Winter break update

So it's been quite a while since I posted and there is a lot to tell! I finished up with the semester. It didn't do as well as I would have liked, but I've got a better handle on Honor Council this semester so I plan to finish strongly!
Christmas was great! I stayed home with the fam and Austin stayed in Temple too. The boys got lots of toys and I got to spend lots of time with my family over the break. It was a great reset before this semester. I also got to see many old friends, and most more than once.
New Year's Eve was especially wonderful! Austin and I went to the Aguirres' house and had a wonderful evening with old Vanguard friends including Diane, Johnathon Barger, Johnathon Chapline, Erin Frisch, and Chris! While at this shindig, Austin proposed! I, of course, said yes, and here's how it went down. At a few minutes before midnight we stopped the movie (The Other Guy - instant classic!) and I helped Austin Aguirre and Mrs. Aguirre hand out sparkling grape juice to everyone. Chris was handing out confetti poppers to everyone and with ten seconds left, we started counting down. At midnight, we all released our confetti and yelled "Happy New Year!" But mine didn't work. I told Austin this and he thought it was weird. So he took the bottom off of my popper and looked inside. "There's crap in here." He took the confetti out. "It's shiny crap." He pulled the ring out! He got down on one knee and asked me to marry him! It was absolutely wonderful. Then Chris played Nocturne for us on the piano and Dr. and Mrs. Aguirre poured some champagne for us. It could not have been better.
After that we spent the last week and a half hanging out and visiting people.
I headed back to San Antonio on Monday after stopping in Austin for dinner with Lauren and started class yesterday.
Tonight I played cribbage and casino with Nicole and Andy while we watched Kick-Ass. This weekend is Tubby's birthday party and the MLK March on Monday. All ready for my last college semester. When did that happen?!
Until next time.

Holiday time!

Since Leigh's marathon, Laurel's engagement, and Ryan & Kristina's wedding, I've been pretty busy with school. This past week has been pretty nice with the Thanksgiving break, but for the last couple of days I've been doing homework in preparation for the craziness that's about to come. Thanksgiving, as always, was great. I spent it in Wimberley with the Probes, and Nicole and Andy came out as well. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see my fam so that makes me sad :( Friday we did the crazy shopping morning and then yesterday I decorated the apartment for Christmas. I have 14 days until the semester is officially over, but I have so much work to do between now and then it's insane. Thankfully, I had this "break" to get a head start. Well, I should probably get some exercise in and clean my room before I confine myself to the library for the rest of the day.
Until next time.

Marathon Day

Today, a great friend of mine ran her first marathon in San Antonio. Not only was I extremely proud of her, but watching others cross the finish line in the full and half marathon was very inspirational. I still don't intend to ever run a marathon, but I hope to be friends with other marathoners because it's a great thing to see a friend or even a stranger cross the finish line. No matter how tired or uncomfortable or in pain, you can tell how proud someone is to have just done that. It's really cool to see. If you've never seen a marathon, I highly recommend hanging out near the finish line for a while. It reminds you of the strength we have as human beings.
In relation to that, I need to be strong this week. I've got a lot of things on my plate and I'm certainly staying busy. With a full week ahead of me and the pace only picking up after Thanksgiving (Can't wait!) I really need to hunker down and do my work. I also have to remember that although I can stop and have some water at the halfway point of this busy time, I've still got another 13.1 miles, figuratively speaking. But of course, I will also make time for things that keep me sane.
In other news, the Cowboys won today! We'll see if they can do it again this season. At this point, I'm banking on a loss and enjoying the pleasant surprise if we do win. Aim low, and you won't be disappointed, right?
Even more exciting news, my roommate got engaged on Thursday night and we now have a cat in the apartment! She's adorable and her name is Tasi! What's more, my brother and Kristina got married Friday! I'm so happy and so excited for them. They leave Tuesday so Kristina can meet Kevin's (Ryan's biological father) family. They'll love her. I know I do!
Well, I've got two more hours at work and I better get back to it and finish up my homework for tomorrow. My goal this week is to wake up every morning with the homework for the day completed. Keeping my fingers crossed!
Until next time.

Back at it

I think I might actually keep up with this blog this time around. I haven't quite decided what I'll be posting/talking about, but I suppose for now that makes it all the more interesting. Update on life since the summer:
Well, I moved into my first apartment this semester. I'm living with three other girls and I love it. Senior year so far has been hectic and at times chaotic, but full of experiences (both good and bad) and plenty of fun. I register for classes tomorrow for my last undergrad semester. I'm so excited for next year. I can't wait to be in a school and apply things I've learned in education classes so far. I'm really excited to jump in, but at the same time I'm scared. Of course, my nerves won't stop me. By the time I get to next August I'll be as ready as I can and it's going to be an amazing year and a great experience.
Also this semester, I turned 22. No more fun milestone birthdays, but it was a great time with my college friends. Austin and I celebrated our FOURTH anniversary. It's kind of hard to believe it's been that long, but I suppose in the grand scheme of things it's really not that long. By the way, he's doing well. Finishing up his undergraduate in Aerospace Engineering at A&M in May and then who knows? He's taking the GRE on Tuesday and he'll do wonderfully! Then it's sending in applications and seeing what we hear. All in all, lots going on, and consequently life is amazing!
Until next time.

Camp Bluebonnet, Dad's birthday, and the first day of Out On a Limb

So Camp Bluebonnet was good. The usual: Lifeguarding, tie-dyeing, and lots of leftover Juicy Juice. Always a crazy and busy week, what with the 200 campers, but it's always a blast! At least they don't stay the night! Consequently, we had evenings free. Monday was pretty chill. Derek, Ashley and I went into Heights and did some shopping and ate at Chick-Fil-A and were total gluttons about it. Tuesday Derek, Ashley, and I went to Dead Fish for Trivia Night with my parents. Our team name? Ya Burnt!...We're borderline amazing. Wednesday the whole staff (including our amazing cook Angela!) went to Las Casas for dinner and then went to the movies for Trevor's birthday (which was on Thursday). Thursday night we didn't do much. Friday was Bobbie Shae's birthday and after cleanup a bunch of us went to Waco to Ashley's and hung out there. Good times had by all! Saturday, Austin and I went back to Temple and watched the U.S. lose their match against Ghana. Sad day :( That night we went to Austin with my parents for Dad's birthday on Sunday. We had dinner at a burger place called Mighty Fine and then saw Jeff Dunham's 2010 show at the Frank Erwin center! It was so great! Sunday was pretty chill. The boys got a slip-n-slide so of course I had to teach them how to use it ;) Today has been amazing. I was on Camera Duty for the first day of Out On a Limb (children with multiple missing limbs) which was awesome! Here's a picture that is not only amazing because we have a camper with Dallas Cowboys prosthetic legs, but also because this is a common sight around the pool for this camp and it never gets old!

Until next time.

So this last week was awesome. We had Camp Grey Dove (siblings of past/present cancer patients) and had an amazing time with a whopping FIFTY kids! This week is Camp Bluebonnet (diabetes) and there are around 200 kids (obviously they don't stay overnight). They bus in from Austin every morning and leave at 3:30 so we have evenings off this week. On Tuesday, Derek and I are going to Dead Fish for Trivia Night with the parents and Austin gets back Tuesday night!
This past weekend was awesome! Sheila, Llama, Shilpa, Emily, and I went to College Station and it was so much fun! I played my first game of beer pong...and sucked it up. On Saturday the staff went out to Bo's Barn in Salado and I actually did some two-stepping! This weekend I think I'm going to Waco and Ashley's house on Friday and on Saturday for Dad's birthday we (Mom, Dad, Austin, and I) are going to Austin to see Jeff Dunham. We're staying the night that night so hopefully Derek will come hang out for a little while too. Then next week it's Camp Out on a Limb for children with multiple missing limbs. In short, the next two weeks are going to be amazing!
On a side note, the World Cup is going well. We currently have a spot into elimination rounds, but we still have one more game to play against Algeria on Wednesday morning. If we can win this one we should be set!
That's all the news that is news.
Until next time.

After the first camp

Since my last update we've finished orientation week including the rules video, which btw is awesome! Over the weekend I went to Boston and saw Alicia, Cory, Mac, and Megan and so much fun with them! It was weird to see them in the U.S. Unfortunately AA lost my carry-on luggage because there wasn't any more room in the overhead storage bins so they checked it at the DOOR of the plane. Then I got a call every day this past week saying it hadn't been found. I finally called and spoke to a real person, then a real person who knew what was going on. She discovered that my bag had been in since MONDAY (this was Thursday) so I went to the airport and picked it up.
Then we got ready for our first camp of the summer, Teen Challenge which is a camp for children with visual impairments and/or blindness. In short, camp went amazingly. The new staff is fantastic and we're having a great time! The kids had an awesome time and campfire/camp closing was simply magical. Big thanks to Llama (LAura MAurer) for our awesome slideshow!
In other news, Stephanie and Christian are coming back from Japan after two years today! They're scheduled to land in Killeen at 6:20 so I'm going with the fam to meet them at the airport before I head back to camp for Grey Dove (siblings of past/present cancer patients). Also, the FIFA World Cup started two days ago and yesterday we tied the homeland 1-1. As long as we don't do anything stupid and lose to Slovenia or Algeria, we should be all set for elimination rounds! I'm all set with my USA training jersey and I also bought a Brazil training jersey for Austin since he leaves for Brazil for six weeks the day before the final.
Until next time.