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Summer I & II

I stated before that I'm currently taking summer classes. I knew going in that they would be intense, but I did not realize they would be this intense. There are no breaks, and I have homework every night of the week. Summer II started the day after I took my final for Summer I and it has just been a nonstop roller coaster ride. That is why I have been absent for so long, so here is a quick update:

On Father's Day weekend the little and I traveled with my brother and sister-in-law (officially; post for another time) to Carlsbad, NM and Guadalupe National Park. I have pictures and as soon as I am able to I will post those. It was so so so lovely. We had a lot of mishaps on the way (another post for a later time), but it was so worth it to be able to see such amazing things. And since we barely had any cell service, none at the national park, our phones were reduced to camera's. IN. THE. BEST. WAY. POSSIBLE! We were able to check in with every one at the beginning and end of each day which was all we really needed. Even that required us to walk a ways. I can't even begin to describe how exhilarating it was to be out there. We didn't get to hike up Guadalupe due to our delays, but we did get to hike one of the trails. There is something to be said for stillness; quiet. We were all together, without phones, and once we made it to the end of our trail we all just sat and took it in. For about 2 minutes before Em decided she needed to do more. Still, it was great. I hope to write about it in more detail as well as show you guys some photos soon. Until then, here's one of the little at Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico.

We gave my husband a weekend to himself to have a boys weekend, and then we returned on Father's Day. The following weekend he was off to California and then Laughlin, NV for his best friends wedding. He came back intact, but when a pretty swollen leg from a nice jet ski trick gone wrong. Also, let me just say that LAX is a nightmare, and never again (I hope) will any of us ever have to fly into that airport. My husband arrived two hours before his flight, and the lack of assistance, as well as major wait times caused him to miss his flight. He was put on standby, and miraculously was able to be home by 4 pm. Though because it was such short notice, I wasn't able to pick him up until 6 pm. Anyways, he made it home safely, and I'm grateful for that. 

Since then, we haven't done much. A few flea market visits here and there. We had a nice get together on the fourth of July with my husband's side of the family. The parade was pretty awesome, and they had a few games, and bounce houses that Em was able to ride. We ate dippin' dots for breakfast, and she was able to play for a few hours with a lot of other kids. Some that she'll be seeing at school this fall. The highlight of her day was seeing her former preschool teacher at the fair. I've never seen her run so fast to give hugs before. We've gone to see movies, and we've had dinner with friends. Our little tried out a gymnastics camp and has decided she'd like to continue so those classes will start at the beginning of August. Also, after our camping trip Em's been asking to go "out to the mountains" again, though this time I think we'll stick closer to home. There are some great places nearby that I want to check out and it would also be great if we could take the four-legged babies as well. They are easier climbs with some great views so I feel like we might be in for a day-trip soon. My husband insists we go camping so I'm sure it will be followed by an overnight trip soon after anyway.

So that's been our summer so far. Pretty simple and boring, I know. I didn't realize that summer classes left you with zero time to do anything else. I doubt I'll be doing this again for awhile. My mother has suggested we take a trip up to the LEGOLAND Center so she's working the details on that out. I still want to visit the Omni, which might be something that we do in August once things have slowed down for us. Other than that, not much else is new. Hope everyone is having a wonderful summer break though! Until next time! :) 

Summertime And The Livin's Easy

This song has nothing to do with this post, I just like it because it reminds me of sunny California and it has "summertime" in the lyrics. Enjoy.

Summer is finally here, and with it comes summer school for me. Surprisingly, it's been a pretty manageable schedule. Not having such a huge course load eases things up a bit, but that doesn't mean it's been easy. I have homework every night of the week, and discussion boards for at least four of those nights. I'm actually enjoying the subject though. I can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel. Almost. I have two and a half more years of studying and school in order to finally graduate with a Bachelor's degree. Thinking of that number, and those years being spent on that rather than doing normal things is a bit saddening. Still, I'm really excited to be going to a school that's close to home in the fall. 

Emery graduated preschool back at the end of May. When we didn't immediately take her to her new elementary school (which she will be attending in the fall) the day after Pre-K graduation she was pretty bummed out. Not getting to see her friends as often as she was before only added to her sadness that first week. However, we've come up with some pool time compromises. And I'm hoping that we'll be able to enroll her in some gymnastic classes as well. Now, since she's out for summer my sister-in-law has been staying with us. And if I forgot to mention before my brother-in-law is also living with us at the moment. So, we have a full house. I'm always worried about money, and how this makes more mouths to feed. It also causes our bills to go up, and of course means bigger messes to clean up after. Thankfully, both my sister-in-law and brother-in-law have helped out a lot when it comes to work around the house, cooking, and cleaning. I'm truly grateful for that. 

So far our summer has consisted of lounging, pools, a wedding, some dancing, lake trips, and TV binge watching. Last week was so hectic that my anxiety hit an all time high I think. Combine that with my lack of gym time, and I felt so on edge. Still we survived. Everything turned out great, but I now have no nails. None. This week I spent a lot of time catching up on homework, and of course the papers/questions are getting longer as we get further into the course. So again, I've gone with very little gym time which has been really difficult for me. I'm almost at the point of considering 4 am wake up calls just to fit them in. Almost. In other news, my husband will be headed out to California for one of his best friends wedding next week. He'll be out there for four days and I'm a little jealous. Unfortunately, after all of the unexpected expenses that came up we could only afford to have him go out. Not that he's completely broken up over having to spend an entire weekend alone with his boys who he hasn't seen in over 4 years. :-P He was able to get a preview a few weekends ago, but this time it'll be the three amigos reunited again. And even though I'm a little jealous I'm also really happy that he gets to do this. He'll get to see some of his family out there and visit with his cousins. This trip is going to be good for him, and he's also excited about it. 

Next month we also have some things planned. I mainly want to go out hiking, and maybe take a camping trip. I know that the aquarium is on our list as well as, possibly, the zoo again. If Emery requests it otherwise I will definitely skip out on that. I also want to head up to see some showings at the Omni Theater if we can because it's such a cool and educational place to visit. I haven't been in a really long time, but I've heard it's only gotten better. Obviously this all depends on funds and time, but I'm hoping that at least half of our list gets accomplished this summer. As soon as we get some pictures I'll post about the wedding this past weekend. I'll also post about the bachelorette party that led to a spontaneous Pure Romance party, as well as some more stuff about kayaking. Until then, that's all I've got for you folks! Hope everyone is having a pretty rad summer so far!