Changes

Well, Heidi is officially over on the east coast, all settled into her new life at Bucknell University. She has been practicing really hard with daily tripples and eating, sleeping, breathing volleyball. She has her first tournament this coming weekend and my parents are going to fly out there to watch because it is at the airforce academy in Colorado Springs, CO. I wish that I could go but alas, I will be here taking the first of 4 sections of the CPA examination.

My dad has decided to get a dog. I think it is a great idea since all 4 of us kids have grown up and moved out and now it is just my dad and mom all alone. They are getting a little girl boarder collie who gets to come home at the beginning of September!

In other animal news, I am thinking about getting a kitty. I want a dog but since I am gone all the time and would feel really guilty about leaving a dog alone, I think I will get a cat. I would like to get a Maine Coon and would prefer to rescue one from the shelter. If it is already litter box trained, that would be prrrrrfect!

Nick is still over yonder in Ontario. George just drove over there for a few weeks and the two of them are going to go to McCall for the weekend. I feel really guilty admitting it but I am so relieved to have my own space for a few weeks. I dont want to be a bitter individual, nor do I want to come accross as ungrateful or depressed, however, there are times when I want my own space and because of my living situation, I never get it. Nick and I have been going back and forth about purchasing a home, purchasing land, purchasing something. I know that he wants to buy something but at times I am convinced that it is never going to happen. It takes everything I have to stop and convince myself not to be so pessimistic. I know. Terrible.

Life

I know, pictures are sorely needed! I have so many taken but Nick has them on his camera and I have not managed to get them from him before he leaves for Ontario each Sunday. Nothing particularly interesting has been happening, allowing me to slack off on updating this blog. Nick is still in Ontario and I am still here in Portland. I started as an official full time employee at AKT on August 1 and I now have a salaried position with benefits and everything! I have been working on various audits which has been fun and exciting. Tomorrow, our Niche (I am in the LEAD Niche which included everything that doesnt fit into other niches such as construction and telecommunications) is going on an outing on the Portland Spirit boat on the Willamette River. It should be fun to spend some time with everyone away from work. On Sunday, we have our annual Family Reunion at Leaburg dam. I will be sure to provide an update. On Monday, I leave for Lewisburg, PA to drop Heids off at school. Until those updates, I hope all is well with everyone and I will be sure to post some pictures soon!

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