Finished with school

So I am oficially done with school and although it has yet to sink in, I am more than thrilled. I suppose I am not totally out of the study portion of my life since I still have the CPA exam to take, but at least I am done with school. I start the review course for the CPA exam this Saturday and I will probably take the first part August 24, barring any unforeseen issues with me sitting.

So the past week has been busy and I have had very little time to update. Nick came home on July 3 late at night and spent the 4th with me which was really nice. We got to sleep in and relax all morning long. At 6pm we went to a park on the river and met up with Amanda, Jessica, Kara, Travis, and a bunch of Amanda and Jessica's friends. We bbq'ed, played games, and Nick and I threw the football until both of our arms were tired. At 10, we watched fireworks.

This past weekend, we went to a wedding for our friends Eric and Rachel. The got married at Otter Crest on a cliff above the ocean. It was beautiful and the weather was great. (Otter Crest is just north of Newport, Oregon). Nick and I along with a bunch of friends camped at a campsite right down the road from the wedding venue. It was great to catch up with all the friends we haven't seen much since leaving Corvallis last June.

In other news, my little sister Heidi just found out that she was awarded the full International Baccalaureate diploma which is a very big deal! We are all very proud of her! Nick is considering returning to school to obtain his masters degree, but we are still in the early stages of talking about it. I am very supportive of the idea! Anyway, that is a quick overview of the past weeks events!

Weekend Activities and Nick in the Paper

This past weekend, Nick and I went to Eugene. I drove down on Friday afternoon with my friend Jen (she was going to meet Kacy, her boyfriend who works with Nick and continue down to Medford for a wedding). Nick drove from Ontario and met up with me down there. Nick and I went to BJ's with Jen, Kacy, my sisters Ali and Heidi, Ali's husband Brandon and thier son Tanner. Dinner was lots of fun. We all shared two Pazookies at then end. After dinner, Jen and Kacy left for Medford and the rest of us went bowling. I have pictures wich I will post when I get Nick's camera back (he took it to Ontario before I could download them!). Nick and Brandon engaged in some friendly competition and I think that Bradon won with a very impressive score. Heidi managed to get exactly 100! Tanner had a great time but managed to smash is fingers between two balls at one point. Of course, not five minutes after he recovered from the tears, he was back to doing the same thing that got them smashed in the first place! How quickly 4 year olds forget! The next day, Nick and I went over what my parents wanted to do with thier backyard. Nick will do the demolition and site prep work for the project when it gets underway.

Back in Portland that same day, Nick and I went to dinner at Pastini's with Derrick and Tammy and then went mini-golfing in Wilsonville. (I have pictures of that too, on Nick's camera). We had a lot of fun but didn't keep score so I'm not sure who won.

Nick is back in Ontario and I am back to school. I have 10 days remaining and then I am done! I wish I could say that Nick had 10 days remaining in Ontario. I am ever hopeful that he will be pulled back to a job that they get here in town. Here's to hoping! If not, it is a great oportunity for him to learn and grow as a project engineer and someday, project manager! This is an old link but when they began the Ontario job, he was featured in the newspaper. You can find the article here.

Back to Real Life

I dont have much to report except to say that Nick and I are officially back to real life. As I posted last time, we went and saw STOMP with Heidi and it was absolutely amazing! On Monday, Nick drove back to Ontario at 3:00am! I slept until 7:00am and then went to work. While I am finishing up this condensed 4 week term, I work from 7 or 8am until 11:30. I drive to PSU and have classes from 12pm-5pm. I will be completely done with school come July 19th and I am so excited! My first midterm is on Thursday and we just started the term Monday! That seems so soon! Nick reported that things are going well in Ontario other than missing me. I have no pictures to post from STOMP, but I will take pictures this weekend when we go down to Eugene.

Cancun

Nick and I went to Cancun for a week of vacation, just the two of us. We left the 16th at night and took a red-eye from Portland to North Carolina and then on to Cancun. We stayed at the Royal Islander, a resort that is primarily a timeshare establishment. It was amazing. The resort was right on the beach and our room had some amazing views. Our room had room for 6 people to sleep but Nick and I had it all to ourselves! There was a kitchen and everything. All of the weather websites I checked before leaving said that I was supposed to rain the whole week but we had absolutely amazing weather the whole time, it only drizzled a few times. We had a fantastic week. We took sailing lessons (for free at our resort), laid on the beach and by the pool, got side by side massages on a fourth floor patio above the ocean at sunset, ate lobster tail/ahi tuna/steak etc., and went on an excursion to the tallest Mayan temple (in the city Coba) as well as to the jungle where we explored the Cenotes (caves). We both relaxed, sleped in, and enjoyed the absolutely amazing service of the resort employees. It was a great trip that was much needed! We highly recommend Cancun. It has the reputation for being a place to go and party (which we are not interested in) but there is much more to Cancun and we would recommend it to those like us who just needed some R&R.

We got back on Saturday 23rd and now it is back to real life again. How sad. Today I went to volunteer at Art in the Park in Lake Oswego checking ID's in the Beer and Wine tent for my accounting firm, AKT. Nick relaxed at home and spent some time with his dad (George). Tonight, we are going to see the broadway production STOMP at the Keller Auditorium. My little sister Heidi is coming up to see it with Nick and I. Tomorrow, Nick is driving back to Ontario to go back to work and I will start my last 4 weeks of school ever! I have 2 courses to finish, Auditing and Accounting Law.

Inside one of the Cenotes (Caves)

Swimming in a Cenote

At the top of the Temple in Coba

The Temple in Coba

In front of the Restaurant Captains Cove

At a Cafe with the best Capuccino ever

A large truck (Nick style!)

On the Beach
Shopping

Background

It has been brought to my attention that I should give some background on Nick and I for the past little while since not all who read this are up on what we are up to. Nick graduated from Oregon State from the Construction Engineering Management program in 2005. He has been "playing in the dirt" his whole life and is an absolute natural. He welds like a champ (welds and fabricates anything out of just about anything), runs equipment, runs crews, runs jobs...there really isn't anything he cant do. (Im sure he will blush when he reads this) I have posted some pictures below for a taste of what he does. Currently, he is project engineer on a bridge by-pass in Ontario (eastern) Oregon.

I finished college (for the first time) with a degree in Spanish and History from the University of Oregon. After finding it difficult to land a job, I went back to school and I am 4 weeks from completing an accounting degree with hopes of becoming a CPA. My goal is to have all tests finished by the beginning of January. I am currently an intern for a CPA firm called AKT which is located in Lake Oswego. I am a staff auditor and I love it. Between school and work, I have very little time to go out and have a good time, but I try to fit it in. I look longingly at my up-side-down mountain bike and tell it that some day, we will go get dirty together!

Nick and I just celebrated being together for 3 years. (we have know eachother since 8th grade) Thats us in a nutshell, and this is our blog...

I'll have to ask Nick about this one.

Taking a quick breather

Welding Piling at GP

Just like a sandbox, only bigger!

Finals are OVER

For better or for worse, spring term is over! After a week of vacation, I will have 4 more weeks of school and then I am DONE! After two degrees obtained 2 years ago (wow, has it been that long already?) and this third one almost finished, I am finally ready to be done with school! (You would too after 6 years of college!) But for now, I bid adios to the US for 8 days to go visit beautiful Cancun, Mexico. I checked the weather and it says rain and T storms for the duration. Hopefully the rain stays away long enough for Nick and I to enjoy some sunshine! As we speak, Nick is driving back from Ontario and will arrive shortly. Then it is on to the airport to catch a red-eye flight to North Carolina and then on to Cancun. Hopefully Nick will just sack out when we get on the plane (since flying is not at the top of his *favorite things* list). Have a great week and I will post pictures when I return!