I'm not searching for a job and, I'll be teaching something I've taught before. Number two, Jason and I are buying a house! While we don't close until the middle of July, I'll be spending a lot of time packing, painting, and unpacking.
My summer was off to a great start on Friday night. Our good friends Eric and Erin are moving to Arizona in a few short weeks. So my friend Lauren decided to have one last gathering for a while. She made pizzas, salad, and bread. It was all wonderful! A few of our other friends from high school came also. It was quite an interesting night. We played the Scene It movie edition, six against one. The one being Hannah, a film major from USC. We did end up beating her, but there was alcohol involved.
Me, Christine, Erin, Hannah, and Lauren
Saturday night was another eventful evening. We had a teacher end of the year party at Cathy's house. It wasn't a big crowd, but we had a lot of fun. I'm so thankful for the people I work with! They are all so much fun, and I can count on them for just about anything.
Summer is comp time for all the 60 hour weeks put in during the year.
My summer was off to a great start on Friday night. Our good friends Eric and Erin are moving to Arizona in a few short weeks. So my friend Lauren decided to have one last gathering for a while. She made pizzas, salad, and bread. It was all wonderful! A few of our other friends from high school came also. It was quite an interesting night. We played the Scene It movie edition, six against one. The one being Hannah, a film major from USC. We did end up beating her, but there was alcohol involved.
Me, Christine, Erin, Hannah, and Lauren
Saturday night was another eventful evening. We had a teacher end of the year party at Cathy's house. It wasn't a big crowd, but we had a lot of fun. I'm so thankful for the people I work with! They are all so much fun, and I can count on them for just about anything.
