Back in Boise

So this week has been absolutely crazy. I will try to keep this post short and just give you the highlights.

I got back to Boise last Saturday afternoon. Since then it has been nothing but go go go.

Sunday Ella called me at 8:30 am asking if she and Morgan could come and visit the cats again. Once I said yes I was informed I had to then come pick them up.

I worked at the Imaging Center on Monday and started clinicals on Tuesday.

On Tuesday Joy had a Mary Kay part at her house. Even though I did not buy anything it was great to get the opportunity to see all my Boise friends!

Thursday the twins were in a kiddie triathlon. They had to bike 3/4th of a mile, run 1/4th of a mile, and at the end they went down a water slide. It was 99 degrees, so the girls got tried early on, but they did very well and even got a medal at the end!

Friday and Saturday night, Lynn's whole family stayed with me b/c they were getting their kitchen floors re-done.

Overall I am happy to be back in Boise, but cannot wait for Chris to be here.

I am really enjoying Therapy, though being back in school mode is a little different. I am not quite sure how I survived it the first time with clinicals and work...

Ella and Morgan ready to start the race

Nearing the finish with DadAnd they made it! The water slide is in the background. Morgan chose not to go down. And the metal

Back to School

After being out of school 4 1/2 years, I am officially a student again.

I left Nebraska Wednesday, in Chris' loaded Rodeo, with the cats in the front seat beside me and headed to Utah. The drive went well, all except when Maggie twice busted down the door to her cat carrier, and I had to do fast maneuvers get to the side of the rode and the cat back into the cage without causing any accidents.

I stayed in Salt Lake City with my high school friend Annie and her husband. I then was suppose to have classes/orientation Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. However, our Saturday class got cancelled.

Being in school after so long out is going to be a little interesting, but I am excited to finally be going back to school for something I have also wanted to do. It is also going to be nice to be able to see Annie and Ryan quite a bit over the next year, and I was happy to discover the drive from Salt Lake to Ogden was not half bad. Since I am the only student from Boise that was taken this year, I do not have anyone to share the cost of driving and hotels with, so this will also be a big help to the check book.

I then left Saturday morning and headed to Boise.

The First Year of Marriage!

Our anniversary was this past Sunday. I am still amazed at how fast the first year has gone. Everyone kept telling us how the first year is the hardest, and in some ways it has been difficult, but not in the way they meant. The stress of Chris in grad school, and me working the night shift has not always been the easiest, but I know that if it had not been us being able to lean on the other, we (as individuals) would not have survived.

For our anniversary we decided to go back to Estes Park (where we had our honeymoon).

The first night we camped near Grand Lake in the Rocky Mountain National Forest. This was the first time Chris and I have camped together since moving to Nebraska and was so much needed.

We even saw moose this time on this side of the park!!!

The next two nights we stayed in the same condo/suite we stayed in for our honeymoon in Estes Park. We had just as much fun this time as last. We kept to our morning drives through the park and saw lost of wildlife again. However, we did not quite see the number of Elk we did last year. I love the picture below. Some bird came flying down and scared the elk to pieces...
On this trip we added a new hike and Chris caught a Greenback Cutthroat trout. This trout is the state fish of Colorado but is on the threatened list of endangered species. This was the first Greenback Chris had caught, so he was pretty excited.

Chris picking out the perfect fly.What a beauty We also visited the Stanley Hotel. It is one of the most haunted hotels in America and even inspired Stephen King's "The Shining." He wrote half the book while staying in room 217, though the real ghosts of the Stanley are not evil like in King's book. Part of Dumb and Dumber was also filmed here.

And of course we ate lots of good food. This is us on Sunday before going to our favorite Italian resturant for dinner. After this trip we decided we were just going to have honeymoons every year instead of anniversaries.

Horseback riding

As always the best part of Papa's farm for the nieces are the horses...and their 4-wheeler.
Here are some pictures...

Ella driving her 4-wheeler all by herself (don't worry Dad was close by the entire time)Morgan and Ella riding Pepper Morgan on Pepper with Papa leadingElla on Pepper
Kerry with Ashley"Wait a minute Dad...where are you going?!""I'm not kidding...this not fun anymore!""Guess I am kidding...this is fun!!"

Grandma's 93rd Birthday

On Sunday we had Grandma's 93rd birthday party. Her birthday is actually August 1st, but since we were all able to make it into town over the 25th, we had it a little early. I am not sure if Grandma realized the commotion was all for her, but for her age and a couple of recent health scares, I thought she was doing really well.

Grandma with her two kids, Connie and DougGrandma with all of her grandkidsGrandma with her grandkids and great grandkids. Thanks to Lynn and Jeanine for making it an even ratio! (Elisa with Zack, Lynnea with Ashley, Me with Ella, Jeanine with Lewis, and Kristin with Morgan)The immediate familyAll the family that showed up to help celebrate.